The In-and-Out of the Style
More than likely, if I had an editor, she’d say, “Take this out, take that out.”
That’s what editors do, especially these days. There’s a market humming out there, hungry for a new kind of “speed reading.”
There used to be a kind of speed reading, developed by a woman named Evelyn Wood. Helped people to absorb and read faster.
President Kennedy studied the Evelyn Wood technique to get through all the paperwork he had to do in a day. Yes, Presidents used to actually read all that stuff! Not like certain Presidents today...
That’s the good kind of speed reading.
Today’s kind is to whip down the writer and get her to write worse and/or shorter to make it easier for the reader to get through a badly written book.
“Well, just take that bit out,” my editor would say.
First, she’d tell me to take out the “Well.”
And if I did that, half the character of the character would disappear. You see.
Let’s get one thing straight at the outset. These mystery/thrillers I’m writing may not be what you think, what this current market has programmed you to read. The fans of But Tell It Slant (when it was originally published and as it is currently revised) loved it for what it was: the introduction to Frank Gould, a highly intelligent but slightly neurotic widower and detective caught in a chain of circumstances he was increasingly trying to control; his closest friends trying to help him; and his two biggest adversaries attempting to stop him.
However, it was also the introduction to a long, arcing storyline that would build, morph and twist over the course of these four books (and later more) moving back and forth through time, as well as inching sideways periodically in Frank’s mind, and this was something even the most ardent reader/fans at first found slightly vexing.
The text doesn’t always move you along at a lighting pace (although it does, frequently) because it purposely wants you to stop, go slow and think at points. Not the standard for today’s mass market. Sorry.
This is not made-for-TV writing. (Although, I wouldn’t mind a Netflix series, honestly! As long as they don’t screw it up the way you-know-who did you-know-what to you-know-who…).
So, if you don’t mind a bit of back and forth, up and down, along with your in-and-out (did I say that?) then you might be able to go along for the ride quite merrily (seat belts are still required, however…). And hand-held devices at your own risk. Sorry.
There are, really, actual books out there telling writers how to be successful today. Telling them to forget all about "quality" because readers don't care about that any longer. All readers care about is getting to the "point" as quickly as possible. Zip. Zoom. Reading as television.
If you don't care, fine. I may not have what you want. If you do, though...I still may not, but I'm giving it my best.
That’s what editors do, especially these days. There’s a market humming out there, hungry for a new kind of “speed reading.”
There used to be a kind of speed reading, developed by a woman named Evelyn Wood. Helped people to absorb and read faster.
President Kennedy studied the Evelyn Wood technique to get through all the paperwork he had to do in a day. Yes, Presidents used to actually read all that stuff! Not like certain Presidents today...
That’s the good kind of speed reading.
Today’s kind is to whip down the writer and get her to write worse and/or shorter to make it easier for the reader to get through a badly written book.
“Well, just take that bit out,” my editor would say.
First, she’d tell me to take out the “Well.”
And if I did that, half the character of the character would disappear. You see.
Let’s get one thing straight at the outset. These mystery/thrillers I’m writing may not be what you think, what this current market has programmed you to read. The fans of But Tell It Slant (when it was originally published and as it is currently revised) loved it for what it was: the introduction to Frank Gould, a highly intelligent but slightly neurotic widower and detective caught in a chain of circumstances he was increasingly trying to control; his closest friends trying to help him; and his two biggest adversaries attempting to stop him.
However, it was also the introduction to a long, arcing storyline that would build, morph and twist over the course of these four books (and later more) moving back and forth through time, as well as inching sideways periodically in Frank’s mind, and this was something even the most ardent reader/fans at first found slightly vexing.
The text doesn’t always move you along at a lighting pace (although it does, frequently) because it purposely wants you to stop, go slow and think at points. Not the standard for today’s mass market. Sorry.
This is not made-for-TV writing. (Although, I wouldn’t mind a Netflix series, honestly! As long as they don’t screw it up the way you-know-who did you-know-what to you-know-who…).
So, if you don’t mind a bit of back and forth, up and down, along with your in-and-out (did I say that?) then you might be able to go along for the ride quite merrily (seat belts are still required, however…). And hand-held devices at your own risk. Sorry.
There are, really, actual books out there telling writers how to be successful today. Telling them to forget all about "quality" because readers don't care about that any longer. All readers care about is getting to the "point" as quickly as possible. Zip. Zoom. Reading as television.
If you don't care, fine. I may not have what you want. If you do, though...I still may not, but I'm giving it my best.
No comments have been added yet.
