Welcome to the Weekend
"Nothing makes you more tolerant of a neighbor's noisy party than being there." Franklin P. Jones
Anyone up for a noisy Saturday brunch outdoors? I know the setting in the picture looks serene, but imagine it with fifty close friends and a matching number--or so--of Bellini Martinis added.
Comments
Cheers! :)
Do you like literary fiction or genre fiction? I like both, but sometimes I have to pair them up.
Yesterday, I read this NYT bestseller that was so darn depressing. The vicious antagonist gets away without being redeemed or getting a comeuppance. I was so down after finishing it that I had to immediately read a book that I knew would have a happy ending.
On the up side, reading two good novels is a great way to spend the day. I hope you get some reading in this weekend. :)
March 14, 2008 6:25 PM
I agree, K. I read literary fiction to study how it's done, but sometimes they're so depressing I have to find something light and fun to clear out the cobwebs.
I'm reading The Sun Also Rises, but also a Tom Corcoran on the side. And will be working on the climax of my own story this weekend. TGIF, y'all!
A note - I guest blogged today at Jaye Wells' blog. Stop by, read the post and comment and you may be one of the 2 lucky recipient of a copy of the first novel of my series. :)
Clicky Link to the post
Running away to back up today's writing efforts.
I'm sure I'll stop back by over the weekend.
Ciao and goodnight!
Not sure I'll be around much this weekend. I'm finally getting new tires for the motorcycles, so if I'm not in the chicken houses I might be out riding. ;-)
Maria - went to your guest blog gig and posted. I LOVE Joss Whedon's stuff, too.
Beth - good luck with the work on your novel!
Far - new tires for the motorcycles. Please be careful. It think motorcycles are great, but other drivers not so much. Wear your helmet and gear and practice defensive driving!
I like happy vamps and angst-ridden vamps. The thing I haven't liked in vampire books is when characters get all the advantages of being vamps, but none of the downsides, meaning they just take a pill so they don't get the hunger, don't need to drink blood, can go out in the sun, etc. That's not vampirism. ;)
OOh, soapbox time!! I'm in absolute agreement with that. There's a plethora of cutesy vampire books out there that utterly skirt all the issues involved. My biggest beef: why make them vampires if everything that *is* vampire is missing?
One of the things I love about genre writing, is that I can play with the tropes and with the traditional views, yet still working within the framework of what makes a particular creature unique. My vampires must drink blood, are violently allergic to sun and are definitely dead. OTOH, they are not inherently evil, nor are they allergic to holy items. They can also see themselves in mirrors.
It's a blast making my version of the tradition work within the parameters of what makes them vampire...including the downsides. After all, conflict is what makes a good story.
Thanks for raising the topic here, Kimberly. I'm interested to see what the rest of you think.
::goes back to the book...I was never here::
But if I were, I would have to agree - if you're going to remove the characteristics that make a vampire a vampire, why not write them as something else? Doesn't it defeat the purpose? Sounds like a lazy writer to me, introducing a pill instead of coming up with a creative way for the character to deal with the problems.
I might have to break my own rule, and read yours, Maria!
Beat today. Helped my mom move which is a fraught and work-intensive process. Will be back sometime tomorrow to say hi in greater detail. 99% genre, 1% lit-fic. Some of lit-fic's prose and mood is fabulous, but the tendency to skip plot drives me right up the wall.
Maria - look forward to your vamp book.