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This Sunday marked the beginning of what I have unofficially been thinking of as an "odds and ends" sort of place, where I'm between Bradfords 1 and 2 and sort of flitting around for the next few weeks and tying up lots of loose ends before starting on the next book (eek! A book told from Madison's point of view! Scary!). There will also be a weird amount of traveling going on. I'm in New Jersey now, house and dogsitting while my parents are in Israel, which I actually really enjoy because I get to do my work from their honest to gosh HOME OFFICE. Fancy! This week is all about getting my SASS: Australia super-special first draft in to my editor, getting the Bradford 1 web stuff done, and the Bradford 2 outline approved. Tomorrow night I teach. Then we're away for July 4th weekend.
Next week is Tribe revisions, and then a 10-day jaunt to Vermont for my VCFA summer rez. Exhilerating, yes, but also exhausting.

Once I get back, N and I head upstate for a library visit at Jervis Library, which I'm really looking forward to. If you're near Rome, NY, come by! I'll be giving away galleys of Popular Vote and Bradford 1 (*while supplies last). And somewhere in there, I'm writing an essay on Ellen Hopkins' Crank. (Any of you who want to point me in the direction of some secondary sources, I'm all ears).

So that's July, and madness. Things calm down in August when my family heads up to a fantastic farmhouse in Bethel, NY. I'm taking the month "off," in the sense that I won't be teaching, and will be focused only my own schoolwork (aka my creative thesis, a still TBD new novel), and Bradford 2. I'm really pushing the limit of how long (or, rather, how "short") it will take me to write the book, but I'm feeling that the country air will be good for me and my productivity. The wireless that they've installed, less so.

I was recently told by an author friend that Bradford was recommended to her at a library visit. Coolness!

Less cool: the Ricky Martin cd that my yoga instructor insisted on playing as the soundtrack to last night's vinyasa class. What gives?

Not much else to report. Just made it through my students' pieces for the week, and off to the gym. I *love* the NJ gym. Less scary--and yet, also, more scary (see above re: Ricky Martin)--than the NYC gym. SASS-ing later. Ooh, and I finally broke down and ordered business cards and stationary. Does that make a grown-up?

I've just started brainstorming some grassroots publicity for Popular Vote with my editor. It's "election chick-lit"--any ideas? Send 'em!

Meanwhile, Brother Dave and I have been zombie-thoning. Last night was Dawn of the Dead. I actually fell asleep, despite digging it. More on that later.

So, what's new with you?

Question:
HI Martha!

I've been reading all the information available on Flashback and why it may not be the recommended route to begin a novel. Then I suddenly realized, by golly, this isn't a flashback, it's a prologue! My story starts back in history to provide a backdrop for the current story. My question ... how to you plot a prologue when it's the first "scene" in your book? Is it a chapter unto itself called Prologue? Can it be scene 1 in Chapter 1?

Thanks so very much!

Writing in North Carolina,
Nancy


Answer:
Dear Nancy,

The Prologue is a chapter unto itself, comes first, and is generally very short -- 2 to 3 pages. Chapter One follows the Prologue.

Or, you could make it scene 1 in Chapter 1.

The pros of one are the cons of the other, and visa versa.

For instance, readers sometimes ignore the Prologue. Changes in time right off the bat can confuse readers.

Best way to plot this first "scene", be it the Prologue or Chapter One is to make sure the scene introduces one or more of the three major plot lines -- dramatic action, character emotional development, or most likely, provide thematic significance and foreshadow what is to come.

I'll put out a request to some of my writer friends for more input and their take on the issue.

Hope this helps.

Great good luck with your project. Let me know how it goes.

Sincerely,
Martha