tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post6521091513000788960..comments2024-03-29T03:03:52.813-06:00Comments on Blood-Red Pencil: Cues from the Coach: 3-D Writing RevisitedDanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14471919576687777886noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-56407847325314658702011-11-14T05:30:56.608-07:002011-11-14T05:30:56.608-07:00I've been reading your blog for a long time, b...I've been reading your blog for a long time, but I think you should stay away from the social commentary as you really don't get it. Stick to the tech stuff.webpromohttp://www.facebook.com/webpromouanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-80627538889729852572011-11-13T15:29:10.588-07:002011-11-13T15:29:10.588-07:00Yes, Joan, that's what's important. As wri...Yes, Joan, that's what's important. As writers, we always want our characters to connect with our readers - which is the singular meaning of 3-D writing. Thank you for your eloquent comment.Linda Lanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06686488133905538811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-87416471404015542462011-11-13T11:18:29.693-07:002011-11-13T11:18:29.693-07:00The first example seems flat and cliched to me--co...The first example seems flat and cliched to me--cotton candy clouds, for instance. The character doesn't come alive for me. The second example uses stronger verbs, for one thing--such as squinted instead of looked. The first half seems a bit overdone, especially the hints of backstory if this is the opening to the story. But from where she lifts her arms to the sun to the end is wonderful. Sensory details other than just those of sight. I'm suddenly with the character, feeling her longing for warmth from the sun. Her head droops. Her feet shuffle. I see her. I care about her. Isn't that what's important?Joan Kane Nicholshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04802501163461996982noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-50204439439888744082011-11-12T14:09:33.698-07:002011-11-12T14:09:33.698-07:00Kathryn, you are absolutely right. Our characters ...Kathryn, you are absolutely right. Our characters must reach out to our readers in a very "real" way.<br /><br />Christopher, I don't like those silly glasses either.<br /><br />Girlseeksplace, the hook says it all. If it's not there, neither will the reader be, at least not for long.Linda Lanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06686488133905538811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-81348503710027826092011-11-12T10:28:22.324-07:002011-11-12T10:28:22.324-07:00Hooking me in the first few pages is vital. If I&#...Hooking me in the first few pages is vital. If I'm not sucked in, I won't keep reading (unless it's for book club and then I go through ten pages at a time and read other stuff).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-25132117796246433622011-11-11T12:30:43.422-07:002011-11-11T12:30:43.422-07:00Yes, Patricia, so do I. For 5 years I worked as a ...Yes, Patricia, so do I. For 5 years I worked as a theme reader for a Washington state school district. During that time, I read many thousands of papers written by students from grades 4-12. One of the suggestions that I repeated often urged them to create word pictures, thus adding interest to their writing. Today, I'm still sharing the same advice. Words bring color and depth to the canvas of the page. Give them sufficient shades and shadows to inspire imagination, but not enough to stifle it.Linda Lanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06686488133905538811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-82777207245962529662011-11-11T12:21:32.519-07:002011-11-11T12:21:32.519-07:00I suppose I'd go for 3-D writing, as long as I...I suppose I'd go for 3-D writing, as long as I don't have to wear those silly glasses to read it.Christopher Hudsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03667548312923348614noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-14781787896523549432011-11-11T12:17:53.917-07:002011-11-11T12:17:53.917-07:00Part of what makes a book speak to me is how langu...Part of what makes a book speak to me is how language is employed. I like the second, perhaps because I myself tend toward verbosity. But really, for me, it felt more conversational. The first passage felt like an abridged description, something I might find in a short story or shorter novel, where the author has to pack a punch in fewer words. Not the type of description wherein the words have time to settle over the reader and the reader has time to decide whether to feel comforted or suffocated. I like the chance to absorb the words and let them paint a picture for me, as if watching an artist work.PatriciaWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04572087157439187319noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-24817560103628000782011-11-11T12:15:59.419-07:002011-11-11T12:15:59.419-07:00Helen, when I was a young girl, I could get totall...Helen, when I was a young girl, I could get totally involved in a Nancy Drew or Beverly Gray mystery. A few years later, my mother's collection of Kathleen Norris novels (written in the 30s and 40s) captivated me. Decades after that, I revisited some of these stories and tried to remember what had drawn me to them. The books haven't changed, but I have. Yes, I enjoyed them — from a different perspective. They still reaced out to me, but I didn't reach back so quickly. Now, other stories pull me in, but the result is the same as the one I enjoyed in my youth. Our reading tastes evolve with our growth and experience, but our desire to become part of an exciting story remains the same — as you say, we all want to be so engaged that we suspend disbelief and the fiction becomes, for the moment, our reality.Linda Lanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06686488133905538811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-36051304364641945722011-11-11T12:12:08.575-07:002011-11-11T12:12:08.575-07:00I used to apply this 3-D concept to writing resume...I used to apply this 3-D concept to writing resumes. It's not enough to have your resume use the same words as everyone else's. You somehow have to represent yourself in such a way that you've reached off the page to shake the prospective employer's hand. That's what we want our characters to do!Kathryn Crafthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08371458857187160425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-77695166838742786682011-11-11T09:54:47.414-07:002011-11-11T09:54:47.414-07:00I think it's marvelous that each writer is dif...I think it's marvelous that each writer is different. One person writes sparsely. Another prefers more adjectives and adverbs. Another uses both or either, depending on what they're trying to get the reader to experience. <br /><br />I do understand what you're saying about making your writing 3D. A 3D movie puts us into the movie, allows us to experience it more. That's what we want our readers to do - get lost in the book so that we forget it's fiction or a book.Helen Gingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09794759602654727110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-82004564050616402872011-11-11T07:54:48.050-07:002011-11-11T07:54:48.050-07:00Larry, I think I've unintentionally complicate...Larry, I think I've unintentionally complicated a very simple concept. We writers always want to engage our readers. We want our work to leap(or even tiptoe) off the page to invite the reader into the story. Just as a 3-D movie literally pulls the viewer into the scene, so 3-D writing involves the reader in the scene/story or with the characters in a personal way. It's that relationship with the reader that makes a story memorable. I apologize for the complication.Linda Lanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06686488133905538811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-53127212856624656842011-11-11T06:22:14.049-07:002011-11-11T06:22:14.049-07:00Another pass, Linda, so another response. I have t...Another pass, Linda, so another response. I have to admit that very different things, even at opposite ends of the style spectrum, can appeal to me as a reader. On the one hand, writing can be so straightforward and transparent that I am barely aware of reading. On the other hand, I admire the fluid and original turn of phrase that makes a line memorable, even if it takes me out of the story. I think of le Carre's spare and serviceable style on one end, LeGuin's transcendent creativity on the other. I've been told that my own prose leans toward the lean clarity end of the scale, perhaps because I find florid, overwritten prose particularly irritating. (Of course, I, too, went through that phase, but it was back in high school.)<br /><br />And, since I am still unsure what 3D writing is, I am uncertain whether I like it, deplore it, or am indifferent. Ah, well, on into the 4th dimension--and beyond!<br /><br />--Larry Constantine (<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Lior-Samson/e/B004KDPO9A/" rel="nofollow">Lior Samson</a>)Larry Constantinehttp://www.liorsamson.comnoreply@blogger.com