My creative juices have been taking a vacation of late, so, I have been doing some reading in the hope that it kicks starts things for me.
I am going to do the equivalent of hitting a Hornet’s nest with an M-80 firecracker from 3 feet away while naked.
Yep, that second line is a bit of overkill. But, hey, I did it without the use of a single word ending in ly. More on that later.
First, let me say I am a Harry Potter fan. I love the story, the attention to detail and how something that seems minor in one book comes to have a major impact on the story later.
The movies were well done, but, as with all movies to books, much was lost because the director(s) put their mark on the story too. The one I hated the most was Harry breaking the Elder Wand in the last movie. There is no way Harry would destroy Dumbledore’s wand. The act of destroying the wand would be seen by Harry as the equivalent of joining Voldemort.
I have read the books through before. This is my third reading and I am starting The Prisoner of Azkaban now. J.K tells a good story, but, her writing needs work. There, I did it, I lit the fuse, tossed the bomb on the Hornet’s nest and let it explode.
J.K is in love with adverbs. Now, adverbs are part of speech and writing, but when you stack them together, it is jarring to the reader. I find myself rewriting some sentences in my head as I read her work. There is no reason to see two, three and four, adverbs in a five sentence paragraph.
Awkwardly, thoughtfully, suddenly, are used in a section containing thirty-six words. A bit of an overkill if I do say so myself.
“… the visit stood out horribly vividly in his mind.” Reading the sentence is like fingernails on a blackboard. “The horrid visit, though years ago, is still vivid in his mind.” The second doesn’t use a single adverb, yet shows the reader the impact of the visit while keeping the story flowing.
“…violently purple…” What does this color of purple do, hold people up at gunpoint? Maybe I could go to Lowes and ask for a gallon of paint in violent purple. Why not; “The bus was a color of purple that was bright, even on the dark street.”
Okay, I’ve got to find a way to stop noticing her love affair with adverbs, else I risk suddenly going horridly violently completely vividly insanely nuts.
Now, let’s move on to some of her ridiculous character names…
You know I can, but, let’s not, for now at least.