Intentional annoyance?

I'm on to my next audiobook, and this time it's Hard-boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, by Haruki Murakami, who I've heard many good things about but have never read. The opening of this book takes place in an elevator. An extended elevator ride that is described repeatedly, in an overly-long and quite annoying way …

Every writer

"Every writer I know has trouble writing." - Joseph Heller I love seeing quotes like these. Writers tend to be a solitary species, in my experience, so I think can sometimes talk themselves into believing they are terrible, just because they are having a hard time. Well, every writer has a hard time, even the best …

The Warrior’s Apprentice

I finished this today on audible, and though it had some fun, clever action and witty, likable characters, I never really got into it enough to care about what was happening. As mentioned in previous posts, I was at a loss for the main character's motivation. He sometimes seems to  want to impress his father …

The final stretch

I'm very near to the end of a first draft of my novel, and am having a harder and harder time keeping thoughts of all the hard work ahead at bay. So many things to add, and change, and remove. So many crappy sentences to fix, words to remove, characters to insert and excise. It's …

Be the best you can be

I recently started reading The Crimson Petal and the White,  by Michel Faber, in my attempt to read instead of browse the internet and social media on my devices. I can't remember the last time I've been so impressed by prose, if ever. The story follows a young prostitute in 1870's London--a subject I have …