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Messages - Bookstore Guy

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811
Movies and TV / Re: Castle
« on: March 18, 2009, 05:22:54 PM »
Dan: Learn to wireless mouse. It's like a remote.

Essentially this show is Murder He Wrote. Which is fine. I am waiting for them to introduce an overarching plot. I thought that they would use the pilot plot as a full season thing, but oh well. My one complaint is that they are making the female detective an idiot. I've already mentioned her completely unrealistic dialog from Ep 2, but in addition to that they are pretending like everyone thinks she is isnt attractive. In Ep 1 there was the line, "Well, some lipstick couldn't hurt." It's a tad absurd. I really hope they move on from that...or actually give her a disfigurement so that people's fake impression that she isn't attractive is warranted.

812
Reading Excuses / Re: Writing Groups: An Essay by Dan Wells
« on: March 18, 2009, 05:14:20 PM »
Some other things to keep in mind as you do writing groups is that everyone is different. Some people may like the line-by-line commentary, but to others it may feel very nit-picky. In a format like the one you have going here, the line-by-line commentary may help in most cases, but you may want to ask if that is what they want, or if they are more focused on exclusively big-level items.

As for responding to comments, I recommend being very careful about that. There is nothing wrong with asking questions to further clarify the commentary that was made, but one thing I have noticed is that if you respond even with "Oh yeah I knew that was there and plan on fixing it" you may limit the valuable feedback you will be getting in future submissions. People will begin to think when reading your submission, "oh i wont bother mentioning that because he probably already plans on fixing it." I've seen it happen, and you can never assume people know what the problems are in their own material - that's kinda why they are having others read it. When Dan (or anyone) mentions the "keep silent" rule, it's not just due to the potential conflicts, it's due to unintentionally limiting the honest comments you get. I've browsed through a few of the threads here, and the responding to commentary seems heavy. Every time you explain something in your return commentary, you potentially hurt people's ability to give uncompromisable feedback. Rather than explain, perhaps ask a question - "You said it feels vague, but in what sense?"

Remember, you want people to be honest with what do and do not like about your story. Being completely honest (while being tactful) while commenting will help the writer as well as the commenter. There are exceptions to everything, but in general, be as honest as you can, and respond only with questions to clarify the comments - and of course be grateful that people are taking time away from their writing to help you the same way you are helping them.

Just my two cents.

813
Books / Re: What are you reading, part 3
« on: March 18, 2009, 03:55:11 PM »
Abercrombie feels very much a mix of Erikson and Lynch. I enjoyed him a lot. It's not quite as grim or dark as people make it out to be. I personally thought the 2nd novel was the best, but they were all well done. Much better than the cliched garbage floating around currently...

814
Movies and TV / Re: Castle
« on: March 17, 2009, 05:12:14 PM »
i enjoyed his reaction to the confrontation at the end of the episode last night. it shows they intend to grow his character which makes me happy. that said, while the comments at the autopsy were funny, they were absurd. there is no way the police officer has that reaction. "Sex?"  "Spermicide?" The show lowered my respect for the cop which is a bad thing.

815
Movies and TV / Re: Watchmen
« on: March 17, 2009, 05:08:43 PM »
To go along with Fell, it is the thought process of how they define themselves in the world that was interesting to me. It asks some of the same questions that were asked in Dark Knight, but it gives us a variety of responses. Rorschach comments on the lack of psychotics wearing the mask now-days, and goes on to detail just how far he will go (VERY far). While I loved Dark Knight, I felt that the responses the characters in Watchmen took were more believable on the whole.

and yes, /high-five to Fell about the opening credits. they were so full of absolute win. I'd recommend seeing the movie just to see the best credits ever done (and to see the prison scene).

816
Books / Re: What are you reading, part 3
« on: March 17, 2009, 04:55:59 PM »
The first book is The Darkness that Comes Before. Once again, disclaimer: Very dark. If you are offended by sex, language, and violence, i suggest you stay away. The first book is slow paced with lots of psychology and politics. the following 2 books lead into more action. the 4th book i have yet to read.

817
Books / Re: What are you reading, part 3
« on: March 16, 2009, 03:49:48 AM »
I agree about commenting on books you have read. It makes things more interesting because you can give examples. It's like when people used to tell me they wouldn't read anything but Brandon Sanderson or Robert Jordan because nothing else would compare. Really? Seems kinda hard to know that...and that's just silly.

Having read Goodkind, I don't think he's dark at all. More like imitation dark. He does the same thing every book, and most of his rape and violence serves no purpose. To me, that's not dark. That's just filler.

If you enjoy really dark stuff, read R Scott Bakker. I plan to now that I finished Last Arguement of Kings. It was good. A little abrupt at the end, but good.

818
Movies and TV / Re: Watchmen
« on: March 12, 2009, 10:09:17 PM »
i felt the presentation was fantastic. the opening credits were amazingly well done. Snyder really does need to learn a few new comic-book-action-sequence tricks other than the slow-mo from 300 and Watchmen, but i felt the movie looked amazing.

Of course i like dark and gritty.

And I saw it in IMAX - everything in IMAX looks great.

819
Webcomics & Free Stuff / Re: Poking fun at Wheel of Time
« on: March 12, 2009, 10:05:45 PM »
*GLARES*

820
Webcomics & Free Stuff / Re: Poking fun at Wheel of Time
« on: March 12, 2009, 08:57:06 PM »
*GLARES*

821
Webcomics & Free Stuff / Re: Poking fun at Wheel of Time
« on: March 12, 2009, 08:42:47 PM »
Damn. I should have just read these instead of listening to the audio books.

822
Movies and TV / Re: Castle
« on: March 12, 2009, 07:41:58 PM »
Nathan Fillion plays a great dirt bag. I have hopes that this show will continue. It wasnt amazing, but it was a nice change from the terrible CSIs and Law and Orders. I hate James Patterson, but seeing his little role made me laugh. You are right though, they will need to do something different to make this a "must-watch."

823
Writing Group / Re: Writing Excuses Branding Writing Prompt
« on: March 12, 2009, 06:50:34 PM »
I would be interested in hearing who the people here compare themselves to. I think this "Branding" topic is important for people to be thinking about. It's always nice for an agent to know how he/she can market a book when it gets sent to them.

I haven't read any of the submissions here, so I can't compare you to anyone. Here are some things to consider that the agents and editors I talked to recently said:

Wants:
Lots of requests for Dark Fantasy. Think in the vein of Erikson, Bakker, and Abercrombie. I heard 3 editors say they are looking specifically for it.
Urban Fantasy that is different from what we have now. They want to see it spun in a different way with perhaps some SF elements in it.
When I heard SF mentioned, I heard Hard SF.
Moshe Feder likes anything that's amazing.

Don't Want:
Tolkien Fantasy.
Don't want much more in the way of the Vampires and Werewolves that we see in ALL Urban Fantasy.

In short, I think we are seeing a push towards more intelligence and depth. I hope this helps. I certainly feel that the people who are seriously posting in the other forum should think of where their books fits - a "If you like [insert author here], then you will like my stuff because [insert VERY BRIEF explanation here]."

Can you explain to an agent in 50 words or less your own book and who it could be considered similar to? I dont mean, "its Harry Potter meets Robocop!" I dont mean "It's just like Terry Brooks!" I mean something along the lines of mentioning the strengths of what you have, and then mention that you feel that readers who enjoy those similar qualities in [insert author] will enjoy your own novel. In reality 50 words is very little, but it's good practice so you can distill your thoughts to as direct of a explanation as possible.

824
Dan Wells / Re: Reviews
« on: March 12, 2009, 06:24:07 PM »
Quote from: Ookla The Mok on March 10, 2009, 11:34:49 PM
That was a very good review!

(Not yours, Steve.)

Dont lie to me. Jealousy will get you nowhere.

But really though, I'm glad the reviews are good so far. I can't see people who are into horror disliking it at all. I'm excited to see what the U.S. reviewers make of it when it comes here.

825
Books / Re: What are you reading, part 3
« on: March 12, 2009, 06:21:00 PM »
I'll take some pics of it and post em. The illustrations were done by Michael Komarck. The new cover is amazing, and then there are 7 (including the cover again) interior full-color illustrations. They kick ass.

Subterranean Press did a fantastic job on it. If you are 'in' to Collector's Editions, I recommend them strongly. Another perk of ordering from them is that by getting this series, I am entitled to have the save numbered copy for every book of the series - in my case 321. Makes a sweet matching set all signed and with the same number.

This does bring up the point of internal illustrations. I miss them from fantasy novels. I remember the first 3 Terry Brooks novels had them, and they were great. I miss interior art a lot.

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