Comments on: On Truth, Close To The Bone

By: Sassee

Sassee — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 15:22:42 +0000

Little late catching up to my daily blog roll… just read this.

I love it, and this is so true. For the longest time I couldn’t figure out what it was I disliked about my story, about my character(s), and then the lightbulb came on one day. I didn’t like it because I was telling myself “oh god what are people going to say if I write this?” I was censoring myself and my characters. The second half of my book-in-revision is worlds better than the first half, and that’s because in the second half I said f*** this and just wrote how I thought the story should go, how the characters WANTED it to go. Of course, the down side to this is that the first half has been an absolute nightmare to work with, but hey, if I was afraid of challenge I wouldn’t be writing, now would I? (God, I wish someone had told me how much friggin’ work this was… heh)

Anyway, I really enjoy your posts. It’s great to know that everyone doesn’t have to poop rainbows 24/7.

By: Jess

Jess — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 20:22:24 +0000

short reply:

I find that all those 50-page starts aren’t stories I couldn’t commit to, per se, but stories I truckled with, and I knew it and gave up. The ones I’ve finished are the ones I cared enough about to tell the truth.

By: Gloria

Gloria — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 07:06:27 +0000

I to Thank you for the truth even when it makes you ball your eyes out there have been several times in your stories I’ve had to stop so I could see the page. Its a mutal truth as difficult as it is to “be naked” it is also difficult to trust in the beginning there is a purpose. I knew I was in safe hands the moment I didnt fling the book accross the room when Japh died. It made me ball but there was a truth in the moment a growth that rang true so I trusted I never regretted it. Because I have quit cold turkey before. I have read an author I wont name since she/he started in Harlequin Romances a very very long time until I shelled out 30 bucks a pop several times in a row for her now HC only to realise change characters names and hair color and I could be experiencing the previous book. Money is one thing but when you do a mind @*#~ with me I get angry. As you suggested no one likes their emotions toyed with, no one liked to feel their being played to make a buck either when Im more involved in the story than the writer there is something fundamentally wrong with that.

So Thank you I’ll take the gritty truth any day over BS.. Keep those Kismet books coming..

By: mazoku

mazoku — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 17:55:13 +0000

Not so long ago I was reading a book: in it, just when you least expect it, one of the main characters, one that you’ve become attached to in the arch of 6 books, dies. I was absolutely stunned and went on the author’s website to see the reason behind such a radical choice.

I was expecting an explanation similar to what you just wrote about “Working for the Devil”: “the story demanded it, and doing otherwise would have been bs’ing the readers”. What I got, instead, was a “I thought I could try and see what will happen making him die and the editors agreed that it was sales-wise”. Now, THIS is bs’ing the readers, and not staying true to what the story would have been. And you’re right about that: readers aren’t stupid, and get pissed-off at being thought so. At least, this is what happened with me.

So now, if I’ll keep on reading said author’s books, I’ll keep on wondering: “Am I reading THE story, or am I reading what she thought would have sold more? What she thought was ‘safer’?”.

What I think is that she didn’t feel like taking her clothes off and running down the street screaming. And that’s sad.

So please Lili, keep on throwing your clothes away. Figuratively speaking of course.

By: M

Sat, 01 Nov 2008 02:57:34 +0000

As a faithful reader (*loved* the Dante Valentine series, just started the Jill Kismet books), thank you for tearing off your clothes and running down the street screaming.

Even when I’m far too involved in the story to think about what it must have cost you to write it, your characters and the shit they’ve been through ring true. Having been through some fairly un-fun things myself, I really appreciate seeing people who’ve been knocked around rise above it and do some good in the world.

By: Hope

Hope — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 22:05:46 +0000

When I really thought about writing I knew I would put sex in it as it is a part of life after all. BUT, then I realized family, friends and past people would read it & THINK. Does she do that? Oooh. And so on.

However, I do not find myself thinking that of you. Go figure. Is that just me?

Again, I LOVE your work!