Reading and Writing

Hill Towns by Anne Rivers Siddons.

Marital midlife crisis played out against the beauties and dregs of Italy. Truly a wonderfully detailed travelogue, dense with images of Rome, Venice, Florence, Tuscany...

Siddons uses words like an artist uses paint, and the results are stunning. The main character's name is Cat -- how could I not enthusiastically partake of this book's delights?

While the reader is meant to savor the word pictures, I found myself skimming segments in order to get to the action. Wading through the pretty lettuce to get to the tomato I glimpsed every now and then, to use a silly metaphor. Gorgeous scenery does not a story make. The characters are unique, well-described, properly flawed, yet I couldn't immerse myself in their travails. Their travels, yes; oh, silly pun.

Things do happen, the main characters change, but I was left with an empty "is that all there is?" feeling?

~

What did this book teach me about writing?

--My experience reading this book was uniquely mine. It spent months on the NY Times bestseller list, so many, perhaps most readers loved it. I need to remember people get different things out of books.

--I haven't the talent for writing beautiful vivid imagery that Ms. Siddons has. My descriptions consist of a few items that would catch one's first glimpse, then I rely on the reader's imagination to fill in the rest. I find, with other writers as well, that when I stop reading to admire the writing I am pulled away from the story. Also, as an unknown I can't add pages of details at a time when publishers prefer less, not more.

--While I have read and loved literary works, I've never attempted to write one. Symbolism and metaphors abound in Hill Towns. The story itself is a well-crafted metaphor, something I could not plan in advance. My rare symbols and metaphors happen by chance (as the lettuce one above) and are usually not seen as such till much later. I write genre. Sure genre can be literary, but literary cannot, I think, be genre. Clear as mud, right?

--My stories can't meander about leaving the (genre) reader wondering when the pace will pick up. Several times I set this book down and was in no hurry to pick it up again. I want my readers to keep turning those pages.

--Backstory. The first third or so of this book is backstory, relevant to the main theme, so it needs to be there in some form. In my (genre) novels relevant backstory, which I thought was necessary to show in depth, becomes a few sentences told by one character to another, or a brief memory.

~

Writing quotes:

Learn as much by writing as by reading.
--Lord Acton

If you don't have the time to read, you don't have the time or the tools to write.
--Stephen King

~

--Cat

Change in POV

I was having trouble with a scene -- no matter how many times I went through it, I wasn't satisfied with the effect. It was slow, wordy, dare I say boring? Aack -- k o d (kiss of death)!

I needed a different perspective, so rewrote the scene from his point of view. And yes, it's faster, less wordy (he's a terse sort) and has an edgy sense to it, something I couldn't pin down when in her POV.

She will have many other tense scenes, but this simply wasn't one of them.

It wasn't pie-making-easy (trying to avoid cliches) to change gender POV in this scene as specific events still need to occur. But I'm happier with the outcome, even though the characters are still in a big quagmire.

--Cat

Marking time

It's April.

My, oh my.

All research done, I added some 1200 words to my book, throwing in almost everything I learned, food, drink, music, clothing, ornaments, architecture... you get the drift.

This is the "I researched this so you have to read every word" syndrome.

I've read books where a writer does this to excess, and to me it slows the pace of the story. *Unless the information is exceptionally fascinating, in which case it slaps me out of the story as my focus shifts gear. Too often I have chased after more information on these fascinating subjects, and the book I was reading gets left behind on a figurative bus stop bench somewhere.

Well, I went through and (judiciously, I hope) deleted 700 of those new words. I wanted exotic background color, not a discourse on the life and times.

And I did not want a small new subplot which magically evolved along with the exotica, starring a new and definitely extraneous character, who must now vanish, no matter how delightful, alluring, and charming she acts, hoping for a bit part in the opus.

Out the new character must go, with some small regret, to join a dozen or so others I'd written in, then out, all now standing on the sidelines, waiting patiently for that big break when they may be called back for a role in another story.

In book biz, like show biz, some of the best scenes are left on the cutting room floor.

On an unrelated note, I was typing away and a dropped letter from a word gave me a sudden creative idea. Only time will tell if the idea becomes more than a light bulb flash.

--Cat

***A great post on "killing your darlings"  my author Kristen Lamb
 















































 

Villains

I was thinking of villains.

Yes, this story needs a villain. Abundant dire situations that must be overcome are not enough for these characters.

My villain PG did not spring ready-made into my mind, like some characters, mostly minor ones, often do.

He evolved. First he was just a name. My characters must have a name before I can write about them.  That's when I "saw" him. His reason for being became clearer. The first "reason" was rather trite, so I dug a bit and discovered the real cause of his villainy.

I will introduce him as having this trite motive, then at the proper time reveal the true nature that drives him.

I'll need to be careful that he isn't some cartoonish stereotype. He will be evil, but subtly so. Nothing worse than an over-the-top depiction whose very appearance screams BAD GUY! in your face.

I want a final slam-bang scene that disposes of this villain so the main characters can get on with their life. It's coming to me slowly, but there's a long way to go before I get there, so I have time to plan. Or the characters have time to let me know.

--Cat

Losing myself...

In research. Again.

I have a one-scene chapter in which the MC travels abroad. I needed local color, smells, tastes, sounds, etc.

The year is 1868, the locale is exotic, and--oh my gosh--once I began searching, I couldn't stop. Didn't want to stop, is more apt, for each intriguing page I found led to more intriguing pages.

And, as I often do, I spun off on a tangent, moving past research that I needed on to research that I simply wanted, not satisfied until I reached the end of the story, usually many years past the one I needed.

Google is a blessing and a curse for a procrastinator.

Which brings me to some quotes I found while killing time (procrastinating).

So true:

Anyone can do any amount of work, provided it isn't the work he is supposed to be doing at that moment. ~Robert Benchley

So ominous:

Procrastination is the grave in which opportunity is buried. ~ Author Unknown

So humorous, naughty, but true:

Procrastination is like masturbation. At first it feels good, but in the end you're only screwing yourself. ~Author Unknown


--Cat -- getting to work

A Picky Reader

I love it when I get lost in a captivating book, so involved that I pay no attention to the constructs. Each time I pick up a book I'm ready to immerse myself into a world created by the writer.

I'm reading a romance that is superbly written. A richly detailed setting brings an era to life. The characters have depth, their individual stories are compelling.

But (there's always a but) as the plot is based on a simple premise, the reader knows from the start how it will finish. And while the interest lies in reading a grand adventure from the beginning to the end, the adventure here leaves me begging.

I don't need to have a physical chase around the country, or dangerous occurrences whipped up by evil villains. But I would like to see a villain of sorts, even if the villain is a dire situation. This book has no villain, and because the characters only have each other and themselves to struggle against, there is endless character-dwelling-on-his/her faults, should-haves, what-ifs, and plentiful woe-is-me's.

Three-quarters of the way through the book I'm still waiting for a BIG SOMETHING to happen. A surprise of some sort.

Maybe the surprise will be at the end. As I've started skimming, I'll reach the end sooner, rather than later.

--Cat

Peopling a story

Peopling, creating characters. Adding people to a new story.

I took some time off from editing Fortune to jot down a few ideas for a new book.

Here's how it worked this time:

I had a concept -- a western romance
 
I saw the opening scene -- a posse or troopers chasing bad guys ...when the dust settled, I zoomed in on a ranch – two-story house, barn/stable, pastoral setting ....

The title came to me -- perfect, I think... SD for short
 
I saw both main characters, heard their names. A bit about their back stories. An evolving plot.

Now, two characters, though mandatory for a romance, do not the story make -- it would be over too soon if that were the case. I need a supporting cast:

For her: a grandpa (or is he?), a husband and brother, killed in the war (or were they?) For him: a buddy, an enemy, and a past love. 

A reason for throwing them together ... a good one, I think.
 
And some obstacles, giant ones, to keep things interesting. I have some, need more.

It's a process, different for everyone. My story ideas come fast and I need to get the skeleton built right away. The flesh will come later.

SD will take its place in the queue.


--Cat