Another Week and Another Quote...Name That Novel #5

Another quote from the classics, and it's close to home. See if you can guess the title and author:



"Afoot and light-hearted I take to the open road,
Healthy, free, the world before me,
The long brown path before me leading wherever I choose.


Henceforth I ask not good-fortune, I myself am good-fortune,
Henceforth I whimper no more, postpone no more, need nothing,
Done with indoor complaints, libraries, querulous criticisms,
Strong and content I travel the open road."

Gook luck to all!

Congrats to Cara! (and to Adam for the Author) It is Walden's Pond by Whitman. And I do apologize as it shouldn't be referred to as a novel :-( I guess from now on I will just have to broaden the title post, like "Name That Literature" or something like that. And by "close to home" I was only thinking of U.S.A. versus Europe or elsewhere.

In any case, great job, Cara. And so soon! I guess I'll have another one up before the day's out....

Opening Lines .... Let Me Introduce My Story.

Can you guess the number one flaw of the opening chapter to a novel? Explanations. Yep. Too much info, too big of a set-up, just too, too much stuff! I'm sure you've heard about the hook. Every book on writing, every instructor of writing, every successful author will advise you to include that great opening line or opening scene, something exciting, tintilating, something with that "WOW" factor to hook your readers, to guarantee they will want to read more.

Yet, at the same time, you don't want to confuse your readers about the story. You need setting. You need background. Details to give readers an accurate picture. Right? So, you decide to include some explanation, to answer the who, what, where, when , why of the situation. And you explain. You may start by including a little more about the main character's background--where he came from, why he's here, etc. Then you figure while you're at it, you should add more about the setting, and before you know it you're flooding the chapter with all sorts of details to describe the story. And you haven't even had a chance to begin the story! It's drowning and sinking so fast that you'll never be able to bring it up to see daylight and your readers again :-(

Start with a situation, exciting, eye-popping, throat-catching, heart-pulpitating action to leave your readers begging for more. And all that explanation? That detail? Bring it in gradually. No hurry. As you write you will find places where those bits and pieces of detail fit perfectly. Don't underestimate your reader's intelligence. They will put it together and figure it out. And they will stay interested while they're at it.

Think about it. The fact that Aunt Gertrude was a flapper back in the day and used to drink bath tub gin may be an interesting tidbit, but not a relevant detail on page one. However, if you fastforward to a later chapter when Mattie is reading a diary she finds in the attic, she could read about Aunt Gertrude and her flapper days. In the first chapter it just slows things down.

James Bell (and yes, I know, I'm on a James Bell kick) suggests if you think your first chapter is a boring slug, then start your novel with chapter two. He calls it "Chapter Two Switcheroo". Cute, heh? Then, you can add in all those details from chapter one later on.

Now, what should you include in an opening chapter? Well, let's start small. An opening line. Ones that work best have two elements in them. The character's name and an action, something that happens or is about to happen. If you manage that, you are off to a great start.

So, what do you think? Is your chapter one a yawner? Or is it poppin'? Remember, there are sooooo many books out there that readers may choose from, and you want them to choose YOURS. Right? :-)

Happy writing to all of you. Enjoy!

Name That Novel #4

Okay, we are back with "Name that Novel Title and Author". This excerpt is from the classics. See what you can do with it:


Apparently Armstid has never once looked full at her. Yet he has already seen that she wears no wedding ring.... "How far you come from?" he says.

She expels her breath. It is not a sigh so much as a peaceful expiration, as though of peaceful astonishment. "A right good piece, it seems now. I come from Alabama."

"Alabama? In your shape? Where's you folks?"

She does not look at him, either. "I'm looking to meet him up this way. You might know him. His name is Lucas Burch. They told me back yonder a ways that he is in Jefferson, working for the planing mill."

.....Well, there you have it. And good luck to all!

(And, people, PLEASE try not to be tempted to google the character names first. That is sooooo like cheating!)

Okay, time's up! Yes, the author is William Faulkner....and the title? Light in August :-) I will be back with another one, soon.

Be Sure to LOCK It!

Okay, anyone who has gone through Language Arts 101 or written their fair share of stories, both long and short, knows what a plot is. First of all, you need a main character. This person has a problem to solve, you see. (That's where the objective or goal comes in.) Then, of course, he/she meets with some resistance that makes it hard to get to that goal. (Enter: the antagonist -- person, place, or thing.) So, they do battle of some sort. (Yep, you got it. That's the conflict.) Finally, in the end the problem is solved, or not. (We call that one resolution.) Simple, right?

Well, maybe. The problem is when we write we might forget to resolve some of the issues, especially when it's a novel-length work. It's all those loose ends we talk about. Or we might write ourselves into a corner and can't figure out how to get out of there. I always hate that one because then I have to go back and revise what's happened before, i.e., backtrack the character's steps to a point where things were fine with the story. It's kind of like the recovery/restore feature on your computer. You know, the one where it asks you if you would like to restore by going back to the point when your computer wasn't so screwed up? That kind of situation. And then again, the problem might be because you've forgotten some tiny details about what your character has done, and as a result the resolution is confusing or it just plain doesn't work! (Here is where I say TAKE NOTES. Always keep a notebook and jot down details of what you've written that day, hour, or whatever chunk of time it is. Don't trust yourself to remember it later. WRITE IT DOWN!) I like to write a short summary of each chapter. And if I have a summary of events, which I often make out ahead of a writing project, I will go back and jot down any changes I've made as I get into the writing. (And there will always be changes. Trust me.)

All the above is called the LOCK system, according to James Bell, author of Plot and Structure. L is for Lead character. O is for objective. C is for Confrontation. And K is for Knockout. This is a novel (no pun intended) approach to naming the elements of a plot. Bell suggests that you always keep the LOCK system in mind as you progress through your story. You might keep a chart of sorts to describe and detail what your character has experienced and accomplished. After all, there may be mini-LOCKs within a novel or more than one character who is accomplishing things. Of course, as Bell mentions, solid plots have one main objective that the main character deals with throughout the story. This should be made obvious to the reader. In other words, what is the character trying to accomplish here? If the reader is aware of that, and of course, how the character does accomplish it, and if it's done well, then you've done your job.

So, bottom line: Use LOCK, take notes, and of course, revise, revise, revise! Until it's perfect :-)

How Close Are You? Degrees in Writing

When you write, do you think about how each phrase, line, or choice of words will affect your readers? Do you achieve a balance of emotion, action, and those quiet moments of reflection? It's finding the right mix, knowing when to pull your readers in with intensity of emotion, and when you need to back away and give them a breather that will achieve great writing.

For instance, if you write a paragraph about how a character reacts to a situation: (1)Anna opened the door to find the room dark and silent. (2) She crossed to the other side and stopped by the bed. (3)Something deep inside caused her to shiver and she puzzled over what it might be.(4)Anna reached out hesitantly with her hand, her fingers barely touching the covers. (5)Please don't lose your courage now, she told herself.

Okay, so you can probably see that sentences 1 and 2 are purely describing her actions and therefore have little intensity. Then, with sentence 3 you find some emotional insite thrown in to pull the reader closer. Sentence 4 backing away a bit; sentence 5 pulling in, up close, with her internal thought.

Of course, just as this balanced mix works within a paragraph, it is important to use the proper degree of intensity according to where you are in your story. Think of your major scenes as fence posts. These are intense. Then in between there are your smaller, transition scenes. These should be less intense. And, as you near the climax, you should be turning up the intensity level big time, lots of emotion and action.

Take a look at any novel and see if you recognize the varying degrees of intensity. And then check out James Scott Bell's book, Plot and Structure for more advice on this topic and more. Your use of degrees in writing can make the difference.

Trite Expressions and Redundancy...On the Way to Concise Writing

When writing, one of the most challenging tasks is to avoid trite expressions and useless words. From telling a story to composing a letter, or writing that master's thesis, your writing must be concise.

Let's start with those pesky, trite expressions, also referred to as cliches, such as "blind as a bat" and "face the music". No matter our dedication to avoid them, they seem to sink their way back into our subconscious and pop up in our writing like the sneaky little critters they are. Face it, they are nothing more than the result of lazy writing.

The idea would be to find a unique and creative substitute that makes your writing your writing. And it's obviously not easy. Who said writing was easy? No wise person I know would. At least to achieve quality writing. For example, instead of "he raised his eyebrows" why not "his eyebrows formed a question mark when he couldn't figure out what the clue meant". Just play with your words a bit, try to describe the action or thought as concisely as you can. Here is a site to read and study about cliches and redundancy:

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/GRAMMAR/concise.htm

Of course, I don't expect you can avoid all cliches, but if your writing is crowded with them, you've lost the opportunity to show your individual style. You owe that much to yourself, if you are going to call yourself a writer.

A Recommendation

Being that it's summer break for me, I find myself devouring books while I try very hard, and I must say with much distraction, to work on my next writing project. Ahh.... the joy of summer! Anyway, I wanted to pass along my recommendation for your summer reading list. The title is The Story Sisters by Alice Hoffman. Anyone who has read works by Hoffman will understand when I say this story will tear you apart, send your emotions into a turmoil that will leave you spent, but fulfilled at the same time. And you will come away perhaps a bit scarred with the wear and tear, but definitely as a wiser person. At least that is how I feel my experience has been. Obviously, not every book can do this, but when it does I feel so lucky to have found it and want to share it with others.

This is about fate and if you have ever had one of those moments in your life, an event that changed your future and that of everyone around you, for better or worse, then you will appreciate the story this novel tells. I won't say more than that. (I tend to give too much away once I get started.) But if you decide to read it, I'm pretty certain you won't be disappointed.