Lise Rants About Writing/Reading

1. I can’t read it – it’s too long! No, it’s not. Even if it is long, try it. It might be worth it. Don’t just toss off a book based on length. It might take you a while, but Wheel of Time, for example, is definitely worth it.
2. It’s fantasy! I don’t like fantasy! I. Hate. This. This is probably my least favorite one. Fantasy books are as different and varied as other genres. There’s your sword and sorcery stories, your derivative Tolkien fantasy, your really awful sex fantasy…yeah. Just because you don’t like one kind doesn’t mean you won’t like any of them. Try. It. First.
3.  Only stupid people read trashy teen romances. ARGH! No. You don’t have to be smart to read these novels, but you don’t have to be stupid either! It’s fun to let your brain have candy sometimes. Sugar is fine in doses. So are teen romances. Exclusively doesn’t build your brain, but doesn’t mean you’re stupid, either. Smart people don’t have to be smart all the time. That would be pretty stressful.
4. You have to read long, weighty books to be smart. Fiction books that take place in our time and look "fun" are not intelligent reading. So. Not. True. Look at Annie on My Mind, for example. Best. Book. Evah. Read it. Anyway, books can be light, and make a point. Often, light humor is the best way to make a point. What do you remember, in the long run? Those conversations that made you laugh, or the ones that upset you? Yeah.
5. I don’t understand the words. Look at the context. The context, people! I don’t understand a lot of the words in Wheel of Time (i.e. couldn’t define them if you asked me to) but I zip through them just fine, because they fit in the sentence, and I get the idea. If you flip through a book and notice long words, don’t put it down on that basis. Try. Reading. It. That’s all I can say for books – read it first, don’t just toss it. Or you’ll lose a lot of good books that way.

 

 

1. Just relax your mind and let the words flow. If I did that, I’d never get anywhere. Words don’t just come out on their own. They require thinking. If you’re really good, the thinking comes right on top of the talking, like right now, but not always. Sometimes you have to think. If I relaxed my brain and just wrote, my stories would need to be killed dead for their awfulness. Maybe this is just me, but I don’t like sitting in front of a compy waiting for my brain to think before I start writing. You write, and then you think.
2. Writer’s Block? Just write – it’ll work itself out. ARGH! I hate it when people say this. I cannot force my writing. If I have writer’s block and I try to write anyway, it. Sounds. So. Forced. It’s clunky and ugly and doesn’t flow, and that just depresses me and makes me more blockedified. You have to wait and let the story figure out what it’s doing. Then you can write. Let your brain sort it out, and then write. Don’t try to work while you’re sorting. You’ll just tie yourself in knots.
3. People who talk about famous “child” authors who aren’t actually that good. Yes, we know C.P. was fifteen when he wrote Eragon. Yes, I know he’s only eighteen and has a bestselling series. THAT SUCKS LIKE CRAP. I would like to think I can write better than that, or at least more originally, and I’m thirteen! Is the fact that other authors have gotten published at my age supposed to make me feel better? Sorry. Just makes me jealous and depressed, and probably mad at you. Not a good thing.
4. Try branching out into new genres for writing! No. Just…no. I can’t, frankly. Right now in my life, I’m at a stage where I connect with fantasy, and can write it VERY COMFORTABLY. So when I want to branch out, I’ll branch out, okay! And for now, it’s NONE OF YOUR DAMN BUSINESS.  
5. People who can’t write for shit criticizing your writing and expecting to be obeyed. Basically, someone who doesn’t write telling you what to do and expecting you to do it. Sure, I love concrit as much as the next person, but I’ll take the advice that I want. If you’re a better writer than me, I’ll be more likely to take it. If you don’t write much…well, I probably won’t. Unless it makes sense, which it rarely does. Not always even concrit. Sometimes just telling you what to name your characters without being asked. This is what I like to call, a “backseat writer” – as annoying as a backseat driver, but often worse.

Okay, got some of my anger out. Bye.