tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post8841186494658992808..comments2024-03-18T09:09:59.625-04:00Comments on Janet Reid, Literary Agent: Great concept, terrific query, and no bites. What the hell is wrong?Janet Reidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00615380335938685231noreply@blogger.comBlogger41125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-61699523744996577712017-10-17T09:55:16.742-04:002017-10-17T09:55:16.742-04:00Signed up for yet another year of NaNo. Noticed a ...Signed up for yet another year of NaNo. Noticed a stats sidebar. Claims I've written over five hundred thousand words in NaNoWriMo alone.<br /><br />*blink*<br /><br />According to King's stats, I'm half way there. Her Grace, Heidi, the Duchess of Knealehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17818060864422019573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-51601269469583772792017-10-16T23:18:41.118-04:002017-10-16T23:18:41.118-04:00Thanks, Janet.
You're welcome, Lynne.
Thanks...Thanks, Janet.<br /><br />You're welcome, Lynne.<br /><br />Thanks for the info, Colin.Gingermollymarilynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15684318210445109786noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-86752292598899010522017-10-16T21:05:12.382-04:002017-10-16T21:05:12.382-04:00Wow! My comment is the new blog header! Thank you ...Wow! My comment is the new blog header! Thank you <b>Janet</b>, I'm so honored! Also, thank you <b>Ginger</b> for suggesting it.<br /><br />And I can guarantee there isn't a wuss among this bunch here at the Reef--we're a tough lot, aren't we?<br /><br />As long as I have my coffee, I'm tough as nails. Without my java, meh, not so much! ;)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08624316875028504166noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-33804791161764139982017-10-16T20:06:36.388-04:002017-10-16T20:06:36.388-04:00Ginger: According to Lee Child, it was Elmore Leon...<b>Ginger</b>: According to Lee Child, it was Elmore Leonard who wrote the "rules for writing" to fulfill an obligation to write an article for a paper.Colin Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03292997431935215499noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-54921784479820948092017-10-16T19:45:33.224-04:002017-10-16T19:45:33.224-04:00Lynne Maine's "Writing is not for wusses&...Lynne Maine's "Writing is not for wusses" should be the new blog header. How true those words are. The agony, the frustration, the insanity - ugh! For example, you try to obey the "Show, don't tell" rule, only to find that one famous author (lol, forget who it is now, Colin knows - he had the video link)says that another famous author just basically made it up. Doh! What to do, what to do! Bottom line - simply, just write A DAMN GOOD STORY! Gingermollymarilynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15684318210445109786noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-10891499257225348522017-10-16T19:19:30.328-04:002017-10-16T19:19:30.328-04:00EM, I buy 2nd copies of books and highlight differ...<b>EM</b>, I buy 2nd copies of books and highlight different elements in different colours and write on them like a text book. I mean, they are really text book for writers. I've found for me this is the best way to analyse, 'cause if I just listen or write I get caught up in the story and forget why I am reading =)AJ Blythehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04529233142099749005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-31175878919189146442017-10-16T19:17:59.164-04:002017-10-16T19:17:59.164-04:00, I'm afraid I don't know the titles of an..., I'm afraid I don't know the titles of any books, but some of my favorite contemporary poets are: David G. Anthony, R. Nero Hill, A.E. Stallings, Mike Alexander, and Rhina Espalliat. Here are a few online poetry magazines that I like also. 14x14.com, thelyricmagazine.com and thehypertexts.com. This is mostly formal poetry, which I tend to find more accessible and enjoyable than free-verse. Leilanihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08948847733088202324noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-52375115068532042592017-10-16T15:32:54.837-04:002017-10-16T15:32:54.837-04:00Ashes I've enjoyed the poetry of Mary Oliver<b>Ashes</b> I've enjoyed the poetry of <a href="http://peacefulrivers.homestead.com/maryoliver.html#anchor_14792" rel="nofollow">Mary Oliver</a>Lisa Bodenheimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17809067722921953857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-24724425877104700022017-10-16T14:49:13.677-04:002017-10-16T14:49:13.677-04:00Kathy-of-the-best-last-name: That is so common. I ...Kathy-of-the-best-last-name: That is so common. I see it so often in works I critique in various places - including in some of my own work. Isn't it wonderful that writers have do-overs (aka revisions)? :)BJ Muntainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12977414826388000094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-33050823253224782662017-10-16T14:33:48.185-04:002017-10-16T14:33:48.185-04:00Poetry is like the Saturday crossword for me. So d...Poetry is like the Saturday crossword for me. So difficult, sometimes I'm better off not picking it up even though I know it'd be good for me. Maybe it's a lot like kale too. No, even the Saturday puzzle is easier to swallow than kale.<br /><br />I love "bet your bookmark." I like to think lines like that rise to the surface in the editing. If that's your first draft, Janet, you might be moving to the other side of the agent-writer relationship. <br /><br />Do agents say the same things as lawyers about representing yourself?<br />John Davis Frainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18020019400599228492noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-76106662400547823852017-10-16T13:51:01.001-04:002017-10-16T13:51:01.001-04:00Clunky sentences. Ugh. Can relate to this one, I&#...Clunky sentences. Ugh. Can relate to this one, I'm afraid. When I edited my now-doing-the-rounds manuscript, I saw those "pretzels" Janet mentioned. What on Earth possessed me to write like that? I'm just glad I caught them before sending out pages.<br /><br />The only reason I caught the clunkers was because I made several reading passes (at least ten) of the "finished" manuscript before I queried. Even then, I still found goof-ups here and there. Something driving me nuts is when my eye "sees" a word not actually there. Or worse, when I use the same word twice in a sentence--"was" is my bugaboo in that respect. As in: "I don't know what I was thinking was about that." Argh!<br /><br />Anyone who thinks writing is easy would wither away in less than a nanosecond once they realized how much work goes into creating that magnum opus. <br /><br />Writing is not for wusses.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08624316875028504166noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-61400213110664245042017-10-16T13:20:01.868-04:002017-10-16T13:20:01.868-04:00Can anyone recommend some good modern poetry books...Can anyone recommend some good modern poetry books? Something published in the last decade? I adore poetry, I wrote poetry before I wrote fiction and some of my flash fiction entries here on the blog have just been poetry with a plot (shhh). <br /><br />But my library's selection is tiny and I haven't had much luck in my online searches. Help?Asheshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12797621675670255704noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-72674341886140137232017-10-16T12:52:38.605-04:002017-10-16T12:52:38.605-04:00I don't fully grasp the epiphanic import of a ...I don't fully grasp the epiphanic import of a third of the Alice Munro stories I read. So I think, there isn't one, its just the writing. But then I think no, there'a a diamond hard take-away here, you're just not getting it. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03546056344286926982noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-86238401996960896042017-10-16T11:58:36.975-04:002017-10-16T11:58:36.975-04:00EM: Yup, that's correct. And thank you!
kathy...<b>EM:</b> Yup, that's correct. And thank you!<br /><br /><b>kathy joyce:</b> I actually find it quite fun. Every time I've done it, it's been between drafts, so I have been able to (a) get away from my words for a while, and (b) absorb some good writing to prepare me for revisions. The key is to make sure it's a book you really love.<br /><br /><b>Julie:</b> I know what you mean about the zone. I can't do it if I'm actively working on something else—things start creeping in.Adib Khorramhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03836332867898941638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-26747135234039232652017-10-16T11:53:58.897-04:002017-10-16T11:53:58.897-04:00Julie, I was thinking the same thing. I grew up on...Julie, I was thinking the same thing. I grew up on a farm of plowed fields and no grazing, so that's the default picture of farmland in my mind. I suppose Janet's example means if I want most readers to see furrows rather than grass, I should mention it. Beth Carpenterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02447148196867821907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-59303560435604069502017-10-16T11:43:48.396-04:002017-10-16T11:43:48.396-04:00Colin great observation, however when you quoted H...<br />Colin great observation, however when you quoted Holmes, and his "Eliminate all other factors..." My mind instantly inserted Occam's Razor, it must be my genre default. <br /><br />Great post, and comments, par usual. <br /><br />Cheers Hank french sojournhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14262858704848580714noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-32473478072861071402017-10-16T11:29:21.952-04:002017-10-16T11:29:21.952-04:00Another post that makes my stomach churn and my kn...Another post that makes my stomach churn and my knees go weak. It's the things you don't know you don't know that makes writing so hard.Joseph S.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07437663031050410028noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-66317886193368121522017-10-16T11:22:26.394-04:002017-10-16T11:22:26.394-04:00Oh, Craig, we shall feel guilty together. Are we c...Oh, Craig, we shall feel guilty together. Are we closet Catholics? I'm pretty sure I am. I used to raise my hand every time the ref blew his whistle in basketball because I assumed I committed the foul...and usually did.<br /><br />Julie Weathershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13725236516593676381noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-6726923225663439202017-10-16T11:09:05.995-04:002017-10-16T11:09:05.995-04:00This one caught y eye:
"I say them out loud,...This one caught y eye:<br /><br />"I say them out loud, and you bet your bookmark, it does clear out some room on the Ltrain when I start reciting aloud."<br /><br />I left town before Kawasaki Rail Cars brought the NY subway system into the twentieth century (and I know they did because I worked as a software engineer on the R-142A project but never actually rode on any of the new cars) but if it is remotely as LOUD as it used to be in Medieval Times I am surprised you could hear yourself think, let alone recite, "Once upon a subway dreary."<br /><br />I always thought bad writers were bad people and terrible writers were terrible people. Muchas Garcia for helping me see I was wrong. It is always wonderful to learn something new.<br /><br />Have a great week.<br />Steve Stubbshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13421775912951050610noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-2866350326097689222017-10-16T10:59:46.008-04:002017-10-16T10:59:46.008-04:00All of this advice is SO sound. I'm in a poetr...All of this advice is SO sound. I'm in a poetry critique group that's international, filled with REAL poets, because I had some poetry published by a supportive magazine. (I'm barely an amateur.) Studying poetry helps the ear for writing so much. Almost too much, since the instinct is to keep it slim--an adverb is a sin of mammoth proportions.<br /><br />I torture my family by paying them to listen to my stories read aloud. I think it makes a difference when you're reading TO somebody. I catch more this purposeful way than if I read aloud to myself or the dogs. The dogs like everything I write.Sherry Howardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04326605891373049617noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-87874704174452263472017-10-16T10:42:08.170-04:002017-10-16T10:42:08.170-04:00Oh, down under pastoral is a legal definition for ...Oh, down under pastoral is a legal definition for ranch land. Something like King Ranch would be called King Pastoral down there.Craig Fhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07157301156577795781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-85204398587281135942017-10-16T10:32:50.950-04:002017-10-16T10:32:50.950-04:00But, Julie, I thought it was about me. Of course t...But, Julie, I thought it was about me. Of course the query I thought so highly of is clunking in its own way.<br /><br />Started book with a nonce word to infer a longer day on the new world. Sci-fi people got it, others don't. Sometimes you beta readers know too much about the story and can pas by clunky stuff because they know where it leads while a fresh reader will ask WTF?<br /><br />On the other edge there is the endless edit of those who keep plugging along a nefarious path. Trod the path too often and it will turn to mud and no one will be able to follow your trail.<br /><br />Maybe Mr. LeRoy will turn the page for me someday soon. Poor guy must of bitten off too much when he let my Queen post his offer.Craig Fhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07157301156577795781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-44421413772466941322017-10-16T10:22:56.249-04:002017-10-16T10:22:56.249-04:00Raising hand. I'm guilty. Pastoral is in Rain ...Raising hand. I'm guilty. Pastoral is in Rain Crow. I don't remember the exact line now. "It might have been a Linnell pastoral if not for the bodies marring the once pristine landscape" or something like that. It's probably in there more than once...yup, three times. A pastoral tapestry and pastoral entry.<br /><br />I disagree that farmland is by definition pastoral. Pastoral is by definition grazing pasture as opposed to farmland. In riding up to the horse farm the MC notes the people working in the fields, but closer to the entry there is no farming. "Papa, ever the artist at heart, had kept the land on either side of the entry pastoral with clumps of trees here and there to shade the horses." <br /><br />I agree that a manuscript needs to be read aloud before you're done. More than once. I don't know what I'm going to do with RC when the time comes now that Amazon bought out Ivona and screwed that up to high heaven. There are other services, but not as good and listening to someone else read it is my final pass.<br /><br />Poetry is wonderful for the soul, but I am too old and I think to dense to get some of it. I'm also not going to spend much time trying to understand it. If the poet is so clever that I have to give myself headaches trying to figure out what they are saying, I will return to Burns or Byron where I can simply enjoy beautiful words.<br /><br />"And yes, sometimes I say them out loud, and you bet your bookmark, it does clear out some room on the L-train when I start reciting aloud."<br /><br />Sara Pryor, a well known lady of the Civil War era was raised by her aunt and uncle. Her uncle as a form of punishment for child and slave alike was to read Homer or Virgil. She said people seldom misbehaved after a session of listening to the Illiad or Odessey with Uncle, including herself. I guess not everyone appreciates the classics.<br /><br /><b>Adib</b><br /><br />I agree. It's the best way to pick up the subtle nuances of the way a writer crafts sentences, dialogue, etc. I'm thinking about doing it with Lonesome Dove when I get done with RC. I can't now because I'm kind of in the "zone" with speech patterns<br /><br />Anyway, way over 100 words. Forgive me.Julie Weathershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13725236516593676381noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-1589222612868424472017-10-16T10:08:04.946-04:002017-10-16T10:08:04.946-04:00Here's an example of a clunky sentence of mine...Here's an example of a clunky sentence of mine, the opening from my new WIP.<br /><br />"Hazel tottered in her too-high heels, just like the girl she was pretending to be would."<br /><br />The bit before the comma is fine. Evocative verb, good rhythm, alliterative.<br /><br />The rest is dull. Too many filler words, awkward rhythm, ends on a word that has no impact.<br /><br />I'll probably rewrite it several times.Cherylhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09128656624170294636noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-54480333624415389442017-10-16T09:50:13.806-04:002017-10-16T09:50:13.806-04:00This is where a writer's group comes in handy....This is where a writer's group comes in handy. There are plenty on-line and if there are some in your area find a way to get in. But once you're in you need to listen. Criticism is hard but it goes a long ways to making us really good at what we're trying to do. Bryan J. Faganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00439364121405747213noreply@blogger.com