tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-567668315717895367.post6430638844086298774..comments2024-02-25T05:03:48.092-07:00Comments on Eudaemonia: When Readers Read My Novels...Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00665632105920753931noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-567668315717895367.post-88026010981473879862008-05-27T13:14:00.000-06:002008-05-27T13:14:00.000-06:00Glad you enjoyed TRST. Some thought it gimmicky, b...Glad you enjoyed TRST. Some thought it gimmicky, but I was tremendously entertained. I'm quite obsessed with TSH, and think about the characters constantly, almost as if they were real people. WB is one of my favourite movies too! The book is all that, and so much more - the movie would be five hours long if they had to include all the madness.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16532403180123519635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-567668315717895367.post-33915264044999741712008-05-27T12:58:00.000-06:002008-05-27T12:58:00.000-06:00Electric Orchid Hunter, I love the one word descri...Electric Orchid Hunter, I love the one word descriptions of each. We have similar taste in books. I've ever read WONDER BOYS, but I own the movie and I love it. Loved THE SECRET HISTORY, have CLOUD ATLAS, but haven't read it yet and read and own CHOKE and thought it was really good too. I'll have to check out some of the others on your list. You didn't steer me wrong with THE RAW SHARK TEXTS.Lisahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00665632105920753931noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-567668315717895367.post-87445174182066235602008-05-27T00:42:00.000-06:002008-05-27T00:42:00.000-06:00Favourite novels? Hmm... at the moment, in no part...Favourite novels? Hmm... at the moment, in no particular order, I'd say:<BR/><I>Wonder Boys</I> - Michael Chabon. Comfortable.<BR/><I>The House of Sleep</I> -Jonathan Coe. Involved.<BR/><I>The Secret History</I> - Donna Tartt. Dark.<BR/><I>Cold Comfort Farm</I> - Stella Gibbons. Hilarious.<BR/><I>Human Croquet</I> - Kate Atkinson. Sweeping.<BR/><I>Cloud Atlas</I> - David Mitchell. Woven.<BR/><I>The Master and Margarita</I> - Mikhail Bulgakov. Evil.<BR/><I>A Home at the End of the World</I> - Michael Cunningham. Poignant.<BR/><I>Choke</I> - Chuck Palahniuk. Fevered.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16532403180123519635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-567668315717895367.post-21552040919827074862008-05-26T12:05:00.000-06:002008-05-26T12:05:00.000-06:00Kate, I loved BLINDNESS and after I wrote my post ...Kate, I loved BLINDNESS and after I wrote my post on description of smell in fiction I should have talked about it. I read DISGRACE and loved it, so I'll have to check out WAITING FOR THE BARBARIANS.<BR/><BR/>Ello, I don't do them very often, but now and then I find that if I do the right one at the right time, it tends to knock something loose for me.<BR/><BR/>Barrie, Great list...believe it or not, it's to my shame that I've never read Margaret Atwood and I really want to. <BR/><BR/>Ello, No problem...post forthcoming.<BR/><BR/>Josie, Yes, I think it's an obvious omission. For many people I think early drafts are necessary to find our way into the book, but at some point, trying to identify exactly what it is we're trying to do is critical to making the story true to itself.Lisahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00665632105920753931noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-567668315717895367.post-87489574418547613122008-05-24T16:19:00.000-06:002008-05-24T16:19:00.000-06:00Lisa: I list my fave books in my blogger profile (...Lisa: I list my fave books in my blogger profile (after I post a rave review tonight I'll be adding to my list)<BR/><BR/>Great question to ask about one's WIP. I think the motto of the exercise is to think through your WIP to the end before you start writing. I stop reading so many books that are just not as well thought out as they should have been.Josephine Damianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17952030380866201241noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-567668315717895367.post-79222728594723032262008-05-23T23:33:00.000-06:002008-05-23T23:33:00.000-06:00Lisa,I'm popping by to see if you wouldn't mind he...Lisa,<BR/><BR/>I'm popping by to see if you wouldn't mind helping me promote a guest I have coming this WEdnesday. Dr. Gigi Durham, the author of the Lolita Effect, the media sexualization of young girls and what we can do about it, is guest appearing on my blog this coming WEdnesday to answer questions on this very important topic. It would be wonderful if you could help spread the word or at the very least stop by and be part of our Q&A discussions.<BR/><BR/>I think you will really appreciate this discussion and I really hope to see you there!Ello - Ellen Ohhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18311917335471167591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-567668315717895367.post-21849469294173862002008-05-23T23:16:00.000-06:002008-05-23T23:16:00.000-06:00Most novels by Anita Shreve. I also really love El...Most novels by Anita Shreve. I also really love Elinor Lipman, Margaret Atwood, Timothy Findley, Carol Shields, Robertson Davies, Sarah Dessen. Now that I've started, I could list forever! Great post, BTW.Barriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04678698296265168217noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-567668315717895367.post-64462123723204377782008-05-23T22:42:00.000-06:002008-05-23T22:42:00.000-06:00You know I'm not good with the exercises because t...You know I'm not good with the exercises because they always feel like I dont have enough invested in them. I wish I could do writing exercises instead of writing whole novels to develop my skills. probably would save me much time!Ello - Ellen Ohhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18311917335471167591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-567668315717895367.post-38225399889910263122008-05-23T13:42:00.000-06:002008-05-23T13:42:00.000-06:00I love your response to the exercise, Lisa. You've...I love your response to the exercise, Lisa. You've inspired me to do the same with my mss, even though it's nonfiction. <BR/><BR/>I would add to the novels: Blindness by Jose Saramago and Waiting for the Barbarians by Coetzee.kate hopperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08761820572827505993noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-567668315717895367.post-27734033659504601192008-05-22T22:12:00.000-06:002008-05-22T22:12:00.000-06:00Carleen, The book only came out in 2005, but I hav...Carleen, The book only came out in 2005, but I have heard it recommended by a number of people. I really think it's a keeper. Plot is killing me! ;)Lisahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00665632105920753931noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-567668315717895367.post-6044102101542154682008-05-22T21:48:00.000-06:002008-05-22T21:48:00.000-06:00Believe or not, I didn't know of this book and sin...Believe or not, I didn't know of this book and since plot is tough for me I will be picking it up ASAP. I like that question. Josephian Damien had a post recently that asked similar question about what you wanted the reader to think and feel after EACH scene. Whew. No wonder it's so damn hard to write a novel!Carleen Bricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01433203126527081458noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-567668315717895367.post-27519939665573385202008-05-22T21:43:00.000-06:002008-05-22T21:43:00.000-06:00Rob, Glad you stopped by! The book has been very h...Rob, Glad you stopped by! The book has been very helpful to me. One of the things I like about it is that he makes it applicable to all genres and styles. Many of the craft books don't do that. Some of them geared toward literary fiction get a little dismissive toward genre at times and the ones geared toward genre fiction get a little snarky toward literary fiction. He treats both as valid, but slightly different forms and I dig that.<BR/><BR/>Rachel, "loss and disorientation" -- great words and I know exactly what you mean. Your writing does immerse me into a world that's familiar and yet surreal and a little disorienting in a very good way.<BR/><BR/>Melissa, Well thank you. It's not easy to put into words and I'm not entirely sure I got my own right. I think your diverse choices say that you're curious and open and that can't ever be anything but a big plus.<BR/><BR/>Charles, It's funny that it's an exercise and a free write, which dictates that you can't think about it. On the other hand, after I did it, I thought about it a lot. Am still thinking about it, especially with such great comments to add food to the thought. Yes, those books that leave me sad that I've come to the end are the best.<BR/><BR/>Billy, Your writing reminds me a lot of elegant free writing. It always feels very natural, a little magical and as though much of it comes directly from your unconscious. Great choices -- you should have thrown some genre in too.<BR/><BR/>Steve M, What a great aspiration and I LOVE your adaptations! I suspect that a very cool blog post is brewing...<BR/><BR/>Julie, That sounds like another great topic for a blog post. I'd love to know what your answer/question was. I will definitely give that a try too. <BR/><BR/>Steve, That post of Patry's was amazing. And as usual, you teach me something new every time you post or comment. I had to go to Wiki to find out that in C.S. Lewis's Four Loves "...he formulates the foundation of his topic ("the highest does not stand without the lowest") by exploring the nature of pleasure, and then divides love into four categories, based in part on the four Greek words for love: affection, friendship, eros, and charity." And -- I have not read any of those books and will have to investigate.<BR/><BR/>P.S. You don't come off at all as pessimistic, curmudgeonly and depressive. Quite the contrary. :)Lisahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00665632105920753931noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-567668315717895367.post-73228030766184401872008-05-22T21:25:00.000-06:002008-05-22T21:25:00.000-06:00Patry Francis has said what I want to convey to th...Patry Francis has said what I want to convey to the reader in her May 4 post. Trying to explain her "unreasonable happiness, one night, she gave several reasons, but concluded with this one:<BR/><BR/>"But most of all it was a passage in the book I'd been reading-- a yet to be pubished novel called THE GARGOYLE by Andrew Davidson which the publisher sent me for review. In that passage, a young debut author had managed to accomplish the highest thing a writer can hope to do, at least for this reader: open the trap door, and reveal the goodness and the love we are meant for."<BR/><BR/>Given the fact thar I tend to be pessimistic, curmudgeonly, and depressive too much of the time, it seems unlikely that my goals are like Patry's. Wer're not always consistent. And writing a novel in which what C.S. Lewis's Four Loves are a saving grace has helped my own moods trmendously.<BR/><BR/>As for my favorite novels, I'll be honest: Jack Finney's "Time and Again," any Nero Wolfe, Tecumseh Fox, or Alphabet Hicks novel by Rex Stout, and the books of the Time Quartet by Madeleine L'Engle (with "A Wind in the Door" my favorite of the four). Oh, yes, and the Harry Potter books.steve on the slow trainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18257811143869341854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-567668315717895367.post-17865510427740180302008-05-22T20:16:00.000-06:002008-05-22T20:16:00.000-06:00In a voice class I just finished, we attempted to ...In a voice class I just finished, we attempted to encapsulate our weeks of work into one thing--What is the one question you are trying to answer with your writing? <BR/><BR/>It was an interesting exercise, and strangely, not as hard as it would seem. Many stories, many plots, many characters, but if you're writing the right stuff, they probably can all be tied together with that one questionJulie Kiblerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07914386223833117415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-567668315717895367.post-58340480625956025552008-05-22T15:11:00.000-06:002008-05-22T15:11:00.000-06:00I try to write the kind of days you'd tell your gr...I try to write the kind of days you'd tell your grandkids about. <BR/><BR/>You know... "I ever tell you kids about the time back in college, I was home on a break and killed my momma's new husband, on account of he'd murdered *my* daddy to get at her?" (Although Hamlet dies, so maybe that isn't the best example)<BR/><BR/>Or... "Yup, same day I married your momma, I also shot it out with five vicious killers. I'd a been dead right now, your momma wasn't so handy with that there rifle!" (High Noon)<BR/><BR/>Hm! Good idea for a blog post...Steve Malleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17561234111786788616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-567668315717895367.post-53543381966650248932008-05-22T12:30:00.000-06:002008-05-22T12:30:00.000-06:00I love the ten minite free writing exercise. It's...I love the ten minite free writing exercise. It's great. <BR/><BR/>As for favorite novels, I like Steinbecks's. I think he was overshadowed by Hemingway and Faulkner. I think anything by Vonnegut is great, and I usually like the fare of Tom Robbins. Mark Twain's travel books are fantastic. I also love the rich prose and syntax of John Updike. I'd be typing all day if I added the genre fiction.WHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14815646433314236886noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-567668315717895367.post-61302184623512474852008-05-22T10:28:00.000-06:002008-05-22T10:28:00.000-06:00These are very interesting, and I think good quest...These are very interesting, and I think good questions to ask. They need a bit of thought and I will give them some.<BR/><BR/>I know I would love to write the kind of book that readers would close the last page and just sit there for a moment and think, maybe feeling a little sad that the story is overCharles Gramlichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02052592247572253641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-567668315717895367.post-67042335296272054582008-05-22T09:57:00.000-06:002008-05-22T09:57:00.000-06:00I loved your response to the exercise - very hones...I loved your response to the exercise - very honest and heartfelt and quite elegant, too.<BR/><BR/>When I first started thinking of what I wanted to give my readers, I just wanted to offer them an escape from reality and that was pretty much it. Now, though, as my writing has evolved and changed and grown, that perspective has shifted a bit. I still want to offer escape, but there is a bit more, too, though I am unsure just how to put it into words at the moment. :-)<BR/><BR/>Let's see...favorite books. Tree of Gold by Rosalind Laker is my ultimate favorite. Watchers by Dean Koontz is a close second. Black Cross by Greg Iles is another. All three are very different novels. Hmm...wonder what that says about me?Melissa Amateishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16086267508858187716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-567668315717895367.post-13569266557278408162008-05-22T09:46:00.000-06:002008-05-22T09:46:00.000-06:00...loss and disorientation... because novels shoul......loss and disorientation... because novels should take me out of my daily existence and immerse me in the world within the pages.Rachel Greenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13048590167153841615noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-567668315717895367.post-4855938203196097842008-05-22T06:36:00.000-06:002008-05-22T06:36:00.000-06:00Great post, Lisa. I don't have the time at the mom...Great post, Lisa. I don't have the time at the moment to answer your questions, but I will say reading Bell's PLOT & STRUCTURE was a watershed moment for me.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com