NaNo #9 Evanovich
Okay! With NaNo Post #8 Lila picked up on our theme of cooking.
So let's go on with that a little bit and take a page (literally) from How I Write Secrets of a Best-Selling Author by Janet Evanovich with Ina Yalof. From the question-and-answer section, page 40.
Q:I really want to be a best-selling author, how do you get your books to be so easy to read into appeal to so many people?
JANET: I work very hard at the mechanics of writing so the reader doesn't have to work at all. This means I'm conscious of the rhythm of each sentence. I vary the building blocks (narrative, action, description, and dialogue) so the pace is interesting. And I keep my books relatively short and the structure linear so they're easy to read.
Also, I strongly believe in reduction writing. It's like reduction in cooking. When you make gravy you take a big pot of ingredients—meat, spices—and you boil it down to a little pot of stuff, which is the essence. If you use that principle in writing. You're getting two terrific sentences rather than four long, tedious paragraphs. While my writing may give the impression of being simple and effortless, it actually takes me hours to get it to appear that way.
And here's another little quote. A good plot draws its energy from a reader's curiosity, as you write your story keep asking yourself, And then what happens?
And she is a firm believer in the finished rough draft before the editing begins. You have to have a lot of ingredients before you can reduce. Write on NaNo-ers.
Gotta go. These posts made me hungry.
So let's go on with that a little bit and take a page (literally) from How I Write Secrets of a Best-Selling Author by Janet Evanovich with Ina Yalof. From the question-and-answer section, page 40.
Q:I really want to be a best-selling author, how do you get your books to be so easy to read into appeal to so many people?
JANET: I work very hard at the mechanics of writing so the reader doesn't have to work at all. This means I'm conscious of the rhythm of each sentence. I vary the building blocks (narrative, action, description, and dialogue) so the pace is interesting. And I keep my books relatively short and the structure linear so they're easy to read.
Also, I strongly believe in reduction writing. It's like reduction in cooking. When you make gravy you take a big pot of ingredients—meat, spices—and you boil it down to a little pot of stuff, which is the essence. If you use that principle in writing. You're getting two terrific sentences rather than four long, tedious paragraphs. While my writing may give the impression of being simple and effortless, it actually takes me hours to get it to appear that way.
And here's another little quote. A good plot draws its energy from a reader's curiosity, as you write your story keep asking yourself, And then what happens?
And she is a firm believer in the finished rough draft before the editing begins. You have to have a lot of ingredients before you can reduce. Write on NaNo-ers.
Gotta go. These posts made me hungry.
posted by Susan Goodwill at 7:58 AM
4 Comments:
"While my writing may give the impression of being simple and effortless, it actually takes me hours to get it to appear that way." This sounds like all the make-up artists' recent preachings: take your time & pack it on, but when it's done it should look like there's nothing on your face. AND you should be beautifully 'enhanced' in the process. YIKES. Get out your brushes.
Exactly. It would be nice if just once, one of those celebs on the red carpet said--Gawd, you should've seen me this morning! It took the makeup and hair people six hours to get me to look this good. And check out this girdle...
And wouldn't it be great if the person was a male?
Or maybe I'd rather it was like, Charlize Theron or somebody.
Brooke Shields was on the Rachel Ray show the other day, and Rachel told her she looked great, and Brooke actually attributed it to her "Spanx," which I couldn't believe! Now THAT'S an honest carpet-walker. Those things take three times as long to get into as it does to put on make-up. So while you're cranking out those words trying to make it look like what actually took hours only took minutes, just think of Brooke Shields trying to squeeze her butt into her Spanx one cheek at a time. If SHE can do it, so can you!! Write ON!
Well said. And the name Spanx is so appropriate.
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