The writer runs far from Cathy Kelly: Never Too late

[beyond_elechan]

I've talked about the opening paragraph in another context elsewhere, but since I've typed it out, I might as well repeat it.

The breathless sound of 'Santa Baby' trickled from the sales office's radio next door, a soft child-like voice singing about wanting a yacht, a flat and a string of race horses. At least it was better than 'White Christmas

Comments

[heleninwales]

It sounds like a perfectly competently written book, just not your cup of tea. That's one of the slightly odd things about being a creative writing tutor, I can award good marks to things that I wouldn't actually read from choice. Quality and likeability have a large overlap, but are not the same thing at all.

[beyond_elechan]

Quality and likeability have a large overlap, but are not the same thing at all.Absolutely. For me - apart from the subject matter and supposed sympathy with people I have nothing in common with other than circumstances - the stumbling point is the 'nothing happens.' And a long time ago, *I used to write like that* and still do from time to time - Character sits and thinks about song, stops typing, thinks about office, daydreams a bit, exchanges two lines with her boss, remembers her engagement, remembers her lunchtime hair appointment, sits in the chair at the hairdresser, thinks about something else and replays that in her mind until two pages later, the hairdresser talks