A Novel update and a message for commenters.
Well, here we are halfway through January. I fully expected to be through (or almost through) logging the scenes of my novel by now. But, I am nearly halfway through. If I would focus on the task, instead of relegating it to time I’m watching TV or some other task, I could probably get through it faster. Still encountering many of the same things that I talked about last week.
Now, some of you may wonder what this next bit is about, but I have a message to all those would be commenters. I want you to know, I moderate my comments. For a very simple reason. I don’t want this blog turning into a spammy site where people go to get easy links with comments that have nothing to do with the material posted. That being said, it really is very easy to get me to approve a comment. But it does take effort. Not much. Just find something in the post, and comment on it. Make it specific. Agree with me. Disagree with me. I don’t care. I invite discussions. On the topics presented. But if the comment doesn’t contribute, in some way to the discussion at hand, it most likely will get deleted.
Oh, and one other thing… Watch what you’re linking to. This is a page that might be seen by those who are not of age to see certain types of material, so anything remotely seeming to link to something like that will get deleted.
Just so you know, you don’t have to link to a site about writing. If you were to ask a question or make a post about something slightly off topic, I MIGHT be inclined to do so if it were linked to something writing related. No promises, though.
But to all my friends who want to come by and say hi… Don’t worry. I usually know who you are and your stuff generally gets through. This rant was more for those who are taking absolutely no effort to even remotely discuss the topic at hand.
Oh, and just saying “Nice post!” won’t get you approved. Tell me why you liked the post! It’s really not that hard!
Okay. That’s out of the way.
One thing I recommend for anyone who wants to be a writer would be to read. A lot. And different kinds of stuff. I know in the past, I have focused much of my reading on fantasy (and, really, I still do). But don’t ignore other things just because it’s not your usual fare. As I’m choosing my books this year, I’m alternating between usual fare and classics. This gives me a broader base to draw from when I write. I try to pay attention to style, how scenes are constructed, and even guess what I think will come next.
Starting later this week, I’ll post reviews of books as I finish them. Often, they’re books I’ve either read before or they might be slightly older books. Either way, I’ll give you my opinions and even try to point out some things that, as a writer, I like (or in some cases, maybe even don’t like) and what that can mean for my own writing. Until then, keep reading, writing, and editing!
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Hi Grady,
This is too funny. Just last night I ended up deleting twelve of the types of posts you mention. And so, fuming at the pointlessness of it all, I open up wordpress this morning to put down something much like what you’ve got here, but in scanning the blogs that I’m subscribed to I noted your newest post, (this one), and just had to see what you were saying first. Well stated, and without being nearly as caustic as I would have been.
As for the novel reviews, I look forward to them. It’s always good to see what other’s are reading, gives me somewhere else to look.
Cheers.
Dan Casey
See Dan? Wasn’t that easy? It probably just took a couple of minutes of effort and the comment was approved!
Now, if those OTHER guys would figure that out… They might find themselves getting approved way more often (and not just here) instead of winding up in the spam heap… And getting a lot more quality traffic for the effort!
Thanks for stopping by!
(Oh, and just for the record, Dan’s post was approved before I even visited his site… Which looks to be an interesting read, by the way.)