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A writer told me once "If you really love something you've written. I mean really have fallen totally in love with it.....trash it!"

It takes a big gulp and some courage but once you do it you stop being precious about your work and as you say, BB, so attached to it that you can't see beyond what you've written to make it so much better. His point in truth was that when you really are impressed with something you've written, it's probably not that good. Be prepared to edit yourself with savagery and take advice from an editor and tear that chunk to bits and start again.

Once you find that freedom to destroy and make better - see it differently, create it from a new perspective, it will empower your writing to go in all new directions.

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Well, this damn story I'm working on at the moment is gonna be a best seller, cause right at the moment, I HATE IT!!!









Nah, I don't really, but rewriting is giving me the biggest case of the grumps.

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"the universe we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil and no good, nothing but blind, pitiless indifference - Richard Dawkins
Asteroid B-612

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Lisa

I loved your Angel of Fire... and Angela is so yummy..

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I totally agree about not loving your work too much. Only I would add, don't love your characters too much. I have read several books where the main character is so obviously the author, only stunningly beautiful and with amazing magical powers and falls in love with the perfect guy. Talk about a wish-fulfilment fantasy!
Trouble is, for readers that's boring. Who wants to read about perfect people, who the author never gives any problems to (terrible grammar, I know), because she/he likes them too much? Perfect people are boring, it's their flaws that are interesting.

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Hehe, One book that I'm 'playing around with' (i.e writing until it seems dull and stupid) Was actually based off wanting to put a girl that really, really, REALLY agravates me into words. I based the name of the charecter off her last name, and added a bit so it wouldn't be so obvious. So thats where that book came from.

Where did Sea Foam come from? Watching the little mermaid with my little sister of course! lol. It's true. I wanted to tell the story of mermaids, but make it a little more adult. It's a bit of a mix of little mermaid, ocean girl, splash, and other watery movies. I really like how it's coming along. A guy in it is based off a friend, and the girl is pure imagination.

Just thought that I'd add this. I'm also, once again, bored in class ">

Satine

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Ever read any Eddings, Isobelle?? Now there is one guy who loves his characters so much he transplants them from one universe to another. Garion, Polgara and Durnick were good the first time round, but after three times?? And they're characters who have never stepped in horse sh*t in their entire exsistence.

Sorry, a bit grumpy tonight...

..............................
"the universe we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil and no good, nothing but blind, pitiless indifference - Richard Dawkins
Asteroid B-612

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Oh, I agree TOTALLY about Eddings. Actually, he/them (whatever!) were some of the people I were thinking of.
Redemption of Althalus was such a huge lot of nothing, I was so disappointed in that.
He seems kind of stuck in a rut, don't you think? Writing and re-writing the same books in different ways.
You've got to give him credit for trying a new universe, only trouble is that nothing's really changed at all.
And I'm supposed to reread it for the (Sara Douglass) book club next month. Grrr

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I wondered what it was about Eddings I liked so much and couldn't work out why... you just told me...

Thank you.

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I have read the losers and high hunt... liked neither of them... but did like the Redemption of althalus ... and enjoyed SParhawk...

So, guess can't win them all. Eddings is still my fave author ... sorry Fiona.... but as for the new fast paced style no one beats Fiona and as i ahve gone on record as saying before...

Fiona you whack Sara with a big stick... you are the top Australian fantasy writer in my book.

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Isobelle, have you ever read his non-fantasy books?? The Losers and High Hunt are some of the most fabulous stories I've ever read. His main protags still have that untarnished shine about them, but the characters and stories are just great.

..............................
"the universe we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil and no good, nothing but blind, pitiless indifference - Richard Dawkins
Asteroid B-612

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Actually I haven't. I've been seeing them on the library shelf for - literally - years, but haven't read them.But I should. Will add them to the (now kilometres long) list.

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isobelle

they are not good enough to jump the queue

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Steve, just as a matter of interest, what was it about Losers and High Hunt you didn't like?

For me, I think part of the initial attraction was that they were different from his fantasy stuff. It was nitty gritty real world. Especially Losers. If there is one thing that I can claim to be, it's an amature psychologist. People (from a distance) are fascinating to me, and Losers embodied that sort of distant, up on high perspective that is just right for watching humanity. Same with High Hunt, but not on as grand a scale as Losers.

..............................
"the universe we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil and no good, nothing but blind, pitiless indifference - Richard Dawkins
Asteroid B-612