Month: April 2008

Nuts and Bolts

We’ll start this entry off with my rejection from Susanna Einstein of LJK Literary Management.

Had a great time in Minneapolis this weekend at an anime con. While there, interviewed Elizabeth Sloane for an article on wig construction that will appear in a future issue of AniCoz magazine.

Working on that English paper. More stats later today, as well as some queries out.

Right now, must get back to the office slog.

Catherine

Flowery (Purple?) Prose

The current book I’m reading has yet to really grip me. It is very much one of the fashionable books at the moment: let’s take a secondary character or minor character from a work of literature, and fashion a story from their point of view. I myself have a few chapters of one of these started, so I certainly like the genre.

Since the book hasn’t sucked me in yet, I find myself analyzing it. There are two things I’m finding about this book that are proving to be distractions.

1. Linearity. Rather the lack thereof. The characters in this book live in flashback city. The reason we start the book with childbirth and a slave escape, and then clearly move back to the main character’s childhood, while putting in another section about the birth of her first child (not the miscarriage that occurred during the slave escape) is to pull you, the reader, in with drama. For me, it just bounces around. And feels overwrought like an iron fence in the French Quarter.

2. Flowery prose. The book is told in first in first person which allows the author to gratuitously use stream of consciousness examination of subjects (dig that crazy river wheel section!). Also, the book is very adjective heavy. Sometimes the writing hits (I love the orange gash in the sweet potato), but most of the time, I’m drowning in the prose.

I’ve always been a spare writer, perhaps to my detriment. So, today, fellow writers and readers, I solicit your opinion on

1. Flashbacks. Do you like them? Do you use them?

2. Adjectives: How much description is enough? Too much? How do you know?

3. What is your writing peeve?

I’m giving the book more time (only 50 pages in, and it’s huge), but we’ll see. Life’s too short, and I have too many books on my shelf. I’m not condemning it as a bad book–there’s just too much in it that keeps popping me out of the narrative, which is creeping slowly at best.

Have a great weekend. I’ll be at an anime con in Minneapolis, checking papers and working on my own papers as much as I can. Which may not be at all if I’m terribly unlucky.

Catherine

A Good Cause; Writing and Jealousy

More linkage this morning. First of all, cystic fibrosis.

Friend and fellow workshopper Jenn Racek is in the Great Strides walk for Cystic Fibrosis to help raise money for the cure. Cassie, her daughter, has CF. There’s also going to be an auction of ebay items, all of the proceeds of which will go to the CF Foundation. Check out more here:

Cassie’s Auction now through April 8th.

***

John Scalzi this morning on authors and jealousy. Pay attention to the parts about being content with one’s own life, and supporting one’s friends. Nicely done, Scalzi.

Whatever

That’s today’s linkage. Now, to teach Adverb Clauses. (Not any journal where you can read that…)

Catherine