tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post7188557388638224114..comments2023-10-25T05:30:54.507-04:00Comments on Oh Get A Grip!: I Wish I Had Written That...Ashe Barkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03390519279886657608noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-1744942016088109732010-01-02T03:50:40.887-05:002010-01-02T03:50:40.887-05:00nice post. thanks.nice post. thanks.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-87561973331199117052009-12-08T12:34:07.611-05:002009-12-08T12:34:07.611-05:00I have always fallen prey to my imagination, I alw...I have always fallen prey to my imagination, I always find a way to wonder what happened next. Very few authors wrap their stories up to my complete satisfaction. Maybe another interesting topic would be a book that completely satisfied us...or whether that possibility even exists.Staceyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10241398166886138241noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-74561916632733030562009-12-07T14:53:40.022-05:002009-12-07T14:53:40.022-05:00Ashlyn, I fell over laughing at your list! I'm...Ashlyn, I fell over laughing at your list! I'm glad I didn't write those either. ^_^<br /><br />Lisabet I saw your post on EAA and came over to check it out. My "wish I'd written that" was for the book Teot's War by Heather Gladney. Her gripping story was set in a devastated, feudal land, and would have made an exceptional story of male/male love, had the characters ever acted on their obvious feelings for one another. The sequel, Bloodstorm, once again joined them in a quest which ended with them as marooned refugees leading a ragged army. I have waited 18 years for the final book, and am still hoping.<br /><br />However, the writing itself is so masterful that I reread the books frequently, purely for the pleasure of the words. Every time I do, I find nuances I missed before, and Gladney's seemingly effortless use of language to evoke emotions makes me feel downright envious. This book left me longing for more than another just another book. *wink*Kayelle Allenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02833531229634787728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-84483059815472536552009-12-07T08:22:19.920-05:002009-12-07T08:22:19.920-05:00In the spirit of offering another viewpoint, I'...In the spirit of offering another viewpoint, I'm glad I didn't write any of these! Enjoy!<br />Ash<br /><br />Every year, English teachers from across the country can submit<br />their collections of actual similes and metaphors found in<br />high school essays. These excerpts are published each year<br />to the amusement of teachers across the country. Here are<br />last year's winners:<br /><br />1. Her face was a perfect oval, like a circle that had its<br />two sides gently compressed by a thigh Master.<br /><br />2. His thoughts tumbled in his head, making and breaking<br />alliances like underpants in a dryer without Cling Free.<br /><br />3. He spoke with the wisdom that can only come from<br />experience, like a guy who went blind because he looked at a<br />solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in<br />it and now goes around the country speaking at high schools<br />about the dangers of looking at a solar eclipse without one<br />of those boxes with a pinhole in it.<br /><br />4. She grew on him like she was a colony of E.Coli, and he<br />was room-temperature Canadian beef.<br /><br />5. She had a deep, throaty, genuine laugh, like that sound<br />a dog makes just before it throws up.<br /><br />6. Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever.<br /><br />7. He was as tall as a six-foot, three-inch tree.<br /><br />8. The revelation that his marriage of 30 years had<br />disintegrated because of his wife's infidelity came as a<br />rude shock, like a surcharge at a formerly surcharge-free<br />ATM machine.<br /><br />9. The little boat gently drifted across the pond exactly<br />the way a bowling ball wouldn't.<br /><br />10. McBride fell 12 stories, hitting the pavement like a<br />Hefty bag filled with vegetable soup.<br /><br />11. From the attic came an unearthly howl. The whole scene<br />had an eerie, surreal quality, like when you're on<br />vacation in another city and Jeopardy comes on at 7:00 p.m.<br />instead of 7:30.<br /><br />12. Her hair glistened in the rain like a nose hair after a<br />sneeze.<br /><br />13. The hailstones leaped from the pavement, just like<br />maggots when you fry them in hot grease.<br /><br />14. Long separated by cruel fate, the star-crossed lovers<br />raced across the grassy field toward each other like two<br />freight trains, one having left Cleveland at 6:36 p.m.<br />traveling at 55 mph, the other from Topeka at 4:19 p.m. at a<br />speed of 35 mph.<br /><br />15. They lived in a typical suburban neighborhood with<br />picket fences that resembled Nancy Kerrigan's teeth.<br /><br />16. John and Mary had never met. They were like two<br />hummingbirds who had also never met.<br /><br />17. He fell for her like his heart was a mob informant, and<br />she was the East River.<br /><br />18. Even in his last years, Granddad had a mind like a<br />steel trap, only one that had been left out so long, it had<br />rusted shut.<br /><br />19. Shots rang out, as shots are known to do.<br /><br />20. The plan was simple, like my brother-in-law Phil. But<br />unlike Phil, this plan just might work.<br /><br />21. The young fighter had a hungry look, the kind you get<br />from not eating for a while.<br /><br />22. He was as lame as a duck. Not the metaphorical lame<br />duck, either, but a real duck that was actually lame, maybe<br />from stepping on a land mine or something.<br /><br />23. The ballerina rose gracefully en Pointe and extended<br />one slender leg behind her, like a dog at a fire hydrant.<br /><br />24. It was an American tradition, like fathers chasing kids<br />around with power tools.<br /><br />25. He was deeply in love. When she spoke, he thought he<br />heard bells, as if she were a garbage truck backing upHot Ash Romance Novelshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10633691302884163101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-51702914991719876602009-12-07T07:48:02.646-05:002009-12-07T07:48:02.646-05:00Lisabet,
Wonderful post, and I can understand wha...Lisabet,<br /><br />Wonderful post, and I can understand what you're saying about 'As She's Told.' <br /><br />Anneke has written a superb book there with intensely realistic characters. <br /><br />Best,<br /><br />AshAshley Listerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11997769708965362938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-67095780647713301702009-12-06T22:22:34.775-05:002009-12-06T22:22:34.775-05:00Hello, Helen,
So you never feel this way? I'l...Hello, Helen,<br /><br />So you never feel this way? I'll interested in reading your post on Friday!<br /><br />I should say that that this doesn't happen to me often. Not because I'm such a great writer, but because I know that I have my own voice and can appreciate the distinct voices of others.<br /><br />Warmly,<br />LisabetLisabet Saraihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05162514190572269660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-22921863204204502832009-12-06T22:19:01.158-05:002009-12-06T22:19:01.158-05:00Hello, Phyllis,
Great to see you at the Grip!
I ...Hello, Phyllis,<br /><br />Great to see you at the Grip!<br /><br />I loved The Lake House, too. A true romance.<br /><br />I've never considered writing a screenplay, though, so movies don't quite evoke that feeling of mixed envy and admiration that a book can.<br /><br />Warmly,<br />LisabetLisabet Saraihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05162514190572269660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-35448996875446890932009-12-06T22:15:45.530-05:002009-12-06T22:15:45.530-05:00Hello, Ginger,
I'm so glad that you dropped b...Hello, Ginger,<br /><br />I'm so glad that you dropped by. <br /><br />You know, I was just thinking this morning, "Boy, I'm really tired of writing sex scenes..." <br /><br />I did have perhaps a more lively youth than many women. I seriously don't know whether my sexual imagination influenced my actions or the other way around.<br /><br />Anyway, we have to write what comes naturally to each of us. Your characters live and breathe and are probably more believable than mine!<br /><br />Hugs,<br />LisabetLisabet Saraihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05162514190572269660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-89167155454673683112009-12-06T22:09:16.490-05:002009-12-06T22:09:16.490-05:00Hello, Garce,
I think that what this experience s...Hello, Garce,<br /><br />I think that what this experience shows is that vivid characterization and a strong premise are not enough to carry a book. I'm actually more character-driven then plot-driven. I often get to the point where I ask, "and then what?" However, more often than not, my characters tell me.<br /><br />Thanks for your thoughtful reactions--as usual.<br /><br />Best,<br />LisabetLisabet Saraihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05162514190572269660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-43195969053132394492009-12-06T22:04:05.380-05:002009-12-06T22:04:05.380-05:00Hi, Secretia,
I definitely don't read erotica...Hi, Secretia,<br /><br />I definitely don't read erotica all day long. That's for the evening. During the day, I have to work like everyone else!<br /><br />Thanks for commenting.<br /><br />Warmly,<br />LisabetLisabet Saraihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05162514190572269660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-92074857784488470382009-12-06T21:58:42.677-05:002009-12-06T21:58:42.677-05:00I'm honestly amazed that anyone, especially yo...I'm honestly amazed that anyone, especially you, Lisabet, would ever feel jealous of another writer, or have that twinge of, "I wish I'd written that!" But then that must be part of the universal condition of being a writer!<br /><br />Wonderful post!Helenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10832774182683343435noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-25901891134187983162009-12-06T14:49:56.763-05:002009-12-06T14:49:56.763-05:00Great blog, Lisabet. I usually feel this way (wis...Great blog, Lisabet. I usually feel this way (wishing I had written that) after I'd watched a good movie. I just recently saw The Lake House with Sandra Bullock. OMG! I loved that twist at the end and since I love to write twists in my stories, I was very envious because I have never thought of a twist like that. lol So you are not a lone, my good friend. We all tend to think this way from time to time. <br /><br />~Phyllis~Phyllis Campbellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14769290385657892832noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-49782700373974821982009-12-06T14:40:00.779-05:002009-12-06T14:40:00.779-05:00When I read reviews like the one you wrote, I wond...When I read reviews like the one you wrote, I wonder why it's so hard for me to even fathom anything outside the normal sexual box. I never considered myself a prude, but I've come to realize that I really am. No matter how hard I try, I can't focus on sex in my writing for very long, let alone develop it into something that would make anyone admire my ability. *lol* Maybe if I could go back twenty or so years, I might develop a different outlook, but at my age,I find it virtually impossible to picture myself in any "kinky" situation without collapsing into a fit of giggles. Kudos to those of you who write on the spicier and more risque side. Great post, Lisabet!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09683064637626718318noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-60082900578813873132009-12-06T09:52:45.385-05:002009-12-06T09:52:45.385-05:00Hi Lisabet!
It shows again one of the challenges ...Hi Lisabet!<br /><br />It shows again one of the challenges of this or any popular fiction genre, in that what turns you on, or scares you or thrills you is a very personal thing. I wonder if Ms. Jacobs book would affect me the way it affected you. Like any book loving parent, I've shoved my favorite books and rock n roll bands at my kid but most have never connected. What I get from what you're saying here, which I think is a very important point, is that no matter how perfectly a premise pushes a reader's personal buttons, there has to be a good story. If the author can create a character vividly enough for the reader to care about what happens to her - SOMETHING has to happen to her. It can;t just go on and on. This is a problem readers like me often have with literary fiction, is this sense of "And THEN what happened?" when the story dribbles off at the end and doesn't seem to go anywhere. I'm from the Stephen King school of writing - as I suspect you are - which says story comes first. I like your stuff because you're a story teller. Before anything else, we owe the reader a ripping good story.<br /><br />GarceGarceushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11160407485298015371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-28149945766615153002009-12-06T07:09:43.073-05:002009-12-06T07:09:43.073-05:00It must be a kind of turn-on to be reading erotica...It must be a kind of turn-on to be reading erotica all day like that. it would be for me I think.<br /><br />SecretiaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com