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mary rosenblum
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Hello,all!
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mary rosenblum
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This is our After Hours Forum,
with me, Mary Rosenblum, your web editor. I've published seven novels and
more than 60 short stories and will do my best to answer any questions you
have. If you're new here, remember that you need to click on the 'Ask a
Question' button or the 'word bubble' next to the red question mark at the
top of the screen in order to ask a question. Your regular 'send' bar won't
reach me! Or you can use /ask and type your question into the regular send
bar if that works better for you
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mary rosenblum
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I hope you've all had a great
week!
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mary rosenblum
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Gee, it'll be nice to get back
to Friday afternoon for my After Hours chat next week!
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mary rosenblum
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This month seems to have
turned into a whirlwind of travel for me...but life promises to return to
normal here shortly.
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mary rosenblum
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Tonights topic...starting
well...is a result of a query by a website regular.
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mary rosenblum
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He asked me to talk about this
since he's been having trouble coming up with something that seems to be a
strong start.
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mary rosenblum
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I see a lot of start
problems..
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mary rosenblum
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in fact I just addressed it in
the last student assignnment I completed today!
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mary rosenblum
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There is no ONE type of start
that works across the board for fiction and nonfiction, short, and long
form.
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mary rosenblum
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Every type has its own type of
start.
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mary rosenblum
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What I see quite often as a
writing instructor and workshop leader is the long form start used for the
short form.
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mary rosenblum
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In fiction, for example, many
readers come to short fiction as predominantly novel readers.
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mary rosenblum
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So they are used to a
classical novel start and they simply try to apply that novel start to
their short story.
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mary rosenblum
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This makes for a slow start in
a type of fiction that depends on hooking the reader very quickly.
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mary rosenblum
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And has little room for
extraneous details.
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mary rosenblum
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Let's look at how books start
versis short pieces.
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mary rosenblum
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In the novel, for example, the
book more often than not begins before the first plot event.
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mary rosenblum
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This 'baseline' sets up the
universe, identifies the characters, and gives us the 'normal' world before
that first plot event propels us into a rapidly altering universe.
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mary rosenblum
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Why not do this with a short
story? Isn't this a great way to begin?
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mary rosenblum
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Well it is...but not if you
only have 5000 words to use and that first 1000 does nothing but set up the
world!
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mary rosenblum
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This is our After Hours Forum,
with me, Mary Rosenblum, your web editor. I've published seven novels and
more than 60 short stories and will do my best to answer any questions you
have. If you're new here, remember that you need to click on the 'Ask a
Question' button or the 'word bubble' next to the red question mark at the
top of the screen in order to ask a question. Your regular 'send' bar won't
reach me! Or you can use /ask and type your question into the regular send
bar if that works better for you
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mary rosenblum
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You also need to realize that
short story readers and novel readers...while they DO overlap some...are
for the most part different people.
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mary rosenblum
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And people who read short
stories a lot have a much different expectation of story and are much more
likely to quit if the story doesn't grab them.
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mary rosenblum
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There are five or six other
stories in that magazine, remember.
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mary rosenblum
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oooh, good questions, wolf and
zubby! Let's look at them both here.
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zubbycat
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If I think my story might be
starting too early, what are some key things I can look for to be sure?
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mary rosenblum
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This is nearly always the case
when you first start writing short fiction, zubby.
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mary rosenblum
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I had PUBLISHED several
stories before I wrote the first story where I didn't chop off the first
five or six pages!
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mary rosenblum
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Everybody starts before the
story. Often, when you are first starting out, you really don't know where
the story begins until you finish the first draft.
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mary rosenblum
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Often I did not.
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mary rosenblum
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Now, I'm much better at
knowing where the story begins before I start, but I've had a LOT of
practice! LOL
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mary rosenblum
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So how do you know?
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mary rosenblum
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Try asking yourself...if the
reader doesn't know this...will the rest of the story make sense?
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mary rosenblum
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Now that does NOT mean, if the
reader doesn't know this will the rest of the story be as wonderful?
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mary rosenblum
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Of course you love all the
details that go into your story and your world and the story would be much
more wonderful if you could include them all.
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mary rosenblum
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BUT...be honest with yourself.
Does the reader HAVE to know this in order for the story TO MAKE SENSE>
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mary rosenblum
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This is a tough line that we
all need to take with ourselves at first, especially, when we love our
words WAY too much.
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curseofthe44
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I once read that once you've
wrote your story, go to the first action scene and cut to the heart of it.
That's where you should start. What do you think?
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mary rosenblum
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I'm laughing, curse. This is
how you revise EVERYTHING!
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mary rosenblum
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You cut to the heart of every
scene and keep only what really matters to that scene.
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mary rosenblum
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But you need to do even more
that, curse.
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mary rosenblum
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Ask yourself...honestly,
now...if I cut this scene entirely, could I put the information in later
and still have the story work?
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mary rosenblum
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If the answer is yes, then
this is probably too early to begin the story.
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mary rosenblum
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When we NEED to see this scene
in order for the plot to work...that is your beginning.
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mary rosenblum
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This is our After Hours Forum,
with me, Mary Rosenblum, your web editor. I've published seven novels and
more than 60 short stories and will do my best to answer any questions you
have. If you're new here, remember that you need to click on the 'Ask a
Question' button or the 'word bubble' next to the red question mark at the
top of the screen in order to ask a question. Your regular 'send' bar won't
reach me! Or you can use /ask and type your question into the regular send
bar if that works better for you
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wolf122
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How 'deep' do you get in
character development in the baseline without the characters seeming forced
on the reader, or too lengthy?
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mary rosenblum
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You want to get as deeply as
you can without resorting to narrative, wolf.
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mary rosenblum
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You don't want to TELL your
reader about your character...
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mary rosenblum
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but if you can create a first
scene that reveals a lot about your character's personality..perhaps a
moment of crisis...
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mary rosenblum
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then you have made a very
strong start to creating the character for the reader.
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mary rosenblum
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But try very very hard to do
it in action and dialogue, rather than narrative!
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pthib
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My problem seems to be more of
writing too short..any advice?
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mary rosenblum
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Well, that depends on whether
your stories are the right length or whether they are too short for the
plot, pthib.
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mary rosenblum
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Jay Lake, for example, an up
and coming new writer and editor of Polyphony, likes to write short short,
strongly stylistic and plot driven stories. Nothing wrong with that.
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mary rosenblum
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They're short and they're the
right length for the plot.
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zubbycat
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what are your thoughts on
prologues starting novels? Is this a definite don't, or are there
exceptions?
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mary rosenblum
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I do it. I particularly do it
if my first chapter is not tremendously dramatic.
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mary rosenblum
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I will use a very brief,
highly dramatic scene out of context as the prologue.
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mary rosenblum
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It's sort of a promise to the
reader....great action ahead!
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mary rosenblum
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You can't always start with a
swordfight!
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mary rosenblum
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However...I have gotten a lot
of feedback from fans on the topic of prologues...and it shocks me how many
readers simply skip 'em.
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mary rosenblum
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So do it, but realize that
many readers won't read it.
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bud
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How much character detail is
really required in a short story?
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mary rosenblum
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Bud, a three dimensional
character is what makes fiction compelling.
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mary rosenblum
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You use as few details as you
can to create that three dimensional character, but you use as many as it
takes.
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mary rosenblum
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In other words, you need to
bring that character to life, worry about the words later.
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mary rosenblum
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Now if your story is strongly
plot driven...
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mary rosenblum
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if it does not depend on us
caring about the character, or it has a strong punchline ending, say, then
you can simply create a vivid sketch of your character...
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mary rosenblum
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we don't need to get personal
with him or her.
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zubbycat
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If you have more than one
viewpoint character, should the first scene always begin with your main
viewpoint character (sort of to establish that right away)?
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mary rosenblum
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Yes, zubby.
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mary rosenblum
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Multiple POV characters are
not as common in short fiction as in novel, but in either case, remenmber
that your readers are casting around like Bloodhounds...
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mary rosenblum
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for clues to
what/when/who/where we are in those first paragraphs in both novel and
short form.
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mary rosenblum
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Every detail should matter and
every detail should point those readers in the right direction.
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mary rosenblum
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It is VERY easy to mislead
readers in the first pages. They are leaping wildly to assumptions.
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mary rosenblum
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It is critical to be crystal
clear about who/where/when/what.
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wolf122
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I've tried writing my intro as
if I were looking through a camera at the story's 'world': seeing, hearing
and 'watching' the character. How do you know if you've slipped, and
started narrating?
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mary rosenblum
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It's a matter of filerting,
wolf.
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mary rosenblum
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The difference between
cinematic and narrative POV is that in narrative, the writer is telling us
about the scene. We are seeing the scene filtered through that writer's
world view and personal prejudices.
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mary rosenblum
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It is harder than you think to
write good cinematic. You need to take all filtered narrative out of it.
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mary rosenblum
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Here's an example. Strict
cinematic simply uses no personal qualifiers. It is starkly descriptive.
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mary rosenblum
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The sun rose over the jagged
mountains, slanting down into the narrow valley and lighting the ashes of
the army's campfires.
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mary rosenblum
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There is no personal filter
there...the descriptives are neutral.
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mary rosenblum
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The harsh sun rose over the
brooding mountains, slanting down into the narrow valley and lighting the
bitter ashes of the defeated army's futile campfires.
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mary rosenblum
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Here I'm adding a lot more
information that comes from MY knowledge of what is going on.
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mary rosenblum
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The first version told you
nothing beyond what your eyes would see.
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wolf122
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Sorry--wasn't trying to go the
cinematic route--just trying to give the reader a bird's-eye-view of the
story, i.e. showing? Could that work?
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mary rosenblum
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Well, if you are going to do
bird's eye view of the story, wolf, you either have to do narrative or
cinematic.
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mary rosenblum
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If you do narrative, you are
including yourself as a character in the story.
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mary rosenblum
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If you do cinematic, it does
tend to make the scene stand out as if you turned a spotlight on it.
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mary rosenblum
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It will be very different from
the subsequent prose and as a prolog..
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mary rosenblum
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it will not mislead your
reader into assuming that the rest of your story is in narrative voice.
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roe
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so how would you change that
sentence from characters pov
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mary rosenblum
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Do you mean the
cinematic/narrative example I just used, roe?
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roe
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yes
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mary rosenblum
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The answer to that, roe is in
the words Point of View. That means, literally, the point from which I view
the scene.
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mary rosenblum
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So from where do we view that
scene of sunlight, valley, and ashes? From above, right?
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mary rosenblum
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So if your POV character is
down in that valley, you'd better look UP at the sunrise and AROUND at the
ashes.
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mary rosenblum
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If our POV is a scout up on
the ridge, then you'd simply use the words that he/she would use if that
character was thinking out loud or talking to a buddy.
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mary rosenblum
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For example...from the
ground...
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mary rosenblum
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Jared sat up, instantly awake.
The sun already glared down over the ragged peaks. Gonna be hotter than
hell in an hour. He struggled to his feet and stared around a the sprawled
bodies, the cold, bitter ashes of last night's cooking fires. Another
pointless day.
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mary rosenblum
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We know right where we are,
now.
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zubbycat
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Is it true that many editors
will only read the first paragraph or first page of a story and then drop
it if they aren't hooked immediately?
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mary rosenblum
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Yep. Sure is. Remember that a
well known mag like Asimov's gets about 1000 - 1500 ms a month. The editor
does not have time to keep reading.
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mary rosenblum
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There are 1499 more to go and
somebody will surely catch his attention in paragraph one...
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mary rosenblum
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Redbook and some of the really
big circ magazines get that many in a week or ten days.
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mary rosenblum
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Now there is a reality check
here.
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mary rosenblum
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Yes, as an unpublished writer
you have to work harder on that beginning than I do.
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mary rosenblum
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Sorry, but I earned my right
to have a somewhat slow start! I earned it by earning a LOT of rejection
slips thank you!
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mary rosenblum
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But I have also proved that I
can tell a compelling story...many times over.
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mary rosenblum
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So an editor might not be
hooked by my first paragraph, but he'll read on...knowing that a: readers
will read my story because I wrote it and b: it'll be a good story and I'll
fix the start if he asks.
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mary rosenblum
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BUT...just as I was once...you
all have no track record yet.
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mary rosenblum
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So the editor has only what is
on the page to go on, and a reader who does not yet know you will also be
easily induced to move on to the next story.
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mary rosenblum
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So yeah, your opening needs to
be honed to a razor edge.
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mary rosenblum
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My early stories were, too.
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mary rosenblum
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They had to be.
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mary rosenblum
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I can be a little more relaxed
now but not a whole lot. They still need to be strong because I want to
keep my readers, thank you. And hook new ones.
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wolf122
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What's more important to an
editor--first paragraph or first chapter?
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mary rosenblum
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First paragraph in a short
story, first chapter in a novel.
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mary rosenblum
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This is our After Hours Forum,
with me, Mary Rosenblum, your web editor. I've published seven novels and
more than 60 short stories and will do my best to answer any questions you
have. If you're new here, remember that you need to click on the 'Ask a
Question' button or the 'word bubble' next to the red question mark at the
top of the screen in order to ask a question. Your regular 'send' bar won't
reach me! Or you can use /ask and type your question into the regular send
bar if that works better for you
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pthib
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what is your idea of the perfect
hook..description, thoughts
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mary rosenblum
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Something that makes me go
'whoa!' stop flipping pages and start reading.
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mary rosenblum
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Parsis cut Endymir's throat
for the third time in the market place at noon.
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mary rosenblum
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You gonna flip to the next
story or read on at least a little bit to figure out just what is going on
here? :-)
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mary rosenblum
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It is enigmatic. It throws out
a situation -- he cut someone's throat THREE times??? -- that leaves us
with itchy questions.
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zubbycat
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so the first sentence is often
the most important sentence in a story or book?
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mary rosenblum
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It is a VERY good idea to
treat it so, zubby.
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pthib
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can we get your opinion on an
opening sentence?
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mary rosenblum
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YOu mean one you wrote, pthib?
Sure.
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zubbycat
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What are your thoughts on
dropping into the story in the middle of a conversation?
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mary rosenblum
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That is a great way to go and
I do it now and again.
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mary rosenblum
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Nearly every reader will
continue to the end of the conversation to find out what is going on. We're
all eavesdroppers at heart... :-)
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mary rosenblum
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BUT...be careful.
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mary rosenblum
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I see a lot of novice stories
that start that way with NO visuals.
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mary rosenblum
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So we have two voices talking
and a blank void in front of our eyes. Boooring....
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mary rosenblum
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Be sure to use enough action
tags to set us somewhere! We don't need to see a lot, but we need to see
something!
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pthib
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"You have to jerk harder
than that," Jeffrey chided,
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mary rosenblum
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I would read on to see what
somebody is jerking. If it was interesting, I would keep reading, if it was
something expected, I might lose interest unless something happened pretty
quick. I'm assuming this is a short story, not a novel.
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pthib
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unable to disguise the hint of
amusement in his voice.
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mary rosenblum
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oops..didn't get the second
part of that. If it was my story, I'd leave that second phrase out.
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mary rosenblum
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I'd go from that Jeffrey
chided to showing us something interesting as someone else responded. You
need just enough...
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mary rosenblum
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detail in the first sentences
to keep the reader from making wrong guesses and that's all.
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mary rosenblum
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we're going to want to know
what the invisible other person is jerking...
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mary rosenblum
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in the hopes that it will be
something interesting and unusual.
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mary rosenblum
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So we don't need to know that
Jeffrey is amused right now. As we watch the scene unfold, we'll know his
emotional tone from his behavior and words.
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mary rosenblum
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I'd 'cut to the chase' there
and quickly show us more action, the other person.
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pthib
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it's not...he's teaching her to
fish...romantic ss
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mary rosenblum
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Well, that's a fine start for
romance, but I'd still cut from Jeffry chided to her giving him an arch
look, snapping at him, doing whatever you have her do to show us that this
is a relationsihip and give us a clue as to the nature of the relationship.
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mary rosenblum
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That should work fine for a
romance.
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mary rosenblum
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You are nearly always better
off to make those first few paragraphs as rich in action and dialogue as
you can. Use sparse but very vivid descriptive details to flesh out the
scene just enough so that we're not mislead...
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mary rosenblum
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and fill out the world in the
rest of the scene.
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pthib
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I held my breath and counted to
twenty,
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pthib
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the last time he corrected me
I'd jerked too hard.
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mary rosenblum
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That should work. Expecting a
romance, we're going to want to know if she's about to lose her temper or
what.
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mary rosenblum
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We have a few clues but not
enough and we expect you to fill us in shortly.
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mary rosenblum
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Remember, your opening depends
on the type of story you are writing...but some universals apply.
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mary rosenblum
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In a short story, do not give
us a long weather report or narrative description of the world, even if it
is a planet in the Actean system!
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mary rosenblum
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In a novel, give the MCs
something interesting to do until the plot starts.
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pthib
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how do you reconcile a 3000 wd
story to 900? or vise versa
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mary rosenblum
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YOu don't pthib. You revise
the plot of the 3000 word story so that you only need 900 words to tell
THAT story. Or you revise the plot of the 900 word story so that it
requires 3000 words to tell it.
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mary rosenblum
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If you don't change the plot,
you will either add unnecessary flab to flesh it out, or you will cut
important muscle from your story.
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mary rosenblum
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Every story has a natural
length.
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mary rosenblum
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If you need a different
length, change the story. Don't just add or subtract words.
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mary rosenblum
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Not if you want the best
story, anyway!
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wolf122
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Could you write a tight first
paragraph in cinematic POV, giving an intro/picture to the world, then
switch to the narrative in paragraph 2, and then keep that voice?
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mary rosenblum
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Sure, wolf. Do you mean
narrative...as in the author telling the story...or do you mean either
third or first person POV though?
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zubbycat
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When starting a story written in
1st person POV, what is the best way to get your character's name in there
quickly? The reader wants to know who their POV character is, right?
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mary rosenblum
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Oh, that's a FUN one,
zubbycat! Sort like trying to zip the back of a long dress by yourself.
Sorry, guys, I don't have a similar simile for you all! LOL
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mary rosenblum
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It is VERY hard to get the
character's name to the reader in first person. When was the last time you
even THOUGHT your name? Probably the last time somebody asked you what it
was!
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mary rosenblum
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Basically, your POV is going
to have to be asked, have to write it, or compare it to some other
name...or maybe have some other reason to think of it that doesn't seem
artificial.
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mary rosenblum
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For example, our rebellious,
angry teen male might think 'Robert Wright the Third. Dad's the Second, of
course. I figure he's kicking himself for sticking me with it by now.
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senicynt
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Hi Mary! I just got here so
maybe you covered this already.... I have a story bursting out my ears . It
is told by 'on the spot' newscasters in their typical excidetly-blabby
style. Near future SciFi. The newscasters speak with each other and
interview some people. Question - What would be the best way to describe the
scenery surrounding the active newscaster? in cinematic style or prose
style?
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mary rosenblum
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Oh I'd let the newscaster
describe it, sen. Even on TV the casters describe what is going on around
them during times of crisis. I watched the weather channel a lot while in
Boston...
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mary rosenblum
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wondering if the hurricane was
going to mess up my plane ride home...
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mary rosenblum
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and even as the camera panned
the roof lifting, they'd describe the roof lifting, the tree limbs
breaking.
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mary rosenblum
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Just listen to the TV
newscasters for awhile and you'll get the patter down.
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mary rosenblum
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Or, if your people are not
broadcasting visuals, of course they'll describe.
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mary rosenblum
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This is our After Hours Forum,
with me, Mary Rosenblum, your web editor. I've published seven novels and
more than 60 short stories and will do my best to answer any questions you
have. If you're new here, remember that you need to click on the 'Ask a
Question' button or the 'word bubble' next to the red question mark at the
top of the screen in order to ask a question. Your regular 'send' bar won't
reach me! Or you can use /ask and type your question into the regular send
bar if that works better for you
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zubbycat
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What do you think of writers
starting the book near the end and then flashing back to tell it from the
beginning?
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mary rosenblum
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It certainly gets done and
quite often it gets done well.
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mary rosenblum
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The only thing to remember is
that we know your MC survived. :-) So you can't have us on the edge of our
seats hoping he/she made it! Clearly that character did.
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mary rosenblum
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I would ask yourself 'why do I
need to do it this way'. If you cannot answer that easily and clearly, I
would not do it.
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mary rosenblum
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Most editors don't like it.
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mary rosenblum
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If you can answer it, then do
it that way. Editors respect a good story that works.
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curseofthe44
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How quickly does one need to
include the who, what, where, and when? In my attempts to hook, and avoid
too much narrative, I often find it difficult to get it all in and keep the
story interesting at the very beginning.
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mary rosenblum
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You can't get it all in,
curse. Don't even try, not even if you write in mundane everyday America.
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mary rosenblum
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I have to create a world for
my readers. I am not gonna do that in a paragraph!
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mary rosenblum
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BUT..readers are patient.
They're happy to be fed a bite at a time. You don't have to stuff the
banquet down their throats in the first two pages.
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mary rosenblum
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Ask yourself what the reader
MUST know to have a clue what is going on.
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mary rosenblum
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They don't have to know
everything, but if, for example, we start with a swordfight and the enemy
swordsman yells 'die rebel'...well we know a lot.
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mary rosenblum
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we're in a medieval setting,
and our POV is a rebel so clearly the ruler he's rebelling against is the
bad guy and he can handle a sword. Nice bite. I'll wait for more. But not
for too long. :-)
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mary rosenblum
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If you begin with action, you
can weave details, clues, hints, and back story into the action and keep
the story compelling, moving forward, while building the picture of the
universe in the readers' minds.
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mary rosenblum
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I've got a couple of articles
on the website about that very thing, with examples.
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mary rosenblum
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Creating
the Universe on the Run
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mary rosenblum
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Embedding
the Backstory
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mary rosenblum
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YOu can create a strong start
if your character is doing something quite everyday...for that
character...that is highly exotic to the reader.
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mary rosenblum
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But it is a very good idea to
use a backbone of action and wrap details around it.
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zubbycat
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How do you recommend setting
historical context in the beginning of a story if your story is historical
fiction? Should you be explicit or embed it like you were mentioning?
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mary rosenblum
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Embedding keeps your voice out
of it, which is nearly always a good thing, in my opinion. But it can be a
challenge.
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mary rosenblum
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Especially considering the
range in knowlege your readers will have.
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mary rosenblum
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A telling detail...a yoke of
oxen...can roughly set your story and you can fine tune the date as your
story gets going.
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mary rosenblum
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Maybe the next thing we hear
is an argument about the possibility of the colonies breaking with England.
Aha! We know when we are. And where.
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curseofthe44
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What do you consider the most
important factors to give to the reader in the opening? I have The Five
Functions An Opening Scene Must Accomplish that I cut from a mag page.
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mary rosenblum
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Well, goodness, shake some
salt on that one! FIVE THINGS? Ha.
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mary rosenblum
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You can accomplish ten or two,
as long as the reader reads scene two.
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mary rosenblum
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It is a good idea to give the
reader an idea of where we are, who is important, what is going on, when we
are at least...BUT....
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mary rosenblum
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if you give us only a couple
of these, some hints, and the story is compelling, who cares? As long as
you satisfy us shortly, we're with you.
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mary rosenblum
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I critiqued one of the
strongest openings I've ever read at the recent writers workshop in Austin.
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mary rosenblum
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We started in the middle of an
ongoing gambling game, we didn't have a clue where we were, when we were,
or who these people were and you know what? It didn't even bother me until
scene two.
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mary rosenblum
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THERE he needed to answer some
quesitons, but all he did in ONe was to establish the character and compell
us with the wonderful, vivid surrounding.
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mary rosenblum
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It broke ALL the rules and wow
did it work.
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mary rosenblum
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Remember that there are no
absolutes in writing. The writing has to WORK. That is about it.
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mary rosenblum
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It doesn't matter whether
someone else did it, it doesn't matter if no one has ever done it this way.
If it works...it works. If it does not...it does not. End of story.
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senicynt
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My story will start out
something like this: "Ladies and gentlemen of the World! Today is a
remarkable day! I am standing here at the start line of the greatest land
rush ever! As our camera goes wide you can see the immense crowd chafing at
the starting line bit to grab a bit of land all their own!" Doris
laughed with delight and gestured for the camera man to turn,. "Ah!
Look over there! It seems that the marshals caught some Sooners!"
Doris shook her head. "Oh well. Now they'll have a penalty of a half
day start."
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mary rosenblum
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I like her patter. If I wee
you, I'd stick in something so that we know she's talking into a mic or
over a link or something.
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zubbycat
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Do you have to be careful in
your opening that you don't set the reader up to think there will be more
action than there will be?
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mary rosenblum
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Well, yeah. You can mislead
the reader about a lot of things in the first paragraph of the story.
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mary rosenblum
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You need to deliver what you
promise and if you deliver more than that opening promises, the reader may
not get that far, so you should fix it.
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zubbycat
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How about starting with
foreshadowing - like "I can pinpoint the moment my life changed
forever."
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mary rosenblum
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You can do that. Myself, I
tend to avoid foreshadowing. I rather like to leap out at the reader and
yell BOO. Its' so fun to watch 'em jump. :-) You can't do that if you
foreshadow.
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mary rosenblum
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But on the other hand, there
are some very powerful stories out there...
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mary rosenblum
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that are told by a strong
narrative character voice and they work quite well.
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mary rosenblum
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And foreshadow like mad! :-)
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mary rosenblum
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What works, works.
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mary rosenblum
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Takes From the White Hart is
like that. I think that was Arthur C Clarke.
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mary rosenblum
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Very narrative, very plot
driven, and a lot of good stories.
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mary rosenblum
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The main thing you need to do
in your short story opening is to snag your reader's curiosity, keep that
reader reading and don't confuse him/her.
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curseofthe44
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Can I get your opinion of this
opener, Mary? Alarms blaring, Reid ran through the Space Archive Museum in
Old Dallas. Following his own path, he left three greedy interns to muddle
with the safe full of worthless moon rocks. Reid had the rock he came for.
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mary rosenblum
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That's good, curse. I'd leave
out the Space ARchive Museum in Old Dallas. Running with alarms blaring, he
knows where he is, will he think that? We'll be MORE curious if we dont'
know where we are. Tell us later.
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mary rosenblum
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He exits the museum, starts
strolling and languidly hales a cab. Now we know we were in a museum.
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mary rosenblum
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Later, the news will tell us
we're in Dallas and it was the Space Archive Museum.
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mary rosenblum
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Again...cut the details we
don't HAVE to have and stick them in later.
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wolf122
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Is there any danger of reading
too much of one author (i.e. Tolkein, R.A. Salvatore), and having that
style 'leak' into your writing? Will an editor automatically say,
"Nope. Too much like that other author."?
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mary rosenblum
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Very likely, in the short
term, wolf, but don't let it worry you. IN the long term, you'll read other
authors and your style will evolve.
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mary rosenblum
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If you do bad Tolkien for
awhile, or bad Hemningway, or even good versions of same, it won't hurt
you.
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mary rosenblum
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I encourage people to
shamelessly copy style. It's a good way to learn some techniques and it
doesn't hurt you at all.
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zubbycat
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One thing I do is I pick up a
bunch of books in the genre I'm writing in and read the first pages to get
an idea of how they start.
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mary rosenblum
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That's good, but be your own
judge . A lot of dreck gets published. Just because someone published it
doesn't mean they'll publish you if you copy it!
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mary rosenblum
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If you mean to only read the
start and find yourself on page 90 suddenly, keep that one. It's a good
example.
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mary rosenblum
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I am a highly picky reader.
The minute something loses my attention, I'm done.
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mary rosenblum
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If I hit The End without
coming up for air, I'll recommend it for an award!
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mary rosenblum
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Remember...we are curious
primates.
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mary rosenblum
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Tickle that curiosity.
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mary rosenblum
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Don't stuff us with
information. Feed it to us bit by bit and we'll follow you anywhere.
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mary rosenblum
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This has been a fun Oregon
Hour!
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mary rosenblum
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I'll be back to the usual
schedule next week, hallelujah!
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mary rosenblum
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And we'll have Steve Hamilton,
award winning mystery writer as my guest.
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mary rosenblum
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I should be here for our
Sunday casual chat.
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mary rosenblum
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Same time as this Forum, but
on Sunday.
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mary rosenblum
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See you then all!
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mary rosenblum
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I'll post this transcript to
Writing Craft: Forum Transcripts.
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mary rosenblum
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Have a good weekend!
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