Well, this could be a premature celebration...
But at the moment at least, the various LJ fixes seem to have worked.
The test, after everything else was in place, was going to my flist page, and lo and behold if the whole thing didn't load in a snap, images and everything. (I must confess to cheight that when I followed her instructions for completely blocking images, I kinda of freaked at all the stuff that came up in that drop down menu and decided it was probably best to let well enough alone; nuts, but I just couldn't shake this feeling that anything I clicked on there would break the whole computer. LOL)
So, yay, for this slice of time at least everything looks peachy. Now if there were only something to post about. Hmm.
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Well, there's books, in keeping with the theme of my layout.
The Dept. of Disappointing Reads: The first entry for that this year has to go to Better Read Than Dead by Victoria Laurie, the second in her Psychic Eye series, about a psychic, Abby Cooper, who uses her abilities to help solve crimes, ala Medium & Ghost Whisperer. I really enjoyed the first book in the series, but this follow up, after a good start -- Abby and a fellow psychic doing tarot readings at what turns out to be a mob wedding -- very quickly spiraled downhill. Way too much plot, way too much writing. You know what I mean? Instances where every detail of a mundane action, such as walking downstairs to the kitchen, is presented to absolutely no benefit to the reader. Nothing happens during or after this trip to the kitchen, no insight into the character is revealed; it's just page filler. Then there's the rearing of the Moonlighting curse, where for fear of the Designated Couple losing all their pizazz should they advance past Stage One in their relationship, they simply reenact all behaviour from the previous novel, with particular emphasis on portraying the male half as a jerk. *bleah*
I wound up skimming through the last half, and will need a lot of convincing to continue on with the series. Which is too bad because there was a lot of potential there, but after burning out on Stephanie Plum I'm getting very picky about that sort of thing these days.
In the Dept. of Eating Crow, however: I almost entirely retract my previous rant about Map of Bones by James Rollins. I do stand by my statement that the characters are rarely three-dimensional, and that the designated romance doesn't work -- however, oddly enough a hint of a secondary attraction among a pair of supporting characters showed possibilities, and more importantly the plot did pay off, and in some unexpected ways. Not to mention, anyone who admits to being inspired by the Doc Savage pulp novels totally gets a pass from me. :)
Now I'm reading Getting Rid of Bradley by Jennifer Crusie, which is ... okay. Not the LOL riot it was touted as, but entertaining. My main problem is the pacing, which is just way too fast. Yes, aspiring writers today are often advised to hit the ground running, hook the literary agent/editor with your opening paragraph, and therefore the potential reader. That's great, but it seems to me the immediate follow up advice should be to let the reader draw a breath and get to know the characters, get involved with them, before throwing all this plot all over the place.
I think what primarily throws me off kilter with this sort of pacing is that it doesn't allow for any sense of place, time, or atmosphere. And I love it when the author gives me that sense of where and when a story is taking place, with evocative writing that transports me to their world. If it's spring, make me smell those daffodils (okay, I don't know if daffodils actually smell, but you know what I mean). If it's winter, make me feel the cold. Show me where this is all taking place with descriptions that have more detail than: There was a house on a hill.
See, I have this Dilbert cartoon stuck up on the fridge, to daily remind me of this very thing. In the first panel, Dogbert hands Dilbert a piece of paper, saying, "I wrote a short story. Check it out." Second panel, Dilbert reads in aloud, "A guy did some stuff and then he died. I think some flowers were blooming. The end." In the last panel, Dilbert says, "They say brevity is the hardest thing to achieve," and Dogbert replied, "I'm dreading writing the jacket flap."
Whenever I read one of these and stuff just happens books or stories -- fanfic is rampant with it as well -- I always think of that cartoon, and ponder the whys and wherefores. Those details are hard, no doubt about that; even simply describing what your character looks like is not remotely as easy at it may look, because it's not just a list of vital stats but a far more subtle conjuring of a sense of that person. That attention to detail is what will make your story linger in the mind of the reader, though, long after she's finished the last chapter and put the book back on the shelf.
Anyway, I'm not hating the Crusie book. Think it's mostly frustration born of seeing a lot of promise, but not seeing it realized as it could be. (This could be another instance where I shall have to eat some crow, and if so, I will do it gladly.) It's just, when the heroine has a dog who tells a joke, you know there is a whole lot of potential there, and can't help but want to see more of that. I'll be crossing my fingers.
============
And finally, a weather report: After weeks of nothing but snow and temps barely above freezing, the last few days have been beautifully sunny and warm, with a lot of melting. I'd like to think we've seen the last of winter, but will not be holding my breath.
The test, after everything else was in place, was going to my flist page, and lo and behold if the whole thing didn't load in a snap, images and everything. (I must confess to cheight that when I followed her instructions for completely blocking images, I kinda of freaked at all the stuff that came up in that drop down menu and decided it was probably best to let well enough alone; nuts, but I just couldn't shake this feeling that anything I clicked on there would break the whole computer. LOL)
So, yay, for this slice of time at least everything looks peachy. Now if there were only something to post about. Hmm.
========
Well, there's books, in keeping with the theme of my layout.
The Dept. of Disappointing Reads: The first entry for that this year has to go to Better Read Than Dead by Victoria Laurie, the second in her Psychic Eye series, about a psychic, Abby Cooper, who uses her abilities to help solve crimes, ala Medium & Ghost Whisperer. I really enjoyed the first book in the series, but this follow up, after a good start -- Abby and a fellow psychic doing tarot readings at what turns out to be a mob wedding -- very quickly spiraled downhill. Way too much plot, way too much writing. You know what I mean? Instances where every detail of a mundane action, such as walking downstairs to the kitchen, is presented to absolutely no benefit to the reader. Nothing happens during or after this trip to the kitchen, no insight into the character is revealed; it's just page filler. Then there's the rearing of the Moonlighting curse, where for fear of the Designated Couple losing all their pizazz should they advance past Stage One in their relationship, they simply reenact all behaviour from the previous novel, with particular emphasis on portraying the male half as a jerk. *bleah*
I wound up skimming through the last half, and will need a lot of convincing to continue on with the series. Which is too bad because there was a lot of potential there, but after burning out on Stephanie Plum I'm getting very picky about that sort of thing these days.
In the Dept. of Eating Crow, however: I almost entirely retract my previous rant about Map of Bones by James Rollins. I do stand by my statement that the characters are rarely three-dimensional, and that the designated romance doesn't work -- however, oddly enough a hint of a secondary attraction among a pair of supporting characters showed possibilities, and more importantly the plot did pay off, and in some unexpected ways. Not to mention, anyone who admits to being inspired by the Doc Savage pulp novels totally gets a pass from me. :)
Now I'm reading Getting Rid of Bradley by Jennifer Crusie, which is ... okay. Not the LOL riot it was touted as, but entertaining. My main problem is the pacing, which is just way too fast. Yes, aspiring writers today are often advised to hit the ground running, hook the literary agent/editor with your opening paragraph, and therefore the potential reader. That's great, but it seems to me the immediate follow up advice should be to let the reader draw a breath and get to know the characters, get involved with them, before throwing all this plot all over the place.
I think what primarily throws me off kilter with this sort of pacing is that it doesn't allow for any sense of place, time, or atmosphere. And I love it when the author gives me that sense of where and when a story is taking place, with evocative writing that transports me to their world. If it's spring, make me smell those daffodils (okay, I don't know if daffodils actually smell, but you know what I mean). If it's winter, make me feel the cold. Show me where this is all taking place with descriptions that have more detail than: There was a house on a hill.
See, I have this Dilbert cartoon stuck up on the fridge, to daily remind me of this very thing. In the first panel, Dogbert hands Dilbert a piece of paper, saying, "I wrote a short story. Check it out." Second panel, Dilbert reads in aloud, "A guy did some stuff and then he died. I think some flowers were blooming. The end." In the last panel, Dilbert says, "They say brevity is the hardest thing to achieve," and Dogbert replied, "I'm dreading writing the jacket flap."
Whenever I read one of these and stuff just happens books or stories -- fanfic is rampant with it as well -- I always think of that cartoon, and ponder the whys and wherefores. Those details are hard, no doubt about that; even simply describing what your character looks like is not remotely as easy at it may look, because it's not just a list of vital stats but a far more subtle conjuring of a sense of that person. That attention to detail is what will make your story linger in the mind of the reader, though, long after she's finished the last chapter and put the book back on the shelf.
Anyway, I'm not hating the Crusie book. Think it's mostly frustration born of seeing a lot of promise, but not seeing it realized as it could be. (This could be another instance where I shall have to eat some crow, and if so, I will do it gladly.) It's just, when the heroine has a dog who tells a joke, you know there is a whole lot of potential there, and can't help but want to see more of that. I'll be crossing my fingers.
============
And finally, a weather report: After weeks of nothing but snow and temps barely above freezing, the last few days have been beautifully sunny and warm, with a lot of melting. I'd like to think we've seen the last of winter, but will not be holding my breath.