Open Thread for Readers for November 2022
Got a book you want to talk about? Frustrated with a book or series? In love with a new one? Found a buried treasure? An issue that keeps popping up in the books you are reading? Just want to chat about stuff in general?
My question is for the authors. Do you write because you have stories in your head that clamor to be put onto paper? Or do you write because you enjoy words and the process of writing and so look for inspiration?
And my comment – imagine in a shrieking voice – WHY does a novel with a rape-at-knifepoint by villain scene towards the end have a happy go lucky cartoonish cover?! Title SPOILER coming up…
I refer to The Naked Duke by Sally MacKenzie. It’s been a few days and I remain pissed.
@LML: I’m sure it’s different depending on who you ask. And you also left out write for money, or even write for the dream of fame.
I’m not an author but I do write fiction and I’m closer to the second, I guess. I enjoy words a lot. That said, the process of writing isn’t always enjoyable. When I’m in a groove it’s wonderful, but there are days when I look at what I’ve written and think it’s terrible. And then it’s hard not to get discouraged.
But I would say that in my case there are also other reasons. I LOVE character psychology; getting into another person’s head and working on their issues is very freeing. I did some acting in high school and college and loved it for the same reason. I also was very fluid with writing as a child and got compliments about my writing for most of my life, and so that’s a piece of it too–it feels good to do something I’m good at (on those days when I feel it’s going well).
There’s also another factor that I’m sure is the case for many writers, and that’s that when you’re writing, you get to be the first reader of your own story. It’s kind of like taking chocolate chip cookies out of the oven when they are warm and the chocolate chips are all melted and you burn your tongue on them because they’re not quite done but at the same time you get them at their most delicious. When I write, I write for other people but I also write something that suits my own taste. I have to write based on my taste because it’s the only taste I have to work with, so of course (to go back to the cookie metaphor) when I get it close to right it tastes good to me.
I hope other authors respond; this is a fascinating question.
I have a recommendations question. I read Allison Montclair’s third book in the Sparks and Bainbridge historical mystery series recently (A Rogue’s Company) and enjoyed it. I don’t usually read mysteries because mysteries aren’t a big draw for me. But if the characters, the dialogue, the relationships etc. are as good as they are in Montclair’s books I’m up for more. So please send me your historical mystery recommendations. If they are witty, all the better.
PS Sherry Thomas is my critique partner so you don’t need to mention Lady Sherlock to me. I already know how beloved they are. :)
I only started publishing this year but I’ll take a crack at LML’s question, and my answer is… a bit of both? I really enjoy storytelling (which is not the same as writing; the writing gets very frustrating sometimes, as in when I know exactly what a character is feeling but can’t… quite… find the word for it). Generally I’m more of a pantser, which is to say I don’t have every beat of the story set out when I first start writing it. When I sat down to write my first novel, I started with the first time the hero and heroine saw each other, and that was all I had–I knew they were going to get an HEA but I didn’t know what obstacles were in their way and how they would overcome those obstacles. So one of the pleasures of writing is that I’m telling myself the story as I’m doing it. If I’m lucky, by about a quarter to a third of the way into the book I’ve hit the “this is the story and it MUST BE TOLD” point. Although with the one I’m currently working on I got about 30K words in, realized that I loved the characters but something wasn’t working with the story, and ended up having to restart.
@Janine: I tend not to love mysteries with a side of romance, but I adored Sparks and Bainbridge (dream casting: Tatiana Maslany as Sparks, Caitlin Fitzgerald as Gwen). But I have also enjoyed Ashley Weaver’s Electra McDonnell books. The first is titled A Peculiar Combination (she is a from a family of locksmith/thieves in London; her male cousins are actually away fighting in WWII).
@WendyW: Thank you! I’ll check them out.
@@Janine: I have been enjoying the Below Stairs Mystery series by Jennifer Ashley. They are a little repetitive but the writing is solid and the characters likable.
@Li: Thanks, I’ll look into those. Although to be honest I’m not that optimistic because I thought The Madness of Ian Mackenzie was just okay and couldn’t get into the first of the Captain Lacey mysteries that she wrote under the name Ashley Gardner.