Can A Book Be Trash?

January 13, 2015May 24, 2015 / Lisa / 9 Comments

I admit to being on Facebook instead of editing yesterday. While there I saw one of those photos people post with funny sayings. It talked about Twilight, 50 Shades of Grey, and War and Peace. I can’t remember what the funny statement was, but two comments really struck me. One person said that listing War and Peace with the other two was just wrong as the other two were a waste of time. The other person said if a book resonates with a person, there’s a reason for that and that should be enough.

I agree, as I’m sure the majority of you do, with the second comment. While I haven’t read Twilight and probably won’t as it seems too romance/mushy, I have friends who love those books. Who am I to say they are wrong simply because tastes differ?

Yes, a book may not meet certain literary standards, or may be weak in the craft of writing, but we’re all learning as we go. Does that mean the book is no good? It might be no good to me, but not to you. So who’s right and who’s wrong?

I have read books I didn’t like. Books where the quality of writing made me cringe. I remember one that was almost 1,000 pages, and halfway through I still didn’t know what the protagonist’s name was. I remember one where the solution to the whole plot revolved around a series of very unbelievable coincidences. I thought those were terrible books. But the first one won awards. Obviously there were people out there who liked those books as they were on the shelves.

Book store shelves by the way, not thrift store shelves where I found one of mine recently…

Speaking of thrift stores, I believe books are in the same category – what’s trash for one is treasure for another.

Anticipating the End

December 24, 2014 / Lisa / 5 Comments

I love the tingly sense that the end of a story is near. You can see it out there on the horizon, so close, but not ready to be touched just yet. You know it’s creeping in, but you can’t look at it directly or it will dissipate like fog, gone forever.

And since it’s Christmas Eve I’ll use that analogy – it’s like being a little kid again, sitting near the tree with its lights and decorations, grasping that nutcracker and thinking, tonight the magic will happen and he will turn into a prince.

Hands hovering, fingers near the keyboard, or lightly holding the pen, breath almost held, knowing the words are almost here, almost free.

Of course the downside of that anticipation is the fact that soon, the gifts will all be open. The end of the story will be written and all that’s left to anticipate is the long slog of revising and the business end of getting the book out there.

But for right now, the story is still just mine, still magical, still unknown.

And oh so close.

Potential piece of cover for book #3, Ghost Roads

The Dreaded Bobble Head

December 19, 2014 / Lisa / 6 Comments

We’ve been re-watching a show called Numb3rs (that’s not a typo) and one of actors fascinates me. Peter MacNicol turned the role of a professor who’s brilliant but rather foggy from a cliché to fully developed character. I find myself studying the mannerisms of the character. I’m not sure if the actor did this on his own or if the director assisted, but either way, what could have been a cardboard walk on character became much more. And I think a large part of that was movement.

Peter held his body with shoulders slightly hunched forward, making the chest shallow. He held one arm across his body, cupping the other elbow, with that arm held upright. As he talked, his hand would be there like a flag on a flagpole, moving constantly, nervously, absentminded, busy. When the character was puzzling over something the hand would move limp, tugging at a curl, pulling at an earlobe. When nervous or agitated, the hand would move more quickly, flitting, worrying.

There were many more mannerisms this character had, including the way he spoke, but you get the idea. Watching him made me ponder on the old dreaded bobble head of writing. There are two things my characters do in the first draft of a story that could cause issues in real life. One, they run around naked until I’m editing and realize I’ve forgotten to dress them. Two, they nod a lot and just stand there while in dialog.

The editing process fleshes them out more. Of course in the first draft I’m just trying to capture the story, so that makes sense. But I have to remember to go back and add those mannerisms; the movements that give depth to dialog and character, and even more depth to the unspoken dialog between characters. Body language is so important.

Clear body language for a dog caught in the act

When I watch an actor who does a marvelous job of bringing that language of the body to life, I find myself thinking – how would I describe that so it would be seen to the reader? How would I describe it without it overwhelming the message in the dialog?

Another thing I like to do is sit in a parking lot with music playing so that I can’t hear what people are talking about. Or watch people in a busy restaurant where the ambient noise makes it difficult to pull out individual voices. In those types of situations you can watch body language without being distracted by the words. And again, figure out how you would describe what you see and what you think they are talking about.

Finally, during an edit process I like to hold my hand over the dialog on the written page, look at the movements I’ve given a character, and see if those movements tell me anything or if they are just filler.

But like I said, that’s all in the editing process. For the most part, in the first draft, I have a bunch of bobble heads nodding and smiling. Or nodding and frowning. Or nodding and teary. Blah.