Welcome to the AbsoluteWrite Water Cooler! Please read The Newbie Guide To Absolute Write

editing for authors ad

A publisher or agency using Google ads to solicit your novel probably isn't anyone you want to write for.


Go Back   Absolute Write Water Cooler > Pop Culture > AW Bookclub
Reload this Page What's bugging you in the novel you're reading?
Register FAQ Calendar Mark Forums Read

Reply
Page 5 of 5 1234 5
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 10-26-2012, 04:51 AM   #101
VeronicaX
practical experience, FTW
 
VeronicaX's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: The land of the midnight sun
Posts: 288
VeronicaX is well-respected
The book I'm trying (!) to read is ... I guess it's okay. I only presumed it'd be more of a pleasure than it is considering it's a book that many speak fondly of. It just so happen that it's flat and predictable, at least so far.

Maybe I'm just picky, maybe I'm judging too quickly, maybe it's simply not my genre. No matter what: it's not ... good, in my opinion.
__________________
And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.

~ Sylvia Plath
VeronicaX is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-26-2012, 05:19 AM   #102
Velcro
Scribbling Scribe
 
Velcro's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Mason City, IA
Posts: 163
Velcro is on a distinguished road
I was a little concerned that the book I'm reading was a propaganda story written to introduce young and influential readers to the Wiccan religion...but now I'm seeing that the writer is not just talking about that religion instead comparing religions through different characters.
__________________
"The devil's in the details..."
Velcro is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-30-2012, 09:54 PM   #103
BrumBall
Keep Right On
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Redditch, England
Posts: 110
BrumBall is on a distinguished road
The last two books I've read -

The Casual Vacancy - slightly annoyed that JK killed the only character who I wanted a happy ending for. I only bothered reading the second half of the book to see what happened to her!

Dracula - all the 'goodie' characters are too sycophantic. They are constantly talking about how great they think each other are, especially Mina who must be the most wonderful person on the planet!
__________________
Though you're tired and weary,
Still journey on,
Till you come to your happy abode,
Where all you love and you're dreaming of,
Will be there,
At the end of the road.
BrumBall is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-11-2012, 07:39 PM   #104
LJD
practical experience, FTW
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Toronto
Posts: 1,799
LJD has earned our admirationLJD has earned our admirationLJD has earned our admirationLJD has earned our admiration
Well, this is the third novella I've read in about as many months in which the heroine is named Charlotte and is nicknamed Charlie. (In two cases, just by the hero. In the other, everyone called her Charlie.)

Minor complaint, I guess...
LJD is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 11-11-2012, 08:00 PM   #105
Persei
Mother of the Dragons
 
Persei's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Brazil
Posts: 362
Persei has a spectacular aura
I'm reading Jane Eyre. And everything moves so sloooooow I want to set the book on fire. Autobiography (and slow ones at that) are not really my thing.
__________________
Sci-fi novel: The Iron Lady

Rough outline complete, to the fourth draft I go (:
Persei is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-11-2012, 08:06 PM   #106
Chris P
Likes metaphors mixed, not stirred
 
Chris P's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Entebbe, Uganda
Posts: 9,277
Chris P is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsChris P is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsChris P is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsChris P is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsChris P is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsChris P is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsChris P is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsChris P is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsChris P is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsChris P is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsChris P is so great that we've run out of appropriate compliments
Michael Crichton - Congo

I know it cannot be helped, but since it was written in the late 70s he goes into a lot of detail about computer passwords and other technology that is now commonplace. He gets an A+ for making it interesting, but it's amusing now just how tech savvy we've become in my lifetime.
__________________
Short Fiction and Novel in the AW Library
Shorts on sub: 12

Now available!


Adventures of Duke and Eddie Querying!
Resingled Querying!
Nyasaland 68K/90K

Write on, Brother! (blog)
Chris P is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-11-2012, 08:41 PM   #107
Chrissy
Dog is good, all the time.
 
Chrissy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: All the time, Dog is good.
Posts: 5,241
Chrissy is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsChrissy is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsChrissy is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsChrissy is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsChrissy is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsChrissy is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsChrissy is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsChrissy is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsChrissy is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsChrissy is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsChrissy is so great that we've run out of appropriate compliments
Third book in Game of Thrones.... all the good guys are getting killed!!!

Still can't put it down.
Chrissy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-12-2012, 06:38 AM   #108
Marumae
Princess of Poppycock
 
Marumae's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Fantasia
Posts: 186
Marumae is on a distinguished road
Reading two books right now, Emily of New Moon and Paranormalcy.

While I love L.M. Montgomery and the Anne of Green Gables series, it's been years since I've read them and this book is definitely different, seems to have less of a quirky, happy charm to it and seems to have an air of sadness that it can't shake. I just hope this isn't a book of constant suffering that turns Emily into a Too Good For this World heroine.

I'm enjoying Paranormalcy, but I'm not falling in complete absolute love and I'd heard such great, amazing, wow, wonderful things about it. Nothing too bad, there's just some....cliche's that are standard for the genre that I'm weary of. I think perhaps this is a sign that I am done with Urban Fantasy/Paranormal books for good. Personal taste and all that.
__________________
“So, given a Time Turner, I would tell my 21-year-old self that personal happiness lies in knowing that life is not a check-list of acquisition or achievement.”~JK Rowling

On Desk: The Cat and the Dragon (Fantasy): Outlining
Trunked: The Shapeshifter's Father (Urban Fantasy): Drafting
Last edited by Marumae; 11-12-2012 at 06:44 AM. Reason: Just realized I typed something in a sentence that made no sense in context with the rest! Woo I need sleep...
Marumae is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-12-2012, 11:17 PM   #109
Chrissy
Dog is good, all the time.
 
Chrissy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: All the time, Dog is good.
Posts: 5,241
Chrissy is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsChrissy is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsChrissy is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsChrissy is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsChrissy is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsChrissy is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsChrissy is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsChrissy is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsChrissy is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsChrissy is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsChrissy is so great that we've run out of appropriate compliments
Same book, Page 921...

So help me, if they kill Jon Snow, I'm going to smash my Nook into little itty bitty pieces....
Chrissy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-13-2012, 05:10 AM   #110
Emermouse
practical experience, FTW
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: In America
Posts: 101
Emermouse is on a distinguished road
Re: Game of Thrones:

I've still got my fingers crossed that George RR Martin can pull this off, but I'm worried that he's overextending himself. I know everybody loves Theon and Asha, but do we really need the Iron Islands plots? To say nothing of Dorne. The latest two books haven't had the momentum that the first three did and I'm afraid it shows. But so far, I'm still clinging to the hope that George RR Martin will pull all this off.

That is if he doesn't pull a Robert Jordan and die on us before finishing the series.
Emermouse is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-15-2012, 12:42 AM   #111
PortableHal
Not-so-new
 
PortableHal's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: The lovely mountains of Arizona
Posts: 660
PortableHal has a spectacular aura
Halfway through Michener's The Novel (copyright 1991) and the publishing industry seems so dated. Things change quickly, don't they?
__________________
We're at Mars Needs Writers.com

"The YA crossover genre is probably best known for the love-it-hate-it-please-God-make-it-stop train wreck that was the Twilight saga, and every element I’ve mentioned above appears in Meyer’s books. Here’s why The Atheist’s Daughter is orders of magnitude better" -- Cassandra Parkin
PortableHal is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-18-2012, 05:25 PM   #112
Chrissy
Dog is good, all the time.
 
Chrissy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: All the time, Dog is good.
Posts: 5,241
Chrissy is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsChrissy is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsChrissy is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsChrissy is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsChrissy is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsChrissy is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsChrissy is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsChrissy is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsChrissy is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsChrissy is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsChrissy is so great that we've run out of appropriate compliments
Quote:
Originally Posted by Emermouse View Post
Re: Game of Thrones:

I've still got my fingers crossed that George RR Martin can pull this off, but I'm worried that he's overextending himself. I know everybody loves Theon and Asha, but do we really need the Iron Islands plots? To say nothing of Dorne. The latest two books haven't had the momentum that the first three did and I'm afraid it shows. But so far, I'm still clinging to the hope that George RR Martin will pull all this off.
Emermouse, I agree. I'm almost done with the fourth book now and there are so many loose ends and subplots that I'm starting to get impatient. Also, I'm really, really tired of the descriptions of weather and land and water and sky and trees and snow and... I know what the entire realm looks like by now!!! Get on with the plot!!!
Chrissy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-19-2012, 08:42 AM   #113
Ergodic Mage
Neophyte Writer
 
Ergodic Mage's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: In my house
Posts: 211
Ergodic Mage is well-respected
I'm two thirds of the way through Hugh Howey's Second Shift-Order book, the latest in his great Wool series. The thing that bugs me the most is I'm close to finishing and have to wait for more, again.
__________________
Story idea count: 764351.65
Total word count: 2200
I need more ideas.
Ergodic Mage is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-19-2012, 11:51 PM   #114
Evaine
practical experience, FTW
 
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Hay-on-Wye, town of books
Posts: 694
Evaine is well-respected
Sorry, Emermouse - but I don't love Theon! I think he's far too full of himself and needs a bit of cutting down to size. Asha is great, though.
__________________
Raven's Heirs and Like Father, Like Daughter by Lesley Arrowsmith are now available on Smashwords (YA fantasy) and I have a blog at http://morwennatower.blogspot.com
Evaine is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-20-2012, 12:16 AM   #115
randi.lee
More cowbell!
 
randi.lee's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: New England, USA
Posts: 907
randi.lee has a spectacular aurarandi.lee has a spectacular aura
I'm reading a new book on editing. I'm twenty pages in and have already found four typos in this book on editing.
randi.lee is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-20-2012, 12:24 AM   #116
bettielee
Just a Fairy Princess
 
bettielee's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Enchanted Forest and/or editing cave
Posts: 23,861
bettielee is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsbettielee is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsbettielee is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsbettielee is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsbettielee is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsbettielee is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsbettielee is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsbettielee is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsbettielee is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsbettielee is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsbettielee is so great that we've run out of appropriate compliments
I had to start the book I'm reading over again. It's Nachtsturm Castle, a sort of Jane Austen continuation. I got so lost - I had no idea what was going on, so I had to backtrack and got nowhere.

Also, at one point, the heroine goes thru a hidden passage and walks down flights and flights of stairs. She is chased by a person and a vicious beast into a room that slams shut behind her. A bowl of fruit and a candle are lit within. A painting that looks just like her hangs on the wall.

She is rescued from this situation, and nothing about what happened is discussed. No one is surprised at the painting and nothing is said of the vicious beast that chased her down the stairs. Or that a candle burns in an empty, hidden room.

What the actual, truck, people?!
__________________


Currently editing: Dreadlight - Urban Fantasy 23,425 / 93,225

To edit:
Nocturnelle - gothic romance - first draft
The Last Hunter - fantasy - with a beta
The Vampire Baron - gothic romance - need another edit
Endways of the Gods - fantasy mish/mash - might be garbage

Writing Blog: The Day of Horrible Happenings

Books with Bettielee Blog: Book of Lost Tales v 1 by Tolkien

Twitter
bettielee is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-20-2012, 04:46 AM   #117
Emermouse
practical experience, FTW
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: In America
Posts: 101
Emermouse is on a distinguished road
Quote:
Originally Posted by Evaine View Post
Sorry, Emermouse - but I don't love Theon! I think he's far too full of himself and needs a bit of cutting down to size. Asha is great, though.
Me too! I'm baffled by the amount of fan love he gets. He's an arrogant jerk who got pounded; what's to love about that? Not to mention, yeah, he had a rotten childhood; name a character in ASOIAF who didn't. He only starts to redeem himself in the fifth book.
Emermouse is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-21-2012, 09:24 AM   #118
sunandshadow
Impractical Fantasy Animal
 
sunandshadow's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Posts: 4,221
sunandshadow leaves trails of profuse coolnesssunandshadow leaves trails of profuse coolnesssunandshadow leaves trails of profuse coolnesssunandshadow leaves trails of profuse coolnesssunandshadow leaves trails of profuse coolness
Ugh, I start reading a book which is supposed to be an original fairy-tale/fantasy suitable for young teens, and three chapters in there have been two murders, torture, and bullying at sword point! Ew! I wanted a romantic and mysterious fairy tale with lots of cool symbolism, not this gruesome stuff.
sunandshadow is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-25-2012, 04:25 PM   #119
bearilou
(wannabe) writer of Orcotica
 
bearilou's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: in the depths of my tbr pile
Posts: 4,341
bearilou is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsbearilou is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsbearilou is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsbearilou is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsbearilou is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsbearilou is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsbearilou is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsbearilou is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsbearilou is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsbearilou is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsbearilou is so great that we've run out of appropriate compliments
Quote:
Originally Posted by LJD View Post
The author feels the need to describe every character's appearance and outfit, and the color of everything (not just the outfits!) is mentioned.
I hear you there. The book I'm reading? I'm on page 198 and I have counted 19 separate descriptions of clothing worn by the love triangle.

It could be a drinking game.

And the book is terribly dated. I feel like I'm reading an UF version of Purple Rain.
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by Phaeal View Post
The first draft is a huge pile of clay that you've laboriously heaped on your table, patting it into a rough shape as you go along. From the second draft onward, you'll cut away chunks, add bits, pat and punch and pinch, until you finally have a gorgeous figure of, oh, Marcus Aurelius. Or a duck. But a damn fine duck.
Quote:
Originally Posted by KTC View Post
Try everything. Discard what doesn't work for you. <--- the basic rules of writing.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stacia Kane View Post
Write what excites you.
I've hidden it for as long as I can. I tweet. Not often, maybe not interestingly, but I tweet.
My sort-of-not-really blog.
bearilou is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply
Page 5 of 5 1234 5

Bookmarks

« Previous Thread | Next Thread »
Thread Tools
Display Modes
Linear Mode Linear Mode

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

Custom Search

Buy Scrivener 2 for Mac OS X (Regular Licence)

If this site is helpful to you,
Please consider a voluntary subscription to defray ongoing expenses.


All times are GMT +4.5. The time now is 12:09 AM.

Contact Us - Absolute Write - Archive - Top

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.5
Copyright ©2000 - 2013, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.