               Beyond Her Book
More from Barbara Vey Email: barbaravey@gmail.com Recent Posts
Recent Comments
Most Commented On
Archives
Blog
Link This | Email this | Blog This | Comments (8)
Recycled: Do you Skim?October 30, 2008 I'm not really here this week, so I'm recycling past blogs for those who may have not been there the first time around. This one is about skimming while reading. Do you skim? Liz Kreger asked me that question recently at the Wisconsin Romance Writers of America meeting. Not being familiar with a lot of publishing terminology (I'm still fairly new to all of this), my mind immediately went to skim milk (well, we were standing next to the food table and my thoughts seem to automatically get drawn to food). "No," she patiently explained, "do you skim through the love scenes in books to get back to the action of the story?" Laughingly I told her that to me the sex scenes are the action parts of the books. According to Liz, a lot of readers, including herself, just skim over some of the "getting to know you better" parts to get to the meat of the story. Liz sometimes feels blogged down by page after page of relentless hot and heavy sex and while she enjoys great description, there is a point to move on.  Now, I do agree to some extent with Liz. I try to read a variety of books to keep my finger on the pulse of what's out there and there have been times when I felt that someone just said, "It's page 53, quick, get a sex scene in there." But I still read it. I know I'm a freak when it comes to the written word. I'm afraid to skip over anything because I might miss something. Although I do admit that technobabble is a whole nother ball game. When Tom Clancy starts rambling about all the makings of a submarine or the engines that drive it, I do find my mind wandering and my eyes glazing over. So, are you a skimmer? Anything you want to tell us about? Bottom Line: I'll have a chocolate covered donut with sprinkles and a decaf coffee...hold the skim. Posted by Barbara Vey on October 30, 2008 | Comments (8)
October 30, 2008
In response to: Recycled: Do you Skim? Gina Robinson commented: Hi Barbara--
October 30, 2008
In response to: Recycled: Do you Skim? Gina commented: I'm with the other Gina, I skim alot of narrative and description in the first read. Since I reread most books its in the 2nd or 3rd pass that I take it slower and give all the writing the attention it deserves. But honestly first pass usually has me to eager to know what happens next to go slow.
October 30, 2008
In response to: Recycled: Do you Skim? Jody Wallace commented: I try not to skim the large blocks of narrative and description, but sometimes I do! My eyes just jump ahed to the parts with more white space. I usually make myself go back and am glad of it.
October 30, 2008
In response to: Recycled: Do you Skim? Jusy commented: Like Liz, I do find myself skimming through monkey business (I don't think PW likes the 3-letter word as this is the third time I'm writing this) if it's not necessary to the story. Reading another board which also touched on this topic, I've discovered there are some readers who skim the book looking for specific character interactions, especially if it's a series, or just jumping from one section to another. I don't know how one can enjoy a pleasure book like this.
October 30, 2008
In response to: Recycled: Do you Skim? Edie commented: I've read too many love scenes, so I do tend to skim them now unless they're different and fresh. And good! Same with too much narrative and description.
October 31, 2008
In response to: Recycled: Do you Skim? Marcia Colette commented: I'm always skimming, especially love scenes and heavy description. Both, IMHO, bog a story down. Come the third love scene, I'm completely bypassing it to something more interesting.
October 31, 2008
In response to: Recycled: Do you Skim? Brandi commented: I'm completely guilty of skimming... unfortunately sometimes that also means that I don't remember what I read nearly as well. I've had friends ask me what books I've read have been about (classics, mind you - things that I should remember) and if I read them more than 4 books ago, I can't remember. Skimming gets you through more pages faster, but doesn't necessarily make for an overall better experience.
November 1, 2008
In response to: Recycled: Do you Skim? violet s commented: Good morning Barbara! Recycled or not, I try to read your blogs daily! When I miss a day or two, I feel deprived! I don't skim, only because I, like you, don't want to miss anything of the description of the person, place or object!
Advertisement
|
|
