tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052003455667869062.post2509348095757629817..comments2024-01-17T22:00:41.839-08:00Comments on Full Throttle and F**k It: Size MattersSteve Malleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17561234111786788616noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052003455667869062.post-41570527189391562512008-02-27T08:28:00.000-08:002008-02-27T08:28:00.000-08:00"Down?"Take out "down?"Not if you want to empahsiz..."Down?"<BR/>Take out "down?"<BR/>Not if you want to empahsize he's a big, tall bugger, like you said a while back...<BR/>Now I feel guilty the few times I used "then."<BR/><BR/>I'm with SQT, I also write short, but the subplot advice will help,that, and finding plot holes.Bernitahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05264585685253812090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052003455667869062.post-78900923994861120822008-02-27T05:44:00.000-08:002008-02-27T05:44:00.000-08:00Yet I share my taste for books with Shauna and Ave...Yet I share my taste for books with Shauna and Avery - isn't it strange?SzélsőFahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11600289147447182465noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052003455667869062.post-91183540183722708652008-02-27T05:42:00.000-08:002008-02-27T05:42:00.000-08:00A very useful post, as usually.I've been practisin...A very useful post, as usually.<BR/>I've been practising the art of reduction via short story contests, where word count matters. <BR/>I <B>suffered </B>the first time, found it useful the second, and to my own advantage the third...and so on.<BR/>Now, I'm cutting down on words I'm using when commenting as well.<BR/>The less means sometimes more.SzélsőFahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11600289147447182465noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052003455667869062.post-13905686273390131802008-02-26T12:37:00.000-08:002008-02-26T12:37:00.000-08:00Liz, like I said, I kept having this conversation....Liz, like I said, I kept having this conversation. It must be the right time...<BR/><BR/>Charles, you're not the only one pressed for reading time. I think that's the reason James Patterson has those two and three page chapters!<BR/><BR/>Shauna, you're not alone either. Plenty of big heavy doorstops out there. Just, not so many of them by authorial virgins. Even Harry Potter came out in a couple of quick reads before JK Rowling went full throttle on her publishers!<BR/><BR/>Avery, I feel for ya. Just think: at least you get to keep 80% of the current edit...<BR/><BR/>I can almost hear the meat saw!Steve Malleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17561234111786788616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052003455667869062.post-19707874578365708662008-02-26T09:38:00.000-08:002008-02-26T09:38:00.000-08:00I'm currently embroiled in the hacking (goggles an...I'm currently embroiled in the hacking (goggles and butcher's apron on, of course). I dropped thirty-thousand words the first two go-rounds, seven the next. I'm on number three, and still at 149,000. It's annoying me to no end.<BR/><BR/>I'm with Shauna. I don't like investing in characters when the book is over in three hundred pages. And I'm usually let down by series. I like one big chunky book with many characters and multiple subplots--a predilection that has apparently bitten me in the ass.AvDBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16574481780173046619noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052003455667869062.post-18742640376097498572008-02-26T08:16:00.000-08:002008-02-26T08:16:00.000-08:00Good advice. Personally, I like to read long books...Good advice. <BR/><BR/>Personally, I like to read long books with multiple subplots and lots of characters and points of view. But my tastes seem to be the exception nowadays.Shauna Robertshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03871768714926149114noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052003455667869062.post-92164313875928406312008-02-26T06:50:00.000-08:002008-02-26T06:50:00.000-08:00Great advice here. Possibly because I started out...Great advice here. Possibly because I started out writing short stories, my first novels turned out to be quite short, around 65,000 to 70,000 words. That's actually about the length I like to read, though. I started out this year with a goal to read some bigger books. I tried two of them and just faded in the last third and have gone back to shorter books again. If I had time to read big chunks of a 50 to 100 pages at a time I could handle big books, but when I'm trapped in work hell and can only do 5 to 10 a night a big book just becomes interminable.Charles Gramlichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02052592247572253641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052003455667869062.post-73892253451901332632008-02-25T23:52:00.000-08:002008-02-25T23:52:00.000-08:00Timely post....thanks :-)Timely post....thanks :-)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02744937536946299450noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052003455667869062.post-42023496307956038962008-02-25T22:59:00.000-08:002008-02-25T22:59:00.000-08:00Glad y'all liked it. I seem to fall on both sides ...Glad y'all liked it. <BR/><BR/>I seem to fall on both sides in my own work: Every edit, I find dead wood needs cutting and other bits that run too fast, with too little flesh.Steve Malleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17561234111786788616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052003455667869062.post-44053190162781403812008-02-25T13:49:00.000-08:002008-02-25T13:49:00.000-08:00Fabulous post. I have to admit, I don't pick up we...Fabulous post. I have to admit, I don't pick up weighty books by first time authors unless there is a lot of good buzz about it and a sequel on the shelf. <BR/><BR/>I tend to be on the short side-- all action, little filler. So the subplot advice is excellent for me. Heck, all of the advice is good for me.SQThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04251030404220909306noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052003455667869062.post-27194823427174224292008-02-25T13:30:00.000-08:002008-02-25T13:30:00.000-08:00Good points, even if I'm not a writer. :)Good points, even if I'm not a writer. :)Lana Gramlichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06975996208260144558noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052003455667869062.post-60595363336339693652008-02-25T12:15:00.000-08:002008-02-25T12:15:00.000-08:00Good post. I personally stay away from books much ...Good post. I personally stay away from books much longer than 400 pages, unless they're from the likes of Dorothy Dunnett or Alexander Dumas. I know from experience I never finish the things. I've learned a lot about cutting by watching what my French and Italian editions cut to shorten my own books. I hate it, but it's been very educational.cs harrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13708705800818667923noreply@blogger.com