S.W. Hubbard's Blog: Reading & Writing with S.W. Hubbard, page 9
January 21, 2013
The Upside of Bad Reviews
The other day Book Riot posted a link to some hilariously unhelpful book reviews (see the link below). The one panning RUNAWAY BUNNY is particularly good.
We authors are always whingeing about bad reviews, but in truth, a thoughtful, well-considered bad review can help us see the error of our ways. Maybe there really was a hole in the plot. Maybe that secondary character really could’ve been a little better developed. If we’re honest with ourselves, we let the sting of the bad review fade, and then try to use what we’ve learned to write a better book next time.
But sometimes bad reviews, like those collected by Book Riot, are just…well…deranged, and then all we can do is laugh. My favorite crazy Amazon review of my first novel,Take the Bait, contained the priceless line, “I cannot help but think this book would have been better had it been written by someone else.” Gee, I tried to get Michael Connelly or Janet Evanovich to write my book for me, but they were both busy, so I had to write it myself. Luckily, my newest novel, Another Man's Treasure, hasn't received any scorchers (yet).
That review got me thinking. What classic books would be better had they been written by someone else?
MOBY DICK would be better written by Lee Child because he would’ve left out all that boring fishing stuff (and Reacher would’ve kicked that whale’s fins!).
ANNA KARENINA would have been better written by Daniele Steele because Anna and Vronsky would have lived happily ever after.
BLEAK HOUSE would be better written by James Patterson because the chapters would be much shorter.
THE ROAD would be better written by Dave Barry because c’mon, lighten up already!
So, what books do you think would be better if they had been written by someone else?
You can read the first chapter of my novel, ANOTHER MAN'S TREASURE, here. It's written by Tina Fey! (not).http://www.swhubbard.net/AnotherMansT...
Here’s the link to Book Riot’s hilariously unhelpful reviews: http://bookriot.com/2012/11/20/sites-...
We authors are always whingeing about bad reviews, but in truth, a thoughtful, well-considered bad review can help us see the error of our ways. Maybe there really was a hole in the plot. Maybe that secondary character really could’ve been a little better developed. If we’re honest with ourselves, we let the sting of the bad review fade, and then try to use what we’ve learned to write a better book next time.
But sometimes bad reviews, like those collected by Book Riot, are just…well…deranged, and then all we can do is laugh. My favorite crazy Amazon review of my first novel,Take the Bait, contained the priceless line, “I cannot help but think this book would have been better had it been written by someone else.” Gee, I tried to get Michael Connelly or Janet Evanovich to write my book for me, but they were both busy, so I had to write it myself. Luckily, my newest novel, Another Man's Treasure, hasn't received any scorchers (yet).
That review got me thinking. What classic books would be better had they been written by someone else?
MOBY DICK would be better written by Lee Child because he would’ve left out all that boring fishing stuff (and Reacher would’ve kicked that whale’s fins!).
ANNA KARENINA would have been better written by Daniele Steele because Anna and Vronsky would have lived happily ever after.
BLEAK HOUSE would be better written by James Patterson because the chapters would be much shorter.
THE ROAD would be better written by Dave Barry because c’mon, lighten up already!
So, what books do you think would be better if they had been written by someone else?
You can read the first chapter of my novel, ANOTHER MAN'S TREASURE, here. It's written by Tina Fey! (not).http://www.swhubbard.net/AnotherMansT...
Here’s the link to Book Riot’s hilariously unhelpful reviews: http://bookriot.com/2012/11/20/sites-...
December 12, 2012
Christmas Blues as Inspiration
I have a terrible confession to make: Christmas is not my favorite holiday.
Maybe it’s the canned Christmas Muzak that starts right after Halloween, maybe it’s the peer pressure to wear reindeer earrings and snowman socks, maybe it’s the fruitcake, but every year I fall into a funk which doesn’t lift until the tree is out on the curb and the stale cookies have been fed to the birds.
This strange quirk is not easy to admit. I would garner more sympathy if I owned up to being a heroin addict. Luckily, I’m a writer, so angst is grist for my mill. Christmas anxiety provided the inspiration for my new thriller, Another Man’s Treasure. The entire novel spins out from a simple, what-if premise: What if a beautiful young mother dashes out on a snowy Christmas Eve to pick up a few last-minute gifts, and never returns?
What made her go?
The mothers reading this will have no problem speculating. Maybe she was worried the sweater she bought for her mother-in-law was all wrong. Maybe one kid had more gifts than the other. Maybe she was gripped with sudden fear that her neighbor would show up with a beribboned package and she would have nothing to offer in return. In other words, maybe the pressure to deliver the perfect holiday experience drove her out into a blizzard on Christmas Eve. Totally believable.
Why didn’t she return?
Ah, now we have a plot! Fast-forward thirty years to an incident that sets her now-grown daughter, Audrey, on a path to discover who her mother was, and what really happened that Christmas Eve. Here’s Audrey, thinking about her lost mother:
As a child I used to crawl into the deep storage closet in the downstairs hall and sit among the boxed holiday decorations using my finger to trace my mother’s dramatic, flourishy script. Tree lights. Window Candles. Centerpiece. Ornaments. Her presence pulsed in that closet, there among the things she had selected and cared for. Everywhere else in the house she had gradually faded away. Or been cleared away.
[Read the entire first chapter here: http://www.swhubbard.net/AnotherMansT... ]
Following a twisted path to discover the truth about her mother, Audrey unleashes forces she can’t control: violence, deception and rage. But she also learns some important things about herself and the “perfect” family she’s always longed to have.
The novel ends on Thanksgiving. Now, that’s a great holiday.
Maybe it’s the canned Christmas Muzak that starts right after Halloween, maybe it’s the peer pressure to wear reindeer earrings and snowman socks, maybe it’s the fruitcake, but every year I fall into a funk which doesn’t lift until the tree is out on the curb and the stale cookies have been fed to the birds.
This strange quirk is not easy to admit. I would garner more sympathy if I owned up to being a heroin addict. Luckily, I’m a writer, so angst is grist for my mill. Christmas anxiety provided the inspiration for my new thriller, Another Man’s Treasure. The entire novel spins out from a simple, what-if premise: What if a beautiful young mother dashes out on a snowy Christmas Eve to pick up a few last-minute gifts, and never returns?
What made her go?
The mothers reading this will have no problem speculating. Maybe she was worried the sweater she bought for her mother-in-law was all wrong. Maybe one kid had more gifts than the other. Maybe she was gripped with sudden fear that her neighbor would show up with a beribboned package and she would have nothing to offer in return. In other words, maybe the pressure to deliver the perfect holiday experience drove her out into a blizzard on Christmas Eve. Totally believable.
Why didn’t she return?
Ah, now we have a plot! Fast-forward thirty years to an incident that sets her now-grown daughter, Audrey, on a path to discover who her mother was, and what really happened that Christmas Eve. Here’s Audrey, thinking about her lost mother:
As a child I used to crawl into the deep storage closet in the downstairs hall and sit among the boxed holiday decorations using my finger to trace my mother’s dramatic, flourishy script. Tree lights. Window Candles. Centerpiece. Ornaments. Her presence pulsed in that closet, there among the things she had selected and cared for. Everywhere else in the house she had gradually faded away. Or been cleared away.
[Read the entire first chapter here: http://www.swhubbard.net/AnotherMansT... ]
Following a twisted path to discover the truth about her mother, Audrey unleashes forces she can’t control: violence, deception and rage. But she also learns some important things about herself and the “perfect” family she’s always longed to have.
The novel ends on Thanksgiving. Now, that’s a great holiday.
December 5, 2012
Writing Tips & My Hometown
Here's a link to a great article about how I used my hometown, Morristown, NJ, as inspiration for the setting of ANOTHER MAN'S TREASURE. The author also summed up very neatly some of the writing tips I share regularly with my students.
http://morristowngreen.com/2012/12/05...
http://morristowngreen.com/2012/12/05...
November 9, 2012
Feather the Clutch!
Find out what learning to drive a stick shift and writing a novel have in common. Check out my guest blog post at the fabulous Jungle Red Writers Blog
http://www.jungleredwriters.com/
http://www.jungleredwriters.com/
November 5, 2012
My new novel is available!
I'm thrilled to announce the release of my new novel, Another Man's TreasureWith this novel, I've made a transition from the traditional police procedurals of my Frank Bennett Adirondack mysteries to a new genre: the personal journey thriller. The novel introduces Audrey Nealon, a woman haunted by the disappearance of her mother thirty years ago, and her lifelong estrangement from her cold, cerebral father. When Audrey finds a ring that once belonged to her mother, she opens old wounds and invites terrifying new trouble. Although this book is a new genre for me, I think (I hope!) Another Man’s Treasure has everything my fans enjoy: a page-turning plot, a strong but flawed protagonist, plenty of quirky supporting characters, and a very surprising ending. Read the first chapter here http://swhubbard.net/AnotherMansTreas.... I hope you'll enjoy the book, and will post a Goodreads review.
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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