Hello, amazing fellow creatives! Here’s to more fun perusing the library’s new releases to see what strikes our fancy. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I’ve retitled Story Cuppings to better fit the premise of the podcast.
As writers, we hear all the time that we’ve got to hook readers in just the first few pages or else. We’ve got to hook agents in the first few pages or else.
Whether you’re looking to get published or just hoping to hook your reader, first impressions are vital. Compelling opening scenes are the key to catching an agent or editor’s attention, and are crucial for keeping your reader engaged.
JEFF GERKE, THE FIRST 50 PAGES
Well then, let’s study those first few pages in other people’s stories, shall we?
I admit that I was wary of this book at first, for while I dug its cover design, I saw it took place in 2020 just before lockdown. Nope! I thought. I want something to escape reality with, not be further enmeshed in it. When I continued to read the blurb and realized interdimensional animals are involved, I decided to risk the covid context to find out more.
Okay, I laughed multiple times while reading aloud the opening pages of The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi, and I’m not sorry! No, we’ve not met any Kaiju in the first chapter, but we have met our protagonist Jamie, who sees his confidence and place in life shattered when his boss sacks him. The scene is masterfully done, with touches in setting and word choice speaking a lot to the character Jamie as well as his boss. By utilizing a relatable situation for the opening scene, Scalzi has more freedom to mess around with characterization, so we get a lot about Jaime’s character in a brief amount of time. By the end of those five pages, we can understand why such a person has nothing to lose and would therefore take a risk with an old friend…and meet creatures from another dimension in the process.
As always, I love hearing what’s on the shelves of your own libraries. Libraries Rock!
Hello, amazing fellow creatives! Here’s to more fun perusing the library’s new releases to see what strikes our fancy. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I’ve retitled Story Cuppings to better fit the premise of the podcast.
As writers, we hear all the time that we’ve got to hook readers in just the first few pages or else. We’ve got to hook agents in the first few pages or else.
Whether you’re looking to get published or just hoping to hook your reader, first impressions are vital. Compelling opening scenes are the key to catching an agent or editor’s attention, and are crucial for keeping your reader engaged.
JEFF GERKE, THE FIRST 50 PAGES
Well then, let’s study those first few pages in other people’s stories, shall we?
So in my podcast I note the peculiarity of the publication and how it’s tied to Amazon publishing. It looks like a new edition of this book is coming out later this year through Ballantine, so I wonder if Blake Crouch started with self-publishing and has since gone traditional. Either way, good for him! Still wonder how my library got a hold of the old edition, though…
Honestly, this was a curious find. It’s plain to see we’re not starting with the regular protagonist, but that outsider perspective does provide a unique look at the setting for this trilogy. For all the quaint beauty of this small town, there is a very real, very lethal menace in all the razor wire and posted snipers. To begin the story with one of those snipers immediately establishes the high stakes involved with surviving this mystery. We may be entering this story arc in the middle (it is Book 2, after all), but the first chapter does its job in establishing some major ground rules for a reader uncertain of the road ahead. We have action, we have monsters, and we have an unsuspecting populace.
Sounds like a recipe for mischievous disaster to me!
As always, I love hearing what’s on the shelves of your own libraries. Libraries Rock!
Welcome back, my fellow creatives! I’m thrilled to continue sharing some lovely indie authors I’ve met in our community. This month, please welcome the lovely freelancer Sarah of Mindful Writes!
Your work as a content writer and freelancer gives you a unique perspective on the publishing industry. If there was one thing you would want to see changed in the publishing industry to make it better, what would it be?
I personally love the aspect of creating a perspective and I find that really interesting to read too, in terms of understanding how others perceive specific topics. However, I would love to see this done more, combined with accurate facts. I feel this is a vital part of writing, ensuring you have researched enough before conducting a piece.
You mention you are a journalist as well as part-time novelist. Do you find that one writing medium helps inspire/influence the other? I’ve never tried the journalist’s style before, so it’d be neat to hear how that affects your storytelling prose.
Personally, I find they intertwine in terms of making the writing flow, as well as creating perspectives. The characters in my thriller novel (which is a work in progress), harbours thoughts and perceives the actions of others in a specific manner. It then adds to the overall plot and also gives the reader an insight to how things can be understood and felt too. In terms of writing as a journalist, I have found that some articles have in fact been proven to help others, especially when awareness has been created through my articles as well as the ability to be able to break down the information into smaller and digestible chunks.
What is the most difficult part of your writing process?
Sometimes creating a plan and making it become a chronological piece can be difficult. It requires a lot of methodical work but once it’s in place, everything else flows and comes together.
Freelance writing can often require a tight time window for research, drafting, and editing. How long would you say it takes you to go through this process to complete an assignment? How do you optimize your process to ensure the process doesn’t overtake the deadline?
It certainly does, but the research is one of, if not the most important aspect of the writing process. I feel this because if the information you pour into the article is incorrect or you are not knowledgeable enough about a topic, it can hinder your business. It would also be unprofessional, and your articles would be classified as unreliable and in turn this would affect the readers and lower the chance of someone recommended your website as a source of information. So, to me, if that is incorrect then no matter what you have written, could well be unproductive. However, it can take hours, weeks and days but it’s crucial this is completed. I usually determine the deadline in terms of realistic expectations. If the topic was something I was not very educated on then I would certainly create a longer deadline to ensure I have taken enough time to learn, write and proofread the information too. If the deadline is pre-set and is tight, I would create notes and scatter them in places I could visualise or read multiple times for absorption and help with digestion too.
What was the hardest project you ever undertook as a freelancer?
The hardest project I ever conducted was a musical journalist piece. I was writing an article on a band I had little to no knowledge on, but through research, listening and incorporating my own personal opinion on their music made the piece come alive. It required a lot of time, in terms of planning but it was really interesting to do and rewarding when it received wonderful feedback from the band themselves and of course the fanbase.
What are the most important magazines/websites for any writer to subscribe to?
I have subscribed to the Medium website. I find this harbours a lot of information and fellow writers. It’s a community. I am yet to publish work here though. But I do read the content. I would also suggest creating a blog and follow fellow bloggers that you love too. Follow blogs, topics and websites that you love.
Speaking of reading, what’s your favorite under-appreciated novel?
To Keep You Safe – Kate Bradley. This gripping thriller kept me hooked until the very last page. Their novel incorporated multiple twists and turns too, it was a masterpiece.
Thanks for the recommendation! I love catching new releases in my local library for my podcast, and they often tend to be mystery/thrillers (though one of these days I will HAVE to pick up one of the dozen westerns the librarians keep ordering). Does your family support your career as a writer?
Definitely. My family area huge part of my dreams and aspirations. They inspire me to keep writing, keep going and most certainly read my work. It is encouraging and heart-warming, when they recommend the work to others. And overall, they have seen me pour blood sweat and tears into everything I do which makes it more rewarding for me when they praise and provide me with deep encouragement.
The support of loved ones truly makes a difference! My husband Bo surprised me with a copy of my own novel because I had never bothered to get one for myself. “You should see your own name on your bookshelf, too,” he said. Oh yes, I cried. 🙂 Such moments reinforce what I want to achieve in literary success: my stories on a shelf, ready to be experienced by others. What does literary success look like to you?
Success can be interpreted in many different ways. Though for me personally, I feel it is achieving a goal, whether that’s small or large. It is an accomplishment and something I did possibly not have the day prior. For example, having ten readers can seem rather small but to a writer this can be huge. And then those numbers increase once you incorporate an audience and those who love your work so will check out your work and recommend it to others. It was a huge moment for me when my work was published and recommended. Literally success is about being authentic, being you and people accepting it and loving every word you write.
I love that vision of success, Sarah, thank you! Let’s wrap up with some parting words of encouragement. Any advice you’d like to share with others who want to freelance as they work on their fiction?
It is a difficult process, but one of the most rewarding in terms of achieving a goal and passion. I would like to also encourage them to set up a writing profile on a platform, share their work and really get it out there. It’s good to start with a topic you love or know a lot about to get started and find your voice, as well as a writing style. Social media is also an incredible thing if used correctly, to help promote your work, create live streams if that’s your thing and talk about your passion. There will be times it will feel frustrating and as though you are not progressing, but you are and sometimes it can be slow, really slow. But when that breakthrough comes, it’s certainly magical.
Thank you so much for taking time to chat with us, Sarah! I’m excited to hear more about your upcoming writing projects. May your story-worlds be full of mystery and misadventure!
~STAY TUNED!~
We’ll go back to that precarious writer’s problem of balancing character development and worldbuilding to craft compelling…content? Composition? Consarnit, I wanted more alliteration! Regardless, after holding two others under my critical lens, it’s time I do that to myself.
Hello, amazing fellow creatives! Here’s to more fun perusing the library’s new releases to see what strikes our fancy. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I’ve retitled Story Cuppings to better fit the premise of the podcast.
As writers, we hear all the time that we’ve got to hook readers in just the first few pages or else. We’ve got to hook agents in the first few pages or else.
Whether you’re looking to get published or just hoping to hook your reader, first impressions are vital. Compelling opening scenes are the key to catching an agent or editor’s attention, and are crucial for keeping your reader engaged.
JEFF GERKE, THE FIRST 50 PAGES
Well then, let’s study those first few pages in other people’s stories, shall we?
We have a unique situation here. This is a new release in Science Fiction, but it’s also the second book of a trilogy, which means a lot of establishment of character, conflict, and setting have already been accomplished. So, we’ve got to seriously temper our expectations when it comes to worldbuilding and character development, for much of that could be present in the first book, The Cruel Stars.
What will you, fellow creatives, make of these first five pages? Let’s find out!
The conflicts and worldbuilding alluded to by the first chapter’s primary character sound epic in their scope, and the character’s voice certainly fits a military mind. I just wish this character could have interacted with someone instead of only inwardly reflecting on all the epic conflicts and political intrigue. Let the man talk to a subordinate officer or some other henchman while waiting to land on a planet! You know me–I’m a sucker for a beginning with some action. 🙂
As always, I love hearing what’s on the shelves of your own libraries. Libraries Rock!
Hello, amazing fellow creatives! Here’s to more fun perusing the library’s new releases to see what strikes our fancy. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I’ve retitled Story Cuppings to better fit the premise of the podcast.
As writers, we hear all the time that we’ve got to hook readers in just the first few pages or else. We’ve got to hook agents in the first few pages or else.
Whether you’re looking to get published or just hoping to hook your reader, first impressions are vital. Compelling opening scenes are the key to catching an agent or editor’s attention, and are crucial for keeping your reader engaged.
JEFF GERKE, THE FIRST 50 PAGES
Well then, let’s study those first few pages in other people’s stories, shall we?
Yes, this is a Middle-Grade (MG) novel, but a paranormal mystery for a kid can be a fun read for an adult, too! My daughter Blondie has been on my case to share this book on the podcast, so this week I’m buckling and here we are. 🙂 Honestly, though, I’m glad I did.
The story begins with a graphic description of a dead body…a dead frog body. It’s a wonderful way to set the tone for this school setting: the “barbarian” seventh grades, the disconnected teachers, and Riley, who just doesn’t feel like she belongs and would rather forge an adult’s signature to escape accountability rather than get help. Blondie promises very creepy moments are in store for anyone who loves a ghostly read, and if you’ve listened to my December 2021 collabs with Blondie, you know she wouldn’t gush about a story if it wasn’t worth reading!
As always, I love hearing what’s on the shelves of your own libraries. Libraries Rock!
As I mentioned last month, I got something of a stick in my craw, a monkeywrench in my gears, a fly in my ointment, and other such little irritants over some story series two friends recommended to me. These irritants led me to create this rant/debate/discussion/whatever you want to call it that we’ll be getting into today, so buckle up, my friends–this one’s going to be a bit raw (in a good way (I hope)).
First, a little context.
My podcast You’ve Got Five Pages…To Tell Me It’s Goodhas me constantly asking the questions about what as readers, hooks us into a story and what, as writers, helps us create that hook. By looking at first chapters only, I am expecting a book to somehow get my attention in those opening pages. Usually, one of two things will do the trick: either a fascinating setup for the story, or fascinating characters I want to hear more about. Ideally, we would get both, but I know this will not always be the case. The lovely P.J. Lazos recently reminded me that there will always be stories that take their time building up interest and intrigue (Outlander was her example). She’s certainly not wrong! How often have we come across stories where “the good stuff” showed up later on? So I won’t knock a book for that approach. Yet I do think something in those opening pages encourages a reader to keep going. When that something peters out…well, that’s why we’re here today.
Both series sounded promising to me from the outset. One’s providing insight into the silent character whose heart is a mystery to the characters around him, while the other alludes to a mysterious Ascension, the physical lifting of six gigantic islands the size of Australia into the air in order to save humanity from drowning in the now Endless Ocean.
So, on the one hand, you have a character-centric story; on the other, a plot-driven story.
The problem is that each kind of novelist is usually as awful at the one thing as she is terrific at the other thing. The plot-first novelist tends to create characters who are flat, unrealistic stereotypes: cardboard cutouts who, despite different moods, agendas, genders, and occupations, seem eerily similar to one another–and the author’s personality. The character-first novelist produces wonderfully vibrant characters–but often has no idea what to make these interesting people do.
This point came home as I read each series. Here’s the blurb for Skyborn, which is both succinct and totally encompassing of the story at the same time:
Six islands float high above the Endless Ocean, where humanity’s final remnants are locked in brutal civil war.
Their parents slain in battle, twins Kael and Brenna Skyborn are training to be Seraphim, elite soldiers of aerial combat who wield elements of ice, fire, stone and lightning.
When the invasion comes, they will take to the skies, and claim their vengeance.
Aaaand that’s what they do. So there’s no false advertising, at least.
Now again, I want to be clear: this series, to me, had a really cool premise. After all, SOMEthing like an apocalypse must have happened to lead to this Ascension that allows SIX continent-sized land masses to remain perched atop giant beams of water high above an endless ocean. How could such an event affect these different lands? What kinds of people would live on each land, what kinds of wildlife? Would they have different habitats, like deserts and rainforests and such? Plus, these islands had strange prisms that could help power metal wings one could strap on–where did those come from? How do they shoot fire and stuff? Does that mean they have advanced technology, too? Where and how does all that history affect this world’s present?
I had so many questions about this epic place filled with epic war. And oh yes, there’s lots of fighting with ice and fire and lightning and such. This author knows how to write a battle, and there are a LOT of battles across the trilogy. Plus, he included some very interesting themes at work involving God and free will, the needs of the many over the few, and so on. Such themes fit very well in a world where people flew like angels.
And yet, I was bored. Why?
Because I didn’t care about the characters. There wasn’t enough about them to make them feel like actual people.
Readers meet these twins just as they are watching their parents battle in the sky and die. And the next thing you know these twins are now going to school to be Seraphim. We don’t really explore how such a traumatic event affects these two. They were growing up to be Seraphim, and they’re still going to be Seraphim. The first book almost immediately takes us away from whatever sort of everyday setting there could have been for the twins to process their grief so we could instead see “underdog kids in school” situations while they train to be Seraphim. Grief? What grief?
On school grounds, the twins are surrounded by cutouts like “snob boy,” “quiet girl,” “smart librarian,” “deceitful politician,” “kindly teacher.” And what really got me is that the very protagonists themselves never really grew out of such descriptions either: the girl Bree was eternally “out to prove herself,” and the boy Kael was eternally “thoughtful and supportive.” Even when the twins’ father who was thought dead in the first two books shows up in Book 3, there’s hardly any interaction between him and his children–and as a result, there’s hardly any emotional resonance. (spoiler alert) And since he also dies in Book 3, the aftershock of his loss amounts to…nothing.
In all of their epic battles, the characters never really transform. Even when the boy twin literally grows wings at one point, it never seems to matter because the girl twin’s got to prove herself again, so off she goes with his support to keep fighting and on and on.
Now for the record, we’ve all enjoyed plenty of stories where the characters don’t really change–heavens, I don’t read any given Poirot or Marple mystery by Agatha Christie for the character transformations. I read for the murder, mystery, and mayhem. The characters are just a part of that plot-puzzle. So, I tried to treat the Skyborn books that way as well–the characters were just pieces to lead me to the puzzle that was this world.
But I also feel like this was part of the problem: I wanted to care about these characters and this world. But since, outside of battles, this world interacted so little with the characters and vice versa, we never really got to see much beyond destruction. And considering the obvious care put into creating this world, this felt like a missed opportunity.
~*~
Now let’s flip to the character-centric.
Who is Fitzwilliam Darcy?
In An Assembly Such as This, Pamela Aidan finally answers that long-standing question. In this first book of her Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman trilogy, she reintroduces us to Darcy during his visit to Hertfordshire with his friend Charles Bingley and reveals Darcy’s hidden perspective on the events of Pride and Prejudice. As Darcy spends more time at Netherfield supervising Bingley and fending off Miss Bingley’s persistent advances, his unwilling attraction to Elizabeth grows—as does his concern about her relationship with his nemesis, George Wickham.
Setting the story vividly against the colorful historical and political background of the Regency, Aidan writes in a style comfortably at home with Austen but with a wit and humor very much her own. Aidan adds her own cast of fascinating characters to those in Austen’s original, weaving a rich tapestry from Darcy’s past and present. Austen fans and newcomers alike will love this new chapter of the most famous romance of all time.
I found it fascinating to see Pride and Prejudice from a different set of eyes and it was particularly fun because, for those who may not remember, Darcy spends the first half of the book more or less skulking about and staring at Elizabeth. What on earth Darcy was thinking in all of that time? Through this retelling, we know it’s not just his observations of Elizabeth Bennet, but also his concerns as a big brother for his little sister Georgiana. Reading from Austen’s original narrator, we as readers do not learn until Darcy’s letter (halfway through the story) of the cad Mr. Wickham’s attempt to whisk Georgiana Darcy away with elopement. So in this retelling, it makes perfect sense that Darcy’s very worried about his sister from Chapter 1 onward, and the very sight of Wickham drives him to fear and anger. In the original Pride and Prejudice, we as readers just don’t understand that concern’s effect on Darcy’s actions in Meryton until later. In An Assembly Such as This, we see the motivations plain as day, and it helps us better understand why Darcy is as he is.
The first book ends with the Netherfield ball, and the third book takes readers to Rosings Park and Darcy’s first–and disastrous–proposal to Elizabeth Bennet. So what the heck was going on in the second book?
Darcy goes to a rundown castle for what amounts to a bizarre gothic mystery. Darcy’s determined to find a woman of his own class to marry so he can forget about Elizabeth, so he visits a castle to hang out with a bunch of rich people. Only they are all being snobs, and then there’s some sort of haunting, and some sort of ritual sacrifice and kidnapping of children and just all sorts of mysterious whatnots that should be interesting.
Yet it wasn’t. Why?
The plot of this overall story arc has already been set. We know that this retelling can’t divert from the eventual coming together of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet. Since it takes Elizabeth’s refusal for Darcy to finally reflect and grow as a character, his character does not really change during this second book, either. So we as readers are simply plowing through this gothic mystery to, essentially, “get back on track.”
And considering how this whole second book could have explored more of Regency England’s concepts of marriage and how such pressures can impact characters and transform them, this installment felt like a missed opportunity.
~*~
Perhaps THAT is my problem in all this. I’m a writer grumbling about the “missed opportunities” I see in other writers’ work when all along those stories aren’t mine to dictate. Perhaps all that author wanted to do was make lots of epic battles featuring angel-like people, or perhaps that other author just wanted to get a gothic mystery on paper and this was her moment. We all have a right to tell the stories we want to tell, so please, PLEASE, feel free to love those stories and approach your own tales your way.
For let’s face it–some readers just want those epic battles, or those dramatic interactions. And others still want to see what happens when vastly different genre elements get tossed together. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, anyone?
Gosh, this post is LONG.
Know what? We’ll break it off here and finish this off June 1st (I’ve an author interview planned for later this month–stay tuned for that!). In exploring books for my podcast, I did find a book that balances character and worldbuilding without sacrificing either, so we’ll cover that next time.
Plus, I will hold myself under this critical lens. Since I’m revamping Middler’s Pride for a novel release instead of its previous serial release, I need to make sure I’m also balancing the worldbuilding and character development to propel the story forward. Stay tuned!
Jean Lee's World 