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Originally Posted by Beyle
LACK OF CHARACTER
Re the lack of character in mystery/thriller genre, to me it seems that the Americn culture had been infantilized and monstrous summs of money have been used and made in accomplishing it, creating a comic book culture. Hollywood makes film after film based on comic books and they sell. A few years ago Yogi Berra (granted, a sweet guy)was the only person in America who would be seen readimg one on a bus(an old story about that). Now they and all their shabby equivilents are hugely embedded throughout the adult poplation.
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So. Many. Spelling. Mistakes. ! I'm also failing to see why you think comic books are so terrible, aside from the fact that you apparently don't enjoy them. That does not mean they are poorly done, nor does it mean they are "infantile". Just another old geezer bemoaning "the way things used to be"...
Back in my day, everyone gathered at grandma's house on Sundays while papa read Shakespeare out loud around a log fire! And we loved it! And we were given oranges for Christmas, and it was the most expensive gift we could afford! And we worked out in the fields from sunrise to sunset with no breaks! Get over yourself. Our advances in society have resulted in more leisure time, and *shock* people like to use that time for doing things they enjoy. Like reading books.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sportourer1
I have to agree, the number of people who have told me that my novel begins too slowly are legion. If it were a printed novel, I think the first violent clash of arms would take place on page 5/6. In those first pages the lead character is established and the histroical contex set but that is too slow for many modern readers - weird. As it is set in 1798 it must frustrate them that the central character has top travel at 7 miles an hour on a sailing boat.
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Yeah, no. Saying it "begins slowly" usually just means there's nothing to draw you into the story. It does not mean "I need fast-paced action immediately and throughout the entire book". Many books take time to build up characters, and that's expected and typically desired (depending on your audience). But there has to be some sort of point to the book, something that the characters are trying to achieve, and that should be revealed fairly early in the book.
Myself and many other people usually have a page limit, and if we're not pulled into the story by that page, we put down the book and never look back with regrets. For an unknown author, my limit is usually 50 pages; for an author I've enjoyed in the past, my rule of thumb is "The Stephen King 100" (named for the author who inspired the guideline).
Top speed of 7 mph won't matter if the story is engaging. If it's just "and they sat on the boat" for several pages, then yes, that's boring. But if the characters are talking and thinking and jumping around the boat to pull lines and move tillers... that's what people want to read.