Writing Wrongs

September 07, 2006

Some great quotes this week/past weekend.

From Miss Snark:

And did I mention that I'm really really, really over the unempowered girl motif. Give me some kick ass ninja girls any day of the week and leave that oh-we're-soulmate crap to the . . . well, I dunno, does anyone publish that these days?? Even the crinoline skirt divisions of the Christian publishing houses don't have weak ass heroines. They may kick ass for Jesus, but they are kicking ass.

Just because I think it�s funny.

From Pubrants:


And trust me, I don�t need every heroine to be some action-packed, kick-butt kind of gal. She can be normal (and then rises to extraordinary in unusual circumstances in some way that�s fits with her being a normal person). She can be brain-y too. I love that. But then I need to see her use her brains in action--rather than simply be told that she is smart by the other characters in the story. I want to see her brains help move the action, escalate the conflict with the hero, and be an essential part to the story�s resolution.

Just an aside. How is it when in paranormal/futuristic romances, when a hero arrives from another galaxy, he�s always Gonrath McGorgeous? Why don�t intergalactic soul mates look like the creatures from Alien Autopsy? I mean, if he�s your soul mate, it shouldn�t matter.

From He Wrote, She Wrote (Jenny this time, not Bob):

Basically, good sex scenes are never about the sex, they're about something hugely emotionally important that is played out physically in an act that makes people hugely vulnerable no matter how frivolous and offhand the characters try to make it. That's why sex scenes are so crucial.

It�s really easy to complain about sex scenes, either the reading or the writing, cuz I know they�re not easy. But my biggest complaint is that sex scenes often contain no subtext whatsoever. No characterization--when you can take one from a book and drop it into another book, you have a problem. But mostly, they�re . . . boring. It�s like watching the Daytona 500. There�s only so many times you can watch the cars go around the track before you succumb to the urge to go get a beer.

Charity Tahmaseb wrote at 2:30 p.m.

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