I am nearly sure that, you, as the public are anxious to
hear why I write the way that I write. (Sure I am, not) This is just an explanation
and not an excuse.
My simplistic writing – not everyone has a high school
education or has gone to college. Some of us don’t remember our English teacher’s
name, let alone grammar. It has been over half a century since I went to
school. I know I am not alone in this. I respect those who have retained this
information and applaud their accomplishments. BUT, yes, that ever present “but”,
there are so many who like to read, but find it boring or tedious, to try to
plow through all the adjectives, the ten letter words, and the French sayings
that they quit reading. I do not want my readers put off, because of that. I
want them to relax and enjoy what I write. Some may not, I cannot write for
everyone.
My simplistic characters – I do not overly-describe my
characters. I want my readers to decide for themselves what the characters look
like. I give them hair color and vague height and eye color, if I feel like it.
Not all of us like the same type of person. Your dream guy may be a hunk,
slender built, or an average Joe with the face of an angel. It’s their words;
their actions and the story that makes them come to life in your mind. Just pick your favorite
fantasy guy and go with that. Seriously, I would take that overly tanned fellow
and suggest he use sunscreen before he got skin cancer, but that’s just me. The
same goes for my female characters; they could be you, a favorite cousin, or
that cheerleader from high school that mocked you.
You do know that I am not a great writer; I would never
claim to be. I do like what I write and that is what is important to me. I am
S. J. Qualls and I thank you for reading… anything!
I love your spirit SJ Qualls. xo
ReplyDeletei loved english and grammar and literature, etc., but my rule-following is sliding a lot these past few years. glad you're writing your way. :)
ReplyDeleteI am pretty sure that this is why we 'follow' you. You speak your mind and tell/write how you see things in this world of ours.
ReplyDeleteThere is no 'right' way to write I feel. If it comes from your gut/soul then who is anyone to question how you feel?
Keep on writing.
We all love the way you write. It's you, comes from your heart, and that's the way it should be. I never think about grammar when I read people's blogs, or books even. Either the story grabs me or it doesn't. I hope you are not worried about this, because you should not be.
ReplyDeleteI love your style of writing... and like Jim said, I really like that you speak your mind. As I follow the characters in your book I find myself really caring about them and looking forward to my 'reading time' and finding out what happens next. You move so smoothly throughout events and have a unique way of describing the simplest of settings, giving the reader pause - so that they think more about who the character is and what he/she is feeling.
ReplyDeleteI think, and have always thought you do a wonderful job, grammer and all.
Oh, BTW, my favorite character was Philip until it dawned on me that he was the groom to be at the beginning... then I had to rethink (HAHA!) But I still like him. I think he changed a lot and he's not such a bad guy..
KEEP WRITING!
Sharon, I echo the thoughts of the comments above mine--I enjoy reading what you write, because it's you! When I first became president of the rescue, I remember reading submitted articles for the newsletter that were horribly written, or at least I thought so. But the editor, who was a longtime English teacher and writer herself, said she never changed any of the articles that people wrote, because then it wouldn't be theirs--I realized that she was right! People like you who write honestly, and are being true to themselves, and to me, that's what makes YOU so interesting!!
ReplyDeleteI love the way you write, it is what I look for in every book. If the author uses half a page to describe a hill, I first start to skip paragraphs, that have a dialogue in them and then I'll probably skip the entire book, because there's just too much unnecessary information.
ReplyDeleteGreat writing is when the author connects with the reader. All the rest is just window dressing.
ReplyDelete