for a while i have been posting, (for all the good it does; no one reads it. isn't that like whistling in the dark? i think this is more like the deaf whistling. unheard.)abotu how to write, and i think we will post about how not to write. the use of royal we is okay if one count the voices in my head. (what? kill someone? not now, i'm busy. okay, later. just kidding.) all good authors should hear voices in their heads, and honestly, we all do, writer or no. it's the voice of the past, the future, your mother, a friend, a clip from an old tv show, whatever. just don't forget who is actually speaking. your muse.
i just started a book, enslave me sweetly. it looks good, starts out okay, she's hiding in the rafters, about to kill someone, an action scene. the description is good, not to much background at once but enough to keep it interesting, and then- disaster. enter the sterotypical male hero with his snide comments. enter the cliche heroine wanting him, if only they could get along. they are forced to work together. oh, big surprise who could see that coming. now, you should be thinking what a b this person is, sayign that about the book. yes, it is mean, and i apologize to the writer, even though what i said is true. i have read a lot of books lately where hero and heroine don't like each other, are attracted to each other, are forced to work together, and um, yawn.
i haven't finsihed the book, but i'll try and read it. it's good enough, i just am on a horror kick again. there is just not enoguh good horror in newport, oregon. agh. anyway- what not to write. the same thing everyone else is. although, this could be a subgenre. like haunted house is a subgenre of horror, as is serial killer and ghosts. if you write a book about a family moving into a huanted house it's not a rip off of other books.
maybe the author likes those types of book, and is thrilled with the plot. yes, i also am working on a ghost story that is similar to many other plots.
there is nothing new under the sun, right?
it's easy to complaina bout other's work, but a real mature person can find just as much fault with their own. so, maybe this wil help me see what's wrong with my ghost story. is it too much like others? not enough and where? it's a good start to fixing the flagging manuscripts.