Three More Books Read

Since my last post, I've read three books. The first was The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison. This is a classic-style fantasy story of a shunned youngest son of the ruler unexpectedly inheriting the throne due to the sudden death of his father and all of his older brothers.

This was a very enjoyable read. The protagonist is kind and likable and in way over his head, which makes him a sympathetic character. His enemies are not evil but ambitious or stupid or misguided. Magic exists in this world but is not the centerpiece. The only thing I didn't like were the overly long and difficult names. Now, I realize this is a common feature of the genre, and fortunately there was a pronunciation guide at the back of the book as well as an explanation of titles and a list of notable characters.

Next I read Skin Game by Jim Butcher. I can't really say much about this. It's the fifteenth book in an ongoing series about Wizard for Hire Harry Dresden. In the world of the Dresden novels, all the old legends are true. All. And they're all fighting for control of the modern mortal world. I recommend this series to everyone who likes urban fantasy. Start with the first one, Storm Front.

Then I read Damned by Chuck Palahniuk. This book was bizarre and gross, and the protagonist seems irritating at first, but you warm up to her after a while. It was still fun and funky and wry.

I'm still working out what I'm doing about my writing. I keep waking up from these dreams that are like story seeds. Something I thought of today may end up being a series. Maybe my subconscious is telling me to start something new? I mean, I can always go back to those partial rough drafts I mentioned last time.

I can't remember where I read it now, but I've seen it written that all authors use outlines, it's just that often the outline is in the form of a rough draft. Often when I get an idea I just run with it, start writing, and that's a good thing, but...then when I encounter story problems or have a new idea that negates some of what I've already written, I stall out. I want to try some extra prep this time. Dive in and write, but do character creation and world building to begin with. Make a brief timeline of events, and then if I get stuck I can go back to it and see where I went wrong, make a few notes about the change, and forge ahead.

I can worry that kind of thing will take the passion and fun out of writing, but stalling out is no fun, either.