I should probably read some Hemingway. He was my late Dad's favourite author (we mentioned that in his eulogy at the funeral). My favourite author who I "had" to read a school was Harper Lee, I haven't read Go Set a Watchman yet.
I don't plan to read Go Set A Watchman, because Harper Lee didn't want that one published. I just wouldn't be comfortable doing that. Although I admit, I'm curious. I thought To Kill A Mockingbird was excellent. I read it a long time ago, during my teenaged years, long before it was required reading in schools. It made a big impression on me.
Totally agree about TKaM. We had to read it in class, but I took it home and finished it off. Like you, it made a big impression on me (a hellluva lot more than Lord of the Flies).
Different horses for different courses I say! As with virtually everything with writing, just do what works for your story - I don't believe there's a right or wrong way. You get a feel when you're reading something back if it's working or not, trust that judgement. @jannert Can I ask about the two highlighted sentences below to understand why you chose to do that? For me, the first one is unnecessary as we would likely know (or should know) the characters well enough to know how he was really feeling - telling us feels a little bit over-explanatory? The second sentence so close to the first feels a bit off too. In your opinion, would this conversation still work without either of these? Genuinely interested in your view on this. “Are...you all right?” she ventured, at last. “Shouldn’t I be?” He let his eyes slash hers then, wanting to score her raw, wanting to hurt her as much as she had hurt him. She shrank back, stunned into silence. “Go away,” he added, harshly. “I don’t want you here.” It was far from the truth, but he said it anyway. “Joe—!” “I said go away. Leave me alone.” Blood hammered red into her cheeks. “I...don’t understand....” “That’s right, Jessie. You don’t.” He turned away abruptly, staring into the pasture again, shutting her out. “What have I done...?” she pleaded. “Why do you care?” He sucked in his breath. “Never mind. It doesn’t matter. I’ll pack up tonight and head out tomorrow.” In truth, he had made no such plan until just that second, but he hurled the words recklessly at her. “Winter’s over,” he added, finishing it as coldly as he could. “Time to go.” Mav
A thought. Frank Herbert's God Emperor of Dune is driven almost entirely by dialogue. There's very little action until the very end. Now, I found it gripping, but not everyone like's it. I think if done well, lots of dialogue can work - but I personally try to hold off it because I'm not confident I can pull it off, even though dialogue is something people do praise me for. What bothers me more than too much dialogue is unnatural dialogue, unless it's a stylistic choice for the story and setting.
Hi - Mod had on here: It's forbidden to put anything up on the forum outside of the Workshop for discussion or feedback, so I can't answer your question here. (I just put this up as an example of what I do, to illustrate the point I was making on the thread—I wasn't looking for feedback on the writing.) However, I'll PM you about it. I'd be happy to answer your question there.
Jeez really? Well, love to hear your views on PM anyways - wasn't intending to critique really, just discuss.
Yeah, but that's forbidden. I was actually worried if I quoted my own stuff that somebody might do this. Yikes! Anyway, I just sent you the PM.
