FILL: "Open Reviews"

[mbarker.livejournal.com]

Original posting 18 Jun 2012

Over on another list, someone was wondering what to write in a review -- like an Amazon review for a friend's short story. What would you advise?

Here's what I said...

I think the best thing you can do in a review is to be honest. And think about what you, as a reader, would like to see in a review.

Personally, I want to know what kind of a book it is, which often includes what kind of reader is likely to want to read it. I.e., why should I read this book?

Feel free to include a bit about the characters, setting, or plot -- but not a mini-summary of the whole plot, and especially, don't feel obligated to tell me about the great twist at the end when you find out... I hate reviews that somehow feel that destroying the suspense is helpful. Give me a flavor or taste of the book.

Don't bother telling the author how to fix their book, about the spelling or grammar, or other criticisms. Don't tell them that the cover sucks, the characters are lame, or whatever. That's NOT what a review is for. You are telling the rest of us, who haven't read the book, what you found there. You are not kicking the author, who probably can't do anything about it at this point, anyway.

I mean, think of it this way. If I saw that you had this book, and I said, "Hey, how was it? Should I read it?" How would you answer me? What would you say? What's important for me to know about this book before I buy it or read it? Why should I buy it, why should I read it?

That's your review.

TECH: A Book from the Pile (1)

[mbarker.livejournal.com]

Original Posting 20 June 2012

Just for the fun of it, I grabbed a book out of the shelves on writing that I keep. What I thought I would do is walk through it, pulling out some phrases and quotes, and maybe do some reflection about what it says. Please do feel free to make your own comments. After all, it's a book about writing, and we're here to talk about writing, so obviously... Let's do it?

The book is Get That Novel Started! (And Keep It Going 'til You Finish) by Donna Levin. It's one of the Writer's Digest books.

I'll skip by the introduction, where Donna talks about staying up all night to read 1984, and how that book convinced her that she wanted to be a writer. She also talks about a writing workshop and a brilliant teacher called Leonard Bishop, who was harsh about craft and skill, at the same time that he believed in his students. "Brutally honest about the flaws in our work, but his belief in us was just as uncompromising." Anyway, on to part one, getting started, chapter 1.

Where would you expect her to start? Well, the title of chapter 1 is "You've Been Thinking Long Enough." She talks about the way that we like to collect ideas and think about them. And we need that gestation time, but... Sometime you gotta get started! She labels procrastination as the writer's terminal disease. Which with all of the great ways to spend time on the Internet is quite an amusing label -- Google, TV tropes, blogging, discussion groups, Facebook, and who knows what else are likely to tie up your terminal? Unfortunately, procrastination doesn't do the job.

Donna points out that you have to want to write. And then you have to do it. She's gonna talk about finding time to write and barriers to that. Then she's going to take us through the process of looking for ideas, and how to go step-by-step from idea to outline to chapter. And how to keep going.

The end of the chapter is a small two line summary. "To Get That Novel Started: realize that you are fully equipped. Make today the day."

I have a scroll from a Zen master that hangs over my desk. I won't quote the whole thing, but the last two lines are "For if I cannot endure today, when and where will I?" We might reword that as "For if I cannot write today, when and where will I?"

Now, whether we want to admit it or not, none of us is likely to churn out an entire 100,000 word novel overnight, but we can get started. Maybe that means digging out the old notebook, maybe it means scratching your head and thinking about just what did you want to write, anyway? Or maybe it means deciding that you really want to spend 15 minutes every morning free writing? I'm not going to tell you the right way to do things -- I'm not so sure there is one. On the other hand, I will tell you that not doing anything... Well, that's the only thing that you can guarantee you will not produce some writing.

All right? So chapter 1 is mostly a call to the quest, the bugle sounding to remind us that just over the hill, there's an adventure waiting. Are you ready to start walking?