Someone Once Said . . .
I've decided to try to dig up some good quotes about writing and process and share them every once in a while. My first quote comes from a true writing genius:
I try to leave out the parts that people skip. ~Elmore Leonard
I chose Elmore's quote because I definitely have learned a few things about writing from things he's said in interviews, books he's written. And this one quote really speaks to me.
Why?
Because my name is Erica Orloff, and I am a skipper. (Heretofore an ANONYMOUS skipper, but now I've admitted it. And that I am powerless to change the way I read.)
Can't help it. A book has to be extraordinary for me to read every word. Otherwise, I skip.
But more than that, as a writer, this is my style. When Spanish Disco first came out (my very first novel), I got a lot of very nice emails from readers who liked the edginess of it. I got a great blurb in Cosmopolitan magazine. I was thrilled to have my first novel out there. It was also at the relative beginnings of chick lit in the U.S.--not that I think you can pin it on a single date or year or book. Nonetheless, when you went to the bookstore, there weren't row upon row of pink covers (not that mine was pink) in trade size flooding the new release table. Chick lit was hot. And a few readers DEFINITELY let me know that I had a lot of nerve thinking my book was chick lit.
Well, the problem was, I never had. I wrote a comedy. I never considered genre--I just happened to try to sell an edgy comedy when that was what publishers were buying--and marketing. But Spanish Disco, as one online reviewer wrote, didn't have the Sex and the City vibe. There were no name brands mentioned. No parties. No wildly funny friends. No Cosmopolitans. None of that. Part of it was Cassie Hayes, my heroine, was a tequila-swilling b*tch and a loner. Part of it was I don't particularly care about any of those things--name brands and Cosmos. That would be the part I skipped.
So I left all that "skip" stuff out. In fact, as I went on to write 5 more novels for Red Dress Ink, with one exception, none of them had that vibe. Because that would be the part I skipped. I don't drown people in details. I can't read historicals for precisely that reason.
And therein is part of it, too. People who like historicals would NEVER skip the details. That's part of what they love. Me, I like dialogue. The more realistic the better. And I skip to that part. It's all subjective.
So . . . do you skip? What parts? And do you find you hack away at the "skip" parts in your own work?
I try to leave out the parts that people skip. ~Elmore Leonard
I chose Elmore's quote because I definitely have learned a few things about writing from things he's said in interviews, books he's written. And this one quote really speaks to me.
Why?
Because my name is Erica Orloff, and I am a skipper. (Heretofore an ANONYMOUS skipper, but now I've admitted it. And that I am powerless to change the way I read.)
Can't help it. A book has to be extraordinary for me to read every word. Otherwise, I skip.
But more than that, as a writer, this is my style. When Spanish Disco first came out (my very first novel), I got a lot of very nice emails from readers who liked the edginess of it. I got a great blurb in Cosmopolitan magazine. I was thrilled to have my first novel out there. It was also at the relative beginnings of chick lit in the U.S.--not that I think you can pin it on a single date or year or book. Nonetheless, when you went to the bookstore, there weren't row upon row of pink covers (not that mine was pink) in trade size flooding the new release table. Chick lit was hot. And a few readers DEFINITELY let me know that I had a lot of nerve thinking my book was chick lit.
Well, the problem was, I never had. I wrote a comedy. I never considered genre--I just happened to try to sell an edgy comedy when that was what publishers were buying--and marketing. But Spanish Disco, as one online reviewer wrote, didn't have the Sex and the City vibe. There were no name brands mentioned. No parties. No wildly funny friends. No Cosmopolitans. None of that. Part of it was Cassie Hayes, my heroine, was a tequila-swilling b*tch and a loner. Part of it was I don't particularly care about any of those things--name brands and Cosmos. That would be the part I skipped.
So I left all that "skip" stuff out. In fact, as I went on to write 5 more novels for Red Dress Ink, with one exception, none of them had that vibe. Because that would be the part I skipped. I don't drown people in details. I can't read historicals for precisely that reason.
And therein is part of it, too. People who like historicals would NEVER skip the details. That's part of what they love. Me, I like dialogue. The more realistic the better. And I skip to that part. It's all subjective.
So . . . do you skip? What parts? And do you find you hack away at the "skip" parts in your own work?
Labels: "skipping" parts, chick lit, dialogue, reading styles
posted by Erica Orloff at 6:39 AM
12 Comments:
I think this is a great idea for a series of blog posts, using quotes from other writers.
I'm not really a skipper, per se. I read every word, and I can't stand abridged or condensed books. However, I have been known to grow weary with a book after 100, 50, or even 5 pages, put it down and never return to it. So I guess in that way I'm a skipper. I don't necessarily feel compelled to finish reading something just because I started it.
As for my writing, I try not to pad up with any more description than is necessary to anchor the scene. Get in late, get out early. Another quote, but I can't remember who said it (Robert Mckee?). Maybe you can use that one for one of your posts. :)
I cut whatever I find boring. If it's boring, either it's not required, or it's not written well enough.
I don't skip when I'm reading though. I read fast enough that it's never been a skill that I needed to pick up...until now.
Hi Jude:
I'm not big on description either--or if I have it, it's in the character's POV and usually sardonic. Not omniscient with lots of "scenery."
E
may:
I read very quickly, too. I just get bored easily.
As someone from my writers' group--a merciless scene cutter--says, if it doesn't advance the plot, lose it.
E
Another skipper.
The dh isn't much of a reader so a few times if I've whipped through 400 pages in the time it takes him to watch a coupla sitcoms, he'll say "Hmm, must be a really good book"
Nope. The really good books are the ones I take into the living room, away from the T.V and read every word.
I'd like to think I'm learning to leave out the parts people would skip...but I'm still a wip because when I'm editing I have to keep reminding myself to slow down. I skip my own stuff because I know it too well. And, well, could be some of it is just skip-worthy. :(
lainey:
I find I skip my own stuff, too, sometimes. I'm just sick to death of going over it. Then, when I'm away from it for a while--like when galleys arrive--I remember why it is I liked it.
E
I have to admit, in romance I often skip the sex scenes. WIth an exception for a few authors, I find myself just not that interested in the details of the liasons.
I have also been known to skip technical details -- like half of Tom Clancy's novels. I like the character and plot half, it's jus the details of the latest war technology I can miss.
My favorite writing quote of the moment is from Jennifer Crusie, who said "Writing is not for sissies."
Jen
I always skip description.... too boring. Not only do I skip when I'm reading for pleasure, I tend to skim most things - which is why I often have to read emails a few times... because each time I see something I didn't notice before.
Skimming has got me in trouble....but I can't help it. I think it's linked to my obsession with doing everything at speed!
jk:
Skip . . . and skip.
Both of those. ;-)
E
sara:
You and I both have that attention thing!
I am constantly worries about boring my reader.
E
Boy, do I skip! When I'm reading a sexy story, um, I skim and skip over the non-sex parts. When I'm reading a romance, I skip all the sex.
When I'm reading a novel with, um, too many words in it, I regularly catch myself starting halfway down the page, every time I turn the page. (I have no idea why, but I do glance up to see if I missed anything. Usually I keep going.)
Sometimes it's a little ADD, sometimes it's just because I can't wait to find out what happens, and sometimes it's because there's just too many words.
I like conflict, particularly interpersonal conflict. The other parts are all candidates for skipping.
spy:
oohh . . . I forgot that aspect--racing to find out what happens in a really good book. Yes, I am one of those who often reads the last page.
E
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