Search found 30 matches

by BetweenTwoWorlds
January 27th, 2011, 12:35 pm
Forum: Writing
Topic: A recent review
Replies: 16
Views: 4744

Re: A recent review

I received a critique /snip/. I know poly already responded but I have one thing to say from a lay-reader's perspective... Why are you telling me this? Seriously. It's like you're just telling me something. It's extremely boring from a reading point of view. "I did this, then this, then this, ...
by BetweenTwoWorlds
January 27th, 2011, 12:32 pm
Forum: Writing
Topic: Professional Manuscript Critiques and Page Spacing
Replies: 35
Views: 10212

Re: Professional Manuscript Critiques and Page Spacing

Well, I thought I had posted a reply, but it went off to the ether. Gist of my witty, cogent commentary: * I get what you got for free from my writing buddies. I'd expect more - a lot more - from a paid professional * Did you have a clear expectation communicated by the people & critiquer of wha...
by BetweenTwoWorlds
December 19th, 2010, 8:38 pm
Forum: Writing
Topic: The Million Word March to Becoming Professional
Replies: 56
Views: 16093

Re: The Million Word March to Becoming Professional

J. T. SHEA wrote:Fenris, just stop the elevator between floors and hold the agent hostage!
Hilarious. I laughed out loud and didn't need an emoticon to be honest.
by BetweenTwoWorlds
December 6th, 2010, 7:45 pm
Forum: Writing
Topic: How do terrible books get published?
Replies: 79
Views: 34463

Re: How do terrible books get published?

I don't have a problem with dreadful books. People can buy them. They can be popular. Kudos to the writers - big bucks & so on. I just cannot call them "good writing." And that's OK. I don't need to sniff about the tastes of people. And yeah, it's great to write something for the commo...
by BetweenTwoWorlds
December 6th, 2010, 11:23 am
Forum: Writing
Topic: How do terrible books get published?
Replies: 79
Views: 34463

Re: How do terrible books get published?

Popular != Good I don't deny that a popular book can be liked by many people. I just say that there are some books that are terrible. Badly written. Bad development. Trite characters. A plot that can be seen a mile away. A pasted-on ending. (I am not speaking of Gone with the Wind .) But yeah, badly...
by BetweenTwoWorlds
December 5th, 2010, 11:42 pm
Forum: Writing
Topic: How do terrible books get published?
Replies: 79
Views: 34463

Re: How do terrible books get published?

Oh believe me. This was a terrible book.

I was jealous, of course, because it got printed and sold. But still, a terrible book.
by BetweenTwoWorlds
December 4th, 2010, 8:04 pm
Forum: Writing
Topic: How do terrible books get published?
Replies: 79
Views: 34463

Re: How do terrible books get published?

Somebody keeps buying that stuff, and that's how it keeps getting churned out. I mean, you ended up buying, right? So people buy it based on word-of-mouth or author's name or cover. And maybe the majority of people who buy it think, "Well, maybe she just had an off day when she published this.&...
by BetweenTwoWorlds
December 3rd, 2010, 2:08 pm
Forum: Writing
Topic: The Million Word March to Becoming Professional
Replies: 56
Views: 16093

Re: The Million Word March to Becoming Professional

Well, thank you for the advice. It makes me feel a little better that perhaps my novel won't be horribly scandalous. It's no Hardy Boys mystery, let me tell you. I speak as an expert about YA in the sense of I was once a boy myself, and have a lot of things I remember from the hazy past. And I'm try...
by BetweenTwoWorlds
December 3rd, 2010, 11:57 am
Forum: Writing
Topic: The Million Word March to Becoming Professional
Replies: 56
Views: 16093

Re: The Million Word March to Becoming Professional

I am really hoping I can shape this latest into something saleable. Pros: YA novel written from boy's perspective & for boys (YA) probably about 60-65k words when finished. Cons: right now it's teetering at 75k words it includes some mature themes it's pretty honest about what boys think about a...
by BetweenTwoWorlds
November 29th, 2010, 4:56 pm
Forum: Writing
Topic: The Million Word March to Becoming Professional
Replies: 56
Views: 16093

Re: The Million Word March to Becoming Professional

Or maybe the kind of agent who will mass-mail your work to "Dear Colleage I have a FABULUS!!!eleventy! WRITER you wil die if you don't hire!"

I mean, agents gotta practice, too, right?
by BetweenTwoWorlds
November 29th, 2010, 4:00 pm
Forum: Writing
Topic: Post-Nano: Successful Strategies
Replies: 8
Views: 4797

Re: Post-Nano: Successful Strategies

Try not to burn manuscript.
Best.
Line.
Ever.
by BetweenTwoWorlds
November 29th, 2010, 2:29 pm
Forum: Writing
Topic: The Million Word March to Becoming Professional
Replies: 56
Views: 16093

Re: The Million Word March to Becoming Professional

I don't know if "million" is the right metric, but I do believe with all my heart that the way to become a better writer is to continually be writing, so it's probably a good point to shoot for. My problem/issue/situation is that my professional writing has nothing to do with my passion wr...
by BetweenTwoWorlds
November 29th, 2010, 2:25 pm
Forum: Writing
Topic: Post-Nano: Successful Strategies
Replies: 8
Views: 4797

Re: Post-Nano: Successful Strategies

Because revising is difficult. I don't mean tightening and polishing. I mean moving a character's entire timeline to bring them in earlier or make them appear more consistently through a book. I mean making a secondary plot thread more visible or removing it altogether. These are the things an exce...
by BetweenTwoWorlds
November 29th, 2010, 2:23 pm
Forum: Writing
Topic: Post-Nano: Successful Strategies
Replies: 8
Views: 4797

Re: Post-Nano: Successful Strategies

Louise Curtis wrote:(S)he tells her story aloud, in detail. Suddenly her betas say, "But that doesn't make sense" or "That's not like she behaved earlier on" or "Why didn't your hero just. . . ?"
Love this idea. May try it on my selected reader group.
by BetweenTwoWorlds
November 23rd, 2010, 6:03 pm
Forum: Writing
Topic: Post-Nano: Successful Strategies
Replies: 8
Views: 4797

Post-Nano: Successful Strategies

Finished my second novel for NaNo at 72,000 words. YA genre set in the 50s. Now what? I've written one other novel (smothered in a drawer somewhere) & countless short stories, but this is one I want to turn into a published-by-a-real-publisher novel. Here's what I'm planning to do: 1. Give it a ...