tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7532879741618889291.post2109515448041766065..comments2024-03-24T00:35:43.435-07:00Comments on A Still and Quiet Madness <br>~A.G. Howard~: Silencing your infernal ... er, internal ... editor, so you can smell the roses.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7532879741618889291.post-8447227424507101132011-04-30T07:05:31.827-07:002011-04-30T07:05:31.827-07:00Hey there, Dawn! No, I think it's a very typic...Hey there, Dawn! No, I think it's a very typical reaction once you've started learning all the writing rules. No doubt it's comparable to when someone training to be a graphics designer watches movies. They start to find all the flaws in the special effects that the rest of us wouldn't ever notice.<br /><br />LOL about the teen romances. Weren't those the days? ;)Anita Grace Howardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870961916148616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7532879741618889291.post-4516766287591881832011-04-30T05:44:02.509-07:002011-04-30T05:44:02.509-07:00It's such a relief to know I'm not alone. ...It's such a relief to know I'm not alone. My daughter is reading a middle grade mystery to me and it's all I can do to bite back the "nasties" on the tip of my tongue.<br /><br />On the other hand,(I'm aware of the hypocrisy)I'm much more intimidated writing something I know other writers may read (blog posts, for example). I'll never know all the rules; so many are contradictory anyway.<br /><br />I can spend way too much time worrying how others are going to slice and dice what I've written. I try to stay very focused on what I'm trying to convey and the method I want to use to convey it. It was so much easier writing teen romances for my friends in junior high. ;)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7532879741618889291.post-13001382831896920942011-04-19T16:27:11.689-07:002011-04-19T16:27:11.689-07:00It's worse when the book is a bestseller. I ha...It's worse when the book is a bestseller. I had that experience, for example, with the wretched "Mockingjay." (I loved the first one in the series, and the second one was OK, but that third book...oofh! A stinker. Info dumping...telling not showing...) I wanted to take a pen to it, all the while being jealous of the author for having a bestselling series!Jennifer Prescotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14668379038698377139noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7532879741618889291.post-58301739665617072552011-04-19T10:59:14.493-07:002011-04-19T10:59:14.493-07:00Anita, a gremlin doll! Yes, I might have to try th...Anita, a gremlin doll! Yes, I might have to try that. Thanks!Marybkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12013291291298167627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7532879741618889291.post-47140694452821232562011-04-19T10:21:00.776-07:002011-04-19T10:21:00.776-07:00Hi Lydia! Yeah, I tend to edit the chapter I wrote...Hi Lydia! Yeah, I tend to edit the chapter I wrote prior to a new writing session, if for no other reason than to appease my internal editor. After that, she usually leaves me free to write for the day. ;) Thanks for stopping by, and nice to meet you, too!Anita Grace Howardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870961916148616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7532879741618889291.post-78242067092763478152011-04-19T10:06:56.500-07:002011-04-19T10:06:56.500-07:00I try to keep my internal editor at bay during the...I try to keep my internal editor at bay during the first draft but she never shuts up for long. Usually when I read the last few pages before starting a new scene, I end up editing anyway.<br />Great post, and nice to meet you!Lydia Kanghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00484415427764822386noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7532879741618889291.post-78661188592486450582011-04-18T10:37:19.569-07:002011-04-18T10:37:19.569-07:00Thnx Angela! Yeah, I'm a stickler for plot to....Thnx Angela! Yeah, I'm a stickler for plot to. I just read one recently that was pretty huge in the YA market, and all it was was set up for the next book in the series. Nothing EVER happened aside from the MC's day to day meanderings, and those were sooo boring and typical, they didn't even warrant being put on paper. Stuff like that gets under my skin.Anita Grace Howardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870961916148616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7532879741618889291.post-22492978601960220162011-04-18T10:33:40.809-07:002011-04-18T10:33:40.809-07:00Hi Anita :o)
I notice grammatical things more tha...Hi Anita :o)<br /><br />I notice grammatical things more than I used to, but not to an extreme. My big thing is plot. Sometimes I'll read a book, and I'm amazed by how "blah" it is. It might be written beautifully, but if it can't hold my interest . . . what's the point? <br /><br />Good post, Anita :o)Angela V. Cookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15065559147381012802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7532879741618889291.post-2742412687074534832011-04-18T10:27:10.407-07:002011-04-18T10:27:10.407-07:00Woohoo, Bethany! The Anita Blake series, aye? Go y...Woohoo, Bethany! The Anita Blake series, aye? Go you for diving back into the book and getting lost despite it. ;)<br /><br />Very wise words, Cherie. I could never surround myself with "bad" writing because it would make me crazy. what I do is limit myself to the books that "make it huge" in spite of all of the bad reviews on their writing. That way I can figure out what they did do right, you know? Thanks for the great insights!<br /><br />Katey~ I imagine it would be even more difficult for you than the rest of us, since that's your day job, too! I hope you find that diamond in the rough, because just think of the satisfaction you could glean from polishing it up to a sparkling gem. ;)Anita Grace Howardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870961916148616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7532879741618889291.post-37042418563960989562011-04-18T10:21:52.709-07:002011-04-18T10:21:52.709-07:00Mary~ thanks for stopping by! I agree about the in...Mary~ thanks for stopping by! I agree about the internal critique voice. I once read about a writer who bought a gremlin action figure and envisioned it as his inner editor. He'd shove it into a drawer every day at the beginning of his writing session, then take it out when ready to revise. Worked for him! Maybe it's worth a try? LOL<br /><br />Kayeleen~ Don't you hate that? It is kind of sad. I have a few books that are the same way for me now.<br /><br />Hi David! A lot of thriller/suspense writers use omniscient POV, so I don't think you've too much to worry about there. You can get by with more than some of us. ;)<br /><br />DU~ I agree! And I've found that even the books with the worst writing offer something we can learn from. Something the author did right to such an extreme it negated all of those mistakes enough for an agent and writer to love them. If we go into it with that in mind, and read to find the secret, we might jsut learn something to strengthen our own writing.Anita Grace Howardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870961916148616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7532879741618889291.post-12986698927698582362011-04-18T09:12:06.244-07:002011-04-18T09:12:06.244-07:00Seeing as my "day job" IS as an editor n...Seeing as my "day job" IS as an editor now--be it of submissions or actual editing of fiction--I find it an incredible relief to just tell myself to STFU and read. I'm reading a book right now that needed an edit so badly it hurts, but I refuse to quit. There's got to be something good in it. And I will find it. And enjoy it, dammit!<br /><br />Yes, we all feel it, I'm sure.Kateyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05727622678452936037noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7532879741618889291.post-33847160943751733872011-04-18T08:28:01.801-07:002011-04-18T08:28:01.801-07:00Really great post, Anita! Isn't that the truth...Really great post, Anita! Isn't that the truth. I'm going to live by Captain Jack Sparrow's wise advise, not only because I heart him, but I'd like to enjoy reading without being judgmental. <br /><br />One caveat though: Surrounding yourself with bad books might affect the way you write. So be careful. At the same time, don't be too nitpicky. Aim for balance (as with all things in life).<br /><br />Happy Monday!Precy Larkinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16714824672731935371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7532879741618889291.post-10448292392725227602011-04-18T07:24:47.775-07:002011-04-18T07:24:47.775-07:00The book I'm reading now is about a vampire sl...The book I'm reading now is about a vampire slayer (who happens to be named ANITA--woot woot)and I actually did set the book down when I saw they had misspelled MIATA--as in the Mazda Miata (not miaDa) and grumbled, "and I can't get published...whatever." But, I picked it up again, allowing myself the tiniest bit of pleasure knowing this best-selling author didn't get it right all the time, either and lost myself into her world of vampires and zombies.Bethany Crandellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08465408035247412662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7532879741618889291.post-50213290476792597102011-04-18T06:40:34.775-07:002011-04-18T06:40:34.775-07:00You know what I discovered? The more you write and...You know what I discovered? The more you write and work at your own craft - the more you'll see works by other authors who haven't - and they're often on the shelves.<br /><br />How can they have gotten an agent with a prologue? Dont' agents DETEST prologues?<br /><br />And OMG 0- there are ADVERBS everywhere!<br /><br />It's baffled me, I can't deny it. So you know what? Now I just try to grit my teeth and bear it. Fact is, despite the many so-called rules of publishing - rules are meant to be broken.D. U. Okonkwohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12900694425526387930noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7532879741618889291.post-40480121593862123592011-04-18T03:54:54.295-07:002011-04-18T03:54:54.295-07:00The quote from Pirates was in my mind too.
Recent...The quote from Pirates was in my mind too.<br /><br />Recently, I slammed a book down after it mired into backstory and differing POV.<br />Two years ago, I didn't even have those terms in my vocabulary.Huntresshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08155372788872245758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7532879741618889291.post-47305343421323836432011-04-17T21:14:32.436-07:002011-04-17T21:14:32.436-07:00I am Number 5.
I'm getting better at keeping ...I am Number 5. <br />I'm getting better at keeping it to one head per scene -- although sometimes, i hop into a second head.David Kazziehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11753721662077319561noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7532879741618889291.post-22267233985829313432011-04-17T21:04:28.721-07:002011-04-17T21:04:28.721-07:00There was a series that I read and loved, before I...There was a series that I read and loved, before I was so involved with writing. I picked it up again and was surprised by all the things that I would have done differently. The info dumps. The purple prose. It made me a little sad.<br /><br />It's hard to ignore that voice sometimes, but there are times when I can turn it off and just read for the love of reading.Kayeleen Hamblinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07652280450104899423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7532879741618889291.post-7117351655958912862011-04-17T20:49:31.479-07:002011-04-17T20:49:31.479-07:00I, too, have become one with my internal critiquer...I, too, have become one with my internal critiquer. Yes, I do see things in published works that I would have otherwise overlooked.<br /><br />Side observation: This internal critiquing voice? A killer. It's the number one reason for any of my writing hiatuses. I just can't shut it up when I sit down to write. It's a whole 'nuther being. Like, when you have an angel sitting on one shoulder and a devil on the other? But, it's my muse sitting on one shoulder and my internal crit voice sitting on the other. And then the internal crit voice jumps over my head to tell the muse to come up with something good, or sit still. Yep. Haha. Gotta love those two.<br /><br />Oh, did I write all that out loud? O.oMarybkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12013291291298167627noreply@blogger.com