Dale's Updates en-US Fri, 02 May 2025 17:22:20 -0700 60 Dale's Updates 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg UserQuote93076746 Fri, 02 May 2025 17:22:20 -0700 <![CDATA[Dale Lehman liked a quote by Anna Faversham]]> /quotes/12691918
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� A dog has lots of friends because it wags its tail and not its tongue. � � Anna Faversham
]]> Review7379100033 Fri, 02 May 2025 16:56:13 -0700 <![CDATA[Dale added 'Anatomy of Genres']]> /review/show/7379100033 Anatomy of Genres by John Truby Dale gave 3 stars to Anatomy of Genres (Paperback) by John Truby
I don't know what to do with this book. I picked it up because a writing organization of which I'm a member recommends it. I thought it would help me in my own development as a writer and in my efforts to assist other writers to develop their craft.

Unfortunately, it's a DNF for me. It's not horrible. It's just, for me, rather a waste of time right now.

The problem is, the thing reads like a reference book, and you can't just pick up a reference book and read it cover-to-cover. I'm going to keep in on my bookshelf for now, just in case I feel like referring to it later. But I'm not reading it straight through.

So what is it, exactly? It begins with the academic theory that (a) stories are told to show us how to live, and (b) that's why we read them (0r watch them, in the case of plays and films). It then proposes that every genre has its own theory about how the world works and how to succeed in life. These genres are classified in a kind of hierarchy from horror (which is basically about the fear of death and staying alive) to romance (which is all about love, the highest lesson we can possibly learn). Fourteen genres are slotted into this hierarchy, and each one is analyzed in terms of "story beats" that every successful story must "hit" in order to work properly.

The concept of the story beat grew out of screenwriting. From what I've been able to tell, the word first entered the writing lexicon by accident. A Russian screenwriter told somebody that writing a script was just a matter of putting all the bits together, except he pronounced "bits" more like "beats." Later, Blake Snyder popularized the term in Save the Cat!, along with (as I understand it) a system for creating the structure for a screenplay by using story beats.

Which, I suppose, is all well and good. As I recall, master screenwriter William Goldman said that screenplays are structure. But the concept has been pushed out to prose, and now all manner of novelists have adopted the mechanism for the creation of their novels and maybe even short stories.

The problem is, novels and short stories aren't screenplays. There is, to be sure, structure in them, but most of the best prose writers in history never approached writing that way. Most of them took a character-first approach. In On Writing, Stephen King said, "Plot is, I think, the good writer's last resort and the dullard's first choice. The story which results from it is apt to feel artificial and labored.� And Ray Bradbury said it in his own inimitable style: "Plot is no more than footprints left in the snow after your characters have run by on their way to incredible destinations."

I say all this to explain that The Anatomy of Genres probably has some utility as a reference for those interested in writing screenplays, but its theories should be taken with a grain of salt--not everyone comes to a story looking for explanations of life; sometimes they want to escape life for a while--and its methods may not be well-suited to prose writing.

For me, it's probably not that useful. But I'll hang onto it, just in case someday it might be. ]]> Review7368768757 Wed, 16 Apr 2025 18:27:22 -0700 <![CDATA[Dale added 'The Clabber Grrrl's Retreat']]> /review/show/7368768757 The Clabber Grrrl's Retreat by J.D. Brayton Dale gave 4 stars to The Clabber Grrrl's Retreat (Perfect Paperback) by J.D. Brayton
Drug bosses, DEA informants, exotic species smugglers, prostitutes, kidnappings, animal rights activists (sort of), and tins of baking powder stuffed with cash, all lying dead in the sights of hurricane Andrew, the strongest and most devastating storm in Florida history.

Whew!

When J. D. Brayton tells a story, he really tells a story. Filled with characters you never hope to meet, although some you wouldn't mind knowing--I personally took a liking to Jeter Junius Picklespoon the moment he was introduced--colliding through a bizarre confluence of crimes, it's bound to be a wild ride. It is rough--rough language, graphic violence and autopsies, graphic sexual references--so be aware of that. But in terms of the story itself, it's compelling.

Alas, there are a couple of issues. First, the book suffers from inadequate editing. I'm pretty sure J.D. knows this, because in an email he mentioned needing to find an editor he can work with. There are various issues, from typos on up, which might mar the reading experience. Second, something seems to have gone wrong in the typesetting. Without picking through the book to find them, they're hard to enumerate, but I noted some areas where paragraphs weren't indented and others where the justification seemed to go a bit wonky.

But those issues aside, it's a gripping tale if you're up for a romp through the swamp with a bunch of lowlifes, scoundrels, killers, and corrupt officials. And J. J. Picklespoon. ]]> ReadStatus9317740714 Wed, 16 Apr 2025 18:26:38 -0700 <![CDATA[Dale is currently reading 'Upgrade']]> /review/show/7494740321 Upgrade by Blake Crouch Dale is currently reading Upgrade by Blake Crouch
]]> ReadStatus9245654330 Sat, 29 Mar 2025 07:22:13 -0700 <![CDATA[Dale has read 'The Ghosts in the Garage']]> /review/show/7444655907 The Ghosts in the Garage by Kimi Cook Dale has read The Ghosts in the Garage by Kimi Cook
]]> Comment287960833 Wed, 05 Mar 2025 17:45:09 -0800 <![CDATA[Dale commented on "BOOK PROMOTION SITES--THE ONES THAT ACTUALLY WORK!" in Authors-Readers Connect]]> /topic/show/19387710-book-promotion-sites--the-ones-that-actually-work Dale made a comment in the Authors-Readers Connect group:

Thank you, all! ]]> Review7327749915 Wed, 05 Mar 2025 17:37:28 -0800 <![CDATA[Dale added 'The Artful Edit: On the Practice of Editing Yourself']]> /review/show/7327749915 The Artful Edit by Susan Bell Dale gave 4 stars to The Artful Edit: On the Practice of Editing Yourself (Paperback) by Susan Bell
One of the surprising facts of the editing world is this: there is no real training save experience. At least, that's what the books I've been reading on the subject say. Susan Bell gathers together the experience of a number of writers and editors to encourage and help writers to become self-editors. It's an interesting journey through structural editing, line editing, personal experiences with editing, and the history of editing, accompanied by exercises, summaries, and interviews.

What comes out of it is a sense that editing is both precise--in some ways--and fuzzy--in many others, but that it can be learned with a bit of practice. I already had a general sense of the process from working on my own books over the years and with my late wife Kathleen as my editor, but Bell nevertheless offered some interesting insights and considerations I hadn't though much about.

The intended audience is, naturally, writers, but editors and possibly even readers who want a glimpse behind the scenes of story creation can gain some valuable insights from The Artful Edit. ]]> ReadStatus9151759666 Wed, 05 Mar 2025 17:36:33 -0800 <![CDATA[Dale is currently reading 'Anatomy of Genres']]> /review/show/7379100033 Anatomy of Genres by John Truby Dale is currently reading Anatomy of Genres by John Truby
]]> Comment287815131 Sun, 02 Mar 2025 10:43:00 -0800 <![CDATA[Dale commented on "Facebook boosts? Advertising on FB in general?" in Authors-Readers Connect]]> /topic/show/22781056-facebook-boosts-advertising-on-fb-in-general Dale made a comment in the Authors-Readers Connect group:

I've never had any luck with them, but then I've not been very good at using advertising platforms like that in general. My understanding is that it take a lot of experimentation to figure them out, but if you have the time, patience, and money for it, it can be made to work.. ]]> Review7313088984 Sun, 02 Mar 2025 09:31:18 -0800 <![CDATA[Dale added 'No Strangers Here']]> /review/show/7313088984 No Strangers Here by Carlene O'Connor Dale gave 5 stars to No Strangers Here (County Kerry Mystery, #1) by Carlene O'Connor
No Strangers Here is the first in Carlene O'Connor's Kerry County, Ireland mysteries featuring veterinarian Dr. Dimpna Wilde. As the series opens, Dr. Wilde is drawn back to her hometown of Dingle on the southwest coast of Ireland, where Johnny O'Reilly, a wealthy racehorse owner, has been found murdered in strangely theatrical fashion. Detective Inspector Cormac O'Brien is dispatched to investigate. He finds twisted trail of buried secrets, not the least of which involve Dr. Wilde and her parents.

This novel features a cornucopia of twisted, tortured characters that will keep you guessing. I can't say I was surprised by the resolution. I did figure out, or at least anticipate, a few of the developments. But there was enough suspense to keep me reading, and I found the main characters engaging. I also liked how O'Connor threw in enough Irish-speak to make it feel like I was there without overwhelming or bogging down the reader not too familiar with it. Highly recommended for anyone who likes a good mystery. ]]>