tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1990338437877873686.post1565555214215808976..comments2024-03-29T05:33:43.878-04:00Comments on Murder is Everywhere: At a Loss For WordsOvidia Yuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05749549092493567689noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1990338437877873686.post-40795673883269963292010-03-31T20:59:12.055-04:002010-03-31T20:59:12.055-04:00Hi Dan - funny, I thought I was the only writer th...Hi Dan - funny, I thought I was the only writer that experiences a mental twisted tounge at times. Sometimes I hate my language because it has so few words and envy those who have English at their fingertips. It is when I know what I want to describe but just can't seem to make it flow properly. The anguish - thankfully often followed by a sense of fullfillment when I pass the hurdle (not always very poetically).Yrsa Sigurdardottirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05889410114439001207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1990338437877873686.post-45795763954774719572010-03-29T11:18:44.244-04:002010-03-29T11:18:44.244-04:00I haven't read the books, but I certainly inte...I haven't read the books, but I certainly intend to do so now! <br /><br />On the word issue, I must say that Stan and I spend a lot of time talking about, choosing and rewriting words. Sometimes we go through five iterations and end up with the original (perhaps having forgotten what it was). Usually we feel that one person's changes improve the other person's draft. I guess if nothing else it gives us someone else to blame for cumbersome phrasing.<br /><br />I realise this doesn't address your question. Do we talk about our choice of words to other people? Not much. I thought that was because most of the time people want to know how we go about choosing them TOGETHER rather than how we choose them in the first and last place. But maybe it does go deeper than that...Michael Sears (of Michael Stanley)https://www.blogger.com/profile/09886295534214542834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1990338437877873686.post-60979365440879055812010-03-29T01:32:53.364-04:002010-03-29T01:32:53.364-04:00Ahh, Dan -- Those of us who have fallen in love wi...Ahh, Dan -- Those of us who have fallen in love with A DANCE TO THE MUSIC OF TIME are a small club, but we love it so much it doesn't matter that we don't have more company. (By the way, I want all 12 on first editions, with dust jsckets, and I wonder what kind of $$$ that's going to be.)<br /><br />Isn't it funny -- writing is essentially putting one word behind another but it's the hardest thing to talk about, and we probably are more insecure about our language than any other aspect of our writing.<br /><br />Widmerpools do, in fact, rule the world.Timothy Hallinanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00551263887774445511noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1990338437877873686.post-70068116955849985872010-03-28T17:19:04.194-04:002010-03-28T17:19:04.194-04:00I love Dance too, Tim. They gain credence and reso...I love Dance too, Tim. They gain credence and resonance with age (mine, not the books) - particularly when you realise that by and large we are all governed, wherever we maybe, by the Widmerpools of this world.<br /><br />It's the words I discuss least too. I talk about ideas, about plot and character, but when the first proofs arrive, and I have a quick glance, it's not a clunky plotline or a one dimensional character that makes me wince. It's a poor choice of words or a clumsy turn of phrase. I downplay the words I use and choose for many of the reasons you mention - it's the story that matters, the pace, the tension and everything is sacrificed to that. Fact is, it's good writing that make a good story better, create more tension and pace. I think we're not alone. I have heard writers say, 'I can do dialogue well,' or 'I'm an ideas man/woman' or 'I spend all my time on character' and very few say 'I write like a dream' or even 'I couldn't write crap on a steamy window.' I'd suggest it's the one area most of us feel insecure about.Dan Waddellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04320741202757960766noreply@blogger.com