tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post1727431012061442312..comments2024-03-29T07:29:32.276-04:00Comments on Janet Reid, Literary Agent: Blame Donald Trump. Or maybe the Hillary bashers.Janet Reidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00615380335938685231noreply@blogger.comBlogger96125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-79847793719152251622016-04-14T12:02:30.352-04:002016-04-14T12:02:30.352-04:00Ha DLM, you are quite correct; I never intended to...Ha DLM, you are quite correct; I never intended to say that there aren't cute physicists. In fact, there are many attractive physicists. But when I hear the term leggy I don't think Barbie leggy, I think scrawny, tall, lanky looking. That whole geeky/nerd stereotype propagated by the media and entertainment. To be fair, I haven't seen many Barbie leggy physicists either; women physicists don't seem to follow any stereotype at all in my experience. Short, tall, fat, skinny, average, glasses or no glasses, all hair colors, skin tones. All different dressing styles. What I meant was that the nerdy stereotype just isn't right often. In our department, older men with comb overs and blue shirts just happens to be the thing. abnormalalienhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08666555569560028852noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-67319386132808331342016-04-14T09:02:12.137-04:002016-04-14T09:02:12.137-04:00abnormalalien, I spent great swaths of my childhoo...abnormalalien, I spent great swaths of my childhood in a physics department, as the child of a prof. True it may be they're seldom Barbies, but let it not be said there are not some cute physicists... Especially the student lab assistants, of course. Back in the 70s/80s/even the 90s, there were scarcely any women at all.<br /><br />My dad, in the space of one year's worth of retirements, went from the youngest member of the physics faculty to the eldest. One of the new hires that year, we knew was called The Physics God by his students. That was probably about 25 years ago now, and I have some extremely fond memories of They Physics God, who was always a good friend and a good colleague to my dad. He grew older gracefully, and as far as I know he's well on the road to being a very distinguished God Emeritus indeed. It doesn't hurt his looks at all, that he also happens to be a very fine human being.DLMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08768285199864217885noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-34104900697331820742016-04-12T19:16:28.702-04:002016-04-12T19:16:28.702-04:00I saw this yesterday but I still find it absolutel...I saw this yesterday but I still find it absolutely hilarious. Particularly the leggy physicist. While there are occasional tall, skinny dudes with nerdy glasses, if any author had ever spent more than 10 minutes in an actual physics department, they would know a more accurate stereotype. Which is: elderly man of non-guessable age with white (or grey) hair. A bald spot that is conveniently combed over with the long wispy side strands. Often short or stooped. Lot's of plain slacks and button up shirts but my favorites are the ones with elbow pads. What the heck are those for anyway?! <br /><br />Oh and if there happens to be someone in the department under the age of 50 (hello new faculty, post-docs, grad-students), their wardrobe is almost singularly long sleeve, blue button up shirt (of the more casual, possible denim variety not fancy schmancy) with jeans or slacks. <br /><br />However, there are very few I would describe as "leggy."abnormalalienhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08666555569560028852noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-488101973144230262016-04-10T02:24:16.190-04:002016-04-10T02:24:16.190-04:00I just want to say: oh my goodness, YES.
And it g...I just want to say: oh my goodness, YES.<br /><br />And it goes the same for those YA authors who write about teenaged boys the same way. Telling us about the guy's abs, dreamy eyes, or rippling muscles, is not a substitute for giving him a personality, even if he IS part of your infernal love triangle...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-4308287637757916112016-04-10T00:40:13.623-04:002016-04-10T00:40:13.623-04:00Janet- THANK YOU. It's gotten to the point tha...Janet- THANK YOU. It's gotten to the point that I rarely read books containing descriptions like this anywhere near the beginning. When such occur, there needs to be a really good reason for it (as a couple of writers here have shown). But you've given me a great idea for a short story. Thanks.<br /><br />Luci- hear, hear!<br /><br />Colin- I think Rowling nailed it. She does use stereotypes, but she uses them to excellent effect, eventually turning them inside out. She makes us think about them.<br /><br />Kitty- I love the way you think. I want to read the nameless story!<br /><br />Jenny- I would say the majority of 19 year old boys would track that girl, whether they meant to or not. Guys are generally wired to react visually. That's not necessarily good or bad; it's how they deal with it that ultimately makes the difference. (I'm not excusing anything, BTW. Learning to control yourself matters.)<br /><br />Heidi/Colin- I suspect ghosts traditionally wear clothes because ghost stories make their biggest marks on kids, and traditional western mores are typically terrified of kids thinking about nudity.<br /><br /><br />When I was talking to artists about cover art and illustrations for YOTDL, I came to realize that I had left a great deal to the reader's imagination in terms of many characters' looks. Among other things, that means that if I ask someone to draw a dragon for my book, and it doesn't violate what I have written, it may not look much like what I imagined. And that's OK; if the artist clearly saw something, I did my job. Several people have told me that they love how much detail I have in my books, how they can see the characters clearly. They didn't notice that I don't describe the characters much in a physical sense. This makes me extremely happy.<br /><br />One of the few writers I love who uses a great deal of physical detail is Tolkien. I know his style drives some people crazy but I love it. Different readers like different levels of description. That's good, because so do various writers!roadkills-r-ushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14029861300358380117noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-72603717569917526582016-04-09T23:09:46.382-04:002016-04-09T23:09:46.382-04:00B.J.
Sorry about the Sam mix up. I remember year...B.J. <br /><br />Sorry about the Sam mix up. I remember years ago at Surrey having a drink with Sam (Sykes) at the bar and asking him what he was studying in college. Literature, but he was going to quit and start writing. I remember thinking, very motherly, "Oh, please finish college just in case." He seems to have done all right without my advice. It just goes to show. Don't listen to me.<br /><br />I loved that Sam Heughan was having so much fun in the parade. Of course, I may be partial to kilts and bagpipes. Julie Weathershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13725236516593676381noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-32101795034406663442016-04-09T22:36:27.389-04:002016-04-09T22:36:27.389-04:00Adib: You are not alone. The number of times I'...Adib: You are not alone. The number of times I've been called 'Mountain'... I can't count that high. :) Sometimes, if people really don't understand how to spell my name, I tell them "It's mountain without the 'o'." :)<br /><br />Julie: You gave a quote by Diana Gabaldon (a great one) then mentioned Sam in a parade. I thought, "Sam Sykes? Cool!" I was actually disappointed that it wasn't. :)BJ Muntainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12977414826388000094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-20690926466758786222016-04-09T22:10:00.948-04:002016-04-09T22:10:00.948-04:00Mark, either way - this passage does not hook me i...Mark, either way - this passage does not hook me into the story. The only information I have from this is that your character is tired and attractive.<br /><br />Surely there are other ways to convey a character is fatigued - and many intriguing reasons they might be. Tell me *why* she is tired, or tease me about some important aspect of her character. If her appeal is in fact central to the story, make me understand why. Otherwise, put away the mirror compact and get me into the story. First pages - every word counts.DLMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08768285199864217885noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-56716931827610000202016-04-09T21:36:03.061-04:002016-04-09T21:36:03.061-04:00Diane's link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=...Diane's link: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBZ33CuC26c" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBZ33CuC26c</a><br /><br />Heidi: That's an interesting observation--why do we always imagine ghosts would wear clothes? I can see how zombies would wear the clothes they were buried in, but ghosts are supposed to be the spirits of the departed. Do their clothes die too? I know, seriously off-topic, but I'd never thought about that before.Colin Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03292997431935215499noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-35132740736863272422016-04-09T21:26:38.192-04:002016-04-09T21:26:38.192-04:00DLM I take your (and others) point about women pon...DLM I take your (and others) point about women pondering themselves in the mirror, but think you misread; this sentence occurs in the first paragraph, it is not the first paragraph. Mark Ellishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17262292085318047939noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-4496667235501118392016-04-09T20:50:46.420-04:002016-04-09T20:50:46.420-04:00Mark, since you asked, I'm not wowed here. I&#...Mark, since you asked, I'm not wowed here. I've said for YEARS (Trump has nothing to do with it, this has always bothered me), "If I never read another scene where a woman looks at herself in a mirror and ponders her appeal, it will be too soon." As a first paragraph, there's no action here, no hook. No story.<br /><br />I blogged about this today, and included one of Julia Sugarbaker's wonderful takedowns - and Donald Trump even rears his ugly head as she salts the earth. The video is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBZ33CuC26c, the good bit begins at 16:44, and The Donald is at 18:40. It is, as Dixie Carter always managed to be, glorious and magnificent. And I don't EVEN mean her looks.<br /><br />Leah B: beautifully put.DLMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08768285199864217885noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-3555643336521821962016-04-09T20:31:08.518-04:002016-04-09T20:31:08.518-04:00Appearance is a hot button topic for me -- I'v...Appearance is a hot button topic for me -- I've spent years being judged by mine, including being told more than once that I couldn't possibly have written something because of my looks -- and I hope you all can appreciate the extreme self-restraint I'm exercising right now.<br /><br />I will say that in the novella I wrote, I purposely didn't describe the physical appearance of either the male or female MC. There was a bit about the moonlight shining on her hair and a description of the look in his eyes, but that was the extent of it. After a few people I knew had read it, I asked what they imagined the characters looked like and the answers were really interesting. Everyone I asked came up with a slightly different description (including one guy who imagined the woman as being red-haired with a lot of freckles). None of them needed my help to "see" the characters. And not one of them described the characters the way I saw them in my mind.<br /><br />Janet is right. Many writers need to re-think what they assume to be important when crafting characters who will be memorable to readers.<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-87222674655529658792016-04-09T20:15:01.868-04:002016-04-09T20:15:01.868-04:00I agree with Janet. Character development happens ...I agree with Janet. Character development happens on the inside; it explains why they do what they do and why they are the way they are. Being blonde doesn't explain why a character does stuff. (It shouldn't anyway)Mehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11749102710759250044noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-48989552269514471072016-04-09T20:07:04.325-04:002016-04-09T20:07:04.325-04:00Diversity is so much more than skin colour. It'...Diversity is so much more than skin colour. It's about entire experiences and heritages. I love reading about diverse characters because it takes me into a whole other world. That said, I hate reading about 'white' characters who's skin has been painted dark just so she appears 'diverse'.Her Grace, Heidi, the Duchess of Knealehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17818060864422019573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-42187902469237782742016-04-09T19:44:53.793-04:002016-04-09T19:44:53.793-04:00What Dena said: I believe in description of a char...What Dena said: I believe in description of a character if it forwards something in the story. In one Novella I do describe the size if her naked breasts and the blondeness of her hair because they serve vital plot points. Our Heroine was cursed to wander as a ghost--naked, it turns out, as clothes aren't a part of our soul. nobody would help her because in 1916 England, nobody would take a naked ghost seriously. When her body is found, some of her blonde hair is stained dark after having lain in a crypt for a century.<br /><br />My editor gave me grief because I hadn't given my hero any physical description other than 'neat and clean'. (story is told from his pov) Heaven forfend I forget to talk about his wavy blond locks.Her Grace, Heidi, the Duchess of Knealehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17818060864422019573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-40679123342450240992016-04-09T19:40:44.746-04:002016-04-09T19:40:44.746-04:00Mark,
I'm misreading then. What's new? I ...Mark,<br /><br />I'm misreading then. What's new? I tend to dislike characters describing themselves and I cannot stand the looking in the mirror device unless it's someone looking at a wound or new scar and musing.<br /><br />JWJulie Weathershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13725236516593676381noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-74969723574111877052016-04-09T19:30:43.232-04:002016-04-09T19:30:43.232-04:00I have to admit That I like Lisa's thinking.
...I have to admit That I like Lisa's thinking.<br /><br />"My, Mr. Maccallan. what a lovely red label you have. You couldn't be a day over eighteen."<br /><br />I'm actually the twenty five year old Maccallan."<br /><br />"Really... Glug...Glug...Glug."<br /><br />Scream at y'all tomorrow.Craig Fhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07157301156577795781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-56726227288068767212016-04-09T19:03:36.795-04:002016-04-09T19:03:36.795-04:00Julie, my sense of Janet's comment on the word...Julie, my sense of Janet's comment on the word aquiline was that it would work fine as an omniscient POV descriptor, but as a character's POV self-muse it's too formal. Mark Ellishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17262292085318047939noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-13637177980810004202016-04-09T18:49:57.659-04:002016-04-09T18:49:57.659-04:00Completely off-topic. It's Saturday evening he...Completely off-topic. It's Saturday evening here. <br /><br />So QOTKU, what a lovely 25-year-old Macallan to have as part of your stash. Complements of a particular author in your Reef? I looked up that bottle of Single malt Scotch Whisky. Holymoly. I just spent that amount on a refrigerator, which I hope will last me a very long time. <br /><br /><br />I wonder if I have ingredients to make blonde bombshells. Those look pretty enticing too. Lisa Bodenheimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17809067722921953857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-51976782539646594282016-04-09T18:19:48.567-04:002016-04-09T18:19:48.567-04:00I rarely give characters full names unless there’s...I rarely give characters full names unless there’s a purpose.--<br /><br />Oh mine have full names. Lorena Dobbs McKenzie. Captain Baron Patrick Callahan. General Pierre Toutant-Gustave Beauregard. *sage nod*<br /><br />I'm not sure why aquiline would be verboten. Cleopatra supposedly had an aquiline nose and that appearance was much admired in ancient Roman women. One of my young spies has an aquiline nose, which seems appropriate since his name is Hawkins and he has a decidedly hawkish appearance.<br /><br />Anyway, as always, we each have our opinions of what we like.Julie Weathershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13725236516593676381noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-14545512101048190682016-04-09T17:48:56.062-04:002016-04-09T17:48:56.062-04:00Former comment was about 101% more incendiary than...Former comment was about 101% more incendiary than it needed to be.<br /><br />Kae - "I stand by my question. Questioning people's questions is, well, questionable."<br /><br />Your question is forcing minority characters to defend their existence. I will, 100% of the time, question that logic.Leah Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12112039253103425880noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-2297079435803995812016-04-09T17:37:51.077-04:002016-04-09T17:37:51.077-04:00Did you read Annie Proulx's Brokeback Mountain...Did you read Annie Proulx's Brokeback Mountain? I don't remember both cowboys off the top of my head, but one of 'em wasn't too easy to look at with buck teeth and a mop of hair. You sure didn't see that guy show up in the Hollywood movie version. <br /><br />Right or wrong, Hollywood decided moviegoers pay more to see their favorite stars looking glamorous. So whether it's Harry Potter or scores of others, the stars on screen usually don't match their namesake in the book.John Frainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01702305890462479118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-86992139047395478872016-04-09T17:03:42.635-04:002016-04-09T17:03:42.635-04:00"Aquiline" yikes."Aquiline" yikes.Mark Ellishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17262292085318047939noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-40178759859412337752016-04-09T17:01:17.585-04:002016-04-09T17:01:17.585-04:00Colin,
They gave Emma Stone false teeth to make h...Colin,<br /><br />They gave Emma Stone false teeth to make her teeth more pronounced for the role and her hair was certainly frowsy. <br /><br />Kids grow up and change. <a href="http://rack.3.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDE1LzA3LzIyLzBjL21hdHRoZXdsZXdpLmQyYzVmLmpwZwpwCXRodW1iCTk1MHg1MzQjCmUJanBn/519e392b/a81/matthew-lewis.jpg" rel="nofollow">Recognize him?</a><br /><br />Being a resident of Books and Writers, I see all the fandom descend and complain to high heaven because the actors don't match their ideas of what the Outlander characters should look like. I tend to avoid the fan threads, but I see the storms. It's amazing how many people argue with Diana about what her characters look like when she's the one who wrote the descriptions.<br /><br />Julie Weathershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13725236516593676381noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-31179243509512424372016-04-09T16:56:06.856-04:002016-04-09T16:56:06.856-04:00I object to grocery list-style descriptions of a c...I object to grocery list-style descriptions of a character. Hair this, eyes that, skin tone such-and-such, musculature type x. So boring. So unnecessary. Now, if that description has relevance, <i>especially</i> through the POV of a character, then I'm interested. When X looks at daughter Y, does he see nothing but the mini version of his much-missed late wife? When Z watches her best friend running track like a gazelle, does it fire her own ambition to get out from under the two part-time jobs that are keeping her family afloat, and back to the running that she loves? That's where description matters. That's where you turn a cardboard cutout into a person. Stand that tall, leggy blonde in front of a room of people, and you should get a roomful of different reactions to her. Do they know? Is she kind? A bitch? Does she pick pockets? Go to school? Care for her aging grandmother? Did she have an accident that makes it hard to walk? What those people know or guess about that leggy blonde will color their description of her. Until that point, I'm not interested.Amy Schaeferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17263719891092841767noreply@blogger.com