tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3528207770797223309.post760910271972579960..comments2023-11-05T05:00:58.882-05:00Comments on - Author in Progress -: A Discussion Post!Korihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11608071085947734931noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3528207770797223309.post-6784614261203744202009-05-17T00:40:00.000-04:002009-05-17T00:40:00.000-04:00p.s. I'm not sure if you've seen this link before,...p.s. I'm not sure if you've seen this link before, but I thought it was interesting. http://www.lulu.com/titlescorer/index.php<br /><br />The website gives you the likelihood of achieving bestseller success based upon the title of your book. If nothing else, it's entertaining!JESSJORDANhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08915521022827231804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3528207770797223309.post-74977679014783011772009-05-17T00:38:00.000-04:002009-05-17T00:38:00.000-04:00Omi: I have the same problem with replying to comm...Omi: I have the same problem with replying to comments. I know you can post a comment in your own box, but as far as I know, the original commenter doesn't receive a head's up that you've replied.<br /><br />Anywho ...<br />First off, I'm flattered to spark the need for a post. I feel like I should wear my sunglasses at night and run around town like a rockstar :)<br />Second, I love that you consider 3 in the morning to still be "last night" So long as I'm awake and the sun's absent, it's nighttime in my book.<br />Third, I'm glad I decided to stalk your blog tonight (restraining order alert!), or I may have missed this post altogether.<br /><br />Now I'll get on with it already:<br />It's funny: I haven't read much about Vicky until recently, and I just assumed she was a teen (between 16 and 19). Right now, that's how I see her, especially with the pictures of the Gossip Girl peeps you have posted elsewhere (even though they're 20'ish or maybe even older, I see them as high school kids). But I would love to see more books in the twenty-something genre, especially ages 20-25. imho, there's just not enough of books targeting this age group out there.<br /><br />I love the idea of Vicky finding and losing her first love (although I would want to know why, at the age of 20-something, she's never been in love before), as well as her growing and gaining confidence, strength, etc. So long as Vicky continues to make this type of progression throughout your series, then the audience (or at least the ones like me) will definitely want to be at her side from the beginning until the end of her journey.<br /><br />I appreciate and agree with your one-big-journey/bridge comparison. I can't think of a book 2 off the top of my head that doesn't fall short of books 1 and 3 in some way. But I'm okay with it, so long as book 2 leaves my appetite wet for book 3. <br /><br />What matters most to me (whether we're talking trilogies or single works) are the characters. Certainly, every story/book must have a plot, and the plot must move the story forward, but if the characters don't have enough going on, then I really don't care if they make it from point A to point Z. <br /><br />If your story is more like the suspension bridge you described, with the characters pulling the story forward, I think you--and future readers--will be satisfied with the outcome, no matter whether you choose 3 separate battles or a bunch of mini-battles leading to 1 big explosion.<br /><br />I love the idea of introducing the conflict of the next book at the end of the preceding one. It would also be kind of cool if the readers knew a conflict was brewing (e.g., the mysterious mountain climber), but Vicky wasn't quite aware just yet. If I was the reader, what I would also like to see is the author leaving a few open-ended, dangling threads that need to be tied up--for instance, the Vicky/Jesse thing that you mentioned. I know Eversong isn't a love story at its heart, but an undercurrent of love/sexual tension b/w your characters is never a bad thing. And, as a fellow twenty-something, I'd expect some sort of love/lust element to the story. <br /><br />So long as Book 1 doesn't reach that happily-ever-after moment that I talked about before, AND so long as I see that Vicky is changing as a character but still has a lot of personal growth left in her, then I'll stick with her through books 2 and 3 ... maybe even 4, if your mind takes you there.<br /><br />I admire your determination to make Vicky a likeable character--someone who is real, with the ability to be frustrating and likeable all at once. As you may remember from my last post, I shamelessly read the Twilight books. I'm not sure why I stuck with them, but I can tell you why I didn't: Bella. I hated her. She was whiny, weak, and one-dimensional ... and those were pretty much her only personality traits. She was the epitome of a placeholder. I am sad for anyone that wants the narrator to be an empty, personality-free shell.<br /><br />I love that you set your standard for Vicky higher. Vicky is not me. Even if I am immensely jealous of her, her journey, and her self-discovery, she has a personality, and that personality is not mine. Which is exactly as it should be. What is important to me, as the reader, is that you make me want to be her friend, so that I can tell her just how jealous I am that I'm NOT her. :)<br /><br />You are very welcome for the comment, and thank YOU for your reply. It puts a huge smile on my face to know that something I said, or technically, typed, made a difference in your story-telling. (And I'm not even going to pretend: a shout out somewhere down the road would be pretty freaking awesome.)<br /><br />I wish you the very best of luck on the rocky, winding path to publication. I'm on that road right now, waving at you from around a corner. See me there, between the trees? :)JESSJORDANhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08915521022827231804noreply@blogger.com