LKH's Booktalk Nation video chat

[blogfloggery.livejournal.com]

[youtube link | source]

Comments

[eden-guardian.livejournal.com]

I watched it live. The interview was a little weirdly structured to me and felt like some of the questions were repeated once the fan questions rolled in. I did think Laurel came off fairly well and encouraging to new writers. However, her declaration that no one that write books has time to read other people's books was quite silly. She keeps making up strange 'rules' that writer follow.

Anyone read Chloe Neill's books? They sound kinda interesting.

[shadwing.livejournal.com]

Charlene Harris, Jim Butcher, Neil Gaiman are just three I know that read ALLOT of books by other authors and both put out allot more content, tour and interact with fans allot more than LKH

[suzycat.livejournal.com]

She gives great advice and is very encouraging.

[suzycat.livejournal.com]

Where is LKH from? I've just realised that her accent reminds me of Snake on The Simpsons and now I can't unhear.

Interesting take for me on "the characters speak to me!" I have a good writer friend who also has characters speaking to her BUT. The difference between her and LKH is that while she can and does allow the characters to take her off in unexpected directions, she will subsequently RUTHLESSLY EXCISE all of the actual wandering round in the rabbit hole unless it serves the story. So while, yeah, the "muses" direct outcomes or certain routes to her desired outcome, but her readers don't have to read repetitive working-on-paper.

[desert-vixen.livejournal.com]

Thoughts..

LKH: talks about "heavy mystery plots" - when was the last time we had one?

LKH thinks writers who won't let characters escape the plot are betraying the characters. Looking back, I think this was the most WTF-y moment of the whole interview because hello, now paging Richard Zeeman. If anyone needs to escape the plot, it's him. She mentions something about consequences of the plot, but that's not really something we see much of anymore from her either.

LKH says she is much more tech savvy than she was initially - makes you wonder if she would have ever managed to write the first books if she had access to Twitter. Also, I wonder if she's thought of doing something Twitter-based.

LKH says that first version of KoS "read like Anita with a different cast", had to give her her own voice - too bad she didn't keep doing this. I didn't think KoS sounded just like Anita, but later books definitely did.

LKH has to police herself because they'll publish whatever she sends in, happy she kept KoS from sounding like she phoned it in. Again, pity she didn't keep doing this.

LKH: not a lot of time to read because she writes, she reads like an editor now, can't suspend disbelief

LKH's usual helping build genre claim, she also claims an editor told her the success of her genre helped "save publishing" because sales were dropping off across the board but paranormal saved the day

LKH telling writers to put their butt in the chair and write - Also very WTF-y, although some of her advice is good, but seems to be aimed at people just starting out with an air that she's above that now.

LKH: try a lot to sell before you self-publish on Internet, don't be afraid, GP was rejected 200-plus times