In the past two to four weeks I have gone through more fiction then I think I have in my entire time at AU. This both upsets me (for the lack of reading) and makes me happy.
Lets see. It started with The Hunger Games which was brilliant -- fast paced, with a society and world that was built well. I actually appriciated the way Suzanne Collin's treated the end, and thought that there was a lot to be said for structure, characterization, and sheer creative power. Pacing, as every cropped up as an excellent point.
Once I got my Kindle, the reading really picked up the pace though. Last weekend I went through The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor (interesting take on Alice in Wonderland, and great ideas for the plot, and a sense of good characters, unfortunately condensed in a way that left much wanting from the narrative. I liked it though, and plan on going on with the second book Seeing Redd soon).
Then I read Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld, which was so good!!! Kat informed me while I was half way through that her interest in the book came from a comment a friend of hers who said that it was like Song of the Lioness except Jon and Alanna work out -- and the secondary comment of "Well more like Jon and George if George was the cross dresser." BRB LAUGHING FOREVER. I found this hilarious. Of course, now I have to wait for Kat to read it, or someone else I know, but somehow most of my friends have moved away from "young adult fantasy" as it were. SAD. Anyways, if you've read it and want to talk about it, hit me up.
Having finished Leviathan I wanted to go on to the second book Behemoth, but knowing that the next book doesn't come out till September, made me hesitate to dive into the next book so I started Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo... and I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith. Then I got kind of impatient and went back and read Behemoth. Waiting for books is always exciting -- remember how it was with Harry Potter? I love that feeling. ANYWAYS, loved Behemoth. It was funnier then the first book, and I kept doing little anticipation dances. I think its a much stronger book then Leviathan, but can't talk much about it yet.
Anyways, moving on from that, I started The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I haven't finished it yet, and don't find it as riveting as many other people probably do. I think part of it is that while I find it easy to pick up on fantasy worlds, the real world is much harder for me to acclimatize to in novels. I think I'll get into it. Apparently the main female protagonist is awesome and I haven't yet met her (yes that is how far I got), so I'm excited to see where it goes.
I Capture the Castle is interesting to read. I haven't gotten that far into it either (for similar reasons to tGwtDT), but I think I will really like it. I have a thing for stories about writers. I am a tad annoyed with the amount of 'telling' going on the first pages, but the characters are going to be charming enough to carry me through my initial uncomfortableness.
Now, Percy Jackson. My supervisor wanted me to read it because he's older (not yet 30, but still, not young enough for these books) and so has never had the chance to talk about it I actually am thoroughly impressed with Percy Jackson. The plot moves at quite a clip, so I find myself most of the way through one of the books in a few hours and feel surprise that I'm at the end. I read The Lightning Theif in one day, and finished both Sea of Monsters and The Titan's Curse yesterday. I'll probably get through Battle of the Labyrinth and The Last Olympian in the next couple of days (have to slow down and do work or something). The characters are all good -- and despite the fact that he's the hero and very hero like (not my usual kind) -- I really enjoy Percy and think he's great. There are moments of Mary-Sueism, but for the most part I like him.
Hm. Anyways. I read Things White People Like, and have reread most of The Harperhall Trilogy by Anne McCaffery (okay, the first two books, when you get too far away from Menolly, much as I love Pimur, I start to get annoyed with the characters. Seriously Pimur, you're cute and all, but you are not supposed to be the hero of a story...). I also started to reread The Book of Night With Moon which I read ages ago, and am finding it much more entertaining now I'm older. I liked it originally, but now I can really get some of the stuff that happens in it. Also Diane Duane, you are a god of science fiction writing, I want to be you when I grow up.
I'm excited. I'm graduating soon, and in terms of time to read, this will be the best. I have started compiling lists for reading. My current reading list (as in books I have on my Kindle that I want to read, going to condense series behind the first book):
1. Brightly Woven by Alexandra Bracken
2. Incarceron by Catherine Fisher
3. The Ill-Made Mute by Cecilia Dart-Thornton
4. Boneshaker by Cherie Priest
5. Inkspell by Cornelia Funke
6. Reckless by Cornelia Funke
7. A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
8. The False Princess by Eilis O'Neal
9. A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin (I have technically started this, but everyone keeps talking about it and I really should attempt it again when I start to have free time again. Maybe I'll like it the second time around).
10. Wicked Gentlemen by Ginn Hale
11. One for the Money by Janet Evanovich (for some fluff)
12. Hidden Empire by Kevin Anderson
13. Magic Study by Maria V. Snyder
14. The Library of Shadows by Mikkel Birkegaard
15. Anansi Boys by Niel Gaiman
16. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
17. Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Prachett
18. Idlewild by Nick Sagan
19. Ill Wind by Rachel Caine
20. Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb
21. The Stand by Stephen King
I still need suggestions for reading. I'm a fantasy/sci-fi girl, as you may have noticed, and actually prefer young adult novels. Recently I've gotten into steampunk -- just for the sheer creativity that comes from this vien. If there's anything wants to suggest for me to read, let me know.
Showing posts with label pacing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pacing. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Friday, March 18, 2011
In the Interlude
A lot of books on writing suggest you put a manuscript to bed for a little while before beginning to edit. This gives you a little distance from the work, and the first blush of love you feel for any novel you've written, fades giving you the ability to 'kill your darlings' as it were.
I used to think this was hogwash -- shouldn't you know exactly what happened in your novel in order to go back and edit as soon as possible? As I've grown into the writer I am now, I find though, that I come to things with fresh eyes if I just give a little time for the novel to breathe. New ideas occur to me, I watch a new show and discover something that I want to add into my novel. Its a calming period, when I can think about what I have written and how to make it better.
I am in the waiting period, letting EoaW (I wrote out the title recently and realized to my horror that there was an 'a' in the title) settle into what it will become in my mind. There are things that have to change about it, I know, but for now I am letting it rest.
But just because I'm letting something rest doesn't mean I don't have a million other ideas. Two things have happened since I finished my novel that are related to this: one, I attempted to plot the next five books after Pawn and I read The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.
Pawn is troubling to me because I don't know exactly where its going. The unfortunate thing about knowing how tropes work is that I know the expected path for a story like Pawn, and know that you can only deviate from it somewhat without violating the agreement with the reader -- to tell a story that is different yet the same in exchange for their willing suspension of disbelief. But I don't like the expected path, and to be honest the whole thinking about the whole series has made me slightly disappointed that it appears to have a moral.
This leads to a niggling, scary thought, that I am going to have to re-write a large portion of the backstory, and probably the majority of the story. While I know that this probably will be the result, I don't think I can handle re-writing the story right now. I'm in the middle of editing EoaW and I need that energy for the editing process.
Anyways, so that has me a little stumped. I think though, that the second thing that happened has opened up something for me.
The Hunger Games was given to me by a resident last night and I read it in one giant gulp. I don't remember the last time I read something new like this. I mean, I read The Dark Jewels trilogy like this, and Harry Potter, but even for authors I love, it usually takes me a couple of days to get through a book -- partly because of a decreased attention span and partly because -- well I get ideas and head over to word to start writing.
I suppose the last new book I read like this was The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger and that was almost five years ago now (ignoring the Harry Potter books, because those were expected). Part of this is due to being in college, and finding less and less time to read, and part of this is the fact that it doesn't happen often me me.
The Hunger Games was another wonderful example of pacing done right. It had captivating characters and the narration -- wow the narration was done brilliantly. You are swept alone in Katniss's world, and feel the same confusion about characters, the same little loves and joys as her. It was extremely well done. But I don't want to spoil it right now. I have to read the next two books and see what happens and then I'll probably do a giant recap post.
Anyways, if you haven't read it, I definitely recommend it. At least the first book.
Anyways, The Hunger Games made Alane pop up again. Probably because I have twelve books to fill with her, but almost anything can happen in Alane's books, I just have to create a sequence and follow my larger plot driven arcs. The point being, the idea of an arena, fighting, lead me to the beginning of Alane's story -- something I had been trying to find for a long time.
So, in the interlude between finishing and editing, I am going to keep on writing... its all I know how to do.
I used to think this was hogwash -- shouldn't you know exactly what happened in your novel in order to go back and edit as soon as possible? As I've grown into the writer I am now, I find though, that I come to things with fresh eyes if I just give a little time for the novel to breathe. New ideas occur to me, I watch a new show and discover something that I want to add into my novel. Its a calming period, when I can think about what I have written and how to make it better.
I am in the waiting period, letting EoaW (I wrote out the title recently and realized to my horror that there was an 'a' in the title) settle into what it will become in my mind. There are things that have to change about it, I know, but for now I am letting it rest.
But just because I'm letting something rest doesn't mean I don't have a million other ideas. Two things have happened since I finished my novel that are related to this: one, I attempted to plot the next five books after Pawn and I read The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.
Pawn is troubling to me because I don't know exactly where its going. The unfortunate thing about knowing how tropes work is that I know the expected path for a story like Pawn, and know that you can only deviate from it somewhat without violating the agreement with the reader -- to tell a story that is different yet the same in exchange for their willing suspension of disbelief. But I don't like the expected path, and to be honest the whole thinking about the whole series has made me slightly disappointed that it appears to have a moral.
This leads to a niggling, scary thought, that I am going to have to re-write a large portion of the backstory, and probably the majority of the story. While I know that this probably will be the result, I don't think I can handle re-writing the story right now. I'm in the middle of editing EoaW and I need that energy for the editing process.
Anyways, so that has me a little stumped. I think though, that the second thing that happened has opened up something for me.
The Hunger Games was given to me by a resident last night and I read it in one giant gulp. I don't remember the last time I read something new like this. I mean, I read The Dark Jewels trilogy like this, and Harry Potter, but even for authors I love, it usually takes me a couple of days to get through a book -- partly because of a decreased attention span and partly because -- well I get ideas and head over to word to start writing.
I suppose the last new book I read like this was The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger and that was almost five years ago now (ignoring the Harry Potter books, because those were expected). Part of this is due to being in college, and finding less and less time to read, and part of this is the fact that it doesn't happen often me me.
The Hunger Games was another wonderful example of pacing done right. It had captivating characters and the narration -- wow the narration was done brilliantly. You are swept alone in Katniss's world, and feel the same confusion about characters, the same little loves and joys as her. It was extremely well done. But I don't want to spoil it right now. I have to read the next two books and see what happens and then I'll probably do a giant recap post.
Anyways, if you haven't read it, I definitely recommend it. At least the first book.
Anyways, The Hunger Games made Alane pop up again. Probably because I have twelve books to fill with her, but almost anything can happen in Alane's books, I just have to create a sequence and follow my larger plot driven arcs. The point being, the idea of an arena, fighting, lead me to the beginning of Alane's story -- something I had been trying to find for a long time.
So, in the interlude between finishing and editing, I am going to keep on writing... its all I know how to do.
Friday, May 28, 2010
The Problem With (Glee)
I have a very good friend with whom I share a lot of TV and books and movies who once described watching Torchwood as being like crack: you know its terrible for you, you know its not amazing TV, but you have to keep watching, and when you don't, you go through withdrawal. I thought the part about having to keep watching and withdrawal to be apt (I have not examined Torchwood closely enough to decide whether its really terrible or not, I think its because I'm scared to). But the point is, some shows are like crack, and I think a prime example is Glee.
Glee's pull is the music. A show where people sing? Its like having a musical every episode and that's awesome. I love musical episodes -- they tend to be my favorite episode in a series. I love musicals in general, and so I decided to try Glee.
The major problem with Glee is not the characters (though they could use some work), nor is the plot (hackneyed and cliche in some places), its the pacing. I know I have already discussed pacing -- but that was the good kind of pacing, the kind that draws you in and compels you to keep going. Glee either is attempting this and failing, or the writers have no idea what's going on.
I started Glee after four episodes had aired and felt the compulsion to tear my hair out. They stuff so much plot into those four episodes that it feels like a full half season. Rachel and Finn happen far too quickly, the emotional pull of Emma and Will is too rapid for me to love them. Quinn is pregnant and its really Puck's, but she makes Finn think its his, and Terri is faking a pregnancy. Too much stuff is going on in four episodes for one season, let alone four episodes. The problem continues as the show goes on.
The central plot at the beginning of the series -- that glee club has to succeed in order to continue -- fizzles and dies as the series gets its back nine and so we lose the suspense that could have been built. Terri has an outrageous plan that is so stupid it hurts and degrades Will's character to a chump. Seriously? He wasn't aware that his wife was being really weird about her pregnancy? The plot meanders in and out, and attempts to be interesting, but because it was blown too early, you lose that chance.
The other thing you lose is emotion. I found this particularly jarring in recent episodes when moments that are supposed to be heartwarming just didn't make sense. I am bothered by the Rachel finding her mother storyline. Yeah, it could be interesting eventually to find out about Rachel's mother -- but leave that for another couple of seasons! You have another two already ordered, why bring in something that forces emotionality on the audience when it hasn't been built too? I was confused, sincerely confused, as to why Rachel would want to find her mother. She explained at the beginning that her "two gay dads" had found a surrogate, and yet when the mother thing came up, she suddenly wanted to know why her mother had given her up.
Well, because your mother was a surrogate, and your two gay dads wanted you and had paid money to have you.
The sudden jump to finding her mother happened in two episodes -- and herein lies another problem. This show seems to not understand the concept of time. Terri has been faking her pregnancy since after Quinn got pregnant, and yet Terri had to start padding right away while Quinn still looks like she's not in the slightest pregnant. Additionally, Terri's plan to have Quinn give her the baby during Quinn's spring break seems to be all wrong, as spring break for Jesse already happened and Quinn still doesn't look pregnant. We also spend so much time waiting for sectionals/regionals and get told its coming up so soon, yet because of that we lose the urgency that the writers were looking for.
I suppose the point of this is, Glee is an example of a show that has pacing problems. Its not a good show as a result, and is therefore like crack -- you have to keep watching it because maybe there will be a time when the writers realize what their doing and the show will become good. And in the meantime you get to listen to music. Yes, fast paced is good, but there is something to knowing when too much is happening in a show for its own good.
So take the lesson from Glee. Pacing is important. Work on it, and you might have something that is worth it, instead of just addictive (and will eventually make you lose your teeth).
Glee's pull is the music. A show where people sing? Its like having a musical every episode and that's awesome. I love musical episodes -- they tend to be my favorite episode in a series. I love musicals in general, and so I decided to try Glee.
The major problem with Glee is not the characters (though they could use some work), nor is the plot (hackneyed and cliche in some places), its the pacing. I know I have already discussed pacing -- but that was the good kind of pacing, the kind that draws you in and compels you to keep going. Glee either is attempting this and failing, or the writers have no idea what's going on.
I started Glee after four episodes had aired and felt the compulsion to tear my hair out. They stuff so much plot into those four episodes that it feels like a full half season. Rachel and Finn happen far too quickly, the emotional pull of Emma and Will is too rapid for me to love them. Quinn is pregnant and its really Puck's, but she makes Finn think its his, and Terri is faking a pregnancy. Too much stuff is going on in four episodes for one season, let alone four episodes. The problem continues as the show goes on.
The central plot at the beginning of the series -- that glee club has to succeed in order to continue -- fizzles and dies as the series gets its back nine and so we lose the suspense that could have been built. Terri has an outrageous plan that is so stupid it hurts and degrades Will's character to a chump. Seriously? He wasn't aware that his wife was being really weird about her pregnancy? The plot meanders in and out, and attempts to be interesting, but because it was blown too early, you lose that chance.
The other thing you lose is emotion. I found this particularly jarring in recent episodes when moments that are supposed to be heartwarming just didn't make sense. I am bothered by the Rachel finding her mother storyline. Yeah, it could be interesting eventually to find out about Rachel's mother -- but leave that for another couple of seasons! You have another two already ordered, why bring in something that forces emotionality on the audience when it hasn't been built too? I was confused, sincerely confused, as to why Rachel would want to find her mother. She explained at the beginning that her "two gay dads" had found a surrogate, and yet when the mother thing came up, she suddenly wanted to know why her mother had given her up.
Well, because your mother was a surrogate, and your two gay dads wanted you and had paid money to have you.
The sudden jump to finding her mother happened in two episodes -- and herein lies another problem. This show seems to not understand the concept of time. Terri has been faking her pregnancy since after Quinn got pregnant, and yet Terri had to start padding right away while Quinn still looks like she's not in the slightest pregnant. Additionally, Terri's plan to have Quinn give her the baby during Quinn's spring break seems to be all wrong, as spring break for Jesse already happened and Quinn still doesn't look pregnant. We also spend so much time waiting for sectionals/regionals and get told its coming up so soon, yet because of that we lose the urgency that the writers were looking for.
I suppose the point of this is, Glee is an example of a show that has pacing problems. Its not a good show as a result, and is therefore like crack -- you have to keep watching it because maybe there will be a time when the writers realize what their doing and the show will become good. And in the meantime you get to listen to music. Yes, fast paced is good, but there is something to knowing when too much is happening in a show for its own good.
So take the lesson from Glee. Pacing is important. Work on it, and you might have something that is worth it, instead of just addictive (and will eventually make you lose your teeth).
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Pacing (The Black Jewels Trilogy - Anne Bishop)
I was going to write about Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland but the more I wrote, the more it turned into a negative, annoyed review of a passing movie that didn't resonate with me. So I decided to let it go. Instead, I got my parents to bring me down a trilogy of books that I love dearly, but had kind of forgotten about -- The Black Jewels by Anne Bishop. The three books in the trilogy are Daughter of the Blood, Heir to the Shadows and Queen of the Darkness (and please note, the cover art on these books is a hallmark of don't judge a book by its cover).
I started reading on Monday evening and have just finished the third book for the umpteenth time. I mention this for a particular reason. I read books quite quickly. Maybe not as fast as some, but I'm dyslexic, so I have an excuse. When I read The Black Jewels it feels like I'm reading fast. It feels like I can't stop because, while I know what is going to happen, I need to keep going. And its this speed, and need to go on, that interests me.
To be honest, I've never read any of Anne Bishop's stuff, so I don't know if it holds the same intensity that these three books hold. I did, for a while, hold on to a collection of her short stories that included one about the same characters, but I never felt the need to read it. I've been told her other stuff isn't as good. So, if we take these three books as masterful creations of pacing that she hasn't managed to recreate, then what is so special about these books?
I'm not going to provide a synopsis this time, so I'll try and keep this easy to understand without reading the books. However, I will probably delve into spoilers of, at the very least, the first book.
So what is it about the pacing of these books that is so captivating?
I would like to say that it has something to do with how you know, subconsciously, what is going on from the beginning. Tersa tells us, in what I like to think of as a midnight voice to match Janelle's, "She is coming", and we are swept into the story -- or the mystery, or whatever you want to call it. There is a prologue, and it is brief, but it informs so much of what the story is going to be while creating lovely foreshadowing. I think all prologues could be held to this standard because while most people complain about prologues (well not most, but there are quite a few who do) and claim they give away too much, this one gives the reader a direction, a forceful wave of motion that can't be stopped until you reach the end, untangle the web and finally know what she means by "She is coming", while giving information that could not otherwise be given. This is what a prologue is for.
But the prologue is only part of it. You can only glean so much of what is happening from the prologue and the information found there, it is also in the fact that you see the world Janelle (the person whom Tersa was saying was coming) inhabits, but not the body she inhabits. The narration jumps between the people who see her and are surrounded by, which gives us leave to see into the minds of her enemies.
Even this, though, is not enough to get through the first book. While in the first book, the movements of the enemy forces are driven more by luck then scheming, and as the serious moves on the villains become little more then bumbling idiots -- the real drama relegated to the main characters and the emotional tones of the story. Still, knowing the villains as well as the protagonists, gives us some more knowledge of where the story is going, as they are the schemers, and move things into place for the action to occur.
That isn't the whole thing though, and I find myself at a loss after looking at those two items. It occured to me that it might be in the writing style -- the delicate word choice, the short, to the point sentences (that I have not managed to achieve clearly) -- the way she paces this story, moving it along, while not hurrying it to the conclusion.
And that, unfortunately, can't be taught.
Hopefully though, it can be practiced.
I started reading on Monday evening and have just finished the third book for the umpteenth time. I mention this for a particular reason. I read books quite quickly. Maybe not as fast as some, but I'm dyslexic, so I have an excuse. When I read The Black Jewels it feels like I'm reading fast. It feels like I can't stop because, while I know what is going to happen, I need to keep going. And its this speed, and need to go on, that interests me.
To be honest, I've never read any of Anne Bishop's stuff, so I don't know if it holds the same intensity that these three books hold. I did, for a while, hold on to a collection of her short stories that included one about the same characters, but I never felt the need to read it. I've been told her other stuff isn't as good. So, if we take these three books as masterful creations of pacing that she hasn't managed to recreate, then what is so special about these books?
I'm not going to provide a synopsis this time, so I'll try and keep this easy to understand without reading the books. However, I will probably delve into spoilers of, at the very least, the first book.
So what is it about the pacing of these books that is so captivating?
I would like to say that it has something to do with how you know, subconsciously, what is going on from the beginning. Tersa tells us, in what I like to think of as a midnight voice to match Janelle's, "She is coming", and we are swept into the story -- or the mystery, or whatever you want to call it. There is a prologue, and it is brief, but it informs so much of what the story is going to be while creating lovely foreshadowing. I think all prologues could be held to this standard because while most people complain about prologues (well not most, but there are quite a few who do) and claim they give away too much, this one gives the reader a direction, a forceful wave of motion that can't be stopped until you reach the end, untangle the web and finally know what she means by "She is coming", while giving information that could not otherwise be given. This is what a prologue is for.
But the prologue is only part of it. You can only glean so much of what is happening from the prologue and the information found there, it is also in the fact that you see the world Janelle (the person whom Tersa was saying was coming) inhabits, but not the body she inhabits. The narration jumps between the people who see her and are surrounded by, which gives us leave to see into the minds of her enemies.
Even this, though, is not enough to get through the first book. While in the first book, the movements of the enemy forces are driven more by luck then scheming, and as the serious moves on the villains become little more then bumbling idiots -- the real drama relegated to the main characters and the emotional tones of the story. Still, knowing the villains as well as the protagonists, gives us some more knowledge of where the story is going, as they are the schemers, and move things into place for the action to occur.
That isn't the whole thing though, and I find myself at a loss after looking at those two items. It occured to me that it might be in the writing style -- the delicate word choice, the short, to the point sentences (that I have not managed to achieve clearly) -- the way she paces this story, moving it along, while not hurrying it to the conclusion.
And that, unfortunately, can't be taught.
Hopefully though, it can be practiced.
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