WritingFor one of the workshops of my recent MFA residency (USM: Stonecoast, for those interested), I submitted the first draft of the opening chapter of my current WIP. I left the residency with marked-up manuscripts and editorial letters from six of my peers and a faculty member, and a head full of their discussion.
In other words: I left the residency ready for a revision. The thing is, people don’t like to change—we’re a rather sedentary species. The saying “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” is an attitude for more than just appliances, and inertia affects more than just objects:
So what sort of “unbalanced force” can make a character change? |
Yes, Fahrenheit 451 is a cornerstone of dystopian literature, and an effective argument against censor-ship... but couldn’t it be a good book, too?
The story takes place in a not-too-distantly futuristic society where entire rooms are converted into television screens, people are even more passively ambivalent to issues than they are today, and, oh yeah, the job of the “firemen” is now to start the fires, rather than stop them. Books are illegal, you see—all books—so if you’re suspected of having any of them stashed away… well, you’re going to get a visit from the firemen. Recently Read
Wheeee that was a fun ride. Very funny, with many ACTUAL laugh-out-loud moments. Excessively fond of all of these characters. Angry to be stuck with a cliff-hanger AGAIN, but figure that's par for the course with Brennan.
Now, to get ba...
A great concept, and I really liked the magic system. I was unhappy with the utter lack of women in the core cast -- besides the protagonist, the female head-count consists of two villains (one of whom dies), two side characters (one of ...
This book was less wonderful than the first of the series. I mean, still well-written, and the central conflict was good, but overall I felt much less invested for several reasons:
1) The pacing was flat-out wonky. I couldn't tell the o...
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