for thinking people
October 29, 2018
Long-time readers of the blog might already know my attitude toward social media. If not, take a look at this article on Facebook, or my thoughts on Instagram. If you want the short version, here it is: I hate them. Now, the fact that I hate social media isn’t useful to anyone of you. But why I hate them might be. Today I want to tell you why writers and Twitter is a bad combination.
October 23, 2018
Some time ago, I read a book that shall remain unnamed (and so will its author). The implied deal was that I would read the book for free, in exchange for a review. I read the book and came up with a detailed review trying to offer several points that would help the author as well as any prospective readers. But one should know how to receive feedback before asking for a review. Otherwise, unexpected things might happen!
In this case, after reading the review, the author asked me not to publish it on Goodreads. The rating I would have offered for the book in question would have been a 3/5 stars. As always, I review and rate from the perspective of the intended audience. But the author kindly asked me not to publish the review anyway.
I respected the writer’s wish and didn’t publish the review. What disappointed me the most wasn’t the fact that I couldn’t publish a review I put some effort in. Rather – and perhaps naturally, for an educator – I was sad because I got the feeling the author didn’t understand the subtle difference between liking/disliking a book and reviewing it.
October 18, 2018
A novel is about emotions and thoughts, but it’s also about facts. Even in literary fiction, where focus is on characters, the author needs to communicate certain facts to the reader. For example, what a character did on a certain past occasion. Or, where her parents were at some point in time. We call this narrative exposition (I will offer a more detailed definition further below). Believe it or not, narrative exposition is an area where authors of even the highest caliber can have trouble with.
Improving your narrative exposition technique can dramatically improve many areas of your writing. It can make your narrative flow more naturally and more realistically. A better narrative exposition strategy can also increase the affective power of your characters.
