tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post2144228462860313892..comments2024-03-18T09:09:59.625-04:00Comments on Janet Reid, Literary Agent: The Week in Review 2/1/15Janet Reidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00615380335938685231noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-30447661297125117732015-02-02T08:54:02.483-05:002015-02-02T08:54:02.483-05:00Did you all hear that? That was my sigh of bliss....Did you all hear that? That was my sigh of bliss..., another stellar WiR. I've been crazy busy for the last three days and after reading and catching up, now I feel like I can face the week!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-46356556245118865472015-02-01T22:38:38.405-05:002015-02-01T22:38:38.405-05:00I'm four gallons into Kilim Beige. With a pain...I'm four gallons into Kilim Beige. With a paint roller and 1" sash brush permanently grafted to my right hand it makes typing an interesting endeavor.<br /><br />Love my paint and I love the WIR.<br /><br />DLM is right, this is a great creative social hub. I feel like we're all a bunch of wonky writers bellying up to our own Cheers bar. Carolynnwith2Nshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18394998702410764388noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-23617960460994706682015-02-01T17:45:34.094-05:002015-02-01T17:45:34.094-05:00I can add to the week in review that the mini semi...I can add to the week in review that the mini seminar was brill. Ms. Reid rocks as well in person as she does in blogosphere! Thanks Jet! 😄Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08811437987574748865noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-69623823952448394032015-02-01T16:20:24.559-05:002015-02-01T16:20:24.559-05:00The Week in Review posts keep getting better and b...The Week in Review posts keep getting better and better! I'm glad you missed out on the big snow on Monday--unfortunately, our snowy forecast for today seems to have been right on target. We're getting our biggest snow of the winter today in SE Michigan.Cindy Chttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13196306055833459983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-19100858166073649012015-02-01T16:08:07.540-05:002015-02-01T16:08:07.540-05:00Thanks to a leaking shower we're about to pain...Thanks to a leaking shower we're about to paint (we've chosen dulux 'silver beige' with 'camel' trim). It's nice and warm Down Under at the moment, and I have a spare brush...<br /><br />Also loving the weekly wrap, so rather pleased you like writing it.AJ Blythehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04529233142099749005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-2371642764955051662015-02-01T14:58:19.545-05:002015-02-01T14:58:19.545-05:00BTW: In "Publish or Perish" Columbo make...BTW: In "Publish or Perish" Columbo makes reference to a case he worked on involving a senator. That was the Columbo episode "Candidate for Crime" which was two stories before "Publish or Perish." I got *that* reference! I need to watch less Columbo and read more... *sigh*Colin Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03292997431935215499noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-50570687002878364982015-02-01T14:49:44.657-05:002015-02-01T14:49:44.657-05:00I hope all this blog activity isn't too much o...I hope all this blog activity isn't too much of a time drain for you Janet, considering you have clients to look after. Checking your blog and offering my 2 cents (or $2 depending on the topic) is a part of my daily routine. Even before checking the news. Is that bad? :) The WiR is the cherry on the chocolate rum cake. :D<br /><br />I'm in awe. I would NEVER have picked up on that reference in "Publish or Perish." Makes me wonder how many other such in-jokes for the well-read (like you) there are in other Columbo stories--especially the other writing/publishing related ones ("Murder by the Book" and "Try and Catch Me"). This of course makes me feel embarrassed about how relatively little I've read of a genre I profess to enjoy. But then I remind myself that it's not only your passion, but it's your JOB to know this stuff, which is why you're so good at it.<br /><br />The blog is very good writing practice for you, Janet, just as Barbara's WD column is good practice for her. Which means SNARK AND SHARK'S GUIDE TO PUBLISHING will be a well-written book. Just let us know when you need beta readers.<br /><br />If you ever want a vacation in NC, you'd be welcome to visit with us. I'll supply the paint. :D<br /><br />And I agree, Diane. This blog is building a lovely community that doesn't stop with the comments. I too am building a list of blogs to visit from people here.<br /><br />Looking forward to next week's posts. See you all there... :DColin Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03292997431935215499noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-19877009635286198042015-02-01T13:52:03.418-05:002015-02-01T13:52:03.418-05:00Thanks again for the week in review! I love readin...Thanks again for the week in review! I love reading this blog (it's the best part of my morning ritual, right up there with the mug of hot chocolate). That said, I especially enjoy reading the comments. There's a great community here.Megan Vhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00752842865397799428noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-71696388334046890602015-02-01T13:08:22.909-05:002015-02-01T13:08:22.909-05:00I do love reading this blog, the comments, the wra...I do love reading this blog, the comments, the wrapups, everything. The advice here is the querying/agent advice yardstick against which I measure other information I hear/read (and it's interesting to see how other agents answer similar questions).<br /><br />Especially as I phase towards querying (still waiting on readers, sigh), I poke around in the archives an awful lot, and look at Query Shark as well.Jennifer R. Donohuehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00363886899308588391noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-31014578769140420862015-02-01T13:05:05.332-05:002015-02-01T13:05:05.332-05:00I think the "week in review" is a brilli...I think the "week in review" is a brilliantly inspired addition to the blog. A little disappointed the office move was completed before I arrived, as I had plans for the cake fridge. <br /><br />Don't worry, I'll get there early for your next move in three years.Jed Cullanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05366003552650790684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-59962520383099266142015-02-01T11:57:47.676-05:002015-02-01T11:57:47.676-05:00Regarding Mr. Furkle's comment, I've alway...Regarding Mr. Furkle's comment, I've always thought of the distinction between tension and suspense differently (perhaps a result of my dramaturgical background). That said, I am insane, so take my thoughts with a grain of salt.<br /><br />Tension and dramatic conflict are almost always about the unknown, with answers either coming quickly ("Why is this character upset? Oh, he's at his parents' funeral...") or over time ("Why are these two characters disagreeing? [400 pages later] Oh, the villain blames our hero's childhood bullying for his killing spree..."). Tension and suspense are often viewed as synonyms, but I don't see them as that. Suspense is one of many forms of tension, used to propel a reader forward. If tension is about the unknown, then what makes suspense unique? Why <i>isn't</i> it just a synonym?<br /><br />Suspense is about what's known to the reader, but <i>not the characters</i>. In Alfred Hitchcock's famous bomb-under-the-table analogy, what makes the scene suspenseful is the fact that the audience <i>knows</i> the bomb is there, but the characters in the scene don't. Suspense interacts with readers' engagement and imagination by giving us a cheat sheet that the characters don't have. We're asking, "How are they going to get out of a jam they don't even know they're in?"<br /><br />The questions we ask in a suspenseful scene do rely on what we don't know (that's how it creates tension), but we're only asking the questions because of what we <i>do</i> know. If we didn't know about the bomb, we'd simply be asking why these two characters met at a restaurant for polite chitchat.<br /><br />Other forms of tension are created by giving us <i>less</i> information than the characters have, not more. What keeps us reading is a desire to catch up with what the characters already know. Suspense creates tension in the opposite way, and it engages readers' imaginations in a different way.D. B. Bateshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14726277195370623653noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-56317387636161296272015-02-01T11:17:50.454-05:002015-02-01T11:17:50.454-05:00You have a story there! "The Accidental Lamps...You have a story there! "The Accidental Lampshade" (or you could go the Dave Barry route, because "that would make a great name for a band").DLMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08768285199864217885noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-74619959426560195372015-02-01T11:07:35.105-05:002015-02-01T11:07:35.105-05:00Awesome as always and it reminded me of a moving m...Awesome as always and it reminded me of a moving moment. <br /><br />Back in law school I moved into an awesome second floor apartment. I had several large antiques, so I hired a local mover. <br /><br />The lead was a dead ringer for a young David Caruso (ala NYPD Blue.) I was younger and thinner then, so a small bit of flirting occurred. <br /><br />At the end of a long exhausting day, my doorbell rang. I opened the door to find David Caruso holding one of my lampshades that had been "accidentally" left on the truck. <br /><br />What did I do?<br /><br />WHAT DID I DO? (Can you feel the tension?)<br /><br />I took the lampshade, said "thank you," and closed the door. <br /><br />I *facepalm* to this day, some 20 years later. <br /><br />There is no opportunity like an opportunity lost . . .<br /><br />TerriTerri Lynn Coophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07290316565247120848noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-71815704851255752252015-02-01T11:07:19.144-05:002015-02-01T11:07:19.144-05:00The WIR makes this feel ever more like a community...The WIR makes this feel ever more like a community, Janet. Thank you for providing such a remarkable place online, where this varied, interesting, and collegial group could become a little party every day.<br /><br />A number of us have observed the cross-pollination between this blog and the BookEnds blog, but there's also been an increasing network between us, reading and commenting on each other's blogs and supporting one another. I know I try to check profiles here and find new places to read and link to, and it gives me joy to see comments from friends here on my own blog.<br /><br />Thank you for providing this creative social hub. I've been more challenged and invigorated in my own online efforts, and y'all keep me inspired, too, to keep up the querying and research and even a little writing now and then!DLMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08768285199864217885noreply@blogger.com