Elf Sternberg

I've been wondering why I have such a hard time getting through RH's books, even though I _know_ they're well-written, and the worlds are great, and the plots are good. Everything is good, and yet...the book isn't. I want to like it, I think I should like it, but I'm yawning all the way through it. Reading what you wrote though, and thinking about it, you are absolutely correct; Hobb's books seriously lack 'grab the reader by the heart/hormones/soul' moments.

However, I honestly don't think feeling like you have to plan those moments makes you someone who belongs in the class of writers whose work feels forced and contrived, especially as you say you don't know how to do it consciously, and yet you still _do_ it. If you do it, you do it, and thinking you should plan it makes you a thoughtful, introspective writer, not a contrived one.

Velvet