tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post2679534267019819120..comments2023-09-05T12:51:25.656-05:00Comments on edittorrent: More on that openingEdittorrenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14295505709568570553noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-89799829718972662822008-02-26T08:34:00.000-06:002008-02-26T08:34:00.000-06:00Yes, I totally agree that there will always be fus...Yes, I totally agree that there will always be fussy people picking at details they know well, but as both a reader and a writer it seems to me that there are some broad categories (horses, journalism, guns, period clothing - to pick out a few) that so many people know so well, it pays to do at least minimal research. <BR/><BR/>Staying on-topic of openings (rather than continuing the tangent of horses) I am not such a picky reader that I can't forgive a few missed details, but in this opening the details were so far off that, as a horseman, I would never have read past the second or third line because reader trust and believability was shattered by that point. If I had picked this book up off the shelf and opened it to the first page, the author would have immediately lost a potential reader. By changing about three words, the picky stuff would have slipped past, I could have fallen into the story and the author might have gained a reader. If this passage was later in the story, I would certainly still cringe, but I might keep reading if I was caught up in the story.Becky Burkhearthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16142877898930589440noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-79780005522117262022008-02-26T02:27:00.000-06:002008-02-26T02:27:00.000-06:00Whenever we know a world or activity, I think we f...Whenever we know a world or activity, I think we find problems with the fictional portrayal. I was just with a reporter who had been reading a book about a reporter... and reporter worked for a newspaper and there was a direct (same city) competitor, and there are probably three cities left with competing papers, and they're NY, Chicago, and LA, and this was some minor city... so anyway, I suspect no matter how much research we do, there'll always be people involved in that world who will find some problem.<BR/>AliciaEdittorrenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14295505709568570553noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-29116370100099054552008-02-25T21:46:00.000-06:002008-02-25T21:46:00.000-06:00I know nothing about horses or riding, but I've ce...I know nothing about horses or riding, but I've certainly found the comments by people who do quite interesting. Details make such a difference, at least for those who recognize when they're incorrect. Those sorts of things make me grit my teeth when I encounter them.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-1402225373255181802008-02-25T20:03:00.000-06:002008-02-25T20:03:00.000-06:00Alicia said: I'm not a horse person at all, but I...Alicia said: I'm not a horse person at all, but I'm assuming that's a real experience-- hanging on as a horse opens up to a gallop.<BR/><BR/>not exactly. :) There's really much too much power and motion for anyone to have the real physical strength to hang on. You have to be perfectly balanced and in rhythm with the horse to gallop bareback. It's a very Zenesque, in the moment, 'be the horse' kind of thing.<BR/><BR/>At a canter, she might notice the sparkly grass, not at a gallop.<BR/><BR/>(and that wouldn't be a whinny, it would be a squeal or a scream or ...I'm not sure what she was going for. I wasn't going to comment on that. really I wasn't. I did and deleted it and here it is again. sorry.)Becky Burkhearthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16142877898930589440noreply@blogger.com