Definitely. I think that approach kind of spoils me for a lot of writers because my personality is so nitpicky and thus my standards go through the roof.
Yes! I have this same problem! I do try to suppress it, but I hate it when you're reading a fic that's got your attention so far, and suddenly there's something, and it could be really small, like a missing comma where there should have been one, or a "your" instead a "you're", but it jars you out of the story and into cruising suspiciously for more missing commas/typos/whatever else. Suddenly you're questioning the characterization and wondering where this plot is going in the first place, because your sense of trust was interrupted. Lol. That sounds very dramatic!
I QUITE agree with you about the level of published authors' writing, too!! Quite.
I didn't feel I could make good guesses or good arguments about any of it because I wasn't sure what level of writer Rowling was.
So much yes to this! Again, I didn't trust her enough to make predictions like that. Predictions of that sort pre-suppose a certain level of writing, a certain expectation or guarantee of plot threads being resolved in a satisfactory manner, of character arcs following reasonable paths, of relationships going the way they began or else changing for believable reasons. And while we got a lot of that, we certainly didn't get it all. Are you done yet? I don't want to say anything that will spoil you. :)
Random POV switches are one of my biggest pet peeves! Ah, you're not done yet. Right. My lips are sealed. :)
I wasn't thinking ships in the first book, but as soon as it became clear that Ginny was going to be a somewhat important character in CoS, the bad bells went off in my head. We're talking about someone who's had a crush on Harry since before she met him in person. Not a good start!!! I find it hard to believe that it was ever anything more than that. It would be more believable for Harry to date pretty much any other Weasley (except for Percy or the senior Weasleys, I guess) than it would be for him to date Ginny. Seriously. Bill = cool. Charlie works with dragons and was a great Seeker = cool. The twins are rebellious and have a joke shop he contributed to in a major way. Ron = best friend/obvious. :P Ginny... ? A mix of hero worship (her side) and propinquity (his side), IMO. Nothing more.
JKR certainly doesn't do romance well. She could have built it up much more convincingly, same as Remus and Tonks. But she didn't. I mean, I would like it as a Harry/Draco shipper less, but as a reader/writer, more. If that makes any sense at all! :P
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I like long discussions. :)
Date: 2007-08-06 03:46 am (UTC)From:Yes! I have this same problem! I do try to suppress it, but I hate it when you're reading a fic that's got your attention so far, and suddenly there's something, and it could be really small, like a missing comma where there should have been one, or a "your" instead a "you're", but it jars you out of the story and into cruising suspiciously for more missing commas/typos/whatever else. Suddenly you're questioning the characterization and wondering where this plot is going in the first place, because your sense of trust was interrupted. Lol. That sounds very dramatic!
I QUITE agree with you about the level of published authors' writing, too!! Quite.
I didn't feel I could make good guesses or good arguments about any of it because I wasn't sure what level of writer Rowling was.
So much yes to this! Again, I didn't trust her enough to make predictions like that. Predictions of that sort pre-suppose a certain level of writing, a certain expectation or guarantee of plot threads being resolved in a satisfactory manner, of character arcs following reasonable paths, of relationships going the way they began or else changing for believable reasons. And while we got a lot of that, we certainly didn't get it all. Are you done yet? I don't want to say anything that will spoil you. :)
Random POV switches are one of my biggest pet peeves! Ah, you're not done yet. Right. My lips are sealed. :)
I wasn't thinking ships in the first book, but as soon as it became clear that Ginny was going to be a somewhat important character in CoS, the bad bells went off in my head. We're talking about someone who's had a crush on Harry since before she met him in person. Not a good start!!! I find it hard to believe that it was ever anything more than that. It would be more believable for Harry to date pretty much any other Weasley (except for Percy or the senior Weasleys, I guess) than it would be for him to date Ginny. Seriously. Bill = cool. Charlie works with dragons and was a great Seeker = cool. The twins are rebellious and have a joke shop he contributed to in a major way. Ron = best friend/obvious. :P Ginny... ? A mix of hero worship (her side) and propinquity (his side), IMO. Nothing more.
JKR certainly doesn't do romance well. She could have built it up much more convincingly, same as Remus and Tonks. But she didn't. I mean, I would like it as a Harry/Draco shipper less, but as a reader/writer, more. If that makes any sense at all! :P