I was describing to my colleague at work how I spent most of this weekend sleepless due to a) Baby and b) Reading Patrick Rothfuss.Now, I've read both of Patrick Rothfuss' books before (The Name of the Wind & The Wise Man's Fear). I've written about The Wise Man's Fear .
If you are new to these names, they are books 1 and 2 of the KingKiller Chronicles. These books cover Day One and Day Two of the narrative, and Day three (or Book 3: The Doors of Stone) ought to be released in the next couple of years.*
(Aside) This wait for the third book is quite exciting, actually! There is quite an enthusiastic set of Tor readers over at Jo Walton's re-read on Tor.com. Lots of theories being discussed!
* We dare not name a date, for Rothfuss is infamous for missing publishing deadlines. Current Goodreads site for Day Three in the Chronicles shows nothing, and it was reporting 2020 at one point to throw cold water on us eager readers.
P.S. Mr. Rothfuss' hilarious take on the goodreads readers who like to "review" books before they are out - http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/327213074
Yet I really can't do the book justice. Trying to make a summary of the plot or storyline is an exercise in futility, as I realized when explaining to my colleague why he should read Rothfuss. It also seems like I've had this problem before - When I last wrote about The Wise Man's Fear , I actually didn't do a full review! Just trying to goad people into reading does count though, right?
This brings me to my point - do our blogging skills improve over the months and years we blog? I know we all HOPE they do, but without critical assessments, does pure practice result in improved writing skills?
Haven't yet read Rothfuss's books, so I can't weight in on that, but as for the issue of whether blog writing skills improve over time... Yes, they absolutely do. With practice comes improvement, and while the amount of improvement may vary from person to person, it really can't be denied that the vast majority of us improve in our writing the more we go on. I've looked at some of my earlier reviews and cringe now, because I know that if I wrote it now, I'd be able to do a better job of conveying my thoughts and criticism.
ReplyDeleteAlso, one thing that a friend pointed out to me not long ago, is that writing can improve just from the sheer amount of reading that we do. getting exposed to that much talent rubs off on us in little ways, but it adds up and shows in the end.
well i kinda saw some of your blogs and i think you do a fair job and i enjoy reading 'em all.
ReplyDeleteWell i think you do a fair job, i have read quite a few of your posts and i enjoyed reading 'em all .As far as this one goes it does make me run for the series.....
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