Sometimes books and I just don’t click. Like a dud first date, it usually isn’t personal. There are different wavelengths and sometimes I am not on the same one with others. It gets worse when you slog through a tedious book only to log on to your favorite review site to find enraptured praise fromContinue reading “I Dissent”
Tag Archives: Fiction
No Two People
No two people read the same book, or so they say. Our lenses, preferences, and schedules mean that books can be received very differently. What is fresh to one may seem trite to another. While some might enjoy the devilish antics of the protagonist, others may find nothing to root for. And, yet, there isContinue reading “No Two People”
Hook Me
A good opening to a novel should give you a visceral feel for everything that is to come. It is a first impression, and like the human counterpart of first impressions, it’s difficult to erase its impact. Hooking the reader immediately is a literary imperative. There are many ways to do it. You can startContinue reading “Hook Me”
Make It Stop
Every once in a while, I hate a book. Sometimes the bad reaction says more about me than the book. (I once rated Me Without You, a perfectly fine novel, one star because I was in a lousy mood.) Other times the story just isn’t for me. If I figure this out in the firstContinue reading “Make It Stop”
How To Be A Best-selling Author
Writers seem to fall into two camps: those that aspire to best-seller status and those that don’t. The latter snort derisively at the lowbrow efforts that top the lists, perpetuating the stereotype that quality is an aquired taste. Others write intentionally towards sales, shuttling serious topics in favor of murder mysteries and epics. As someoneContinue reading “How To Be A Best-selling Author”
Cheap Applause
Ten years ago, I submitted my first novel to several literary agents. I had worked hard on it – multiple drafts and revisions after feedback from half a dozen beta readers – and was proud of the final product. It was a thrill to get “full” requests – a second step after agents have readContinue reading “Cheap Applause”
Reasoning
Many of us are first introduced to books through school. We learn how to read, and at a certain point we discover information and facts from them. By the time we are tweens, we start to deconstruct the structure of fiction, figuring out plot, metaphor, and characterization. By high school, we know how to writeContinue reading “Reasoning”
Final Drafts
I once knew a man who believed he was a year away from placing a book on The New York Times best–seller list. “I find that I don’t have to do much revision,” he said confidently. “One draft is usually enough.” He was a rather extreme example of the grandiosity that can accompany creative pursuits.Continue reading “Final Drafts”
Stepford Fantasies
I read a lot in the women’s suspense subgenre, searching perpetually for the next satisfying story. Broadly speaking, women’s suspense fiction involves a female protagonist experiencing escalating tension that arises from some kind of uncertainty. Sometimes murder or the hint of it is central to the plot, but not always. Infidelity, domestic violence, and infertilityContinue reading “Stepford Fantasies”
Nanny-cam
There is a distinct pleasure to discovering an original voice. You pick up a book and suddenly you’re in an altered frame of mind because the author has done the hard work of articulating something in a new way. Kiley Reid is the proverbial fresh take. Her novel Such a Fun Age takes a topicalContinue reading “Nanny-cam”
Books Smitten 