Blog Flog

[d3athw1sh.livejournal.com]

Entry link: Still not working
Date: August 3rd, 2005
Title: The end in sight

LKH's words in italics

Just reread the previous blog entry, and had to resist the urge to edit for small things. Always a temptation.

Something you obviously don't do with your books.


I've finished the read through of the first five hundred plus pages of DANSE MACABRE. There's nothing wrong with it. It just isn't the book I'd planned on. But it isn't the first time that Anita and the gang have high-jacked a book. It probably won't be the last.

You're right! You said the same thing about Incubus Dreams

I think I just vastly underestimated how many new characters I had to introduce, and how many old characters we needed to explore further.

Why don't we just STOP introducing new characters and just write a book with the vast array of slaves for Anita characters you already have. You never know, it might be GOOD.

I've promised myself that next book will be mostly violence and mystery, but this book is mostly politics, metaphysics, emotional issues, and sex.

What do you know? So was Incubus Dreams, only without the politics and everything had to deal with sex.

I've put the two chapters where Edward and Anita interact in a folder marked chapters two and three of Anita book 14.

You've been saying that for a long time. You've been saying that Edward would be in the next book, oops sorry, the book after that! Oh wait, nevermind, it will be the book after that! Why don't you just go ahead and write the fucking book?! You've been saying that you have been writing things for it for so very long, you obviously want to write it, so write it already!

I've mapped out the end of DANSE MACABRE, but the map for the party at the end is basically just, party at the end. As I wrote earlier, I don't know what's going to happen. I've set it in motion, but it all depends on so many things, like the free will of the characters.

The free will of the characters? Coming from a writer, I know that characters don't have free will. It might feel like it during the writing process, but in the end, you are in control. When you realize this, then your characters will no longer "control" you.

Their choices will effect too much for me to plan. Exciting, and scary, from a writer's point of view.

No, that isn't from a writer's point of view. That is from an insane person's point of view. LKH, in the words of your favorite were-leopard (obviously changed to fit the case in question, "You need help, Laurell, professional help. I can recommend someone."

Comments

[magdollna.livejournal.com]

No, that isn't from a writer's point of view. That is from an insane person's point of view. LKH, in the words of your favorite were-leopard (obviously changed to fit the case in question, "You need help, Laurell, professional help. I can recommend someone."

Amen Preach it. I am sick of her pretending these are real people she is "channeling"

mags

[refche.livejournal.com]

I've finished the read through of the first five hundred plus pages of DANSE MACABRE. There's nothing wrong with it.

Whoa. Nothing wrong with it? Is that even possible? For a writer to sit down, read 500 pages of their work and find nothing wrong with it? Maybe I'm just clinging to words, but that's partly what we're here for.
Trust me Laurell, there's plenty wrong with it, and I don't even need to read it to know.

Oh goody! More pretty boys prancing around Anita. Just what we all need!

So basically, she summarized her book in the last two blogs. Right? Does she realize that without a plot there are no secrets and surprises? That the book is what she wrote in a few lines, only spread out through 700 pages?

Chapters are transitional. One book in a series if it's that important. Not books.

The necessary use of bold and italics is making my head hurt. Ugh.

Does anyone think that they're not fixing the linking and the feed just because of us? It's a very comforting thought.

[freyalorelei.livejournal.com]

Whoa. Nothing wrong with it? Is that even possible? For a writer to sit down, read 500 pages of their work and find nothing wrong with it?

No. It's not possible. If she literally thinks she wrote 500 absolutely flawless pages of pure literary masterpiece consisting of supernatural porn, she is delusional. Any writer worth their salt would find areas that need improvement, especially in a first draft (as I assume this manuscript is).

Hell, even Tolkien found things wanting in LOTR post-publication (and certainly during the rough drafts--Histories of Middle-earth, anyone?), and Tolkien could doodle on a napkin and it'd still have more literary merit than any one of LKH's books.

[harpergrey.livejournal.com]

*snerk* Tolkien could sneeze on a napkin and it'd have more literary merit than LKH's recent stuff. ;)

[dwg.livejournal.com]

One word: *STABNATION!!!*

I've promised myself that next book will be mostly violence and mystery, but this book is mostly politics, metaphysics, emotional issues, and sex.

*curls into a corner, rocking back and forth* Redrum! REDRUMMM!

1. LKH really can't write politics to save herself. I've been spoilt and brought up on mostly UK drama - and they know how to write political intrigue. The French aren't too far behind. There are some good American writers that can politick well - but LKH is not one of them.

The essence of political intrigue is not to sit around and discuss who did what, when and how, and what's the plan and then lo, it all turns out that way. More often than not, there's more than a side that's "right" and a side that's "wrong." People have to have motives to do what they're doing, be it in an underhanded fashion, or playing it straight. They need something deeper than "Anita iz teh powahfool, I smash!" to drive them.

2. Is it just me, or does none of the metaphysical whatsiting make any sense? I know magic and POWAH is tough to try and define, but it shouldn't leave the reader completely bewildered as to what the hell just happened - at least, not if you don't intend that to happen.

Sigh. Course, this will probably mean that Anita's gonna have more powers to deal with and stuff.

Please, oh, please, don't use that power to prettify on Asher. I don't want a gazillion affeminate, perfect men running about in my fandom. Asher's now the last Not!Perfect one, since she "fixed" Damien.

What I'd give for a butch bloke in the series. I don't care if he's just cleaning windows - but short hair and a guy that actually looks like a guy, is tall and manly, please.

3. Emotional issues - Who here actually gives a crap? Hmm? I honestly don't care about reading a thousand words of wangst. This is what LJ is for, and it's free. I don't care about Anita's emotional issues, because I don't care about the character any more. I can't relate to, or engage, with her as a character because she's so unbelievably Sue. I bitchslap and mercilessly mock characters like that online, Sue should not be canon! At this point, I'm willing to bet that even the badfic writers are an improvement on this.

4. Sex - of course it's all about the sex, darling. Everything comes back to porn. Search engines say so.

Y'know what? It's actually possible to write a book that's cover to cover smut but still manages to have plot, characterisation and *gasp* an evil squick factor? I know this because I've read them.

Anita's running out of positions, and possibly cervix. And please, look up the word "chaffing."

And hey - who wants to bet good money that the whole pregnancy bit in the sample chapters is just a scare and our heroine isn't expecting?

Okay, bring on the book: I'm suitably pissed off to take it on and rip it a new plot.

[http://users.livejournal.com/belladonna_/]

What I'd give for a butch bloke in the series. I don't care if he's just cleaning windows - but short hair and a guy that actually looks like a guy, is tall and manly, please.

Or, yanno, how about a female character who:

1. doesn't resent/is threatened by Anita
2. isn't dependent on Anita
3. Anita doesn't denigrate for some reason.

I never thought about it until right now, but those books are really anti-woman. Anita is LKH's ubar wench, but Cherry is a misguided emotional cripple, Raina was a psychobitch rapist, Detective Tammy resents Anita because < scorn > she's so jealous of her < /scorn >, ditto Detective Jessica, Ronnie is now threatened of/not understanding of Anita, Monica is a twat who doesn't understand anything about anything, any Random Female Anita meets at a crime scene is either resentful of Anita there because Anita is < scorn > too pretteh < /scorn > or because she's a fed or because she's too < scorn > badass < /scorn > and Any Random Female Vamp or Were is also threatened by Anita and determined AT ALL COSTS to CRUSH Anita so as to get into Jean Claude or Richard's pants.

Catherine was the only semi-normal female character, and she's even more of a cardboard cut-out than the other characters. Besides, we're told pretty early on that Catherine isn't all that because she's married to Bob who sucks. Marianne the psychic is okay, but she's old and sexless.

What's up with all the shitty female characters written by a female author in a series that's supposedly pro-woman?

[dwg.livejournal.com]

Detective Jessica is so ignorant to the liberating ways of tons of sex to truly understand Anita's special relationship with Nathaniel - let's not forget that one.

I'm convinced that there can be no other female characters other than Anita, at least in LKH's mind.

I wonder if every other male character would be emasculated (not that they aren't already) if the Anita character was male, and he'd be surrounded by hot chicks. And if the series went the way it has with that male protagonist, would sales and the backlash be worse than now?

[refche.livejournal.com]

I wonder if every other male character would be emasculated (not that they aren't already) if the Anita character was male, and he'd be surrounded by hot chicks. And if the series went the way it has with that male protagonist, would sales and the backlash be worse than now?

That's the thing, isn't it? If the protagonist was male the book wouldn't even get published. Who would want to read a book about some guy that screws a lot of women? People have porn for that. Not to mention that if it ever got published the author would be nearly crucified for it.

Someone should do that. Take ID and rewrite it with gender reversal. Or at least NiC, if ID seems like too much. :)

[saadiira.livejournal.com]

I can't think of anyone much with taste that really wants to read this, either...save for the train wreck factor, or because of some misguided sense of nostalgia for the early books, which were FUN.

-Dira-

[frabjously.livejournal.com]

I have the theory that Sylvie is the only halfway decent female character left (probably because she hasn't featured recently) because she's a lesbian, and thus does not endanger LKH's fantasies Anita's love life.

[dwg.livejournal.com]

It's kinda good that she - like Edward - has been forgotten, because if she came back, she'd probably profess to some sort of Sekrit crush on Anita and want to get into her pants - this then would squick the heroine and we'd wind up with a ton of wangst about how Anita isn't comfortable with the idea of sex with a woman.

[saadiira.livejournal.com]

MUST you say it so well, dwg that I cannot possibly elaborate upon the point beyond the single comment already made about female characters? LOL.

Damn, well said.

-Dira-

[http://users.livejournal.com/belladonna_/]

Hijacked. HIJACKED.

Unless she's trying to say she was high, when she jacked her book all up.

And, I share the general moan of horror at yet more new characters. I can only pray none of them are named anything like Requiem.

[tsula.livejournal.com]

Yeah, if naming chars "Requiem" "Wicked" and "Truth" isn't a sign one has too many characters, I don't know what is. Maybe when the Edward book eventually arrives he'll start picking them off old school. Like Duck Hunt.

[saadiira.livejournal.com]

Gods, I would LOVE that. Maybe he could start with Micah...

Yes, I know, wishful thinking...

-Dira-

[tooimpurenangel.livejournal.com]

oh, pleas santy claws. that's all i want for xmas!