tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35866870.post136454374033050989..comments2023-12-20T02:09:03.416-06:00Comments on Redemption Road: Lightning or Lightning Bugs?Merry Monteleonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09435956005780500310noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35866870.post-61000871513308967562007-09-25T12:51:00.000-05:002007-09-25T12:51:00.000-05:00I'm such a bottom line person that over-explaining...I'm such a bottom line person that over-explaining has never been a problem. Under-explaining or not drawing enough of a picture is my problem.The Anti-Wifehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02027321787352577548noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35866870.post-34138040534082765352007-09-24T22:06:00.000-05:002007-09-24T22:06:00.000-05:00Travis,"All the good intentions in the world are f...Travis,<BR/><BR/>"All the good intentions in the world are for naught if readers do not get caught up in the tale." - Abso-friggin-lutely!!!<BR/><BR/>The best way I know to really, really get a fresh eye on my own work is to put it away for a while. But I can't cheat and check one page. I can't work on the query, or agent lists, or think about it at all... I have to move completely on and get wrapped up in another story, then when I go back I can see it fresh... though I don't know if I'll ever really see it in the same way another reader will.<BR/><BR/>Hi Ello,<BR/><BR/>Thanks for stopping in and it's great that your hubby and writer's group are so supportive. <BR/><BR/>I've cut out a good deal,too but then the balance is a little off - the prose are a little too stark for my natural voice so it sounds stilted... I'm still playing with it, obviously... Sorry, frustrating edits...Merry Monteleonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09435956005780500310noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35866870.post-45335549312963755862007-09-24T21:31:00.000-05:002007-09-24T21:31:00.000-05:00Thank goodness for my writer's group and my knife ...Thank goodness for my writer's group and my knife wielding husband. They have cut out the worst of my overexplaining. Good post on this!Ello - Ellen Ohhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18311917335471167591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35866870.post-68349194671975538772007-09-24T18:40:00.000-05:002007-09-24T18:40:00.000-05:00I too am a spoonfeeder and it is not until my thi...I too am a spoonfeeder and it is not until my third or fouth draft that I can see what needs cut.<BR/><BR/>My biggest problem is seeing the story through the eyes of a reader and not how I envision it. All the good intentions in the world are for naught if readers do not get caught up in the tale.Travis Erwinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09420879160702098979noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35866870.post-17525308480761720552007-09-21T20:12:00.000-05:002007-09-21T20:12:00.000-05:00thanks merry, I do a lot of writing (blogging), so...thanks merry, I do a lot of writing (blogging), so I guess I can call myself a writer, at least in some places! :)<BR/><BR/>LOL mary, yes, those teens.... :)silkenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16051933946463393399noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35866870.post-15992472975897539912007-09-21T12:47:00.000-05:002007-09-21T12:47:00.000-05:00I suppose they'll have to learn the same way we di...<I>I suppose they'll have to learn the same way we did, by trial and error.. but it'd be so much easier if they just took advice.</I><BR/><BR/>:-) That's the thing - there are some mistakes you have to make before you realize it was a mistake.jjdebenedictishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16950592240599703771noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35866870.post-42884682828921305982007-09-21T09:27:00.000-05:002007-09-21T09:27:00.000-05:00Yeah, I'm not looking forward to that, Mary... my...Yeah, I'm not looking forward to that, Mary... my oldest will be ten next month but some days I swear she's more like fifteen.<BR/><BR/>I suppose they'll have to learn the same way we did, by trial and error.. but it'd be so much easier if they just took advice.Merry Monteleonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09435956005780500310noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35866870.post-65021808495268238562007-09-21T08:08:00.000-05:002007-09-21T08:08:00.000-05:00My teenagers tune me out all the time. But God for...My teenagers tune me out all the time. But God forbid I should ever miss the tiniest detail of one of their monologues...Mary Witzlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06458299046574564155noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35866870.post-57512271613266559472007-09-20T23:00:00.000-05:002007-09-20T23:00:00.000-05:00Silken,Writing it out can be great, even if you do...Silken,<BR/><BR/>Writing it out can be great, even if you don't consider yourself a writer... I've been reading your blogs for an awful long time and I definitely consider you a writer.<BR/><BR/>I think kids are wired to tune you out, even if you're monosylabic... they hit a certain age and the 'ignore mom' switch gets flipped... at least for a little while. (I'm just being smart, I'm sure they're listening even if they don't say they are)Merry Monteleonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09435956005780500310noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35866870.post-2770896904664887652007-09-20T22:55:00.000-05:002007-09-20T22:55:00.000-05:00Wordvixen,Ah, I'll procrastinate tomorrow! Bloggi...Wordvixen,<BR/><BR/>Ah, I'll procrastinate tomorrow! Blogging is great for getting you in touch with other writers, which really helps in a lot of ways... on the other hand, for me it serves as procrastination in itself... I feel like I'm accomplishing something, but I could be accumulating word count, rather than blog posts and comments... <BR/><BR/>Oddly enough, when I'm getting work in on my fiction, I feel guilty for neglecting my blog.<BR/><BR/>By the way, I think fear of failure and fear of success are often intertwined... I have the same problem in getting more writing time in the wee hours because of hubby and kids and such - unfortunately, my best productive time is in the morning but I'm too busy getting them out the door and taking care of the daily stuff to get to my writing until I'm already a bit drained... it makes it slower going, but sometimes it's the best you can do.<BR/><BR/>Hi JJ,<BR/><BR/>Getting started can be hard - I'm having a harder time with revisions than I did on first draft, so maybe for me it's the home stretch rather than the first steps...<BR/><BR/>By the way, I'm an avid reader of your blog - there are a number of things you're great at, wit and voice being at the top.<BR/><BR/>Hi Jersey,<BR/><BR/>Editing other people's writing is no small thing!!! A good editor is worth their weight in gold, just ask us struggling writers.<BR/><BR/>If I were taking a poll, I'd guess procrastination to be at the top of the list of obstacles. Maybe we should all give each other a page count deadline for a swift kick in the pants - anyone game?Merry Monteleonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09435956005780500310noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35866870.post-62872960355654132712007-09-20T21:28:00.000-05:002007-09-20T21:28:00.000-05:00I'm with Wordvixen and jjdebenedictis, I am awful ...I'm with Wordvixen and jjdebenedictis, I am awful about getting started. Well, not started, exactly, more like past the first few pages/outlines. And the only thing I'm great at is editing other people's writing!tripleZmomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06845220649153131045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35866870.post-12647398832148909702007-09-20T20:56:00.001-05:002007-09-20T20:56:00.001-05:00my over explaining comes out not in writing, since...my over explaining comes out not in writing, since I'm no author, but in my family life, to my kids, husband, etc as mary said, they start to tune me out...maybe I need to try to write to get it all out of my system! (loved mary's idea of the chatterbox! clever!)silkenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16051933946463393399noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35866870.post-80417870790672295722007-09-20T20:56:00.000-05:002007-09-20T20:56:00.000-05:00I'm with WordVixen; my greatest problem is getting...I'm with WordVixen; my greatest problem is getting started.<BR/><BR/>I really don't know if I've gotten great at anything yet. :-/jjdebenedictishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16950592240599703771noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35866870.post-27675424633413096342007-09-20T18:57:00.000-05:002007-09-20T18:57:00.000-05:00A large part of my problem has always been procras...A large part of my problem has always been procrastination. Probably because of my fear of failure <EM>and</EM> my fear of success. There's a combination! The great thing about blogging though, is that I met so many excellent writers who also were actually completing WIPs. I really think that my latest bout of writing is a result of my embarrassment over not having progress to report.<BR/><BR/>My new problem is that my creativity flows best when hubby goes to bed- which is much earlier than I want to go to bed. I need to find a way to work on my WIP before lights out.WordVixenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01713637403798552713noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35866870.post-33136025403075382372007-09-20T11:30:00.000-05:002007-09-20T11:30:00.000-05:00Hi Mary,Congratulations on placing in the Writers ...Hi Mary,<BR/><BR/>Congratulations on placing in the Writers and Artists Yearbook Novel Writing Competition!!! That's great!<BR/><BR/>I like your trick of making the protag a motor-mouth, that way you can get all of the excess mutterings out of your system in her dialog, while still checking yourself in other dialog and the narrative.<BR/><BR/>Let me know how it works out for you...<BR/><BR/>My need to spoon feed also erupted in the addition of too much back story, so I'm editing with a carving knife and re-entering the descriptions that I find meaningful... we'll see how that pans out.<BR/><BR/>Thanks for stopping in and sharing a bit of your process.Merry Monteleonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09435956005780500310noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35866870.post-82076891173364955052007-09-20T06:58:00.000-05:002007-09-20T06:58:00.000-05:00See how talkative I am? Back already.I can't say t...See how talkative I am? Back already.<BR/><BR/>I can't say that I've become great at anything yet, but I have found a way to cope with my overuse of words: I've used a protaganist who is a self-confessed motor-mouth. This provides the perfect cover for my problem. Of course her utterances are too wordy: she's just admitted that she's a chatterbox!<BR/><BR/>Personally, I'm rather proud of this trick. Once I get my 100th rejection, I may have to rethink this strategy, of course...Mary Witzlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06458299046574564155noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35866870.post-8643186661280340502007-09-20T06:42:00.000-05:002007-09-20T06:42:00.000-05:00Hello. My name is Mary and I'm a spoon feeder too....Hello. My name is Mary and I'm a spoon feeder too. This horrible addiction runs in my family: I'm also a motor-mouth, and my children frequently tune me out because I talk too much.<BR/><BR/>I have precisely this problem of over-explaining, Merry. Nothing to do with underestimating my readers and everything to do with being too damned garrulous for my own good.<BR/><BR/>With the help of friends and a merciless husband (in this respect, I am blessed; wish he'd just pick up after himself), I am learning to deal with this problem. But it hasn't been easy. <BR/><BR/>Blogging really does help me cope. I can be as prolific as I like on my blog, then go back to my novel and look at it with a critical eye, paring off bits here and there. <BR/><BR/>I placed in the Writers' & Artists' Yearbook Novel Writing Competition a few months back and won a free critique of my synopsis and first ten thousand words. The reviewer told me what I really already knew: that 'Less is more' ought to be my new mantra.Mary Witzlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06458299046574564155noreply@blogger.com