Interesting characters and premise go without saying. I also need a concise story, something that isn't long winded (unless it's justified). That's one reason I like Paul's work: he gets to the point.

I also need a concise story, something that isn't long winded (unless it's justified). That's one reason I like Paul's work: he gets to the point.

I would have said the same, but this American Gods is completely plot free at the moment, and I'm loving it. Stuff is happening, characters are finding out things, doing things, but the nature of the 'plot' still remains aloof. Yet I'm still really enjoying it. It's caught me a bit by surprise (hence my initial post).

I would have said the same, but this American Gods is completely plot free at the moment, and I'm loving it. Stuff is happening, characters are finding out things, doing things, but the nature of the 'plot' still remains aloof. Yet I'm still really enjoying it. It's caught me a bit by surprise (hence my initial post).

Gaiman does that beautifully too. I loved American Gods and it is unlike most stuff I am drawn to.

I would have said the same, but this American Gods is completely plot free at the moment, and I'm loving it. Stuff is happening, characters are finding out things, doing things, but the nature of the 'plot' still remains aloof. Yet I'm still really enjoying it. It's caught me a bit by surprise (hence my initial post).

Gaiman does that beautifully too. I loved American Gods and it is unlike most stuff I am drawn to.

While I would have been drawn to it regardless of who wrote it, I wonder if my love of Gaiman allowed me to break through barriers that I may have put up with an unknown author. I knew I was in the hands of someone I trusted to deliver the goods.

or excessive description

That is my biggest bugaboo; I can not stand it when the description of something or someone gets in the way of the story. I have reading ADD for sure.

That is my biggest bugaboo; I can not stand it when the description of something or someone gets in the way of the story. I have reading ADD for sure.

I am the same. I even get that way with authors I know and love. I don't need to know every freaking tiny detail about everything.

I love details, but they need to be relevant to the characters or story in some manner. Dean Koontz (for example) has a tendency to describe shrubbery. Not relevant. Diana Gabaldon devoted entire pages in one of her books to describing the consistency of baby poop. That was the last book of hers I read.

For me the best prose is written so that it's almost transparent. You then sink into the piece almost as though you were just thinking it to yourself instead of receiving it from outside your mind. IMO FPW is a master of this deceptively difficult part of effective writing. He makes it look easier than it is, like a skilled juggler or sleight of hand artist. I've found his fiction to be incredibly easy to read for that reason.

Many writers succumb to the desire to show off their skill by turning a clever phrase. Even when they succeed it can defeat the writer's ultimate purpose by jarring the reader out of the story. IMO the best prose has the reader wondering how time went by so fast, rather than pausing to admire the writer's style.

Diana Gabaldon devoted entire pages in one of her books to describing the consistency of baby poop. That was the last book of hers I read.

Hehehe, love that. It was you and Susan who kept calling me sassenach that made me read Gabaldon, but like you, when they got to America it all got a bit too much writing, not enough plotting. Did they win the War of Independance? Does anyone know? :boxing:

Hehehe, love that. It was you and Susan who kept calling me sassenach that made me read Gabaldon, but like you, when they got to America it all got a bit too much writing, not enough plotting. Did they win the War of Independance? Does anyone know? :boxing:

It's a mystery much like Stonehenge.