We’re smack dab in the middle of summer and I have loads of reading to catch up on (who says publishing slows down in the summer??), so I thought I would stand aside for the day and let the discussion go where it may.
Open thread!
What’s on your mind?
Oh, also, this video is a gift from me to you:
Carol Riggs says
Yeah, Reena! She said:
"One day I hope to find an agent who's as enthusiastic about my manuscript as that guy was in the video." That is hilarious; amen to that.
Also, @Phyllis, I too tried the I Write Like site–apparently I write like Kurt Vonnegut (is this a good thing?) but Kristin L. mentioned what I had wondered–if it churned out diff results with diff mss. Fun site!
Anyway, I'm avoiding my novel for the moment and writing my latest blogsite post. A veer off from my usual writer's tips and makeovers…posting some links.
Ishta Mercurio says
Post-I WRITE LIKE analysis:
Well, apparently my blogging style is most like the writing of David Foster Wallace, whom I am embarassed to admit I had never heard of (but I went straight to amazon.com and looked at the first pages of a couple of his books), and I occasionally wander into Kurt Vonnegut territory. I think this means I write in long paragraphs, which I do, because DFW's writing is so much more poetic than mine and there is no justification for comparison. Still, a fun thing to discover.
And when I put in my favorite PB manuscript, it came back as being like J. K. Rowling. I WISH!
Thanks for the fun link.
Back to the grindstone.
Lisa Lawmaster Hess says
Supposed to be working on a revisions, a work-in-progress and reworking a synopsis (I'm with you Stephanie – HATE those things!)BUT am on vacation, so I'm taking a brain break. Blogging, finishing a Jodi Piccoult book and slipping in the WIP as snippets of time arise…
Anonymous says
Too much, he had taken too much again. Seeing things, he had to be.
Sarah listened from inside the house. The doors locked. There were no such things as rainbows, muchless double rainbows. They were a myth from who knew where. She shook the almost empty water tin thoughtfully. To bad rain was a myth, it would be nice not to have to walk outside and face him.
He screamed excitedly again.
"Double rainbow".
Indeed. She'd show him what a double rainbow means.
Jaimie says
Kathryn Paterson,
I write slow too! I should be revising right now, actually, not commenting, but such is life.
I like to think the people that write 4 pages in 45 minutes aren't writing very GOOD pages. Because I can do that. But it SUCKS. So I don't. Sure, that's not always the case (some people are better than I, obviously), but I think most of the time… it's the case.
Put out good work. Damn the time.
John Jack says
Pick a story that generated big buzz in a favorite genre and tear it apart. Go at with forge hammer and tongs, with a sledgehammer, with a wrecking ball, a jackhammer, tweezers and magnifying glass, scalpel, electron microscope, MRI, CAT scan, the Hubble telescope, any and every tool ever invented.
When every word choice and syntatical unit from word to phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph, section, chapter, whole can be explained, go back and dissect for what was left out, the gaps readers' creative vision easily bridges.
Then let a project in progress ferment for a while while assimilating and reacclimating to drafing and writing and rewriting and revision.
Be prepared to reap the whirlwind.
Anonymous says
I was really worried for a moment that the guy with the rainbow was you and we needed to send the guys in white coats fast.
I mean, I love me a rainbow too, but I was getting heap-mud worried about our in house literary agent for a minute or two there.
Do take your off-time, Nathan.
Anonymous says
Yes, Dude in video completely off his rocker. Was he crying? That's messed up if he was. IMO.
As for what I'm doing, working on a contest lay out for YALITCHAT perturbed parent group. Then I will writing some more chapters for my current WIP. Since my other manuscript is with a Beta reader, so I have to wait for comments on that. One more revision and it should be ready to go. Yay.
Haste yee back ;-) says
Can you imagine being within earshot of "Rainbow Dude" when he loses his virginity!
Vincent Kale says
Going back to Nathan's post from yesterday ("How do we know our writing is good?" and "Everyone in the world thinks they can write better than some published authors."), John Jack's above comment made me realize something.
When we read a published work, we're obviously seeing the fine-tuned, highly polished, best-it-can-be revision. We're not privy to that particular author's trials, edits, revisions, etc. We don't get to see that they originally chose the word "bright" and later changed it to "nuclear tangerine."
Perhaps those who haven't spent as much time in the writing/publishing world think it's as simple as typing up your idea to a certain word count and then you're good to go.
It's no wonder everyone thinks they can play with the professionals.
Jennifer says
A friend discovered that video yesterday and we had such a great time watching it (repeatedly because we couldn't seem to stop), we coined the phrase, "It's a double rainbow kind of day."
I actually watched some of the dude's other videos (he's either constantly amazed or constantly high), and he has a rubber-banded beard which equated him to Captain Lou Albano in my mind and made my viewing experience even better.
Mira says
That's a hilarious video.
I LOVE open thread day! Yay!
What's on my mind? Thank you so much for asking! I've been wondering about that too. Let's see, here's some random things I've been thinking about:
———
— I picked a name! I picked the name for my MC. PERFECT. Yay!
— everyone is entitled to a bad day here or there. Sometimes things are just plain hard.
— everytime there's a T.V. show I love, and it ends, I feel such a loss. And then another T.V. shows comes. I find that I love the new T.V. show as much as the old T.V. show, but in a different way. Then, THAT T.V. show ends too, and a new T.V. show comes in IT's place. It sort of sucks and it's sort of cool that T.V. shows end, but then a new T.V. show comes and we love that too.
(On the slim possibility that anyone is still reading this post, just in case I was too subtle, I do want to confirm that I was using T.V. as a metaphor for life. Yes, I was.)
— I have to take a class again in two weeks. Ugh.
— I was driving along the other day and it hit me – no one is given an instruction booklet, and so life is a TRIAL and ERROR kind of thing. TRIAL and ERROR. That's right. By definition, we HAVE to make mistakes. That means there IS NO OTHER WAY then make lots of mistakes because it's a TRIAL and ERROR sort of thing. So, we're all off the hook.
— I really like typing things in CAPITAL letters.
— I played the 'who do you write like' game, and got Kurt Vonnegut. I was horrified and kept playing until I got Charles Dickens. Much better.
— I'm just saying whatever comes into my head at this point, but it looks more impressive when I put it in bullet points.
— I LOVE open thread day.
Okay, I'm done for now, but I think it's highly likely I'll be back.
Mira says
Haste ye back – LOL. That was funny!
Erin McGuire says
I'm surprised there hasn't been any blogging on the upcoming documentary about the children's book industry, with authors and illustrators- https://www.libraryoftheearlymind.com/
Saw this the other day and was surprised no one else had blogged about it. It'd be cool to hear your thoughts!
G says
I'm waiting, with a growing sense of doom and gloom, for my first draft to come back from a friend who is giving it a very thorough first read.
I don't think I can handle killer honesty, but I gotta if I wanna.
Anonymous says
My thighs are hot. Whether this is because I'm writing erotica or because my laptop is burning up is anyone's guess.
Other Lisa says
Dude, it means you're tripping…
Annie Donwerth Chikamatsu says
My heart leaps up…
abc says
Speaking of high (and the munchies), what is your favorite pig out food? (while writing, of course) What else would you be doing?
I like chips and salsa. Those natural style Tostitos are awesome! I'd say queso but I can't find good queso here in Iowa and I'm too lazy to make my own. I'm also kind of obsessed with Peanut Butter M&Ms.
Other Lisa says
AHHHH!!! The auto-tuned version is the best thing ever!
Jared Larson says
Ehh, is it just me, or is he having a rainbowgasm?
A Rose by any other name... says
I'm pondering today…pondering, with a bit of dithering thrown in.
I am cowriting a memoir that is strung on a thread extending from when Linda Brown was contacted by an author interested in writing a biography of her father, to when said author completed a 700 page first draft, rushed it to print on Lulu and called it quits on the project.
Although Linda's memoir includes vignettes extending from 1947 to 2009, the bones of her tale are in the events that transpired in that 2003-2009 time frame. They happened as a direct result of her involvement in the research for that first book.
BUT Nathan once said that use of real names(football coaches, in that case, IIRC)is a memoir no-no. Soooo, what I am pondering today is how to disguise the character of the author.
We actually tried changing his name in some of the early chapters, but it feels like spitting in the wind. How do you blur the identity of the sole author of the sole biography of Thomas Townsend Brown?
I originally wanted to post this on the Ask Nathan forum thread, but thought I would give it a trial run here. Thanks for bearing with me to the end. Any one with knowledge and time enough to offer a thought on this?
rose
gsfields says
I was horifyingly drawn to the "I Write Like" link, but I was worried it would end up like the time I entered REO Speedwagon's "Cool Change" into http://www.Pandora.com only to find that my taste in music appearently includes the vast majority of Air Supply songs.
Could I handle that kind of analysis of my writing? I'm working on an action/fantasy novel that I hope will appeal to Dan Brown and Robert Ludlum fans. What if it told me I write like Judy Blume?
Throwing caution (and my ego) to the wind, I entered part of my first chapter.
I don't know who programmed that application, but he (or she) is either a genius or knows how to write code that strokes egos.
I'm a Dan Brown write-alike.
A Rose by any other name... says
John Jack, Francine Prose's book, READING LIKE A WRITER is a good substitute for the exercise you suggest. Although it takes a certain well-developed level of artistic appreciation to enjoy a whole chapter on paragraphing! Beginners might not warm to it as easily as those who have been working at their craft for a while.
rose
swampfox says
I wouldn't be surprised if that guy was seeing double of everything!!
Andrea says
@abc
I can't eat while I'm writing. But, when I have the 'munchies' I go for banana chocolate chip waffles, nutella on garlic naan, or chips & guacamole.
Have you had the pretzel m&ms? Or the coconut ones? Awesomeness.
Tahereh says
"Have you ever seen a double-triple-vivid-rainbow shoot across the sky?"
SPOILER PLOT TWIST: "WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?"
TEARS.
GASPS.
AWED REVERENCE.
fancy voiceovers.
JAZZ HANDS, EVEN.
move over, stephenie meyer, is what i'm thinking the double-rainbow man is thinking.
jennysanchez says
At I Write LIke: David Foster Wallace, Raymond Chandler, and James Joyce….yeah, quite a way to slack off, avoid the edits I should be working on, and still feel great about it!
Ariel Swan says
The I write thing is B.S. I think – but I am all over that double rainbow kind of day coinage.
Anonymous says
I found that video to be hilarious until he said, "in my front yard…"
Then I was too green with jealousy of the dude's view to be amused any longer.
Kathryn Magendie says
Stephanie -if you find someone who does, let's bronze them -or bottle it so we can drink it and be like them! teehee.
*laughing* at swampfox's comment! 😀
Instead of working on the next book, I'm googling things like: I'm a new runner, why is running making my arse bigger? you know, important stuff like that.
John Jack says
A Rose by any other name @ 4:12 p.m.
I've sampled Prose's Reading Like a Writer at HarperCollins but haven't laid hands on a copy yet. The local library system has a copy but it's still making the reserve list rounds. I'll take a deeper look one of these days. What I read so far hasn't motivated me to buy a copy. "I have seen roses damask'd, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks." Shakespeare, sonnet 130
Seymour Chatman's Story and Discourse I'd buy after sampling online, and reading cover to cover through interlibrary loan, if I had two bills to rub together. Gustav Freytag's Technique of the Drama I didn't have to buy, it's a free online publication.
I'm waiting currently on interlibrary loan E.M. Forster's Aspects of Fiction, Forster of the proverbial, "The king died, and then the queen died is a story. The king died, and then the queen died out of grief is a plot."
Ishta Mercurio says
abc: have you tried pita crisps? YUMMO. I'm also a fan of tortilla chips and salsa, and also of ice cream topped with either peanuts and chocolate sauce, or maple sugar-coated almonds. Mmmm…..
Summer is such a great excuse to eat ice cream.
Ellen Faith says
Plotting, plotting, and even more plotting. Plus a synopsis.
D.J. Morel says
I'm thinking I should start my query: Have you ever seen a double rainbow and wondered what it meant?
Just checked YouTube and that video will soon hit 5 million views. The guy in it should get himself an agent toute de suite.
Down the well says
What does it mean?
It means lace up your purple high-tops because the Hale-Bop space ship is coming to get you any minute now.
Kay says
I just received the most hilarious interview answers from literary agent James Fitzgerald. His story about a cab driver in San Francisco was CRAZY.
Here's the link:
https://www.kayemevans.com/blog/?p=180
Debbie says
My sister was just telling me about that video today, so thanks for posting it. I needed the laugh!
Katie says
I am about to go to a conference as an intern looking for connections in the industry and while I'm excited to meet agents and editors, I'm nervous because I don't know what to say. What do you like to talk about with colleagues? What would you recommend someone asking if they were interested in being an agent or editor?
Kay says
Is that Nathan in the video??
Anonymous says
Today I gained a new beta reader, who usually hates everything he reads.
He liked my first chapter. A lot.
Today I gained hope.
-Jen Daniele
Jean says
Just wondering about the depth of editing that agents do for their clients. Is the industry leaning more toward agents being the clearing house, doing almost all the edits before an editor ever sees the material? What if those edits aren't what the editor would eventually like to see?
Just wondering…..
Oh, Maker's Mark is in our house. Jefferson Reserve has a sharper edge to it.
shadytales says
..and now I understand wht you live in CA and not NY. Thanks for the video.
Melissa
BrownEyed says
I wrote a spiritual fiction-piece on fanstory.com and got great reviews 😀
So, bliss is on my mind.
-BrownEyed
treeoflife says
I too think this "I Write Like" thing is bogus… I posted a non-fiction piece where I discuss investing in stocks, and it said I write like Dan Brown 😛
Hmmmm… random writer name generator perhaps?
Robert A Meacham says
" I write Like" David Foster Wallace.
Okay, that soothed my ego. Now all I need to do is …do it.
I am trying to finish my paranormal novel but I am only at 20k words and stuck at the moment..
margogremmler.com says
Revising my MS based on some minor-ish comments from my instructor. "Mere brushstokes," he says. I'm thrilled – two for two on heart-stopping compliments from pros. (Cannot post those here, or you all would shoot me dead dead dead.) After this round of changes, two phases of beta readers are ready for my MS. Manna from heaven. Cannot wait to hear what they think.
Phyllis, thanks for mentioning I Write Like! I entered chapter one of my MS and got myself a James Joyce comparison. It made my day, too. 🙂
My poems apparently compare to an author variety-pack: JK Rowling, James Fenimore Cooper, Isaac Asimov, Joyce (again), Stephen King, and Bram Stoker!
Have you guys heard about WriteOnCon? It's the first all-free, all-online kidlit writers' conference, coming 8/10. (www.writeoncon.com)
Once you register, you get access to the practice critique boards. Seriously – in four days, I made my query about 50X better. Everyone there has been FANTASTIC with comments. I've learned a ton, and the conference is still weeks away!
cheekychook says
gsfield—Don't worry if that site tells you you write like Judy Blume, because it says she writes like JK Rowling.
swampfox—seeing double of everything—I almost snorted iced tea out my nose when I read that.
Andrea—I've been wanting to try the pretzel m&ms, but I can't eat anything crunchy for the next few weeks (dental drama,don't ask)…I did however see the commercial for them, and as much as I love the pretzel/chocolate combination, in all incarnations,I have to say this particular advertisement was…disturbing. Anyone seen it? Orange m&m says "There's no way you're putting a pretzel inside me." Then pretzel says "Listen, man, I'm not too thrilled about this either." Then at the end pretzel cracks his knuckles and says "Alright, lets get this over with." Really m&m folks? I thought the commercials with the flirty female m&m were bad enough, but this one was just kinda disturbing. I'm not opposed to sex in advertising, but since when did m&m's get all sexy, anyway? I mean the green ones, okay, but the rest of them?
(Nathan starts to reconsider whether or not "Open Thread" day is such a good idea…)
christwriter says
I'm slowly coming back up from a ten-day graveyard shift stint (it's legal. I know it looks like TEN FREAKING DAYS OF WORK IN A ROW WITH NO BREAKS OMG WHY AM I STILL ALIVE would not be legal, but it is.) and remembering why trying to play professional author when you are so tired you can't sleep, let alone eat, is sometimes a bad idea.
Am I the only unpublished wanna-be who feels an INTENSE pressure to get this stuff done? Like rest can wait, I have to go do the fifteenth query revision. Haven't sent it anywhere. Have no idea if query is good or not. But it must be revised anyway, because my automatic assumption is that it still sucks. Because nobody has told me it doesn't. And nobody has seen it because I don't want to send something that sucks to a professional, because I will then be blacklisted for being an idiot and my query will be used for Eye of Argon-esque readings. And then there is the anxiety attack of worrying that the typo on page two that I probably missed combined with the weak verb I probably missed on page three will cause instant rejection. Because your first book has to be perfect and … yeah, did I mention I've gotten about four hours of sleep a day for the past ten? I need a nap.
And I don't get one, because I have one more night shift to go before I can go home, comfort my traumatized cat and revise that problematic sentence on page five again (to "the" or not to "the", that is the question)
Lynn Mitchell says
To the rainbow video guy…
Dude, it is time to get your meds changed. Yep.