Louise Marley's Blog

• "So what?": the tough plot question

  November 8, 2009

  • I've been fortunate to sell most of the books I've begun, usually on proposal.  Just one died in its early stages; its demise came about when my editor, talking about the plot of the novel, asked "So what?"  Ouch.  That was a painful moment, but an instructive one.Like the editor I quoted in my last post, I'm a lover of beautiful prose and well-rounded characters.  I love creating ...
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• An unnecessary tension

  November 3, 2009

  • At the World Fantasy Convention in San Jose, California last weekend, the super-smart editor Beth Meacham, of Tor Books, observed that "There is an unnecessary tension between beautiful prose and story-telling."  She pointed to some examples of books which are not so wonderfully written, but which tell stories that keep the reader turning pages:  Da Vinci Code, Harry Potter, Twilight, ...
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• The creative impulse

  November 2, 2009

  • I'm just back from the World Fantasy Convention, a conference attended by writers, editors, agents, and readers that was held in San Jose, CA this year.  As always, with this group of people devoted to the written word, I'm amazed at how creative they are--every one of them.  Writers don't just write--they paint, they make jewelry, they cook, they garden.  They also often make music of every ...
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