S.W. Hubbard's Blog: Reading & Writing with S.W. Hubbard, page 8
November 4, 2013
Revision--Let the Fun Begin!
For me, writing a first draft is like giving birth to a 13-pound baby without an epidural. There’s a whole lotta screaming and cursing before a wrinkled, alien creature finally arrives.
Compared to the agony of giving birth to a first draft, revision is the elation of dressing the baby in cute new clothes, pinning a bow in her hair, and playing silly games while counting her fingers and toes. Revision is the place where the true fun and creativity of writing occurs.
This week I’ve not only been revising my short story, “Coyote Justice”, but I’ve also begun teaching a creative writing class on Revision. As I help my students see the problems in their manuscripts, I’m better able to fix my own. In the first class, I asked my students to identify the theme of their stories by telling me what their protagonist wants more than anything else in the world. Most of them answered me with a litany of plot points: he wants to defeat this alien army, or solve this crime, or stop this bully who’s hurting this girl.
“Why?” I ask.
This question stops them cold. Well, because… Because if he doesn’t there will be more aliens and more crimes and more bullying.
“So what?” I say.
Now they’re really flummoxed. They’ve all started writing with great “what if” scenarios that have carried them into the middle of a short story or novel, but most are now floundering as they try to finish. That’s because they don’t know why their characters are doing what they’re doing. And even if an author is not striving to write the next Brothers Karamazov, his characters still must act for a reason. They must be driven by some universal need that goes beyond battles and murders and sex.
Which brings us back to my story, “Coyote Justice.” I too had a good plot idea: while her husband and kids go skiing, a woman takes a walk in the snowy woods and ends up shot. But the story refused to come together until I finally understood the personal stake my protagonist, Police Chief Frank Bennett, has in solving this crime. Frank, a widower, must finally move beyond the death of his own wife and take a risk to find love again.
Once I understood that, the alien baby turned into a beautiful child, and we've been enjoying each other. “Coyote Justice” will appear with two other Frank Bennett short stories in an anthology entitled Dead Drift, to be released next month. If you’re a fan of my Frank Bennett Adirondack mysteries, you’ll be happy to see the folks of Trout Run, NY caught in the throes of crime again. If you haven’t read the three novels in the series, Take the Bait, Swallow the Hook, and Blood Knot, you can read the first chapters on my website http://www.swhubbard.net.
Compared to the agony of giving birth to a first draft, revision is the elation of dressing the baby in cute new clothes, pinning a bow in her hair, and playing silly games while counting her fingers and toes. Revision is the place where the true fun and creativity of writing occurs.
This week I’ve not only been revising my short story, “Coyote Justice”, but I’ve also begun teaching a creative writing class on Revision. As I help my students see the problems in their manuscripts, I’m better able to fix my own. In the first class, I asked my students to identify the theme of their stories by telling me what their protagonist wants more than anything else in the world. Most of them answered me with a litany of plot points: he wants to defeat this alien army, or solve this crime, or stop this bully who’s hurting this girl.
“Why?” I ask.
This question stops them cold. Well, because… Because if he doesn’t there will be more aliens and more crimes and more bullying.
“So what?” I say.
Now they’re really flummoxed. They’ve all started writing with great “what if” scenarios that have carried them into the middle of a short story or novel, but most are now floundering as they try to finish. That’s because they don’t know why their characters are doing what they’re doing. And even if an author is not striving to write the next Brothers Karamazov, his characters still must act for a reason. They must be driven by some universal need that goes beyond battles and murders and sex.
Which brings us back to my story, “Coyote Justice.” I too had a good plot idea: while her husband and kids go skiing, a woman takes a walk in the snowy woods and ends up shot. But the story refused to come together until I finally understood the personal stake my protagonist, Police Chief Frank Bennett, has in solving this crime. Frank, a widower, must finally move beyond the death of his own wife and take a risk to find love again.
Once I understood that, the alien baby turned into a beautiful child, and we've been enjoying each other. “Coyote Justice” will appear with two other Frank Bennett short stories in an anthology entitled Dead Drift, to be released next month. If you’re a fan of my Frank Bennett Adirondack mysteries, you’ll be happy to see the folks of Trout Run, NY caught in the throes of crime again. If you haven’t read the three novels in the series, Take the Bait, Swallow the Hook, and Blood Knot, you can read the first chapters on my website http://www.swhubbard.net.
August 28, 2013
The Joys of Re-Reading
I once dated a guy who read voraciously, but only nonfiction. He claimed to have read only five novels in his lifetime, but he had complete and total recall of every character and plot point in all five.
Henry delighted in giving me a hard time. “This crook reminds me of Jerry Cruncher.”
“Who?”
“The grave-robber in Tale of Two Cities. You call yourself an English major? I thought you loved Dickens!”
Henry could never understand why someone who claimed to adore literature as I did couldn’t retain all the particulars of a favorite novel. I explained that since I’d read thousands of novels, the details—even of my favorites—tended to become a little blurry over time.
That’s why God—or readers—invented re-reading. When you re-read a favorite book, you don’t have to waste time wondering it you’re going to like it or not. You can focus all your energies on discovering why you enjoyed it so much to begin with.
Right now I’m re-reading Beautiful Ruins. I first read it last October and loved it, so I was excited when my book group selected it for our August read. Now I would have the pleasure of sharing and discussing this great book with my friends. However, the book has a large cast of characters and many interwoven plot lines and I knew I wouldn’t be able to fully participate in the discussion if I didn’t reread the book to refresh my memory. I’m happy to report that I enjoyed Beautiful Ruins even more the second time around. Since I already understood the plot, I was free to focus on the great writing and the many thought-provoking themes about dreams and ambition and the quirks of chance that change our lives.
Last year, I reread Jane Eyre, a book I’d loved as a twelve-year-old. As a kid, I identified with the plain little bookworm who went to a school even worse than mine, defeated bullies even meaner than the kids who picked me last for softball, and got to spend her days in a big, creepy mansion instead of a bland, cramped split-level. Rereading Jane Eyre as a middle-aged woman, I greatly admired Jane’s keen understanding of human nature—men in particular. I was also pretty impressed by my 12-year-old self. Had I really waded through all those long, preachy passages that began, “Gentle reader”? I must’ve been more patient then than I am now!
Making time for re-reading is hard when you have a TBR shelf that’s over-flowing with books you’ve never read. Consequently, I don’t revisit my favorite books as often as I should. But I’m going to try to reread some classics that I loved in my undergraduate days—maybe Middlemarch or Women in Love.
How about you? What books do you want to re-read?
Henry delighted in giving me a hard time. “This crook reminds me of Jerry Cruncher.”
“Who?”
“The grave-robber in Tale of Two Cities. You call yourself an English major? I thought you loved Dickens!”
Henry could never understand why someone who claimed to adore literature as I did couldn’t retain all the particulars of a favorite novel. I explained that since I’d read thousands of novels, the details—even of my favorites—tended to become a little blurry over time.
That’s why God—or readers—invented re-reading. When you re-read a favorite book, you don’t have to waste time wondering it you’re going to like it or not. You can focus all your energies on discovering why you enjoyed it so much to begin with.
Right now I’m re-reading Beautiful Ruins. I first read it last October and loved it, so I was excited when my book group selected it for our August read. Now I would have the pleasure of sharing and discussing this great book with my friends. However, the book has a large cast of characters and many interwoven plot lines and I knew I wouldn’t be able to fully participate in the discussion if I didn’t reread the book to refresh my memory. I’m happy to report that I enjoyed Beautiful Ruins even more the second time around. Since I already understood the plot, I was free to focus on the great writing and the many thought-provoking themes about dreams and ambition and the quirks of chance that change our lives.
Last year, I reread Jane Eyre, a book I’d loved as a twelve-year-old. As a kid, I identified with the plain little bookworm who went to a school even worse than mine, defeated bullies even meaner than the kids who picked me last for softball, and got to spend her days in a big, creepy mansion instead of a bland, cramped split-level. Rereading Jane Eyre as a middle-aged woman, I greatly admired Jane’s keen understanding of human nature—men in particular. I was also pretty impressed by my 12-year-old self. Had I really waded through all those long, preachy passages that began, “Gentle reader”? I must’ve been more patient then than I am now!
Making time for re-reading is hard when you have a TBR shelf that’s over-flowing with books you’ve never read. Consequently, I don’t revisit my favorite books as often as I should. But I’m going to try to reread some classics that I loved in my undergraduate days—maybe Middlemarch or Women in Love.
How about you? What books do you want to re-read?
July 24, 2013
The Comfort of the Familiar
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Have you ever been invited to an exotic party where you won’t know a soul?
This will be exciting—an opportunity to meet new people, visit a glamorous location, eat fancy food. You accept the offer with enthusiasm.
And then the doubts set in. What will you wear? What if you have nothing in common with the other guests? Striking up conversations with strangers takes so much effort. The drive is long, and the parking will probably be terrible. Besides, you’re not used to staying up that late.
In the end you stay home in your sweats, snuggled on the sofa sharing carry-out Chinese with the dog and watching a Law and Order rerun you’ve seen five times before. Ah, so relaxing!
Sometimes the anxiety surrounding a new social experience outweighs the potential for fun (especially for us introverts). The same can be said for discovering new authors. Yes, the prospect of meeting a whole new cast of fictional characters can be almost as daunting as walking into a real-life cocktail party full of strangers. Exploring this new world requires so much mental energy! Names to remember, backstory to unravel—can readers be blamed for making the easy, familiar choice, especially at the end of a long, hard day?
Of course, authors want to cultivate repeat business—that’s what it means to have a fan base. But the knife cuts both ways. If readers aren’t willing to step out of their comfort zone and try something new, rising new talents can’t find a foothold in the market.
As a reader, I try to strike a balance—about one-third old favorites vs. two-thirds new (or new-to-me) authors. And the old favorites don’t remain the same. Eventually, even a beloved series runs out of steam. I’ll admit, I’m pretty ruthless. I come back after one disappointment, but not after two. My pet peeve: readers who say, “I haven’t liked the last seven books by (insert famous prolific author of your choice), but I keep buying them hoping they’ll get better. Newsflash! They won’t. Time to move on to something new.
So, do you sometimes pass up the thrill of discovering a new author in order to sink into the cozy familiarity of an author whose work you know well? Do you have new books on your to-read list that get pushed aside by the fifteenth book in a series you’ve been reading for years? Go ahead and try something new; you can start with
Another Man's Treasure
Read the first chapter here: http://www.swhubbard.net/AnotherMansT....
Oh and that party you passed up? It took a while to heat up, but by midnight I had devoured scads of marinated Kobe beef skewers, but I burned off the calories by salsa dancing with a sexy Brazilian I met during the mango martini throwdown. You should have come!
>Have you ever been invited to an exotic party where you won’t know a soul?
This will be exciting—an opportunity to meet new people, visit a glamorous location, eat fancy food. You accept the offer with enthusiasm.
And then the doubts set in. What will you wear? What if you have nothing in common with the other guests? Striking up conversations with strangers takes so much effort. The drive is long, and the parking will probably be terrible. Besides, you’re not used to staying up that late.
In the end you stay home in your sweats, snuggled on the sofa sharing carry-out Chinese with the dog and watching a Law and Order rerun you’ve seen five times before. Ah, so relaxing!
Sometimes the anxiety surrounding a new social experience outweighs the potential for fun (especially for us introverts). The same can be said for discovering new authors. Yes, the prospect of meeting a whole new cast of fictional characters can be almost as daunting as walking into a real-life cocktail party full of strangers. Exploring this new world requires so much mental energy! Names to remember, backstory to unravel—can readers be blamed for making the easy, familiar choice, especially at the end of a long, hard day?
Of course, authors want to cultivate repeat business—that’s what it means to have a fan base. But the knife cuts both ways. If readers aren’t willing to step out of their comfort zone and try something new, rising new talents can’t find a foothold in the market.
As a reader, I try to strike a balance—about one-third old favorites vs. two-thirds new (or new-to-me) authors. And the old favorites don’t remain the same. Eventually, even a beloved series runs out of steam. I’ll admit, I’m pretty ruthless. I come back after one disappointment, but not after two. My pet peeve: readers who say, “I haven’t liked the last seven books by (insert famous prolific author of your choice), but I keep buying them hoping they’ll get better. Newsflash! They won’t. Time to move on to something new.
So, do you sometimes pass up the thrill of discovering a new author in order to sink into the cozy familiarity of an author whose work you know well? Do you have new books on your to-read list that get pushed aside by the fifteenth book in a series you’ve been reading for years? Go ahead and try something new; you can start with
Another Man's Treasure
Read the first chapter here: http://www.swhubbard.net/AnotherMansT....
Oh and that party you passed up? It took a while to heat up, but by midnight I had devoured scads of marinated Kobe beef skewers, but I burned off the calories by salsa dancing with a sexy Brazilian I met during the mango martini throwdown. You should have come!
June 17, 2013
Forgive Me, for I Have Skimmed
This week I committed a mortal sin among readers.
I skimmed.
As a reader, I’m either all in or all out. If I don’t like a book, I stop reading because life is too short to read bad books. If I’m uncertain about a book, I’ll hang in for an extra fifty pages, hoping to get hooked, especially if the book comes recommended by someone whose opinion I respect. However, I rarely skim. If, by the time I reach the middle of the book, I’m not enjoying the characters enough to read every word written about them, I don’t give a rat's ass what happens to them in the end.
As an English major, I was taught that every word was fraught with meaning. The fact that the author chose one word over another was significant even if the author himself wasn’t conscious of it. So pressing my Kindle’s page turn button faster and faster until the words spin by in a blur feels like cheating.
So why did I do it? Book group. I’m passionately devoted to mine. Unlike some book groups that are just camouflage for wine and gossip (don’t get me wrong—I like wine and gossip), my book group really reads and discusses every book. And if each member bailed on whatever book she didn’t love, the group would fall apart. However, since I wasn’t enjoying The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, I found myself with 150 pages to go the night before the meeting. The skimming commenced. I find that a Kindle makes skimming easier. I just kept pressing the forward button until I reached a part where I felt I must’ve missed something significant. I’d read attentively until I figured out what was going on, then return to skimming. I felt bad, but I finished.
So what did I miss in Harold Fry? According to the other members of my book group, weather reports and geography updates…morose musings on life regrets…excessive detail on the condition of Harold’s feet. Nothing vital, since I was able to participate in the discussion. The author could have cut everything that I skimmed.
As a writer, I try always to follow Elmore Leonard’s advice: leave out the parts that people tend to skip over. Doing so is surprisingly difficult. Writing more is easier than writing well. The first chapter of Another Man's Treasure, which you can read here http://www.swhubbard.net/AnotherMansT..., survived many lacerating attacks of my authorial red pen. Tell me—did you skim?
I skimmed.
As a reader, I’m either all in or all out. If I don’t like a book, I stop reading because life is too short to read bad books. If I’m uncertain about a book, I’ll hang in for an extra fifty pages, hoping to get hooked, especially if the book comes recommended by someone whose opinion I respect. However, I rarely skim. If, by the time I reach the middle of the book, I’m not enjoying the characters enough to read every word written about them, I don’t give a rat's ass what happens to them in the end.
As an English major, I was taught that every word was fraught with meaning. The fact that the author chose one word over another was significant even if the author himself wasn’t conscious of it. So pressing my Kindle’s page turn button faster and faster until the words spin by in a blur feels like cheating.
So why did I do it? Book group. I’m passionately devoted to mine. Unlike some book groups that are just camouflage for wine and gossip (don’t get me wrong—I like wine and gossip), my book group really reads and discusses every book. And if each member bailed on whatever book she didn’t love, the group would fall apart. However, since I wasn’t enjoying The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, I found myself with 150 pages to go the night before the meeting. The skimming commenced. I find that a Kindle makes skimming easier. I just kept pressing the forward button until I reached a part where I felt I must’ve missed something significant. I’d read attentively until I figured out what was going on, then return to skimming. I felt bad, but I finished.
So what did I miss in Harold Fry? According to the other members of my book group, weather reports and geography updates…morose musings on life regrets…excessive detail on the condition of Harold’s feet. Nothing vital, since I was able to participate in the discussion. The author could have cut everything that I skimmed.
As a writer, I try always to follow Elmore Leonard’s advice: leave out the parts that people tend to skip over. Doing so is surprisingly difficult. Writing more is easier than writing well. The first chapter of Another Man's Treasure, which you can read here http://www.swhubbard.net/AnotherMansT..., survived many lacerating attacks of my authorial red pen. Tell me—did you skim?
May 4, 2013
True Crime, Compelling Fiction
My husband tosses the Metro section of the New York Times across the breakfast table. "Horrible crime story. You won't want to miss this."
He knows me too well. New York now has the lowest murder rate of any large American city, but luckily, although the quantity of crime has gone down, the quality remains quite high. As a crime writer, I don't find much interest in run of the mill drug-deal shoot-outs. I take my inspiration from the more off-beat crimes profiled in the Times. My most recent short story, "Mad Blood," was inspired by a true crime story in the Times describing accused criminals awaiting trial in the jail on Rikers Island. According to the story, although there is a large sign over the pay phones at the jail warning the inmates that their phone calls are being recorded, the bad guys often freely discuss their crimes. The police then use these incriminating conversations to clinch convictions. (If a novelist allowed her character to do something that stupid, she'd be punished with a torrent of 2-star reviews.)
Reading this article, I was chilled by a remark tossed off by a guy accused of domestic violence: "I only poked her a little bit, but there was mad blood everywhere."
Who was this guy? Who did he poke and why? What did he poke her with? The article didn't say.
Well, then--I guess it's my job to answer those questions. From that one line, a story was born. In my mind, the guy became Fredo; the woman he poked has two kids, Trent and his little sister, Ducky; the aftermath of that poke unwinds on the streets of Flatbush, Brooklyn. You can meet the characters by reading the opening of the story at http://www.swhubbard.net/MadBlood.htm
The entire story is included in the newly released short story anthology The Mystery Box
You can read the original New York Times article here http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/26/nyr...
He knows me too well. New York now has the lowest murder rate of any large American city, but luckily, although the quantity of crime has gone down, the quality remains quite high. As a crime writer, I don't find much interest in run of the mill drug-deal shoot-outs. I take my inspiration from the more off-beat crimes profiled in the Times. My most recent short story, "Mad Blood," was inspired by a true crime story in the Times describing accused criminals awaiting trial in the jail on Rikers Island. According to the story, although there is a large sign over the pay phones at the jail warning the inmates that their phone calls are being recorded, the bad guys often freely discuss their crimes. The police then use these incriminating conversations to clinch convictions. (If a novelist allowed her character to do something that stupid, she'd be punished with a torrent of 2-star reviews.)
Reading this article, I was chilled by a remark tossed off by a guy accused of domestic violence: "I only poked her a little bit, but there was mad blood everywhere."
Who was this guy? Who did he poke and why? What did he poke her with? The article didn't say.
Well, then--I guess it's my job to answer those questions. From that one line, a story was born. In my mind, the guy became Fredo; the woman he poked has two kids, Trent and his little sister, Ducky; the aftermath of that poke unwinds on the streets of Flatbush, Brooklyn. You can meet the characters by reading the opening of the story at http://www.swhubbard.net/MadBlood.htm
The entire story is included in the newly released short story anthology The Mystery Box
You can read the original New York Times article here http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/26/nyr...
April 14, 2013
Starting Over
A new relationship, a new job, a new town--starting over is both tantalizing and terrifying. Starting work on a new novel stirs up the same mixed emotions. On one hand, I've got a really great idea for a sequel to Another Man's Treasure. This may be my best idea ever! I love my heroine, Audrey Nealon, and her estate sale business offers loads of opportunities for conflict and intrigue.
On the other hand, I've got about twenty pages written, and the fabulous idea is not playing along. Some days it lies there, inert, like a snoozing groundhog. Other days it runs away from me, darting and weaving and occasionally looking back over its shoulder to shout, "nyaa, nyaa." Is it any wonder that I often feel an overwhelming need to fold laundry, clean out closets, or spread crabgrass preventer on the lawn--anything rather than face the accusing eye of my laptop screen?
This will be my fifth novel (Sixth, if you count the one I ghostwrote for someone else. Don't ask. If I told you, I'd have to kill you.) But starting out never gets any easier. Do I even remember how to do this? I'm staring at a bowl full of stringy egg-whites wondering how I can ever beat them into meringue.
Already in this book, I've altered the subplot, recast some characters, and dumped a villain. I've deleted as many words as I've written. It's frustrating work, but necessary. Until I get the opening just right, I can't move on. But once I get that foundation--look out! The story will come tumbling out faster than I can write it down.
Until, that is, I reach that horrible bog know as the middle muddle.
But that's the subject of a future blog post.
I you haven't read the opening of Another Man's Treasure, you can read it here:
http://www.swhubbard.net/AnotherMansT...
On the other hand, I've got about twenty pages written, and the fabulous idea is not playing along. Some days it lies there, inert, like a snoozing groundhog. Other days it runs away from me, darting and weaving and occasionally looking back over its shoulder to shout, "nyaa, nyaa." Is it any wonder that I often feel an overwhelming need to fold laundry, clean out closets, or spread crabgrass preventer on the lawn--anything rather than face the accusing eye of my laptop screen?
This will be my fifth novel (Sixth, if you count the one I ghostwrote for someone else. Don't ask. If I told you, I'd have to kill you.) But starting out never gets any easier. Do I even remember how to do this? I'm staring at a bowl full of stringy egg-whites wondering how I can ever beat them into meringue.
Already in this book, I've altered the subplot, recast some characters, and dumped a villain. I've deleted as many words as I've written. It's frustrating work, but necessary. Until I get the opening just right, I can't move on. But once I get that foundation--look out! The story will come tumbling out faster than I can write it down.
Until, that is, I reach that horrible bog know as the middle muddle.
But that's the subject of a future blog post.
I you haven't read the opening of Another Man's Treasure, you can read it here:
http://www.swhubbard.net/AnotherMansT...
March 17, 2013
Thanks, friends!
I’ve had quite an exhilarating two weeks! After making Another Man's Treasure available free on Kindle for two days, I watched in utter amazement as over 36,000 readers downloaded the book. Could there possibly be anyone left on the planet left to buy it? I’m happy to report that yes, there are. After the free period ended, my sales on Amazon skyrocketed, and I made it all the way to #166 in the paid Amazon Kindle rankings. So, to all of you who either bought or downloaded the book free—thank you very much! All the positive reviews and feedback have certainly inspired me to get cracking on the sequel to Another Man’s Treasure , in which Audrey, Jill and Ty help a hoarder deal with his obsessions and unleash a whole lot of danger in the process. Also, watch this space for news of my upcoming contest on Pinterest. Join the fun and you might win a $20 Amazon gift card. In the meantime, if you haven’t posted a review of Another Man’s Treasure yet, please consider doing so. And spread the word to your face-to-face friends too. Thanks again for all your support.
March 4, 2013
FREE on Kindle March 4&5: ANOTHER MAN'S TREASURE
ANOTHER MAN'S TREASURE is FREE on Kindle March 4 and March 5. This is your chance to read the romantic thriller readers have been raving about: 27 Five-Star reviews on Amazon. 4.33 Rating on Goodreads. 5 Stars from IndieReader.com. Enjoy the bargain! Happy reading and please consider posting a Goodreads and Amazon review.
Follow the link to download FREE: http://goo.gl/YFlQ6
February 17, 2013
Five Keywords in Book Reviews That Warn You a Novel Will Be Boring
Rappers have their own special language. So do skaters and gamers and bikers. What about book reviewers? Sure, reader-reviewers on Amazon and Goodreads tend to communicate in straightforward English prose. But what about “professional” reviewers in the New York Times or the New Yorker or even People or Entertainment Weekly? I’ve noticed a few words pop up in these reviews over and over, and they are usually code for “this book is pretentious and dull, but the author is famous and the publisher insists it’s a big deal.”
Lyrical: Beware the review that gushes over a novel’s lyrical prose. This means the book is long on flowery description and short on plot.
Spare: Spare is the opposite of lyrical. All the characters will have the verbal skills of a 15-year-old boy at family reunion. Expect a lot of three-word sentences and smoldering silences.
Luminous: Here the characters are drifting along in a fog. Someone please wake them up!
Elliptical: WTF?? You will never be able to figure out what’s going on in a book that’s branded elliptical.
Transcendent: Be afraid. Be very afraid. This book is deep. It’s full of hidden meaning that the average Joe will never be able to discern. Neither can the reviewer, so he slaps on the “transcendent” label.
Whether they are high art or fun entertainment,the books we want to read are good stories well told. So when the specialized reviewer argot comes out, the smart reader heads for the hills.
Looking for lyrical? You're in the wrong place. Looking for I-need-to-know-what-happens-next? Start here.http://www.swhubbard.net/AnotherMansT...
Lyrical: Beware the review that gushes over a novel’s lyrical prose. This means the book is long on flowery description and short on plot.
Spare: Spare is the opposite of lyrical. All the characters will have the verbal skills of a 15-year-old boy at family reunion. Expect a lot of three-word sentences and smoldering silences.
Luminous: Here the characters are drifting along in a fog. Someone please wake them up!
Elliptical: WTF?? You will never be able to figure out what’s going on in a book that’s branded elliptical.
Transcendent: Be afraid. Be very afraid. This book is deep. It’s full of hidden meaning that the average Joe will never be able to discern. Neither can the reviewer, so he slaps on the “transcendent” label.
Whether they are high art or fun entertainment,the books we want to read are good stories well told. So when the specialized reviewer argot comes out, the smart reader heads for the hills.
Looking for lyrical? You're in the wrong place. Looking for I-need-to-know-what-happens-next? Start here.http://www.swhubbard.net/AnotherMansT...
February 1, 2013
Pet Peeves in Mysteries and Thrillers
Writing mysteries has made it a lot harder for me to fully enjoy reading them.
Like one magician watching the performance of another, I'm always looking for how the trick was pulled off, acutely aware of the sleight of hand and distractions that make a good mystery or thriller work. And when the machinery creaks and the wires show, I howl in protest.
Here are a few clunkers that really ruin a mystery for me:
The Dead Skunk in the Middle of the Road:The sleuth discovers something significant, but if the author allows the sleuth to immediately grasp its significance, the book would be over on page 50. So, for the next two hundred or so pages, the sleuth takes great pains to avoid that dead skunk in the middle of the road. Then, around about page 275 or so, the sleuth finally pricks up his or her nose and declares, "Hey, I smell something stinky. Why, look! It's a dead skunk!" Meanwhile, from page 50 to page 274, the reader is shouting, "The skunk! The skunk! What about the skunk?"
The Silent Treatment: Anyone who's ever lived with a teenager knows what it's like to get the silent treatment. But compelling fictional characters should not behave like pouty middle-schoolers. I hate it when a mystery could easily be cleared up if the characters would simply speak to each other, but they don't. Allowing characters to withhold information is fair play, but neglecting to let characters ask important, obvious questions makes the characters seem dumb.
The Oprah Climax: Talk, talk, talk! Whether the characters are drinking tea or knocking back scotch, I hate an ending in which everyone is sitting around chatting about how the crime was pulled off. A good climax features action, not chit-chat. A subset of the Oprah Climax is the Lance Armstrong Ending, in which the killer confesses everything he's done to the sleuth because he intends to kill her anyway, but she doesn't die because...
Here Comes the Cavalry!: In this scenario, our sleuth (almost always a woman) doesn't actually solve the crime she's been investigating. Instead, she falls into a trap (see above) and has to be rescued by (a) her boyfriend, (b) the police, or (c) the nosey neighbor, one of whom shows up in the nick of time.
So, am I just hyper-critical? Or do you have pet peeves too? Share them in the comments section.
Want to see if my mysteries are pet peeve-free? Read the first chapter of Another Man's Treasure here:http://www.swhubbard.net/AnotherMansT...
Like one magician watching the performance of another, I'm always looking for how the trick was pulled off, acutely aware of the sleight of hand and distractions that make a good mystery or thriller work. And when the machinery creaks and the wires show, I howl in protest.
Here are a few clunkers that really ruin a mystery for me:
The Dead Skunk in the Middle of the Road:The sleuth discovers something significant, but if the author allows the sleuth to immediately grasp its significance, the book would be over on page 50. So, for the next two hundred or so pages, the sleuth takes great pains to avoid that dead skunk in the middle of the road. Then, around about page 275 or so, the sleuth finally pricks up his or her nose and declares, "Hey, I smell something stinky. Why, look! It's a dead skunk!" Meanwhile, from page 50 to page 274, the reader is shouting, "The skunk! The skunk! What about the skunk?"
The Silent Treatment: Anyone who's ever lived with a teenager knows what it's like to get the silent treatment. But compelling fictional characters should not behave like pouty middle-schoolers. I hate it when a mystery could easily be cleared up if the characters would simply speak to each other, but they don't. Allowing characters to withhold information is fair play, but neglecting to let characters ask important, obvious questions makes the characters seem dumb.
The Oprah Climax: Talk, talk, talk! Whether the characters are drinking tea or knocking back scotch, I hate an ending in which everyone is sitting around chatting about how the crime was pulled off. A good climax features action, not chit-chat. A subset of the Oprah Climax is the Lance Armstrong Ending, in which the killer confesses everything he's done to the sleuth because he intends to kill her anyway, but she doesn't die because...
Here Comes the Cavalry!: In this scenario, our sleuth (almost always a woman) doesn't actually solve the crime she's been investigating. Instead, she falls into a trap (see above) and has to be rescued by (a) her boyfriend, (b) the police, or (c) the nosey neighbor, one of whom shows up in the nick of time.
So, am I just hyper-critical? Or do you have pet peeves too? Share them in the comments section.
Want to see if my mysteries are pet peeve-free? Read the first chapter of Another Man's Treasure here:http://www.swhubbard.net/AnotherMansT...
Reading & Writing with S.W. Hubbard
My philosophy is that people who love to read and love to write don't have a whole lot of time for following long-winded blogs. So, this will be a decidedly short-winded blog with a few breezy bits ab
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