Snow Day!

[ase]

Today I blew off work. I feel really bad about it, but I'm reluctant to scamper around ice storm debris when I'm lugging a laptop without a really compelling reason. I stayed home, finished the novel I've been reading, and ate pasta and oranges, not at the same time. I also started typing up my reaction to my novel, and realized I was a little disgusted with it. People who know me: tell me at least one reason why I do not like Diana Gabaldon's Outlander. "It's a romance" does not count. Discussion in comments.

At some point I realized it was Valentine's Day, and that I was trashing a romance novel, and that if I'd been on the ball I could have had chocolate today. I think this means I've failed to observe every major American holiday but Thanksgiving and Halloween in the last six months: Christmas, Hanukah, the Superbowl... anyway.

Comments

[ase.livejournal.com]

She never seemed to understand that she was in a different culture

She also didn't seem to be from a different culture. I do not expect c.1945 chick, however plucky, to hold the sort of values and experiences my generation has had.

She rarely, if ever, received the consequences of her actions, and usually watched as someone else did.

Angst on, Claire! Let others suffer for your recklessness, and then complain when they're put out with you!

The flip side of feminism is taking responsibility for your actions. I think that the concept of individual vs. clan/group responsibility could be explored to great effect in a time travel novel. Not this one, apparently.

I think you're right about the length: there's a decent 300 - 400 page novel lurking in the 850 paperback pages. Whoever edited Outlander did it a disservice by not bleeding red ink over many more pages. Start by cutting out the last 150 pages, and trim from there.

[filkferengi]

Or, there's always MZB's classical editing advice: Cut out half, and revise the rest.

:)

[ase.livejournal.com]

It would have helped a great deal to do just that, I think.