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Still in the revision cave. The middle is a rough place to be but there is light at the end of the tunnel of this current novel project. Still on track to be finished with this particular novel this summer.
Currently I’m reading The Writer’s Guide to Persistence by Jordan Rosenfeld. She’s also the author of one of my favorite craft books Make A Scene , which I also highly recommend.
This book is for writers who want to start and preserve a writing practice. Persistence is the key along with finding ways to balance writing with the rest of your life.
I’m really loving the book so far. When I’m finished, I’ll be sure to share any gems that may also be helpful to you in your writing practice in another post.
For those of you on Twitter, you can follow the author @Jordanrosenfeld. She has a great hashtag #WritersGuide2Persistence where she gives great motivation and advice for keeping your writer’s practice on track.
Hope everyone is writing and that life is treating you well.
I love it when I open a book and I fall in love with the words and the character.
I’m currently working on the opening of my current Work-In-Progress (WIP). After this revision, it will probably change. But that’s okay. For inspiration, I tend to go back to some of my favorite books and relish over the opening.
Here’s just a few of my favorites:
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz
One summer night I fell asleep, hoping the world would be different when I woke. In the morning, when I opened my eyes, the world was the same. I threw off the sheets and lay there as the heat poured in through my open window.
Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King
The pastor is saying something about how Charlie was a free spirit. He was and he wasn’t. He was free because on the inside he was tied up in knots. He lived hard because inside he was dying. Charlie made inner conflict look delicious.
Cress by Marissa Meyer
Her satellite made one full orbit around planet Earth every sixteen hours. It was a prison that came with an endlessly breathtaking view — vast oceans and swirling clouds that set half the world on fire.
The Dark and Hollow Places by Carrie Ryan
The city used to be something once. I’ve seen pictures of the way it gleamed – sun so bright off the windows it could burn your eyes. At night, lights shouted from steel like catcalls, loud and lewd, while all day long white-gloved men rushed to open doors for women who tottered about on skyscraper heels.
What are some of your favorite novel openings? I would love to hear about them.
If you were reading any of my tweets or viewing my Instagram pictures this past weekend, you know that I was hard at work integrating a new plot twist into my novel.
The ending of my current novel project has always haunted me. I’ve revised it several times and it never felt right. A couple of weeks ago I had an A-ha Moment and figured out how it could work — but it involved a huge plot twist that I would have to incorporate throughout the whole novel. Even though I knew it would cause me headaches and some rewriting, it was the right thing to do. It just felt right. A kind of writer’s intuition.
At this point, I had all of my scenes in chapters, so I revisited the spreadsheet of my novel and plugged away at incorporating elements of the new plot twist, which included moving scenes around, writing scene revision notes, and creating a list of new scenes.
But I found myself juggling papers and switching back and forth with my computer screen. It was making me batty so I decided that I would create a plot grid on the wall in my office.
I got the idea from Christina Farley. She has a fabulous blog post and YouTube video on how she creates her plot grid. There are many ways to do one. The main benefit is viewing your whole novel at a glance.
Being a plot chick, my grid is based on the 3-Act structure. I love author Alexandra Sokoloff’s Story Element Checklist, which uses screenwriting structure and tailors it to novels. But even if you just break your story down into 3 parts — beginning, middle, and end — that will work as well.
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Here’s a quick summary of my plot grid:
For each of Act in my novel (I have my Act 2 broken down into two parts), I put a sticky note that represents one chapter with a sentence describing the scene(s). Sticky notes allow you to move things around easily. I used a specific color for each Act in the novel.
For the inciting incident, sequence climaxes, midpoint, novel climax, and resolution, I use purple sticky notes so I could easily identify these important chapters and how they are spaced out.
Now I can see at a glance how to better work in my plot twist and change things around if needed. It also lets me see my characters and settings to determine if the frequency works too. There are many ways to utilize a plot grid.
I’ve been tweaking my novel ending (again) and wondering just how much I should wrap up. Should I leave any loose ends? Anything for a reader to ponder about later?
I read a recent post by author Sarah Ockler about novel endings:
“I like happy endings. I like to know that things worked out for my favorite fictional people just as I want things to work out for my favorite real life people.
But real life isn’t like that, is it? We don’t always get to know how things turn out for everyone we’ve ever loved. We don’t always get the final say. We don’t always get any say, because unfortunately, endings are just that — endings. And they’re often abrupt and unpredictable.”
I have two particular characters where at the novel’s end, you know where they’re going but they don’t necessarily have all their “issues” worked out — especially between each other. I’ve been wondering if I should try to solve them all before the end, but now I don’t think it’s necessary. In fact, it may feel too “forced” at the end to have their issues resolved. Wrapped up a little too tight and neat.
But there should also be a balance too. For example, you don’t want your major story question going unanswered or a major plot point never being addressed. It almost like needing to trust your writer’s instinct of how much to leave open and what to close.
As a writer, do you feel that you must resolve EVERYTHING or leave a little open for the reader to come to her own conclusion?
As a reader, what are some that things that really frustrate you about novel endings? For me, it’s cliffhanger endings. Ugh. Ha, ha.
Would love to hear some opinions! :)
I was thinking how much in the writing community we hear that novels should start with action or conflict. You want to snag the reader as quickly as possible. While it is true that you want to capture the reader’s interest, is starting with a bang always the answer?
I found some good examples when I posted about novels opening with action but now I want to share with you three novels that begin with scenery. These openings are longer so you would think that starting with description would lack tension but that isn’t the case at all:
“I stare down at my shoes, watching as a fine layer of ash settles on the worn leather. This is where the bed I shared with my sister, Prim, stood. Over there was the kitchen table. The bricks of the chimney, which collapsed in a charred heap, provide a point of reference for the rest of the house. How else could I orient myself in this sea of gray?” Mockingjay – Suzanne Collins
This opening is giving the reader a view through the main character’s house — after it’s been totally destroyed. The author puts in points of references of the damage. Questions may start to pop up in the reader’s mind: What is Katniss going to do now? Where will she live? Where will she call home now that her house has been destroyed?
“When the carriage turned on to Stone Street, it was as though the house were watching. There were two gables with a window in each, the curtains slightly parted like cats’ eyes, not quite closed, spying.” Jade Green – Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
This is an example of giving scenery character traits. This is a ghost story and right away the author is giving the reader the creepy foreshadowing of the house that Jade is going to live in. I love how the end of the opening paragraph ends with “spying.”
“I watched as a white heron circled the beach and then headed north toward the open waters of the tropics. The long bird flapped its wings, gradually disappearing into the pink-and-orange-streaked sky. It was time for us to go, too.” — The Red Umbrella by Christina Diaz Gonzalez
This story opens up with a sense of place. We know that we’re somewhere warm and tropical and even beautiful. But at the end of this description is a statement of the character leaving as well — a hint of going somewhere far way like the heron. Which brings up a reader question: Why does the character have to leave such a beautiful place?
These are just some examples of having novels that start with description and build slow tension and story questions. Not all novels can start right in the middle of action. And some novels definitely shouldn’t. There are many different ways to peak a reader’s interest.
Do you have any good examples of novels that begin with description/scenery? Do you tend to write descriptive openings for your novels?
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Description: Novel Openings, last added: 11/3/2011
I’ve always been amazed at novel openings that start with one-liners: A short, concise sentence that conveys so many levels of a story. Its premise, its motivation and its mood.
I was looking at some books in my library and I found four novels that did just that with a one-line sentence of less than 10 words.
“You’re either someone or you’re not.” Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers
The reader is told from the beginning that being “no one” is not acceptable. The main character Regina relishes being popular and her fall from grace is pretty ugly; however, what is more telling is what she is willing to do to get regain her popularity. This sentence from the very beginning is telling because it states how important Regina puts social status on her list and how this belief changes in the end.
“I used to be someone.” The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson
Jenna knows that she’s different but she can’t quite put her finger on what exactly it is. When she finds out the truth, the reader realizes how deep the deception goes and how this first sentence has put down a foundation from the start. This first sentence also has a deeper meaning: Jenna now has to become “someone else” — a person who must determine new beliefs under new circumstances.
“I was born with water on the brain.” The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
This first sentence is more about the voice of Junior who is the narrator in the novel. It reveals that this is a person who can convey hard truths in a humorous manner. From the beginning, it sets up the difficulties of being “different” and being on the outside. And even though the odds are stacked that they can be overcome.
“I was born with a light covering of fur.” Liar by Justine Larbalestier
This is a tricky one because Micah is an unreliable narrator. But then again from the very beginning, the reader is being set up with some pretty crazy information. Is it true? Or it is it a lie? What I find most interesting about this sentence is that it lays down the foundation of a twist that when looking back seems inevitable upon a second reading.
These examples just so happen to be in first person point-of-view (POV) but I’m sure that I could find some other POV examples. I often wonder if these were the original first sentences or if the author went back and tweaked them. Probably the latter. But I do love how so much can be communicated so efficiently.
What about you writer friends? Do you tend to write one-liners in your openings? Or do you unfold your novel with more lush sentences? As a reader does it matter?
Since I’m getting geeked up for the The Hunger Games movie, I’m reading the first novel in the trilogy (again). This is a post from my 2009 archives when I first started blogging. I wanted to share this post again for all my new and current readers. I hope you find it helpful.
I mentioned layering moments in a scene on one of my writing listservs so I thought I would go into more detail in this post. To help me learn structure in novels, I’ve been analyzing some of my favorite books.
Right now, I’m analyzing The Hunger Games because it’s a great mix of a plot and character. This novel also incorporates the 3-act structure, which I love. The main thing I’ve learned is how author Suzanne Collins layers her moments. It’s fascinating when you break it down.
Here’s an example from a layered moment from Chapter 5.
Baseline:
“Sorry!” she pipes in her silly Capital accent. “You’re just so hairy!”
Venia makes what’s supposed to be a sympathetic face. “Good news, though. This is the last one. Ready?”
Baseline now layered with action:
R-i-i-i-p! I grit my teeth as Venia, a woman with aqua hair and gold tattoos above her eyes, yanks a string of fabric from my leg tearing out the hair beneath it. “Sorry!” she pipes in her silly Capital accent. “You’re just so hairy!”
Venia makes what’s supposed to be a sympathetic face. “Good news, though. This is the last one. Ready?” I get a grip on the edges of the table I’m seated on and nod. The final swathe of my leg hair is uprooted in a painful jerk.
Baseline now layered with action and protagonist thoughts:
R-i-i-i-p! I grit my teeth as Venia, a woman with aqua hair and gold tattoos above her eyes, yanks a string of fabric from my leg tearing out the hair beneath it. “Sorry!” she pipes in her silly Capital accent. “You’re just so hairy!”
Why do these people speak in such a high pitch? Why do their jaws barely open when they talk? Why do the ends of their sentences go up as if they’re asking a question? Odd vowels, clipped words, and always a hiss on the letter s…no wonder it’s impossible not to mimic them.
Venia makes what’s supposed to be a sympathetic face. “Good news, though. This is the last one. Ready?” I get a great on the edges of the table I’m seated on and nod. The final swathe of my leg hair is uprooted in a painful jerk.
This is just a simple example. With other moments, you could also break down layers including setting, background information, and/or flashback.
When you break a moment down like this, it really can help with your own writing—especially during revisions. If you find your scene is weak, you can go back and add layers to deepen moments. This is the beauty of layers.
You should try it with your own favorite novels and see if you can break down the moments into layers.
I know as writers we tend to fret about the current trends and what should be the focus of a story idea. But then sometimes I think we forget about the reader and what they want or better yet what they don’t like.
Since I’m primarily writing young-adult literature, I’m always interested to see what my intended readership likes and dislikes. I love reading reviews by teen readers as well. So when I was recently in my local public library and noticed they were having their monthly teen book club discussion, I decided to eavesdrop listen in on some of the conversation.
This list contains some of the issues I heard about about two books they read:
- Book started out slow and was too slow a lot of the time.
- Didn’t care about the characters.
- Dialogue wasn’t well written. Conversations seemed unrealistic. Sounded like my mother.
- Story would have been better told in first-person seeing it through the character’s eyes.
- Story didn’t flow very well. Storyline was confusing at times.
- Story dragged on toward the middle. Could have been quicker and straight to the point.
- Some parts of the story could have explained better to make the story more believable and detailed.
- Ending was rushed. Felt it wasn’t carefully thought out.
These readers had good things to say about the books they read as well but they were more vocal about what they didn’t like. What do you think about the list? Do you think the teens were on target about some of the problem areas of novels?
One of the things I always find amazing about musicians is that they take individual notes and make unique melodies. There are only so many notes and yet, new music is being made every day.
I guess we can say the same thing about writing right? There are only so many words — but unlike music, there are a lot of words that mean the same exact thing.
I remember in high school keeping a journal of “exotic” words. Words that when announced sounded like you were someone special. I remember thinking to myself that one day I would put all of these words in a story and readers would be so impressed by my intellect.
Ha. Right.
Fast forward a few years to my first novel critique at the SCBWI National Conference in LA. The agent who had reviewed my work said my manuscript pages were “stiff” with unnecessary and big words. I was confused. Duh. Wasn’t that the point? To fill up your novel with “impressive” words and turns of phrases?
I appreciated the comment though. The agent wrote at the top of my first page:
“Don’t let the words ruin the story. Go for the strongest and simplest word. You want your words to become invisible so that the reader can see the story unfold in his mind. Big unnecessary words cause readers to stumble and wake up from the dream.”
I still remember this advice and try to use it when I’m writing.
What about you writer friends? Do you think simple is better? Or does it depend upon the type of story you’re telling?
For my first three “drawer” novels, I wrote in 3rd person point of view (POV), but I then for the last two projects, I’ve written in 1st person POV.
However, it was always in past tense.
For this current project, I’ve played with using present tense with past revisions. My story has a lot of suspense and a few major action scenes so I’m thinking it may be more effective written in the present tense.
I’ve also noticed the last few YA novels that I’ve read have been in 1st person present tense as well. Especially if they contain a lot of suspense and/or action scenes. I’ve also noticed that it has a more immediate effect — almost like you’re watching a movie unfold. It makes me wonder if the story form is changing to this more dramatic form. At least in YA.
I may try it this summer. But it’s not as easy as just changing all of the verbs from past tense to present tense. It will take some tweaking.
So writer friends, what about you? Is your current novel project in past or present tense? Do you think present tense is the “new thing?” Or do you have a preference for past tense?
Those are all beautiful :) I’ve currently rewritten the beginning on my WIP about 8 times … Ugh.
Ooh, I haven’t read any of those books, and the openings are all very lovely. I particularly like the CRESS opening.
Openings are the hardest. It just feels like so much pressure. I bet yours kicks ass though! Here are some of my faves.
From 17 & GONE by Nova Ren Suma: “Girls go missing every day. They slip out of bedroom windows and into strange cars. They leave good-bye notes or they don’t get a chance to tell anyone. They cross borders. They hitch rides, squeezing themselves into overcrowded backseats, sitting on willing laps. They curl up and crouch down, or they shove their bodies out of sunroofs and give off victory shouts. Girls make plans to go, but they also vanish without meaning to, and sometimes people confuse one for the other. Some girls go kicking and screaming and clawing out the eyes of whoever won’t let them stay. And then there are the girls who never reach where they’re going. Who disappear. Their ends are endless, their stories unknown. These girls are lost, and I”m the only one who’s seen them.” (Sorry it’s so long but I just love it.)
From THE CHRONOLOGY OF WATER by Lidia Yuknavitch: “The day my daughter was stillborn, after I held the future pink and rose-lipped in my shivering arms, lifeless tender, covering her face in tears and kisses, after they handed my dead girl to my sister who kissed her, then to my first husband who kissed her, then to my mother who could not bear to hold her, then out of the hospital room door, tiny lifeless swaddled thing, the nurse gave me tranquilizers and a soap sponge.”
From ALL OUR PRETTY SONGS by Sarah McCarry: “Aurora and I live in a world without fathers. Hers is dead and mine was gone before I was born.”
That’s about right for me too. It changes with every revision. Ha.
17 & GONE is another one of my favorite openings. Love Nova! :)
I have ALL OUR PRETTY SONGS on my TBR list. I need to move this up in my pile.
OMG, the novel opening from THE CHRONOLOGY OF WATER is so full of lush language. So devastating yet so full of love at the same time. Another one to add to the list.