Re: [bookclub] Prose style in 'Losing Your Grip'

[Stephen Granade <sgranade@lepton.phy.duke.edu>]

J.D. Berry <jdberry@my-deja.com> writes:

> I'm torn on this.  Improving the writing aspect of IF as art through
> critical analysis seems a worthwhile endeavor in some cases.
> I'm worried, though, that excessive attention to ANY element may
> discourage rather than improve authors weak in that given element.

I think that's a danger with any critical analysis, though, be it (in
an IF context) writing, puzzles, or coding.

> With the exception of the professional and/or truly gifted writers
> here, how much better are the rest of us going to get with criticism if
> this is but a hobby?  A little better, perhaps, but I think effort
> and natural ability are the largest parts of the success equation.

I pretty much consider myself a poster child for the "You Can Get
Better With Practice" movement. I don't claim to be the end product of
IF author evolution by any means, but I think that anyone who plays my
first game (Waystation) and compares it to my later ones will see that
I'm improving. And I doubt I'm the only one who wants to get better,
even if this is "but a hobby".

That said, you've got to have a reasonably thick skin to see your
works of creative genius dissected under a microscope. I like to see
my games discussed like that, but I could understand people not
wanting to go through the process.

Stephen

-- 
  Stephen Granade                | Interested in adventure games?
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