karenmiller ([info]karenmiller) wrote,
@ 2008-04-22 17:16:00
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Current location:taking notes in front of the tv
Current mood: impressed
Current music:the tv
Entry tags:writing

Words to live by, if you're a writer ...
Burbling in the background as I type this is Foxtel's Sci Fi channel. They're playing Solitudes, one of my top 3 season 1 eps of Stargate SG-1. How much do I adore Brad Wright, who really gets that it's about the characters, stupid????

Brad Wright and Ronald D Moore. Two of the best working in the business today. I'm all excited about the second Stargate movie, Continuum, because Brad Wright wrote it. He is a god.

Anyhow, onto business. Through various nefarious means (and mostly thanks to the lovely Ron Serdiuk of Pulp Fiction books) I got sent this wonderful quote today.

"As soon as I see awkward prose on page one, I reject a book. You wouldn’t trust a clumsy surgeon with a scalpel. I don’t trust authors who aren’t in complete control of their environment. Sloppy work is sloppy work. Doesn’t matter the profession, I don’t want it."

The person speaking is Benjamin LeRoy, publisher of Bleak House books. You can catch a full interview with him here: http://www.leelofland.com/wordpress/?p=500

I just want to say this:

BRILLIANT! BRILLIANT! BRILLIANT!

And also, read the comments as well as the actual article, since Mr LeRoy expands on his theories. For my money he is another god in the pantheon of people who work in the writing biz.

I agree with everything he said, and I try to live by everything he said. I expect I fall short at times, but I really do try. And I will continue to try, with this timely reminder.


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[info]rynogeny
2008-04-22 02:31 pm UTC (link)
But how do you if you know if your prose is awkward? It's not as if anyone sets out to write badly, though presumably there are those who think their plot (or characters, or whatever) is so wonderful nothing else matters.

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[info]karenmiller
2008-04-23 06:25 am UTC (link)
Well, I think that's where you need the whole beta reading/workshop environment to show you your work in a mirror.

But at the end of the day, you do need some facility with the music of prose. You have to that facility with words, and then all you're doing is learning to polish and refine the existing skill. You can't teach a tone deaf person to sing in tune, and you can't teach a word deaf person to write lyrically. But you can train and perfect the existing skill. And a concommitant skill is the ability to recognise skilful prose when you read it, whether it's yours or someone else's.

I think, anyhow!

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(Anonymous)
2008-04-23 03:23 pm UTC (link)
Karen,

I couldn't have said it better myself.

Benjamin LeRoy

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[info]karenmiller
2008-04-23 09:49 pm UTC (link)
Oooh! Thank you!

Except you could've -- by not having a spelling mistake in there. *g*

Thanks for dropping by. You're a real inspiration.

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(Anonymous)
2008-04-24 01:14 am UTC (link)
Thanks. That means plenty. I'm in it because I love words. Sounds like you do, too.

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[info]karenmiller
2008-04-25 01:11 am UTC (link)
Passionately. Reading someone like Reginald Hill, for example, gives me visceral pleasure because his use of language is so exquisite.

Thanks for keeping that flame burning in the publishing game!

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(Anonymous)
2008-04-25 04:42 am UTC (link)
*Hail!*

Thank you so much for sharing this, Karen! I want to work as a publisher after I've finished university and Ben's post is very informative.

^_^
~ Elehzya

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[info]karenmiller
2008-04-25 08:04 am UTC (link)
You're very welcome! I find these kinds of comments from industry pros really, really illuminating. It's a real jungle out there, especially for folk still looking for their first big break into the game, so listening to the gatekeepers is vital. And I just love the fact that you can work in this business and still foster a love for the words and the work. Yes, it's a commercial industry, it's about making money, but it can also be about love of words and great writing.

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