Everything
May. 12th, 2007 10:02 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
opera142Feedback: Wow 52 comments.
Most interesting thing for me was how many writers crave mentions of reader re-actions. Mainly because (until now) I tried to edit that kind of reply out of my feedback. I tried to make the review about the story rather than Opera... saying whythe description worked instead what it made me feel. And, D'oh! Feelings are what authors wanted.
I learned something new. Yay.
Book Recc: The First Five Pages by Noah Lukeman.
Writing books are filled with cliche'd advice: show don't tell; don't open with a dream; create rounded characters; edit un-neccesary words. But few explain why, and even fewer explain how. I'm guessing a lot of the writing books avoid the explanations because of that whole "good writing is subjective" way of thinking. And it is. Good writing can be taught; Awesome writing can't. And every teacher has his/her own tastes.
Lukeman is guilty of that, and that is the book's one downfall. He knows what he likes, and he doesn't give much advice for writing outside of that. Luckily most of the advice he gives, and the writing techniques he demonstrates are transferable to any kind of writing.
He doesn't just announce a writing-advice cliche like "edit un-necesary words" then skips on to the next blurb. He explains how a word becomes un-necessary, why 3 mundane adjectives do less describing than one dead-on one. Some of it gets very Comp 101-ish. But as a whole, it was helpful to me. I struggle with basics-- structure, pace and flow. So seeing sentences and paragraphs get deconstructed showed me how to do it to my own and whatever writing I'm studying.
Wrestling: Oh my beloved Smackdown. All is tragic. Even though I can pretend that Taker shredded his bicep while cropping M. Hardy, for the next half-year there's zero chance of on-screen terrorizing.
And what is up with Kane hanging with the Boogeyman? Unless it's some kind of voodoo mind control thing to keep his ho's in line, I don't wanna see it.
M.Hardy: I don't know which of his Myspace posts: drunken monographs with running commentary on his crappy iPod playlist or his drunken Succestories feel-good posts. Just describe getting drunk and making out with your friends like everyone else does. Kthx
Opera: Am very frustrated by just about everything right now. But the sun is shining and I'm having a ball playing outside so instead of dealing with it, I just hang out by the lake.
And I always make myself feel worse because I feel like I shouldn't get frustrated that I'm being touchy or making mountains out of molehills. Life would be so much easier if I could either be okay with what I'm feeling or completely dismiss the self-created drama.
And, of course, I make shit snowball. I feel like I don't ask a lot out of people (okay, I probably do more than I thing but give me this for now), so when I do, when it finally gets to the point where I reach out and say: hey, this is giving me trouble, I more often than not get rebuffed or silence. Then I'm hurt about the original problen and resentful. How's that for a pout-festival?
I know the problem starts and ends with me on that. I have a habit of expressing my problems and hurts in off-hand, casual ways and (I console myself with the idea that) I think what I said gets dismissed as just a casual complaint-- nothing I'm really seeking help or a friendly ear over.
And I put way too much emphasis on absence. Which is probably a totally selfish and toolish way to socialize. Like when I recovering, nobody ever asked me how my running was going. Nobody asks now. I guess it's my blahblahblahcheesecakeblahblah subject, and that's fine. Except, I ask (and listen) about other people's cheesecake. Poor widdle me.
That felt good to get out. I'll wait until tomorrow to feel like an ass about it.
Most interesting thing for me was how many writers crave mentions of reader re-actions. Mainly because (until now) I tried to edit that kind of reply out of my feedback. I tried to make the review about the story rather than Opera... saying whythe description worked instead what it made me feel. And, D'oh! Feelings are what authors wanted.
I learned something new. Yay.
Book Recc: The First Five Pages by Noah Lukeman.
Writing books are filled with cliche'd advice: show don't tell; don't open with a dream; create rounded characters; edit un-neccesary words. But few explain why, and even fewer explain how. I'm guessing a lot of the writing books avoid the explanations because of that whole "good writing is subjective" way of thinking. And it is. Good writing can be taught; Awesome writing can't. And every teacher has his/her own tastes.
Lukeman is guilty of that, and that is the book's one downfall. He knows what he likes, and he doesn't give much advice for writing outside of that. Luckily most of the advice he gives, and the writing techniques he demonstrates are transferable to any kind of writing.
He doesn't just announce a writing-advice cliche like "edit un-necesary words" then skips on to the next blurb. He explains how a word becomes un-necessary, why 3 mundane adjectives do less describing than one dead-on one. Some of it gets very Comp 101-ish. But as a whole, it was helpful to me. I struggle with basics-- structure, pace and flow. So seeing sentences and paragraphs get deconstructed showed me how to do it to my own and whatever writing I'm studying.
Wrestling: Oh my beloved Smackdown. All is tragic. Even though I can pretend that Taker shredded his bicep while cropping M. Hardy, for the next half-year there's zero chance of on-screen terrorizing.
And what is up with Kane hanging with the Boogeyman? Unless it's some kind of voodoo mind control thing to keep his ho's in line, I don't wanna see it.
M.Hardy: I don't know which of his Myspace posts: drunken monographs with running commentary on his crappy iPod playlist or his drunken Succestories feel-good posts. Just describe getting drunk and making out with your friends like everyone else does. Kthx
Opera: Am very frustrated by just about everything right now. But the sun is shining and I'm having a ball playing outside so instead of dealing with it, I just hang out by the lake.
And I always make myself feel worse because I feel like I shouldn't get frustrated that I'm being touchy or making mountains out of molehills. Life would be so much easier if I could either be okay with what I'm feeling or completely dismiss the self-created drama.
And, of course, I make shit snowball. I feel like I don't ask a lot out of people (okay, I probably do more than I thing but give me this for now), so when I do, when it finally gets to the point where I reach out and say: hey, this is giving me trouble, I more often than not get rebuffed or silence. Then I'm hurt about the original problen and resentful. How's that for a pout-festival?
I know the problem starts and ends with me on that. I have a habit of expressing my problems and hurts in off-hand, casual ways and (I console myself with the idea that) I think what I said gets dismissed as just a casual complaint-- nothing I'm really seeking help or a friendly ear over.
And I put way too much emphasis on absence. Which is probably a totally selfish and toolish way to socialize. Like when I recovering, nobody ever asked me how my running was going. Nobody asks now. I guess it's my blahblahblahcheesecakeblahblah subject, and that's fine. Except, I ask (and listen) about other people's cheesecake. Poor widdle me.
That felt good to get out. I'll wait until tomorrow to feel like an ass about it.
