Monday, December 21, 2009

Quick Monday Fly-By

With some books, you fumble and struggle until you hit the Mother Lode of story, then everything begins to flow with ease. Other books, not so much. Alas, this book is one of the no-so-much variety. What that means is that every scene, every story nugget must be painstakingly researched, located, then clumsily excavated, only to have to go through the exact same process five pages later. If you listen closely, you can hear my daily scream of ARGH!!! all the way from where you are.

So after today's hacking and prodding and coaxing, I have promised myself a trip to the movies to see AVATAR with the family.

In other news, I rarely link to reviews here, but this one thrilled me so much I can't resist. It's from Colleen Mondor over at Bookslut, and she so thoroughly got Nathaniel Fludd, Beastologist, that I have been glowing ever since. In fact, it's been my security blanket in the last few days as I've wrestled and fought with the current WIP. My favorite part?

"There’s no Oliver Twist here, or even Harry Potter, but rather an original blend of fantastic and fun that is far more about the boy than the magic."

Love that a lot. It's what I always aim for--character driven fantasy--but never know if it actually ends up that way on the page.

Now off to see if I can do it again!

3 comments:

Jennifer said...

Very nice review! I adored Nathaniel from the first b/c he reminded me of one of my all-time favorites, David and the Phoenix. I'm hoping to talk Nathaniel Fludd fans into picking that one up as well (-:). And we want more Nathaniel ASAP, of course! Please! (but we will settle with oohing and aahing over Theodosia while we wait)

Riley said...

Great review! I just finished Nathaniel Fludd and thoroughly agree...it's fantastic!

Also, as a struggling author, I want to thank you for sharing your own writing challenges. When I'm wrestling my plot into submission (while trying to remember that plot is not the true heart of the story), it helps to know that you're having similar issues. Thanks!

Robin L said...

HI Jennifer! Thanks for your kinds words on Nathaniel! I'll have to look up David and the Phoenix, as I'd never heard of it before. Also, you will be getting more Nathaniel SOON. June 2010, to be exact. :-)

So glad you enjoyed Nathaniel Fludd, Riley! And I'm very happy to hear you gain something from reading about my writing process. Gawd knows someone should benefit from all this angst!