When I am finished with my novel, I would really like you to walk over to your bookshelf and compile a list of ten or so "must-reads" for my continuing education.
When I am finished with my novel, I would really like you to walk over to your bookshelf and compile a list of ten or so "must-reads" for my continuing education.
Feel free to follow my thoughts here anytime, as easy as hitting the *find in forum* link, though you'll find some repitition and quite a few typos.
I'd be glad to point you at a *top ten* list on most any given subject, though I'd be less inclined to do so as a general recommendation- if two friends would ask me for such a list, I'd try to point them toward similar but probably differing lists, based on their levels of understanding and experience; I'm not inclined to suggest tomes on do-it-yoursel heart surgery.
But it looks like I may be taking a *columnist at-large* position soon, so my spouting may be an unfortunatly too-common thing to behold.
There's one writer whose fairly recent loss I feel in particular, who I hope you've encountered before; if not, go through some of his collected work and enjoy. It's unpolished [mostly] and there's some reflexive, almost stream-of-consciousness outpouring that impresses me particularly, something I'd never try to get away with myself. See the link at the end of this post.
And FWIW, your novel is likely going to be high on my list of suggestions, based on the snippets I've read so far [I avoided reading all of the teasers you've got available, just so I don't spoil the effect for myself when I do have a copt in hand.] I've bounced a couple of novel ideas around but am horrible at composing dialog between characters- it always comes out sounding too much like I'm talking to myself, so I leave such things to those better suited to that sort of thing.
-archy-/-
But the third sister, who is also the youngest! Hush! Whisper whilst we talk of her! Her kingdom is not large, or else no flesh should live; but within that kingdom all power is hers. Her head, turreted like that of Cybele, rises almost beyond the reach of sight. She droops not, and her eyes rising so high might be hidden by distance. But, being what they are, they cannot be hidden; through the treble veil of crepe which she wears, the fierce light of a blazing misery, that rests not for matins nor for vespers, for noon of day or noon of night, for ebbing or for flowing tide, may be read from the very ground. She is the defier of God. She is also the mother of lunacies and the suggestress of suicides. Deep lie the roots of her power, but narrow is the nation she rules. For she can approach only those in whom a profound nature has been unheaved by central convulsions, in whom the heart trembles and the brain rocks under conspiracies of tempest from without and tempest from within. Madonna moves with uncertain steps, fast or slow, but still with tragic grace. Our Lady of Sighs creeps timidly and stealthily. But this youngest sister moves with incalculable motions, bounding, and with a tiger's leaps; She carries no key, for though coming rarely amongst men, she storms all doors at which she is permitted to enter at all.-- Thomas de Quincey, from Suspiria de Profundis