cj CJ By Carlos Hazday - Series Discussion

[Carlos Hazday]

4 minutes ago, Daddydavek said:

Today's discussion has been the best forum discussion in quite a while.  I too miss the great forum posts of the past and I think it's not only the fact that we can post and discuss more in the comments on the chapters, but also the fact that so much goes on in chat now.  I've avoided the chat because I don't react that spontaneously and usually try to think before I actually respond.  In chat, when you wait, the moment has passed and it's no longer relevant. 

Chat's not for everyone but since they provide another avenue for involvement, they'll be around for a while. I'll keep trying to encourage participation in other areas too.

[spike382]

11 minutes ago, Daddydavek said:

Today's discussion has been the best forum discussion in quite a while.  I too miss the great forum posts of the past and I think it's not only the fact that we can post and discuss more in the comments on the chapters, but also the fact that so much goes on in chat now.  I've avoided the chat because I don't react that spontaneously and usually try to think before I actually respond.  In chat, when you wait, the moment has passed and it's no longer relevant. 

 

I don’t go into chat at all because I’d never be able to keep up with all that.

[Reader1810]

I just popped in to see what’s going on and found this amazingly thoughtful and insightful conversation. Wow! Thanks you lot.  

 

One of the the things I like is when an author uses prompts to give readers a small glimpse into the daily lives of characters whose original story is complete. The scenes are standalones and usually not complex - just enough for the reader to have a peek at how they're doing after The End. 

 

Edited March 31, 2018 by Reader1810

[Daddydavek]

2 minutes ago, Reader1810 said:

I just popped in to see what’s going on and found this amazingly thoughtful and insightful conversation. Wow! Thanks you lot.  

 

One of the the things I like is when an author uses prompts to give readers a small glimpse into the daily lives of characters whose original story is complete. The scenes are standalones and usually not complex - just enough for the reader to have a peek at how their doing after The End. 

Hint, hint!

[Mikiesboy]

35 minutes ago, Carlos Hazday said:

We can always discuss those 9" pies you were talking bout yesterday...

LOL... oh man yes we could..hehe

[Mikiesboy]

20 minutes ago, Reader1810 said:

I just popped in to see what’s going on and found this amazingly thoughtful and insightful conversation. Wow! Thanks you lot.  

 

One of the the things I like is when an author uses prompts to give readers a small glimpse into the daily lives of characters whose original story is complete. The scenes are standalones and usually not complex - just enough for the reader to have a peek at how their doing after The End. 

the story i'm writing now, while longer than a single chapter is based on a prompt .. it was a good one that spoke to me

[northie]

2 hours ago, Carlos Hazday said:

It shows me mistakes to avoid and good things to emulate

I find it difficult to switch off that part of my brain when I'm reading anything now.  But yes, it is a very good way of self-improvement. 

[northie]

1 hour ago, Reader1810 said:

just popped in to see what’s going on and found this amazingly thoughtful and insightful conversation. Wow! Thanks you lot.  

 

Couldn't agree more, Reader.  Interesting and thought provoking, only sorry I missed most of it with being at work ... 

[Carlos Hazday]

30 minutes ago, northie said:

I find it difficult to switch off that part of my brain when I'm reading anything now.  But yes, it is a very good way of self-improvement. 

Last time I read Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea I did so making corrections with a virtual red pencil. Never mind the bloody book won a Nobel Prize for literature.

[Carlos Hazday]

30 minutes ago, northie said:

Couldn't agree more, Reader.  Interesting and thought provoking, only sorry I missed most of it with being at work ... 

The beauty of the thread conversations is they're not as fast paced as those in chat. It's easier to catch up.

[Reader1810]

3 minutes ago, Carlos Hazday said:

The beauty of the thread conversations is they're not as fast paced as those in chat. It's easier to catch up.

Very true. I came to the conversation late, so I had a lot of catching up to do. 

[spike382]

8 minutes ago, Carlos Hazday said:

Last time I read Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea I did so making corrections with a virtual red pencil. Never mind the bloody book won a Nobel Prize for literature.

 

Carlos is sitting there reading this book thinking “man Hemingway was such an amateur.  Get good noob!”

[Mikiesboy]

2 minutes ago, spikey582 said:

 

Carlos is sitting there reading this book thinking “man Hemingway was such an amateur.  Get good noob!”

thankfully writing styles have changed since his time

[spike382]

3 minutes ago, Mikiesboy said:

thankfully writing styles have changed since his time

 

This is actually why it’s difficult for me to read older novels.  Writing has evolved so much in the last 50 years.  Storytelling has gotten a lot better.  So it’s hard to engage with older stories where the do all this telling and never showing.

[FormerMember4]

18 minutes ago, Carlos Hazday said:

Last time I read Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea I did so making corrections with a virtual red pencil. Never mind the bloody book won a Nobel Prize for literature.

The man was often drunk off his bum. That might have contributed. Instead of slurring his words. It was writing he slurred.

[Mikiesboy]

8 minutes ago, spikey582 said:

 

This is actually why it’s difficult for me to read older novels.  Writing has evolved so much in the last 50 years.  Storytelling has gotten a lot better.  So it’s hard to engage with older stories where the do all this telling and never showing.

yeah it's hard to read them.  someone asked me for an opinion of their work the other day.  i read what i could but it was just an info dump ... myself i think we should use both showing and telling, but not 7 pages worth of telling...its just dull.   I'll just skim it all  ... you can use too many words, imo. 

Edited March 31, 2018 by Mikiesboy

[Carlos Hazday]

7 minutes ago, spikey582 said:

 

This is actually why it’s difficult for me to read older novels.  Writing has evolved so much in the last 50 years.  Storytelling has gotten a lot better.  So it’s hard to engage with older stories where the do all this telling and never showing.

I cheated my way through Moby Dick and a couple others while in school. Even more than showing, dialogue does it for me. You can have someone recount something and it's much better than the narrator doing it.

[Mikiesboy]

1 minute ago, Carlos Hazday said:

I cheated my way through Moby Dick and a couple others while in school. Even more than showing, dialogue does it for me. You can have someone recount something and it's much better than the narrator doing it.

yep

 

I try to just write ... when i write.. so i'll end up with telling paragraphs.. but when i go back i ask myself, "who can talk about this... who should say this"   it works for me

Edited March 31, 2018 by Mikiesboy

[Carlos Hazday]

3 minutes ago, Mikiesboy said:

yeah it's hard to read them.  someone asked me for an opinion of their work the other day.  i read what i could but it was just an info dump ... myself i think we should use both showing and telling, but not 7 pages worth of telling...its just dull.   I'll just skim it all  ... you can use too many words, imo. 

Mann constantly encourages me to 'simplify' and I find myself deleting words and phrases often during my self edits

[FormerMember4]

3 minutes ago, Mikiesboy said:

yeah it's hard to read them.  someone asked me for an opinion of their work the other day.  i read what i could but it was just an info dump ... myself i think we should use both showing and telling, but not 7 pages worth of telling...its just dull.   I'll just skim it all  ... well you can use too many words, imo. 

I used to get a headache in high school and college when reading Shakespeare. Trying to decipher the meanings.

[spike382]

2 minutes ago, Mikiesboy said:

yeah it's hard to read them.  someone asked me for an opinion of their work the other day.  i read what i could but it was just an info dump ... myself i think we should use both showing and telling, but not 7 pages worth of telling...its just dull.   I'll just skim it all  ... well you can use too many words, imo. 

 

Hopefully you said, try showing and not telling.  I always tell new writers to provide info through action and dialogue.  That makes it so much better.

[Mikiesboy]

3 minutes ago, BlindAmbition said:

I used to get a headache in high school and college when reading Shakespeare. Trying to decipher the meanings.

i missed all of that ... i did get to read Of Mice and Men first though... 

[Mikiesboy]

Just now, spikey582 said:

 

Hopefully you said, try showing and not telling.  I always tell new writers to provide info through action and dialogue.  That makes it so much better.

yeah i did... gave some suggestions... 

[FormerMember4]

2 minutes ago, spikey582 said:

 

Hopefully you said, try showing and not telling.  I always tell new writers to provide info through action and dialogue.  That makes it so much better.

Yes! Being blind, I see in pictures, and not words. This is so important.

[Defiance19]

30 minutes ago, Reader1810 said:

Very true. I came to the conversation late, so I had a lot of catching up to do. 

Me too, but what a delightful trip. 

 

6 minutes ago, Carlos Hazday said:

Mann constantly encourages me to 'simplify' and I find myself deleting words and phrases often during my self edits

When I do write I have ‘keep it simple, stupid’ running through my head..

 

4 minutes ago, BlindAmbition said:

I used to get a headache in high school and college when reading Shakespeare. Trying to decipher the meanings.

Forget Shakespeare, I break out in hives if I think about Chaucer, who was mandatory.

 

Great thread, this Saturday afternoon..