tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5115759973832197426.post6518429575645040270..comments2023-05-07T03:47:02.348-04:00Comments on The Rockville 8: No Rules Just Write - With Special Guest Terri OsburnThe Eighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03966202602120800766noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5115759973832197426.post-57090612505560757692014-04-28T11:03:58.746-04:002014-04-28T11:03:58.746-04:00Thanks so much, Terri, for being our guest on the ...Thanks so much, Terri, for being our guest on the Rockville 8 this week. Your message is a wise one and a good reminder not to get in your own way!<br /><br />Winner of the free book is Ms. Joey Rick. I'll contact you offline for your choice of Terri's Anchor Island series!Keely Thrallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05656529091898492453noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5115759973832197426.post-68597830027215287422014-04-25T16:27:40.356-04:002014-04-25T16:27:40.356-04:00Joey, you said the magic words. Character are enga...Joey, you said the magic words. <i>Character are engaging.</i><br /><br />That is priority number one!Terri Osburnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17176989488447450585noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5115759973832197426.post-42175122664641697012014-04-25T16:26:39.704-04:002014-04-25T16:26:39.704-04:00Mackenzie, the ones I've seen have been from b...Mackenzie, the ones I've seen have been from big names and big NY houses. And I don't want to imply that bad grammar or inconsistent tense are totally okay. The rules of basic language and grammar are there for a reason.<br /><br />But as a newbie, I was once told not to have the word <i>was</i> appear on a page more than once. That'll send your muse running quick.Terri Osburnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17176989488447450585noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5115759973832197426.post-16691883744542595552014-04-25T16:23:49.210-04:002014-04-25T16:23:49.210-04:00Hellie, I know how you love to argue. Thank you fo...Hellie, I know how you love to argue. Thank you for withholding this time. LOL!Terri Osburnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17176989488447450585noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5115759973832197426.post-33572746358898498392014-04-25T16:23:16.828-04:002014-04-25T16:23:16.828-04:00Lisa, I'm so with you. My goal is to help othe...Lisa, I'm so with you. My goal is to help others so they don't experience what I did. Though I suppose we all go through the stages. Blissful ignorance. Roadblocked by rules. Writing anarchist. :)Terri Osburnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17176989488447450585noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5115759973832197426.post-76170484836910222592014-04-25T14:29:47.120-04:002014-04-25T14:29:47.120-04:00Fabulous -- good rules and a healthy amount of gre...Fabulous -- good rules and a healthy amount of grey area between them make for wonderful books. As a reader, I know that some things I love aren't done according to "rules," and other things adhere perfectly to them. If the tone comes through and the characters are engaging and I can feel the writer's passion for the story, it seems to click -- rules or none!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13322717750512661688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5115759973832197426.post-40717117730080161562014-04-22T14:16:56.902-04:002014-04-22T14:16:56.902-04:00Terri ~ Thanks so much for visiting us this week. ...Terri ~ Thanks so much for visiting us this week. What great words of encouragement for those who struggle against the rules and allow the "don'ts" to keep them from getting that story onto the page.<br /><br />You are right, though, it needs to be a pretty darned compelling story if you're going to choose to not use punctuation, capitalization, yada, yada that readers today have come to expect.<br /><br />However, that being said, I've read quite a few indie published books of late where I've kept reading despite the author flying in the face of commonly held "rules." But I have to say that there was something immensely compelling about each of those stories--usually a character or story question--that I needed to follow no matter what.<br /><br />There's a lot to be said for good storytelling and you can't tell a good story if you're too afraid of not knowing the rules to get the words onto the page. So, as you said, butt in chair and write! ;0)<br /><br />Thanks again for guest blogging this week.Mackenzie Lucashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12846162871623310305noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5115759973832197426.post-69395143465300109122014-04-22T14:13:50.855-04:002014-04-22T14:13:50.855-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.Mackenzie Lucashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12846162871623310305noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5115759973832197426.post-34634130857991344982014-04-21T22:30:18.682-04:002014-04-21T22:30:18.682-04:00*LOL* "I've seen it with my own reader e...*LOL* "I've seen it with my own reader eyes! I swear!" *LOL*<br /><br />But I can't argue...well, I can...but yes, I too have seen such things with my own reader eyes. Hellie Sinclairhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03933713255844695337noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5115759973832197426.post-14329816699328731922014-04-21T22:25:03.958-04:002014-04-21T22:25:03.958-04:00Terri, thank you for blogging with the R8. It'...Terri, thank you for blogging with the R8. It's a relief to many of us to hear there are no hard and fast rules. I think that rules work if they are your own rules - in other words, what works for one writer doesn't necessarily work for another one. I've been to so many workshops. Some click with me, some I understand but know won't work for me and a few I think "What in the world are they talking about?" Lisa McQuayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08261421741139099750noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5115759973832197426.post-78325610514365922412014-04-21T22:25:02.646-04:002014-04-21T22:25:02.646-04:00Terri, thank you for blogging with the R8. It'...Terri, thank you for blogging with the R8. It's a relief to many of us to hear there are no hard and fast rules. I think that rules work if they are your own rules - in other words, what works for one writer doesn't necessarily work for another one. I've been to so many workshops. Some click with me, some I understand but know won't work for me and a few I think "What in the world are they talking about?" Lisa McQuayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08261421741139099750noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5115759973832197426.post-31104979597614798612014-04-21T10:50:48.259-04:002014-04-21T10:50:48.259-04:00Thank you so much for having me! And I get worked ...Thank you so much for having me! And I get worked up about this because I can't tell you how much "the rules" stopped me from writing as a newbie. They were like a giant road block in my brain. So I feel for any writer who gets distracted by the have tos and never dos and struggles to write what is bound to be a fantabulous story.Terri Osburnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17176989488447450585noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5115759973832197426.post-82112855663277574022014-04-21T10:10:18.631-04:002014-04-21T10:10:18.631-04:00Welcome, Terri!
I was just telling someone "...Welcome, Terri!<br /><br />I was just telling someone "a rule" last week. O.o. The thing is, *I* understood what I was trying to say - but in my explanation, did they hear it as a "must never break this" rule? Because I actually break it all the time...when I need to. <br /><br />I agree - it's hard enough getting the story on the page without worrying up front about "the rules." Write a good story. Boom. Done. Keely Thrallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05656529091898492453noreply@blogger.com