The Time Traveler's Wife is on my list. Thanks for the rec. I just can't stomach reading first person POV right now.
I also get annoyed when he gets one whiff of Brennan's perfume, or the soap she just used in the shower and is an immediate olfactory savant - 'she smelled of jasmine and sandalwood with a hint of wild orchid' - like Booth would know what any of those things smelled like (well, maybe the sandalwood but who doesn't get knocked over at ten feet by that stuff)... anyway, I digress...
LMAO I think I've got sandalwood in Brennan's bath gel in Unwell. And you didn't digress. :)
Re: Irvine Welsh, I haven't heard of him. Will have to check him out.
This post was less about rules and more about things I've noticed and disliked in stories. I doubt there's a single "rule" that every single person can agree on when it comes to writing. Rules and perfectionism can stifle creativity. I struggle with my inner editor every day. Some people like to write in all caps. Some people like to write without any caps. Some people disdain punctuation. I personally find it difficult to read stories like that; those authorial choices interfere with my enjoyment of a story. You can break all kinds of writing "rules" and still have lots of people think your story is fantastic. Even the stories I consider horrible!fic have an audience. There's ultimately no right or wrong. And that's as it should be, I think. Just because I don't like something doesn't mean other people shouldn't like it.
For me, part of the issue is that I would like to publish a novel at some point. That means that I am trying not to pick up bad writing habits that many, though not all publishers would frown upon. I want to increase my chances of getting through the piles and piles of manuscripts out there. Now, lots of stuff that breaks rules gets published, but the industry does have some general standards, and if you follow those standards, you're less likely to just have your manuscript rejected right at the start. Those standards may obviously vary from publisher to publisher and genre to genre.
It depends on your motivations for writing, whether you're targeting a particular audience, what genre you're writing for, etc. I once worked as an editorial assistant at a romance novel publisher, so I have some sense of how the industry works. I've also worked in other kinds of publishing--magazine and online--in an editorial capacity. That means I'm used to looking at text in a certain way and trying to get it to conform to certain publishing standards. I notice certain things; I can't help it. I am a writer, and I have edited in the past. Both those things inform my perspective as a reader. That is a blessing and a curse.
All that said, I absolutely write for myself first and foremost. We each have to make our own artistic choices--and no one will like all of our choices. It's just not possible.
I have no interest in making the rules or beating writers over the head with them. But I do have opinions, and without them I wouldn't have much to write about in this journal. *g*
Damn. That was a long reply. :D Sorry! Perhaps I should turn this into its own post.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2008-03-06 03:02 pm (UTC)I also get annoyed when he gets one whiff of Brennan's perfume, or the soap she just used in the shower and is an immediate olfactory savant - 'she smelled of jasmine and sandalwood with a hint of wild orchid' - like Booth would know what any of those things smelled like (well, maybe the sandalwood but who doesn't get knocked over at ten feet by that stuff)... anyway, I digress...
LMAO I think I've got sandalwood in Brennan's bath gel in Unwell. And you didn't digress. :)
Re: Irvine Welsh, I haven't heard of him. Will have to check him out.
This post was less about rules and more about things I've noticed and disliked in stories. I doubt there's a single "rule" that every single person can agree on when it comes to writing. Rules and perfectionism can stifle creativity. I struggle with my inner editor every day. Some people like to write in all caps. Some people like to write without any caps. Some people disdain punctuation. I personally find it difficult to read stories like that; those authorial choices interfere with my enjoyment of a story. You can break all kinds of writing "rules" and still have lots of people think your story is fantastic. Even the stories I consider horrible!fic have an audience. There's ultimately no right or wrong. And that's as it should be, I think. Just because I don't like something doesn't mean other people shouldn't like it.
For me, part of the issue is that I would like to publish a novel at some point. That means that I am trying not to pick up bad writing habits that many, though not all publishers would frown upon. I want to increase my chances of getting through the piles and piles of manuscripts out there. Now, lots of stuff that breaks rules gets published, but the industry does have some general standards, and if you follow those standards, you're less likely to just have your manuscript rejected right at the start. Those standards may obviously vary from publisher to publisher and genre to genre.
It depends on your motivations for writing, whether you're targeting a particular audience, what genre you're writing for, etc. I once worked as an editorial assistant at a romance novel publisher, so I have some sense of how the industry works. I've also worked in other kinds of publishing--magazine and online--in an editorial capacity. That means I'm used to looking at text in a certain way and trying to get it to conform to certain publishing standards. I notice certain things; I can't help it. I am a writer, and I have edited in the past. Both those things inform my perspective as a reader. That is a blessing and a curse.
All that said, I absolutely write for myself first and foremost. We each have to make our own artistic choices--and no one will like all of our choices. It's just not possible.
I have no interest in making the rules or beating writers over the head with them. But I do have opinions, and without them I wouldn't have much to write about in this journal. *g*
Damn. That was a long reply. :D Sorry! Perhaps I should turn this into its own post.