Charles's comments (member since Jul 16, 2008)

Charles's comments from the Goodreads Sci-Fi/Fantasy Authors group.

Let's see, mine will be varied, and not necessarily in order of preference.

To Tame a Land, by Louis L'Amour
The Swords of Night and Day, by David Gemmell
Hour of the Dragon, by Robert E. Howard
A Princess of Mars, by Edgar Rice Burroughs.
Murder in the Wind, by John D. MacDonald.
In the Courts of the Crimson Kings, by Stirling
Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury
They Thirst, by Robert McCammon
Nightrunners, by Joe Lansdale
Misery, by Stephen King

I personally think it's really important to make it clear when you have a POV shift. Either starting a new chapter, or new sub section of a chapter really helps. In "Cold in the Light," I switched sometimes within chapters, but only at numbered sub-sections.

Sudden POV shifts without warning throw me completely out of a story. That's when I become very clear that I'm "reading" something rather than "experiencing" it.

It's unfortunate that many folks allow labels to overwhelm their own judgement. They'll hear "Conan," for example, and have a preset notion about what that means. I try to judge work myself on whether it's good or not, and not on what genre it might fit in.

Kristen, too fast a pace isn't considered a problem very often in today's market. Things are very fast paced. But maybe I'm not understanding you well.

That's a great idea. I do that myself and find a lot of extra "that's" hanging around. When I write in first person I do an "I" search as well. And sometimes I check for "Was," which I seem to like to use a lot.

I grew up on a farm, pretty isolated from other kids my age. I used my imagination a lot, and mostly my imagination ran towards fantasy. Then, when I discovered ERB's John Carter Series and Robert E. Howard's Conan, I was hooked. I think my mind was just attuned to those kinds of themes.

When I started writing I naturally gravitated toward those types of themes. I wanted to be able to give other readers the same kind of thrill that I got when I first read "A Princess of Mars."

Right now, my favorite author overall is David Gemmell. I've never been disappointed by one of his books, although I've liked some better than others.

I also love classic authors such as Edgar Rice Burroughs, Robert E. Howard, and Kenneth Bulmer.

I'm a huge fan of Sword & Planet fiction