In listening to such commentary it often strikes me how weird I am and maybe just not suited to be a writer. For example, he says that readers will skip through pieces of a book but won't skip dialogue. Dialogue is the stuff I'm most likely to skip and I often skip quite a bit of it. It generally bores me. I used to simply put down any book immediately that I picked up that started with dialogue,although I've relaxed that restriction now because I want to know what it is about dialogue that attracts 'most' readers.
I also found his mom's aversion to obscenities interesting. My mom had the same aversion but she never got over it. I suspect this is one of the reasons she wouldn't display my books on her bookshelves.
In listening to such commentary it often strikes me how weird I am and maybe just not suited to be a writer. For example, he says that readers will skip through pieces of a book but won't skip dialogue. Dialogue is the stuff I'm most likely to skip and I often skip quite a bit of it. It generally bores me. I used to simply put down any book immediately that I picked up that started with dialogue,although I've relaxed that restriction now because I want to know what it is about dialogue that attracts 'most' readers.
ReplyDeleteI also found his mom's aversion to obscenities interesting. My mom had the same aversion but she never got over it. I suspect this is one of the reasons she wouldn't display my books on her bookshelves.
I NEVER skip dialogue. Maybe it's because I use so much of it in my own work.
ReplyDeleteRJR
Since I always assume that dialogue is there to advance the story, I never skip it either.
ReplyDeleteMy Mom also hated obscenities so maybe it's a generational thing.
I always learn something from EL.
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ReplyDeletePatti - I always like listening to what the great authors have had to say. And Leonard had a lot of wisdom to share.
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