galadrielwatson

April 12, 2015

Dark Places

While on spring break vacation to Bermuda, I finished another book that will serve as inspiration for my novel-in-progress: Dark Places by Gillian Flynn.

While I loved Flynn’s runaway success Gone Girl (the book, not so much the movie), I found the characters in Flynn’s debut novel Sharp Objects a little too unlikable for my taste. Dark Places lands in between the two, with characters I can at least feel empathy for, even if their lives are unsavoury. And the who-done-it aspect made it hard to put down, with several characters vying in my mind for the role of murderer.

With each of Flynn’s novels progressing talent-wise, I look forward to seeing what she comes up with next.

My main writing takeaway:

Sometimes it’s good to have readers already know the truth behind a character’s lie. Suspense is then built not by having the readers wonder what the truth is, but by having them wonder why the character lies.

Have you read all of Flynn’s books? What do you think of them?

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About the Author

Posted by Galadriel

Hi, I’m Galadriel: blogger, author, reader and resident of a quaint small town in the breathtaking West Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. You can also find me on Twitter and Facebook.

April 8, 2015

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When You Feel Like Gardening Instead

I’m a pretty consistent writer. Six days a week, I generally get in at least an hour a day, if not a few hours. If not, I feel guilty and my self-imposed deadline (first draft before I start my MFA in July) presses down.

And yet since my spring break holiday, I’ve been finding it hard to get back on track. Although I consistently put in my hour of pre-work writing, my novel-in-progress has remained at arms’ length.

The excuses are many:

I’ve hit a tricky, vital section. So much relies on these few scenes, plus I’ve added a twist to make them even more complicated. Rethinking is slowing my forward momentum.
I didn’t write at all during my holidays, and now feel removed. I need to reacquaint myself with my characters and storyline.
Easter came and went. Couldn’t I enjoy some long-weekend lazy time?
Our family got a new dog. Spending time in the yard both preps my budding garden (and I generally abhor gardening, so should leap on this yard-work impulse) and allows him some off-leash time to explore.

So today I’ll garden and cook and vacuum and play with the dog guilt-free. Tomorrow I’ll get back to writing. Promise.

How do you avoid writing?

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About the Author

Posted by Galadriel

April 4, 2015

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Seasick With Bernadette

Wow, this is weird.

That was my impression while reading Maria Semple’s Where’d You Go, Bernadette. While I’ve read novels composed of correspondence before, I’ve never read one composed of so many types of correspondence: from hospital bills to magazine articles to ships’ logs.

It seemed like an experiment, as if the writer was continually asking herself: Could I write this scene in the form of a transcript? Let’s give it a whirl. Could I write this one as a school report card? Sure, I can. How about a mass email? Let’s go for it.

Did this technique work? Not quite. The book kept me amused (especially as I’d purchased it as vacation reading, and it did a good job at the hotel/on the beach/in the airplane—a little too slapstick for my tastes, but still okay). However, I found it jarring, moving from so many points of view presented in so many styles, complete with lifelike but unnecessary information. I wanted to hear more from teenage Bee, and was surprised as I dove deeper into the book to discover her input remains minimal.

After reading Bernadette, it seems to me there’s a reason most books are written in the usual first/third-person point of view—a method so common it feels as if someone is gently guiding you by the hand. By contrast, Semple’s novel constantly shoves you this way and that—perhaps a reflection of the seasickness Bernadette is so afraid of.

Have you read it? What did you think?

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