In the "Olden" Days

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In the “Olden” Days

            I’m sure almost everyone on Facebook has seen the video of two teenagers trying to dial a number on an old rotary style telephone.  For those my age, you probably laughed at their attempts. For those born after the 70s, you may have wondered as those teens did, just how that contraption worked.

            As I watched that video, I thought of other things that had changed over the years, especially in the field of novel writing. I used to go to the library on a regular basis to do research for my novels. I used a card catalog to look up subjects to see if there were any books available. There were encyclopedias and atlases, and row after row of non-fiction books full of facts on anything I needed. If my library didn’t have anything on a particular subject, I could usually get something on inter-library loan, where one library would mail a book to another.  (This worked pretty well except for the time I needed information on indigo and the first book that came in was written in German.)

            Then, once my research was done and my manuscript written, the long process of submission started. With no internet and email, first class letters were sent, always with an SASE (self-addressed, stamped envelope) for a reply from the publishing company. Unless you were an established author, first a query letter was sent, consisting of a letter of introduction and a synopsis of the story; sometimes a first chapter. If you received a positive reply, you usually sent the first three chapters, again by first class mail and with another SASE. Each submission was followed by anywhere from six or more weeks of waiting. If you received a nod on the first chapters, you submitted the full manuscript and again you waited. The entire process could take up to a year or more, but in the meantime you were working on your next book. Even when a manuscript was accepted, it might not be published for more than a year.

            What a difference technology makes! That old rotary telephone was replaced by a push button model, then a cordless, then a push button cell phone. Even that has been upgraded to a voice activated model so that you can “call grandma” without pushing a single button. (I simply activated the speaker on Google search and asked when the rotary phone was replaced with push buttons – 1963.)

Not only is research information available with the touch of a finger, virtual sites allow an author to “visit” places without leaving their office. I can even visit my library online when looking for a particular subject or book.

The process of manuscript submission has also changed to keep up with the times. Often queries can be made via email. The post office no longer gets my double fees for submission and SASE as a simple attachment is all I need when asked to submit a manuscript whether it is a partial or complete novel. Acceptance time and publication can be quicker so that you don’t have time to work on a new book before the edits on the current one are in your “in” box. (This is not always the case, but as with instantaneous information, things tend to speed up in this century.)

            One thing for me as an author that hasn’t changed is research on my setting. Whenever possible, I visit the setting of my current work. There is nothing better than wandering through a museum of 1850 artifacts, or walking through the streets of Boston soaking up the sounds and smells and feel of history. The feel of salt water spray on my face as a wave breaks gives me words that are hard to conjure while sitting at a desk with snow raging outside. These words help me construct a scene so my reader can also hear the sounds of rebels in Boston defying the British. They can taste the salt on their lips and hear the roar of the waves as our ship careens through a tumultuous storm at sea.

            One of the many benefits of the modern age for you as a reader is you have immediate access to many great books. Whether you love the feel of an actual book in your hands or prefer to read on an ebook reader or your computer, a wonderful world to explore is at your fingertips. All you have to do is visit www.bookswelove.com  for all the adventure, mystery, history or romance you are craving.

Is your first chapter overused or a cliché? by Rita Karnopp

Is your first chapter overused or a cliché?

Chapter 1 is the most important chapter of your book – including the ending.  Agents and editors will be the first to admit – if they don’t care about your characters by page one - five – they toss your book in the ‘not interested’ pile.  Why?

Today’s readers are savvy and know what they want … a book that challenges them.  A book that they can’t put down.  If you kill your character off in the first chapter – will your reader care why they were shot, crushed under a pile of cement, or got their throat slashed?  Yet, this ruse is used way too many times.

How about the cliché plots?  You’re gripping the page as the main character enters the cave.  It smells musty of years past.  She hears growling and points her flashlight and catches a glimpse of a furry animal … Is it a wolf? … or are the fangs, dripping with saliva, larger than real life?  She shudders – then it leaps – your main character jumps, crossing her arms in front of her face … she wakes sitting on her bed - startled from the oh too real dream.  Was it a warning – or premonition?  Give me a break.

Your reader will most definitely feel cheated.  These plots are overused and outdated.  Today’s reader won’t buy it – they’ll close the book or iPad.

Then there’s the prologue that many writers believe sets the story – before you begin reading.  Most agents hate prologues.  Why not grasp your reader on the first page of chapter one?

I’ve always felt a prologue was a cheesy way of giving chunks of the back-story – which would be more effective it this information was weaved into the story as it progresses.

I must be blunt and admit one thing I truly hate is the story that has so much flora and fauna that I forget what my characters are doing.  Set the scene, but don’t go overboard.  Having said that, not enough ‘setting the scene’ leaves the reader wondering what’s going-on around all the dialog.

You need to find a good balance between action and dialog.  Descriptions should be

revealed as a character sees, feels, hears, tastes, and then verbalizes.  The five senses in a good balance of natural movement.

He lost himself in her cool, green, piercing eyes.  He pulled away, concentrating on the red locks that rose above her head with endless twists and twirls until they fell back down in ringlets, caressing her ample bosom.  His breathing increased, and he fought for air . . . blah – blah – blah … you’ve lost the reader for sure.

Another way to get your reader to send your book across the room, hitting the wall with a loud thud is to bore them with ‘little’ things.  Huh?  You know when the characters are doing things that don’t advance the story … but seems to fill the pages . . . but nothing seems to be happening.  Such as staring out the window – thinking.  Leaning against her pillow – lost in thoughts.  She twirled her hair around her finger – staring at the wall.

The clichéd “Once upon a time,” or “In the beginning,” or “It all started when,” can literally be the kiss of death!  Try something more gripping … perhaps something more modern … catch your reader’s attention from the very first couple of lines. 

When I started writing “Atonement” I wanted my reader to know the tone of the book.  I wrote, “He bent her finger back.  All the way back.”  It made me shudder when I wrote it … and I hope that’s the exact reaction my reader experience.

When I start reading a book where there is more telling than showing . . . I won’t continue past the first page.  I want compelling scenes . . . a story that makes me ask what would make her do that or why is he doing that?  The writer must answer all the what, when, where, who and how or I won’t be a happy reader.

In movies as well as books, I hate when it starts out with an introduction; My name is Janet Howell, and I would never have guessed ten years ago that I’d have been the type of woman who would kill her husband.  I'm the sweet, next-door type of girl.  Really?  How more effective would it be using dialog; “I may have wished my husband dead a time or two.  But I didn’t kill him.  I’m just not that type of woman.”

I never fall for the ‘I can’t stand his guts . . . and three pages later they’re falling to the ground in uncontrolled passion

Never . . . never . . . never create a character that has no faults.  She beautiful with no blemishes, speaks flawlessly and has the whitest teeth known to man.  She couldn’t hurt a soul because she’s the sweetheart every man wishes he could marry.  If she is perfect – she can’t change and grow in the story.  There is no real conflict with her … how can there be?  She’s perfect.  Do you know anyone who is perfect?  I sure don’t… and only in a fairytale could she be … except that would be boring, too.

Lastly, let’s discuss the problem with ‘information overload’ on the first page.  The writer is so bent on ‘setting the scene and introducing the character’ they feel the need to bring us up ‘to speed’ with their life to this point.  No.  This is a bad way of eliminating the prologue . . . which I hate anyway.  Feed us this back-story information as the story progresses . . . and we get to know and care about your characters. 

 

Children of Fyre, newest BWL Release from Janet Lane Walters

 

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ISLAND OF FYRE SERIES, BOOK 4

In this return to the Island of Fyre, each of the heros and heroines of the three previous books have children. 

Lorton is the youngest son of the Wizards of Fyre and he has bonded with the yellow dragon. The dragon through the magic of the stones has been rejuvenated and is now green. Dragon sends Lorton to travel to where the Dragons of Fyre are raised.

There he meets Arkon son of the hero and heroine of the Dragons of Fyre. There have been four eggs laid and there must be two young men and two young women found to bond with them. 

On the island where the evil wizards were exiled, Cerene has grown up as little more than a slave. She can use all the fyrestones unlike her father. She learns about the kidnapping of Riara, daughter of the hero and heroine of the Temple of Fyre and vows to save her. 

The four must unite with their dragons and finally destroy the evil.