Picking the Nits, or ...

Help, my characters have tripped over my plot-holes, and they can't get up.

And here are the mainstream critical nits of the week, enjoy.

• [...] story is woefully unoriginal. This disposable diversion’s good for a few laughs, but not much more.
• [...] is undeniably in control of her material, and even if some pieces feel too stylistically mannered, she uses fiction to elucidating effect.
• Though it can get bogged down in detailed descriptions [...], the narrative’s realistic, understated tone makes a nice fit [...], but a dissonant subplot [...] becomes increasingly preposterous over the course of the novel.

This week, again, we see a focus on plotting and storyline in the negative: unoriginal, disposable, dissonant subplot, but on the positive side, we can see writing style is also addressed: in control, realistic understated tone, and elucidating effect. Lastly, one comment on the backdrop mentions the reader felt bogged down in detailed descriptions. Me, I tend to err on the side of spare when it comes to description. Like salt, too much can ruin the taste, too little doesn't bring out the other flavours in the dish. I know, it's a crap analogy, but what can you do, it works.

Cheryl Anne Gardner