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Will Once - somewhere and back again
Mickey gets a free pen. Quite possibly the most expensive free pen he will ever own.https://willonce.wordpress.com/2016/0...
Will wrote: "Mickey gets a free pen. Quite possibly the most expensive free pen he will ever own."The only single-item insurance I have bought in the past 20 years was for a camcorder - you couldn't lose, they said, because it got a free cleaning every year.
Can you guess how many times I took it in for its free cleaning?
Will wrote: "Mickey gets a free pen. Quite possibly the most expensive free pen he will ever own.https://willonce.wordpress.com/2016/0..."
good one, worth sharing on facebook that one :-)
The Mem and I have an adventure in celebrity land. With boobies.https://willonce.wordpress.com/2016/0...
No, no, no, no… What was the relationship between boobies and Rioja-sounds-like-Majorca man?Make somethink up; I don't care!
I know. It would have suited the story better if there was something nefarious going on. That's the problem with non fiction, I guess. Pesky little things called facts tend to spoil the plot!
Will wrote: "I know. It would have suited the story better if there was something nefarious going on. That's the problem with non fiction, I guess. Pesky little things called facts tend to spoil the plot!"Hence the invention of journalism ;-)
I just thought Dolly Parton while I was reading :) But I can't see her with a numpty - that is one smart lady
Tackling the important questions of our time. Is "Da Vinci Code" a bad book?https://willonce.wordpress.com/2016/0...
No. Everyone said it was at the time, but that's just because it vogue to say it. It was a good read, and I enjoyed it.However, I think it was the follow up (can't recall the name) that was ruined when the hero fell 45 million feet from a helicopter and survived, needing only a dab of Savlon to be in fine fettle again.
Will wrote: "Tackling the important questions of our time. Is "Da Vinci Code" a bad book?https://willonce.wordpress.com/2016/0..."
I think it's a good analysis Will
I didn't enjoy it. Only read it cuz there was a copy in a backpacker hotel we stayed in in India. Don't think I finished it.
Continuing on the theme of Da Vinci Code - why do people like books that I hate?https://willonce.wordpress.com/2016/0...
I'll ask the Mem to put that on the shopping list for the next time we're in Waitrose. Can't say I've ever macarooned. I'll have to give it a try.
Mmmm. Looks tempting. In a neon green sort of way. I'm getting a hint of pistachio and lime, don't you think?But there's only two of them and there are at least three of us. I'll get a selection.
The neon pink ones can be nice, too.There's bakery in Belguim called Lauderee that does the world's best macaroons.
We've got a satellite shop here in Baku.
Will wrote: "Continuing on the theme of Da Vinci Code - why do people like books that I hate?..."Donald Maass, on Writer Unboxed, did an analysis of what was good about 50 Shades. Eye opening (he's an agent, writes books about writing, says he's published a bunch of novels under a pseudonym - I suspect Romance). (http://writerunboxed.com/2013/08/06/f...) is the beginning.
I'm glad he did - and may go back and read the series of three again some day - because I couldn't get past page 2 of the books themselves. Ick.
But 'literary' agents (and they talk about cr*p in indie - this was taken up and sold well by a traditional publisher) HAVE to be able to read all kinds of things, so he and Lisa Cron (the brain science in writing woman) analyzed the things that worked in the novels.
Post them becoming bestsellers, not before, but you can't expect agents to look at garbage unless it's successful enough to provide them with income, can you?
Fascinating link - thanks for that. I couldn't read Fifty Shades because of the writing, but I saw the film. I didn't think it was as bad as people were saying. Admittedly, it's not the Godfather or Citizen Kane, but it was an effective modern love story.
I think there's a problem that writers get when they can't see past bad writing. I know it happens to me. Spelling and grammar mistakes leap off the page. It's almost as if the mistakes were written in neon - because spotting them is part of the editing process. Then it doesn't matter how good the rest of the book is. I have lost it.
I suspect that may be why I cannot enjoy reading electronic documents, like books on Kindle. It's just work and editing :-(
Nearly there. I'm 59,000 words into "Love, Death and Wyrds" - the sequel to Love, Death and Tea. The target is 70,000 so I'm definitely on the home stretch.I think you'll like it. It's Libby's story so more witches than zombies this time. You might even spot people you recognise in there.
Good. We're on holiday middle of March so I should have plenty of reading time. If we ever get round to booking a holiday.
Good writing is sometimes about the bits you leave out, rather than the information we put in. Painting with holes.
https://willonce.wordpress.com/2016/0...
Completely agree, Will. Have you read Woolfgang Iser's theory on reader reception and the implied reader. I think you'd appreciate it.
It reminds me a little of what Jack Vance does when he describes a new world. He just drops in an almost irrelevant detail which allows the reader to assume that the entire world exists at that level of detail.
Excellent point Jim. Here's the second part of painting with holes. This one is all about zingy little nuggets.https://willonce.wordpress.com/2016/0...
Another way of writing is to actually keep the Hero/Heroine a little nondescript, because they are the one the reader is hopefully identifying with. So you don't want them to have too many features that make the reader thing "that couldn't be me."Because we all have a high opinion of ourselves abilities to leap tall buildings aren't a problem, but irritating personal habits probably are :-)
Another one that Patti might not read.Which of the Beatles were left handed?
https://willonce.wordpress.com/2016/0...
More of 'that's bleeding obvious' than 'd'oh', darling.Hurry up with the book. I'm on holiday end of the week.
Books mentioned in this topic
The Dice Man (other topics)Hero (other topics)
Galápagos (other topics)
PopCo (other topics)




Hehe. You'd think EVERYONE knows that the only percentage that's true is that the house always wins.
They are deliberately like Mickey: they think they odds will be changed in their favor or that the short-term odds will be theirs because they're on a roll. So they ignore math and science on purpose.
Some will tell you playing is thrilling. And top poker players play the players, not the odds (they say), and win.
Expensive form of entertainment - and all that drama.