tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post955395486286323299..comments2024-03-29T05:45:39.184-06:00Comments on Blood-Red Pencil: Ah, First LoveDanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14471919576687777886noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-63885718753837536582012-03-05T09:55:33.266-07:002012-03-05T09:55:33.266-07:00Very nicely put, Kathryn. It's true that we sp...Very nicely put, Kathryn. It's true that we spend so much time plotting away that we sometimes forget that our characters need inner lives and reflections as well as conflict conflict conflict and emotion emotion emotion. <br /><br />A.L. SiroisAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-17270538284760201912012-02-29T21:27:59.774-07:002012-02-29T21:27:59.774-07:00Kathryn - I love that you say "The way carefu...Kathryn - I love that you say "The way carefully arranged words can order and deepen and expand my thinking." That's a profound way to think about it, and can drive insight into a writer's world view. <br />Gerri GeorgeGerri Georgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05110109363631843941noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-13012947585174761602012-02-29T18:58:50.141-07:002012-02-29T18:58:50.141-07:00Dani:
I love that a quote on another topic encoura...Dani:<br />I love that a quote on another topic encouraged your own take on it. That's what art allows and encourages: interpretative, creative thought. Glad it worked for you!Kathryn Crafthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08371458857187160425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-10882628344527640472012-02-29T18:54:55.647-07:002012-02-29T18:54:55.647-07:00Thanks Maryann, and thanks for contributing anothe...Thanks Maryann, and thanks for contributing another "first love"! I have to get hold of a good copy of that book. It was my best friend's "first love," and I love her, so I'm sure I'd love it too--but the copy I have has print all smushed together. I hate that!Kathryn Crafthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08371458857187160425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-7846517419379466572012-02-29T16:05:24.309-07:002012-02-29T16:05:24.309-07:00One of my early favorites was A Tree Grows in Broo...One of my early favorites was A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Reread it recently just so I could remember why I enjoyed it in the first place.<br /><br />And I agree with Larry. You have spurred us into thinking on such a deep level, and your way with words is wonderful.Maryannwriteshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09479027709233807149noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-80916536867701820342012-02-29T15:15:08.868-07:002012-02-29T15:15:08.868-07:00And today, this quotation is probably more apt: We...And today, this quotation is probably more apt: We live in an age in which the impact of materialized forces is well-nigh irresistible; and NATURE is overwhelmed by the shock. <br /><br />All that grand living has about done this planet in, hasn't it? I suppose only a guerrilla environmentalist like me would read between the lines this way.Danihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14471919576687777886noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-10381207807009923112012-02-29T13:15:14.215-07:002012-02-29T13:15:14.215-07:00Brianna, The Great Gatsby is another one I re-read...Brianna, The Great Gatsby is another one I re-read not too long ago. Thanks for sharing your first love! It's a worthy one.Kathryn Crafthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08371458857187160425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-54627820242667754462012-02-29T13:14:25.663-07:002012-02-29T13:14:25.663-07:00Thanks, Susan!
And Chris...you almost brought a t...Thanks, Susan!<br /><br />And Chris...you almost brought a tear to my eye. I fully appreciate the wit you share with us here at BRP that provided the subtext for today's comment.Kathryn Crafthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08371458857187160425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-47301997166773410582012-02-29T13:09:33.015-07:002012-02-29T13:09:33.015-07:00Larry, thank you for your kind comment. I must adm...Larry, thank you for your kind comment. I must admit that earlier versions of my novel—the ones not accepted by an agent—did include more philosophic introspection from my first person narrator. One advance reader told me it was "glacially yet perfectly slow"! Well, the agents weren't looking for that. It would seem that today the conundrums must be well evoked by the story, with the rest left to the reader's book club discussion. But I do believe dialogue is a great way to sneak some in. ;)<br /><br />I have the excerpt of your book pulled up on amazon and will read it. If only my book queue weren't. so. long. (Great problem to have, though!)Kathryn Crafthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08371458857187160425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-55690470797734421702012-02-29T10:28:01.245-07:002012-02-29T10:28:01.245-07:00This was such a beautiful post. Thank you for shar...This was such a beautiful post. Thank you for sharing. The first book I ever truly loved was The Great Gatsby. I read it for the first time during my freshman year of high school and was hooked instantly. I still think that book is magical.Brianna Soloskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08663188011029476486noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-70047500464844933032012-02-29T09:58:10.589-07:002012-02-29T09:58:10.589-07:00You know, Kathryn, that was so heartfelt, that a s...You know, Kathryn, that was so heartfelt, that a smart-aleck comment just seems ... well ... crass ... I got nothin'.Christopher Hudsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03667548312923348614noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-15737968842430058332012-02-29T06:44:32.041-07:002012-02-29T06:44:32.041-07:00Ah, Katherine! You so captured why we love books,...Ah, Katherine! You so captured why we love books, and fall in love with characters. Especially that you love "The way carefully arranged words can order and deepen and expand my thinking. The way character or story encourages me to appreciate life’s precious details and mull over its unanswerable questions." <br />Now, THAT's the love of books in a nutshell!Susan Mary Malonehttp://www.maloneeditorial.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-8801267492322024412012-02-29T04:33:07.328-07:002012-02-29T04:33:07.328-07:00Kathryn, how do you do it so often and so well, po...Kathryn, how do you do it so often and so well, poking and prodding us into attention while wrapping us in the soft blanket of your luxuriant prose? You may have had another agenda foremost, but you set me to thinking about the role of author commentary, the philosophical asides or meta-narratives that have fallen out of fashion and are so often deprecated by today's editors and publishers. Yet, it would seem that readers, at least some, value these calls to reflect and ponder, whether voiced by the author directly or cast into the mouths and minds of the characters. You offer examples of both from Dreiser.<br /><br />I sincerely hope there is still a place for such reflection in modern fiction, since it is a small but important element of <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Rosen-Singularity-Lior-Samson/dp/0984377247/" rel="nofollow">The Rosen Singularity</a></i>, a “think-piece” thriller centered on the ethics and consequences of life extension. I shrank from directly addressing the reader and instead let my characters--academics and scientists by temperament given to the examined life--do the social commentary. I wonder what you would make of it.<br /><br />--Larry Constantine (<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Lior-Samson/e/B004KDPO9A/" rel="nofollow">Lior Samson</a>)Larry Constantine (Lior Samson)http://www.amazon.com/Lior-Samson/e/B004KDPO9A/noreply@blogger.com