Musings of a Chocoholic Romance Author: How Come Nora Roberts Can Do That?

Friday, September 01, 2006

How Come Nora Roberts Can Do That?

Alrighty then.

I've been reading lately, rather than writing like I should to meet a deadline. (Slaps wrist). Yes, as you might surmise from the title of today's brain blizzard, I've been reading Nora Roberts. It's one of the Irish Trilogies -- Jewels of the Sun, Tears of the Moon, and Heart of the Sea. I'm reading the last one now. Well, not RIGHT now. ;-)

Now, I know it's bad with a capital B-A-D to compare oneself to other writers, especially writers who's initials stand for "Nora Roberts" -- so I'm not doing that. Much.

Seriously, as I've read, I've noticed some "head-hopping." Now, not so much as you need a score card to keep track of what's what or who's who. It's subtle... to me, it seems to be more of a matter of perspective than point of view, and therefore, not really head-hopping at all.

Pardon me while I pause for a moment to erase the image of characters hopping on the tops of other characters' heads. *Ahem.*

Whew. I think that image is gone. Closes eyes to test that the image is indeed gone.

Pardon me, I seem to be fond of rabbit trails today. I'll blame the rain and the fact that I just got a "School's Out" notice--- yes, my 3 lovely boys will be home 2 hours early today. Eyes time in the bottom right hand corner of the monitor screen.

I guess what I'm trying to say is this: "Nora, how long did it take you to learn how to do that perspective thing so well, and do you give lessons?" :D

Oh, in case you were wondering... the Chocolate Muse Bait Trick worked yesterday. Contemplating actually getting out my chair and taking the 10 or so steps to the freezer to get more Muse Bait...

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Quotes About Writing

For your born writer, nothing is so healing as the realization that he has come upon the right word. ~Catherine Drinker Bowen

Forget all the rules. Forget about being published. Write for yourself and celebrate writing. ~Melinda Haynes

My purpose is to entertain myself first and other people secondly. ~John D. MacDonald

Writing is the only thing that, when I do it, I don't feel I should be doing something else. ~Gloria Steinem

A writer is a person for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people. ~Thomas Mann

Easy reading is damned hard writing. ~Anonymous

We do not write because we want to; we write because we have to. ~Somerset Maugham

Writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way. ~E. L. Doctorow

The secret of becoming a writer is to write, write and keep on writing. ~Ken MacLeod\

Writing is not necessarily something to be ashamed of, but do it in private and wash your hands afterwards. ~Robert A. Heinlein

Never throw up on an editor. ~Ellen Datlow

If you don't have the time to read, you don't have the time or the tools to write. ~Stephen King

There are no rules in writing. There are useful principles. Throw them away when they're not useful. But always know what you're throwing away. ~Will Shetterly

Books are never finished, They are merely abandoned. ~Oscar Wilde

You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club. ~Jack London

If you wait for inspiration, you're not a writer, but a waiter. ~Anonymous

We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master. ~Ernest Hemingway

You never learn how to write a novel. You just learn how to write the novel that you're writing. ~Gene Wolfe