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Learning from Others’ Writing

May 29, 2014 by still a dreamer

I hate giving up on a book. When I’ve chosen one to read, I really want it to be terrific, so when it continues to disappoint, well, even I give up the ghost. But I realized, much as we can learn from fabulous writers, we can also learn from those who still have more to learn, (myself certainly included.)

WomanReading2A book I picked up recently at the library sale lured me in – great title, fabulous cover art, subject matter strongly appealing to me, and what seemed like an intriguing storyline. But each time I picked it up, I just couldn’t get into it. I finally gave up about 1/5 through. I wondered, what wasn’t working and how could it help me be a better writer?

First, voice. The novel was supposedly told by a 12 year old girl, but the voice was clearly that of an adult woman saying she was a 12 year old girl. Never once did I feel like I was reading a story written by a 12 year-old, so it just didn’t ring true. As children’s book writers, we know how tricky voice can be and the importance of feeling that we’re reading the age group targeted.

Next, character development – I wanted to like this kid, but I just couldn’t really connect with her emotionally. The same went for the other characters; they weren’t able to pull me into their worlds. The characters seemed flat, and sometimes stereotypical, whether adults or tweens. Is it possible that the author wasn’t able to deeply feel her own characters? Or just had difficulty expressing what they felt? She was very capable of describing emotions quite well. This is a huge challenge in writing – to have our readers feel what our characters feel, but when it’s not there, we just feel left out.

Focus – I think there were too many characters and story lines and not enough space to write in depth why things were happening with them, the reasons that would make me care. I felt a little pulled all over the place. As we know, a really good author can juggle multiple story lines and then weave them all together for an astounding ending – we’ve all read these books – but I didn’t see that happening here.

So I write this post certainly not to bash another author, who I leave nameless, but to share the difficulties in making our writing ring true and in writing the stories that have readers coming back for more, looking forward to the moment when we can get back to our book. I want to be aware when I write, not only what I need to do, but of the pitfalls I want to avoid.

GirlWDragonTattoo2So then I picked up The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. One might say there is far too much detail to remember, family names to keep track of, and yet … I can’t put it down. How did Stieg Larsson do it? I’m keeping my  eye on that, too!

I’ll tell you one thing. He knows how to end a chapter and make you want to turn that page!

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Posted in Authors, Books, Creativity, Good Reads, Inspiration, Writing | 3 Comments

3 Responses

  1. on June 2, 2014 at 10:47 pm Cynthia Reyes

    Good question. I get frustrated at myself when I buy one of those big, much lauded, award-winning books and can’t get past the first two chapters – and that’s sometimes pushing it.
    I guess we all have our own tastes! (or that’s what I tell myself.)

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    • on June 3, 2014 at 9:33 am still a dreamer

      That is most certainly true and I agree with you! When it’s hyped to the max, I want a well-written novel. This however, is written by an unknown author, her first book, and just wasn’t well-written. And while I know we do have our tastes, when we are literate and are studying writing as well, it really does become more noticeable when there are flaws in the writing. But we do live and learn! Thanks for stopping by.

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      • on June 3, 2014 at 9:35 am Cynthia Reyes

        So true.
        There’s a lot to be said for a good editor, too.
        Thanks for visiting my blog as well.

        Best,
        Cynthia.

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