Reading it FUNDAMENTAL (LINK)
I am a true believer that reading helps a writer to write better. Studying the way other authors create dialogue, their character's point of view and the way they master the "flowing" sentence can be helpful tools. Though I am a multi-published author, I know the learning process is ongoing. When I stop thinking I need to know more, that is when I will cease to grow...therefore I read, and read, and read.
Recently I have read...more like devoured....THE HISTORIAN by Elizabeth Kostova. This thick piece of well-written literature centered around the premise of Vlad the Impaler as Dracula. We all know Bram Stoker fashioned his Dracula character after Vlad, but Kostova actually had Vlad as Dracula and still living...well, as alive as the UNDEAD can be. Thoroughout the novel her characters went in search of Vlad, their travels taking them to all locations on the globe. So vivid were Kostova's descriptions, I could smell the musty crypt, the rotting flesh, hear the footsteps behind me on a darkened path, and feel the fear trickle down my spine.
I also love to read time travel novels. Two of my favorite authors writing this genre is Constance O'Day-Flannery and Karen Marie Moning. But the QUEEN OF TIME TRAVEL is author Diana Gabaldon.
I have had the pleasure of meeting Diana, an enchanting woman, beautiful both inside and out, interesting conversationalist and an exceptional researcher. One thing I've learned by attending numerous writing workshops is that even though you are writing something far-fetched, it must read credible. Gabaldon places her characters amongst actual and accurate accounts of history and has done a tremendous amount of research. Gabaldon has also defied the rules of writing, making her novels over the standard word count and a thousand pages long. She's combined her heroine's first person point of view with the other character's third person view point, something very hard to master without confusing the reader. All in all, picking up her OUTLANDER series and losing yourself to her world is something a reader will never forget.
READ AND ENJOY!
Roberta C.M. DeCaprio
Recently I have read...more like devoured....THE HISTORIAN by Elizabeth Kostova. This thick piece of well-written literature centered around the premise of Vlad the Impaler as Dracula. We all know Bram Stoker fashioned his Dracula character after Vlad, but Kostova actually had Vlad as Dracula and still living...well, as alive as the UNDEAD can be. Thoroughout the novel her characters went in search of Vlad, their travels taking them to all locations on the globe. So vivid were Kostova's descriptions, I could smell the musty crypt, the rotting flesh, hear the footsteps behind me on a darkened path, and feel the fear trickle down my spine.
I have had the pleasure of meeting Diana, an enchanting woman, beautiful both inside and out, interesting conversationalist and an exceptional researcher. One thing I've learned by attending numerous writing workshops is that even though you are writing something far-fetched, it must read credible. Gabaldon places her characters amongst actual and accurate accounts of history and has done a tremendous amount of research. Gabaldon has also defied the rules of writing, making her novels over the standard word count and a thousand pages long. She's combined her heroine's first person point of view with the other character's third person view point, something very hard to master without confusing the reader. All in all, picking up her OUTLANDER series and losing yourself to her world is something a reader will never forget.
Roberta C.M. DeCaprio
