Why is it so many writers hate description? I was reading a dicsussion on a web board about descriptions of eye movements (for example: her eyes flashed with anger) and one person said that sort of writing was just filler and was not needed. The sentence should simply read: She glared or she stared.
I could not disagree more. I am tired of writers waving their arms around and shouting foul when another writer describes a character's hair and eyes or a sweeping description of a sunset. There is nothing wrong with including those things. The trick is to do it without relying on cliches or to have it featured too much in a manuscript. I used to begin ALOT OF SCENES with a description of the weather. I slowly realised that I was doing it too much and it was too much description so I ripped it all out and I now try very hard not to do it. It still okay in some circumstances. A description of a forest or a storm rolling in can help set the scene. The thing to remember is NOT TO DO IT FOR EVERY SCENE OPENING or every second or third opening.
As for descriptions of eye, or nose, or head movements, I see nothing wrong with it. These sorts of descriptions help bring a character to life. A tilt of the head, a raise of the eyebrow, a twitch of the lips, are all things that can make a character seem more real and emotional. Telling someone not to include those things at all is just bad advice. So many inexperienced writers think these are golden rules and that if they dare to disobey them the ground will fall out from under their feet. The thing I have learned with writing is to listen to all opinions, even ones that you do not agree with, and learn how to bend the rules to suit you.
For example, it is a pretty big rule in writing not to repeat word, but it CAN be done well if the writer does it with care. Ditto with using words like AND, THEY, SUDDENLY, etc...etc... All fine if used well. Learn which rules to follow and which ones to bend to your liking. If you like description...put in description. Just do it with care and avoid cliches like having your character stand in front of a mirror and think about how super pretty her raven black hair looks when she brushes it.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Is too much description really that bad?
I like to write stories about characters with unusual coloured hair and eyes. In Echoes in the Wind the main character Echo is black with waist length green hair and matching green eyes. She is a goddess of the mountains in the story and I wanted to reflect that in her appearance. I wanted to look earthy, exotic. I'd wanted to write a story about a black woman with green hair and eyes for years. The image has been stuck in my head since high school. I just found the idea of a woman who looked like that so mystical, so magical, perfect for a fantasy novel. Narcissus was white with waist length blue/white hair and eyes that changed from blue/green/white with his emotions. In Deep Embrace the main character Perse is white with waist length blue hair and gold eyes. Her soul mate Helios is white with red/gold eyes and shoulder length red/gold hair.
Why do I make them look like this? Two reasons. Firstly, I like it. I think it makes them unique because let's face it, brown hair and green eyes is boring, it's been done to death. When I describe my characters I want them to be mystical, memorable. Secondly, I want them to stand out on a front cover. I don't want to be another faceless blonde woman or dark haired man. I want people to look at them and think 'That person is so freakishly beautiful and weird looking they HAVE to be a god or goddess!'
In my stories one of the ways people can tell if someone is a god/goddess or a descent of one is their hair or eye colour. A person who is immortal will have something weird, like blue hair and white eyes, if they have a child with a mortal and if that child has a child, their descent will be mortal but with maybe brown hair and white eyes. So hair and eye colour is important in my story. So many writers challenge me on this though. They ask "Why is it important? Can't you write a story without describing the characters in detail?"
Yes, I could. I know that too much description is bad. I try to steer clear of my main character standing in front of a window and looking at themselves. I know that is a cliche. But I will not take out character description completely. In the past I have done way, way too much. I've learnt that lesson. Less is more. I still want to mention my character's hair and eye colour. The trick is I have to learn to put in just enough description so the reader can get a basic idea of them. I can't over do it. I have to let the reader come up with the idea how a character looks. I am so paranoid about describing characters these days. I worry that it is bad writing.
But it's my style. I like to do it. I like to state clearly SHE HAD GREEN HAIR. Frankly, if I read a book that did not describe the characters at all, it would be a real weird read. I want to know if characters are white, or black, or fat or half fairy. It makes me connect more to the character and the world seem more real.
Description is like salt. A pinch is good but too much will make the pot taste shit!
I am going to continue describing my character's phsyical appearance. I will try to not go over board though! Less is more.
Why do I make them look like this? Two reasons. Firstly, I like it. I think it makes them unique because let's face it, brown hair and green eyes is boring, it's been done to death. When I describe my characters I want them to be mystical, memorable. Secondly, I want them to stand out on a front cover. I don't want to be another faceless blonde woman or dark haired man. I want people to look at them and think 'That person is so freakishly beautiful and weird looking they HAVE to be a god or goddess!'
In my stories one of the ways people can tell if someone is a god/goddess or a descent of one is their hair or eye colour. A person who is immortal will have something weird, like blue hair and white eyes, if they have a child with a mortal and if that child has a child, their descent will be mortal but with maybe brown hair and white eyes. So hair and eye colour is important in my story. So many writers challenge me on this though. They ask "Why is it important? Can't you write a story without describing the characters in detail?"
Yes, I could. I know that too much description is bad. I try to steer clear of my main character standing in front of a window and looking at themselves. I know that is a cliche. But I will not take out character description completely. In the past I have done way, way too much. I've learnt that lesson. Less is more. I still want to mention my character's hair and eye colour. The trick is I have to learn to put in just enough description so the reader can get a basic idea of them. I can't over do it. I have to let the reader come up with the idea how a character looks. I am so paranoid about describing characters these days. I worry that it is bad writing.
But it's my style. I like to do it. I like to state clearly SHE HAD GREEN HAIR. Frankly, if I read a book that did not describe the characters at all, it would be a real weird read. I want to know if characters are white, or black, or fat or half fairy. It makes me connect more to the character and the world seem more real.
Description is like salt. A pinch is good but too much will make the pot taste shit!
I am going to continue describing my character's phsyical appearance. I will try to not go over board though! Less is more.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Does writer's block exist?
A common question asked on writer's board is "Does writer's block exists?" writer's block is when an writer is just too mentally exhausted to be able to write another word. I believe it does exists. It happens to me all the time. It takes alot of energy and concentration to be able to write. Just writing a single sentence that makes sense and reads well can take alot of work sometimes. I've had days when all I can write is 200 words before my spark fizzles out. I could try and push myself to do more but I've found that is never a good way to do things. If I try to push myself I will end up writing crap or nothing at all. I only push myself to get through my writer's block when I have not even done a single sentence. I have a goal to write at least one paragraph a day. I usually average a page to half a page on a good day which is between 300 and 800 words. I think writer's block is just exhaustion. Sometimes the best thing to do is to accept that you have run out of ideas for the day and to back away from the computer. Do something else. Watch telly. Rent a movie. Play video games. Give your brain a rest. I think most people will find after they stop putting pressure on themselves they will be able to go back to their story and write again with much more success and enjoyment.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Whispers in the Dark Update!
I have not done one of these for a while! I checked out how Whispers was doing on the net yesterday and discovered it has popped up for sale on a couple of more websites which is good. I have added them to the list featured on the side. They are Amazon.Uk, Paper Back Swap, Read Without Paper, Infibeam.com and WHSmith.com! I am very happy to annouce that the website Read Without Paper is the FIRST Australian online bookstore to pick up my book! It's nice to know that my little novella is now on sale in my home country. Hopefully, more Aussie websites will pick it up. Fingers crossed!!
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Building a tough skin
I put a sample of Deep Embrace up for critique on a web board the other day. I got some very interesting comments. One of the people said my main character Perse seemed 'too stupid to live' and compared her to Stephanie Plum. I mostly laughed off that comment but part of me was a little hurt. Deep Embrace is still in rough draft mode and needs alot more work before it is finished. Perse is supposed to be an arrogant, reckless, immature teenager. I can understand how someone might think she would be 'too stupid to live' even though that was not how I wanted her to come across. It's always tough when people give out harsh comments. They serve a purpose though. Sometimes people need to be brutally honest. It helps me see the flaws in my story and characters. I went back and rewrote the beginning of Deep Embrace based on those comments. I hope it reads better now and that Perse across with a little more brains in her head. I actually think the beginning of Deep Embrace is one of the best I have written in years. It is not perfect but when I think back to the beginnings of Goddess Awakening and Tears of a Goddess I can see an improvement in my writing.
The rise of e-books
I visit a message board for writers quite often. I've been reading alot of posts on there from writers telling other writers not to self publish on kindle or to get published through an ebook publisher. They think it is a career killer. They say that if you publish an ebook you will not be considered a real published author because you would not have an agent and your book will not be sold in a real bookstore in printed form.
They also claim that you will ruin your chances of getting published through the larger, traditional publishing houses because they will look at your sales records and be relucant to take you on if your ebook did not do very well. All very valid points. There is a risk to ebook publishing. There is also a risk to paper publishing. I could get an agent tomorrow, sign a fantastic deal with a huge publishing house, and then two years down the track when it goes on sale in a "real" book store I could end up selling hardly anything. Or I could sign with an epublisher and sell my book online for half the price of a printed book and possibly make some money. The chances of success and failure are the same.
It is wrong to label an ebook author as not a real author. It is arrogant, rude, and just plain old fashioned. An author published through an ebook publisher is still an author. An author who self publishes through kindle is still an author. No one has the right to take the title away from them if they do not like the route they took.
What is the difference between a book being sold in an online book store to it being sold in a "real" store? There is no difference. Both places have the book for sale. Both places are visited by people looking for books.
The ebook industry continues to grow each day. Personally, I think it is only a matter of time before everyone is reading ebooks. Look at the rise of devices like ipads and smart phones. People do not want to spend $66 on a hard back book and have to carry it around in their hand bag when they could get the e-version for over half the price and store it on their phone, ipod, etc...
I will be buying a kindle/ereader sometime soon. I have a huge bookcase at home that is over flowing with precious, much loved books. I have plans to buy another bookcase but I can't get another one after that I just do not have the room to store it somewhere. This is another reason why ebooks will slowly take over. Instead of having a bookcase cramed with books people can have all the books they want stored on one tiny, slim device. It saves space and is more practical. I will have a library in my purse which will be great. I hate it when I finish a book and forget to put a new one in my handbag to read the next day at work. There is nothing worse then being bookless as my mother and I call it!
They also claim that you will ruin your chances of getting published through the larger, traditional publishing houses because they will look at your sales records and be relucant to take you on if your ebook did not do very well. All very valid points. There is a risk to ebook publishing. There is also a risk to paper publishing. I could get an agent tomorrow, sign a fantastic deal with a huge publishing house, and then two years down the track when it goes on sale in a "real" book store I could end up selling hardly anything. Or I could sign with an epublisher and sell my book online for half the price of a printed book and possibly make some money. The chances of success and failure are the same.
It is wrong to label an ebook author as not a real author. It is arrogant, rude, and just plain old fashioned. An author published through an ebook publisher is still an author. An author who self publishes through kindle is still an author. No one has the right to take the title away from them if they do not like the route they took.
What is the difference between a book being sold in an online book store to it being sold in a "real" store? There is no difference. Both places have the book for sale. Both places are visited by people looking for books.
The ebook industry continues to grow each day. Personally, I think it is only a matter of time before everyone is reading ebooks. Look at the rise of devices like ipads and smart phones. People do not want to spend $66 on a hard back book and have to carry it around in their hand bag when they could get the e-version for over half the price and store it on their phone, ipod, etc...
I will be buying a kindle/ereader sometime soon. I have a huge bookcase at home that is over flowing with precious, much loved books. I have plans to buy another bookcase but I can't get another one after that I just do not have the room to store it somewhere. This is another reason why ebooks will slowly take over. Instead of having a bookcase cramed with books people can have all the books they want stored on one tiny, slim device. It saves space and is more practical. I will have a library in my purse which will be great. I hate it when I finish a book and forget to put a new one in my handbag to read the next day at work. There is nothing worse then being bookless as my mother and I call it!
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Why didn't I build a website in 2009???
I wish I had started a website for myself back in 2009 when Whispers in the Dark was first published. The reason I didn't was because I didn't know how to use CSS and HTML back then (I do now thanks to a web design class at university) and part of me wondered if there was much point going to all that effort to advertise a short story. I should've done it anyway because now I have another book coming out and I feel stupid advertising Whispers in the Dark on a website now instead of doing it all the way back then. I did a web search before to try and find some of the reviews and could not find any, which I'm not surprised, considering how old they are now. Its irritating, it makes me feel like I'm floggging a dead horse, should I even mention Whispers in the Dark on my website at all? My writing has improved alot since then and its not like I made any money off the thing (not that I had expected to make any) I had a section for reviews and interviews on my website which I now have to keep empty until after Echoes in the Wind comes out. Its annoying because I managed to get some real good reviews. Oh well. Not much I can do about it now. I should've saved copies of the reviews to my computer. Live and learn I suppose. I won't be making those same mistakes again with Echoes in the Wind. I'm going to continue with my website and I will have Whispers in the Dark on it. I'll be glad once Echoes in the Wind comes out and it will be the main feature. Then it won't matter so much if Whispers in the Dark takes a step back. The annoying thing about not being able to show links to my reviews on my site is because it makes it look like I got none. Sigh. Like I said live and learn. I have a much more impressive book coming out soon that will make Whispers in the Dark totally forgetable.
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