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mary rosenblum
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Hello, all!
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mary rosenblum
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I hope you had a good weekend!
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mary rosenblum
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Welcome to our Tuesday Forum.
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mary rosenblum
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I wanted to talk about
transitions today. They can really turn into something like those annoying
speed bumps on residential streets if you're not careful...
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mary rosenblum
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but they can do a LOT for
pacing...a topic we covered last Friday.
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mary rosenblum
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And they are part of how you
control your pace.
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tkat_2
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I hope you are feeling better,
Mary.
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mary rosenblum
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Thanks, tkat. This annoying
virus is still hanging on...but that's mostly my own fault.
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mary rosenblum
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Not only is this the height of
planting season for my HUGE garden, but I have written THREE complete short
stories in the past three weeks.
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mary rosenblum
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Two of 'em on deadline.
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mary rosenblum
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All that is NOT the best way
to deal with a virus!
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mary rosenblum
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This is, of course, the
reality of living by words.
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mary rosenblum
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When someone says, 'can you
write me a story?" you generally say yes. :-)
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mary rosenblum
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And of course it's always at
an inopportune time. :-)
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aulait
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What is the national average
income for a freelance writer?
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mary rosenblum
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Wow, aulait, there IS no
average. It varies widely depending on what you write.
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mary rosenblum
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Only a small handful of
writers make six figure incomes, I would say.
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mary rosenblum
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More in nonfiction than in
fiction...VERY few there.
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mary rosenblum
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As a pro freelancer doing
nonfiction and personal narrative, you can make a comfortable middle class
income.
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mary rosenblum
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Not so with fiction.
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sfnovelwriter
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What is the average one can
expect to make from a SF novel?
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mary rosenblum
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Well, again it depends,
sfnovel. If you sign with a big NY house like Torr or Baen or Del Rey...
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mary rosenblum
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and you are unpublished...
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mary rosenblum
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you should get an advance of
between 2000 and 5000 dollars.
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mary rosenblum
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Money depends utterly on
SALES.
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mary rosenblum
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And you have none. If your
book sells very well...
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mary rosenblum
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you'll make more than that as
you 'earn out', in otherwords...
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mary rosenblum
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you pay back your advance and
begin to get royalty checks.
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mary rosenblum
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And if your sales figures are
good, you'll get a larger advance next time.
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mary rosenblum
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Generally, once you have
really established yourself as a good solid earner, you're going to get in
the five figures for a novel...but that means you're selling...
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mary rosenblum
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something in the order of
60,000 books each time.
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aulait
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Is it rare for first time
published writers to get advances?
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mary rosenblum
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Advances depend on th
publisher, aulait.
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mary rosenblum
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NY publishers...traditional
houses...pay an advance to everyone...it varies in amount.
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mary rosenblum
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A very few small press pay
advances...most pay good royalties but no advance.
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mary rosenblum
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You always get royalties
unless you are writing 'work for hire' when...
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mary rosenblum
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you get a flat fee and do not
own the copyright.
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mary rosenblum
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Royalty is the percent you get
of the cover price of each book sold.
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geezer
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So, if your first novel is
completed before they buy it, and sales aren't great, you might end up with
almost nothing.
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mary rosenblum
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Well, you'll end up with your
advance...you never have to pay that back...and your book is published.
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mary rosenblum
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Believe me, geezer, if you are
writing because you think it's a great way to get rich...go take plumbing
classes!
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aulait
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What is the best book you can
recommend to read on the
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aulait
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business of writing?
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mary rosenblum
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I don't know of one,
currently, aulait. Ask questions here. :-)
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sirlurker
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Is there an average beginner
royalty rate?
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mary rosenblum
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Sort of...your agent can
negotiate a bigger royalty rate if your sales are good and the publisher
doesn't want you to go somewhere else. :-)
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mary rosenblum
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But it's not going to be a LOT
bigger.
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mary rosenblum
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Generally it's between 5 - 8%
for mass market paper, 10 - 15% for hardcover, and something in between for
trade paper...thats' for traditional houses.
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mary rosenblum
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The small presses that do not
pay royalties generally offer 12 - 15% for their releases even if they're
trade paper.(most common).
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mary rosenblum
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Friday I'm going to do a forum
on Publishing Options, so bring your publishing questions there or email
them to me ahead of time.
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sirlurker
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How do bidding wars develop that
you hear about sometimes?
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mary rosenblum
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I just benefitted from one of
those, in a small way. :-)
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mary rosenblum
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They happen when an agent
thinks two different publishers will both want a book and presents it to
both of them.
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mary rosenblum
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Most money wins.
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mary rosenblum
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YOU can't do it.
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mary rosenblum
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You need an agent for that.
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sfnovelwriter
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Do publishers want stories that
are trilogies or series
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mary rosenblum
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Depends on the genre and
publisher, sf.
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mary rosenblum
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Fantasy yes. Mystery yes.
SF...it's a wait and see game.
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mary rosenblum
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If the first book does well,
yep, they love the series.
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mary rosenblum
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If you think of more
publishing questions, email them to me when you get the Forum reminder, and
I'll answer 'em then.
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sfnovelwriter
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From everything I hear an agent
is a must then
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mary rosenblum
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Only if you're dealing with
the NY publishers, sf.
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mary rosenblum
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Very few agents will handle
small press and you really don't need an agent for that.
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mary rosenblum
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Get a publishing lawyer to
check a contract if you don't understand it.
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mary rosenblum
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For NY houses, YES, you need
an agent.
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geezer
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Are all the Christian presses
considered small
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mary rosenblum
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Dunno geezer. I"m not
really inside Christian publishing.
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mary rosenblum
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This is the Tuesday Forum with
me, Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor, fiction and nonfiction writer and we're
talking about transitions. 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, or use the ask a question icon in
order to ask a question. Your regular 'send' bar won't reach me! You can
also type /ask in front of your question to reach me.
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aulait
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Would you like to TRANSITION to
the subject of transitions?
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mary rosenblum
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I would indeed, which is why I
said you all can email me the publishing questions or bring 'em on Friday.
:-)
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jackie7777
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Transitioning - how do you keep
it exciting?
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mary rosenblum
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Well, jackie, transitions
don't really need to be exciting because they are a matter of what is
ABSENT rather than what is PRESENT.
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mary rosenblum
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A transition is like taking a
tuck in a piece of fabric.
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mary rosenblum
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You take a yard long strip of
cloth, fold about 12 inches out of sight and voila...you now have a two
foot long piece of fabric...
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mary rosenblum
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that 12 inches is tucked out
of sight.
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mary rosenblum
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That is what a transition
does.
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mary rosenblum
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It simply takes the reader
through the looooonnng boring day at work and into the next scene of
action.
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mary rosenblum
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If you find yourself
struggling to make a boring stretch interesting...can you simply transition
through it?
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aulait
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Just in closing a chapter and
starting another can be a
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aulait
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transition, right?
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mary rosenblum
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Yes indeed...generally that is
a transition and an important one.
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mary rosenblum
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You have a transition between
scenes.
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mary rosenblum
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You have transitions within
scenes.
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mary rosenblum
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And each is a little different
and each one can be a 'speed bump' if you're not careful...or you can lose
the reader completely.
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mary rosenblum
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I get a lot of stories where
I'm halfway into a course of action when I realize suddenly that we are in
a different room on a different day and I have NO idea how we got here...
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mary rosenblum
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so I have to go back and
reread. (and even then it's not always clear).
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mary rosenblum
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This is not good. :-) Readers,
unlike writing instructors, tend to quit at that point. :-)
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wingedwarrior24
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Quick question off the loop.
What is the average word count on one side of a paperback page?
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mary rosenblum
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Depends entirely on the font
style, point, and page design, winged. Sorry I can't be more precise...huge
variation there.
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mary rosenblum
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In the transition between
chapters...
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mary rosenblum
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and in scenes as well...
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mary rosenblum
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the really important thing is
to make sure you don't lose your reader as you leap from one place and time
to a new place and time.
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rosedak
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Pardon if I use the wrong terms
but the transition require a hook at the end of the passage to keep the
reader interested. Then the new passage is starts with a continuation fo
the hook to draw the reader into the new scene?
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mary rosenblum
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Well, that's a good way to end
a novel chapter, rosedak, but not necessary for ALL transitions.
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mary rosenblum
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In many, the begining of the
transition and the beginning of the new action will make a seamless join
without any extra effort on your part.
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mary rosenblum
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This is common within scenes.
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mary rosenblum
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For example, our two main
characters are eating breakfast. They have a fight...nice point of
drama...and hubby storms off to work.
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mary rosenblum
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Now before the end of this
scene, wife is going to decide to go see her old highschool boyfriend who
has just...
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mary rosenblum
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dropped into town and has
invited her to lunch...
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mary rosenblum
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and we need to show the reader
her mind changing (she wasn't going to go)...
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mary rosenblum
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but it will bore the reader to
tears to spend a couple of pages describing her actions as she...
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mary rosenblum
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cleans up the kitchen and
makes up her mind...the pace will slow to a crawl.
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mary rosenblum
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SO...hubby storms out.
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mary rosenblum
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Marlene stared after him, her
fists clenched. Lips pressed together, she set about washing dishes, and
scrubbing down the kitchen. At eleven thirty...
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mary rosenblum
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she tossed her apron aside and
went upstairs to change.
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mary rosenblum
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I am doing the right thing,
she told herself as she compared the blue linen suit and the print dress
with the low neckline. Harold didn't like the print dress...he said it made
her look like a gypsy.
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mary rosenblum
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She put it on.
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mary rosenblum
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It was only lunch, after all.
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mary rosenblum
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The transition here are the
two narrative sentences that tell us what Marlene did in the kitchen...very
generally.
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mary rosenblum
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I could have showed the reader
action by action as she wiped down the counter, cleaned the sink, mopped
the floor, put away the food...
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mary rosenblum
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and all the time she is
thinking about Scott, the old flame, and Harold, and how Harold doesn't
seem to care about her anymore...
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mary rosenblum
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and the readers would be
SNORING>
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mary rosenblum
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And AHA!!! Here is a case
where 'tell, don't show' is the better way!
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mary rosenblum
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Two sentences lets us imagine
that all...it's not important enough to include each excruciating detail.
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mary rosenblum
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All that matters is that she
decides to have lunch with her old boyfriend after all, because Harold was
a butt that morning.
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sfnovelwriter
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Would a flashback about the
boyfriend do it
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mary rosenblum
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It could, but as with the long
drawn out account of her decision making process it would slow this scene
to a crawl.
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mary rosenblum
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She's going to meet him in a
bit here...
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mary rosenblum
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so it's probably better to let
her flash back to the past when she meets him.
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mary rosenblum
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After all, she's instantly
going to compare the man in front of her to her memory...
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mary rosenblum
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but even here...a long
flashback will halt the foreward momentum of the story.
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mary rosenblum
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I would be wary of doing it
unless it was crucial...better to let us figure out how they felt about
each other...
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mary rosenblum
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through their conversation and
body language.
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aulait
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When we are so close to our
story we could miss the fact
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aulait
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we left out a transition, right?
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mary rosenblum
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Absolutely, aulait. It always
amazes me, as I read through my readers critique letters how I could have
overlooked THAT!!!!
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mary rosenblum
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LOL
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mary rosenblum
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What we can miss in our own
work, when it's fresh, is amazing!
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mary rosenblum
|
This is the Tuesday Forum with
me, Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor, fiction and nonfiction writer and we're
talking about transitions. 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, or use the ask a question icon in
order to ask a question. Your regular 'send' bar won't reach me! You can
also type /ask in front of your question to reach me.
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writeaway
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So, it is okay to tell when
we're trying to smooth a transition?
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mary rosenblum
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Yeah, write. Transitions are
often...not always...telling. The above example was one of those...I
summarized the kitchen cleanup.
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mary rosenblum
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Now that WAS my voice and I
intruded on the story for the sake of the pace...
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mary rosenblum
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and it's not a good thing to
do too often and you certainly do NOT want to summarize a scene where
something important happened!
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mary rosenblum
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I see that a lot.
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mary rosenblum
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And that's a case, usually,
where the reader is intimidated by the scene...it's hard to write...and
ducks it.
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mary rosenblum
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The rule there: Write the hard
scene!
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mary rosenblum
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The other type of transition
is the line break with a centered * or # in the middle of the skipped line.
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mary rosenblum
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(That centered mark tells the
editor you meant to insert a scene break here, your printer did not
hiccough).
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mary rosenblum
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Usually, this is used as a
transition BETWEEN scenes...
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mary rosenblum
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although you can also use a
narrative transition (my previous example) between scenes as well.
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wingedwarrior24
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ok mary I think I have something
to help my word count issue. Lets compare it to your book Garden View. How
many words on one side of a page?
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mary rosenblum
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That one came out to just
about the same page count as the ms, winged, so it must be about 240 words
per page.
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tkat_2
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you can add to the scene that
during her harried pace brought on by anger, she cracked a few of the
disshes ash she washed them.
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mary rosenblum
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Yes, tkat, you could. But try
to keep a narrative transition brief. Remember that narrative brief. Here,
the cracked dishes would only add a couple of words...
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mary rosenblum
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and that indeed would show us
her anger at Harold.
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sfnovelwriter
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It's keep it short, uncluttered
to keep the action flowing
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mary rosenblum
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Yep, exactly, sf.
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writeaway
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now we have to transition for
the time period of leaving the house and meeting the old flame, right?
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mary rosenblum
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Right...and that would be a
transition between scenes.
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mary rosenblum
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I would probably use that
centered * and pick up with her entering the restaurant.
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mary rosenblum
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We have watched her put on the
dress her hubby doesn't like and maybe put on careful makeup... and we
don't really need to know how she got to the restaurant...
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mary rosenblum
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what the car looks like, where
she parked, all that stuff...so we skip it.
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mary rosenblum
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Next important moment...she
sees Scott.
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aulait
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The best way to learn to
transitions is to read a story and
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aulait
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spot them.
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mary rosenblum
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Yep. The best way to learn ALL
writing techniques is to spot it in what you read...or spot the places
where it should have been used and wasn't or was used badly.
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mary rosenblum
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Every book or story is a mini
writing course.
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jr souza jr
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Many books start chapters by
leaving the character and scene of the previous chapter abruptly and bring
the reader to another character in another plac (very typical in mysteries)
Do you consider this a transition? In most cases when you return to the
first character it isn't uncommon to find they have moved on or the event
has culminated in another action that starts a new scene.
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mary rosenblum
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Oh yes, jr, and it often
occurs in short stories if more than one POV is used.
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mary rosenblum
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Chapter breaks are usually
where an author will move from one POV to another in a novel (It's the best
place to do it). There...
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mary rosenblum
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the challenge is to set the
new scene and indicate the new POV in the first two or three sentences or
your reader flounders.
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mary rosenblum
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If you'll notice next time you
read a chapter transition to a new POV...
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mary rosenblum
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the author usually finds a way
to make the identity of the POV clear right off and to give strong clues
about where/when we are.
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rosedak
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For a beginner, like myself,
would you recommend writing the scene and then cutting out the boring bits
that occur with a transition similiar to your example. Or would you
recommend trying to cut those out from the start.
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mary rosenblum
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I always always recommend
writing the first draft with your editor self locked in its bedroom!
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mary rosenblum
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Don't worry about any craft
issues.
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mary rosenblum
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Worry about having fun telling
your story.
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mary rosenblum
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Start finding places to make
transitions when you do your first revision.
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mary rosenblum
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That's usually a good place to
start working with structural details like that.
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mary rosenblum
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As you become more practiced
you'll find yourself dealing with revision issues in your first draft, but
right now, that can REALLY block you. Just WRITE for that first draft!
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sfnovelwriter
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So it's ok to just get the story
down and fix it later?
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mary rosenblum
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Always always!!!
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mary rosenblum
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When you're writing that story
and the energy is flowing, don't mess with it!
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mary rosenblum
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You can always fix stuff
later!
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mary rosenblum
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You have two brains...editor
and creative...
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mary rosenblum
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and the creative brain is
compromised by editing. Let the creative brain have the first draft and
give the rest to the editor to play with!
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sfnovelwriter
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good now I feel much better!
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mary rosenblum
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-)
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mary rosenblum
|
This is the Tuesday Forum with
me, Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor, fiction and nonfiction writer and we're
talking about transitions. 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, or use the ask a question icon in order to
ask a question. Your regular 'send' bar won't reach me! You can also type
/ask in front of your question to reach me.
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|
gwanny
|
I have 3 paragraphs of intense
storyline, then need to go directly to internal dialouge. When reading it,
it seems as tho the bottom has dropped out. What can I do to transition
from description to ID without losing my pace?
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mary rosenblum
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I'm chuckling, gwanny. I'm
assuming you mean internal monologue? Or does your MC have a serious
personality disorder?
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mary rosenblum
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-)
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mary rosenblum
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I would try to mix your
internal mono in with actions, gwanny...
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mary rosenblum
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a long unbroken stretch of
thought is BORING>
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mary rosenblum
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If you can mix it in with
action, it'll still be slow, but it won't be THAT slow.
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mary rosenblum
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Back to my example...
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mary rosenblum
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if I needed to make Marlene's
relationship with Harold clear...
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mary rosenblum
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or needed to tell the reader
something about Scott...
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mary rosenblum
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I could have had her thinking
about it as she wiped the table, scrubbed the sink, took the garbage out.
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mary rosenblum
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I would have used her actions
to punctuate the thoughts with emotional cues.
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mary rosenblum
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She might have yanked the
garbage sack from the can...hurled the sponge into the sink.
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mary rosenblum
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Or maybe she would have paused
on the doorstep, staring deamily at the lilacs blooming. Scott had given
her a huge bunch of white lilacs on the night of the spring play. She
smiled.
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mary rosenblum
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It's still a slow stretch, but
the visuals and actions increase the flow somewhat.
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writeaway
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If we're doing an action story
where there is action going on in two places at the same time we can use *
to flip from scene to scene?
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mary rosenblum
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I would, write. A narrative
transition will really slow down the pace...BUT...this is a case where ...
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mary rosenblum
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you need to be extra careful
to make the where/who CRYSTAL clear in the first sentence...
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mary rosenblum
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because action will sweep the
reader along and they'll miss a subtle clue.
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sfnovelwriter
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her anger abated she thought of
scott and what might be?
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mary rosenblum
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That works. It might be
stronger if you SHOW her anger abating.
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mary rosenblum
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She picked up Harold's picture
and smiled. Poor Harold. Still smiling, she left the house, pausing to
pluck a single sprig of lilac on her way to the car.
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mary rosenblum
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The reader should be able to
figure out what is going on inside her head. :-)
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margieh
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and whether you show her
escaping into memory or throwing the sponge around the kitchen would depend
on her personality or would there be other factors?
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mary rosenblum
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Well, Margieh, as she escapes
into memory, the actions will simply let us know what her emotions are.
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mary rosenblum
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We'll know if she's angry,
thinking loving thoughts of Scott, apprehensive, guilty...whatever.
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mary rosenblum
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Actions are a box of crayons
we can use to color in 'emotion' without telling the reader what the
character is feeling.
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writermom
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What is the status of the novel
writing course?
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mary rosenblum
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Well, our three guinea pig
students are working on the first three assignments right now.. The course
should be available soon after they are done. I would say end of
summer...but I'm guessing. Might be earlier, you never know.
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margieh
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Maybe my question is would you
need to transition from an argument to a lilac scene or would the sudden
dramatic switch be enough?
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mary rosenblum
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Well, you need to have enough
there so that the reader CAN get a sense of what is going on in her head.
If she is breaking dishes and suddenly stops...
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mary rosenblum
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walks outside, stares and the
lilacs and sighs...
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mary rosenblum
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most readers are going to have
a hard time figuring out what is going on...
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mary rosenblum
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without one or two clues in
the form of her thoughts.
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sfnovelwriter
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novel course would be great I've
got about 10 first drafts!
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mary rosenblum
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Be prepared to start with a
new idea, sf...that's the best way to go. Then use what you learn to polish
those first drafts. :-)
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writermom
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And how do I get notified if I
am interested in the course?
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mary rosenblum
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Email student services. I
think they're now making a list of people who are interested. And they've
heard from quite a few already, I understand.
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mary rosenblum
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When the course becomes
officially available, I'll post a review of it on the website and I'll do a
couple of Forums on it to answer questions.
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sfnovelwriter
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What of the new critique where
you can post things is it up
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mary rosenblum
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I took down a critique area
some time ago, sf, if you're talking about the Post It.
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mary rosenblum
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I got worried that people were
going to compromise first rights that way...you can ask around in the chat
rooms...
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mary rosenblum
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if you're looking for
critiquers...or post your email address on Post It and ask for people to
swap stories with.
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mary rosenblum
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There are a lot of folk on the
website who have met and exchanged crits through the chat rooms.
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mary rosenblum
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Remember that we have open
chat gatherings...just to talk writing...
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mary rosenblum
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same time as this Forum, but
on M, W, F and on Sundays at 5 PM pacific, 6 Mt, 7 Central, and 8 PM
eastern.
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mary rosenblum
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You can meet a lot of folk
there.
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sfnovelwriter
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sounds great, I'm a newbee so
I'm learning thanks
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mary rosenblum
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I didn't think I'd seen your
name before! Do drop in...and welcome.
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mary rosenblum
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Back to transitions...the main
reason to use them is to skip over a boring stretch of story.
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mary rosenblum
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The main thing to keep in mind
is that you need to make that 'leap' smooth for the reader...
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mary rosenblum
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so be sure that you make your
'landing point' clear..
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mary rosenblum
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either by using a narrative
transition or identifying time/place/POV right away with your first couple
of sentences if you..
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mary rosenblum
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simply use a skipped line/* to
indicate a new scene.
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mary rosenblum
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Same thing with chapter
breaks...especially if you switch to a new POV in the next chapter. (POV=
Point of View character)...
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mary rosenblum
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Make the POV and the
time/place clear right away.
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mary rosenblum
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And believe me, those first
couple of sentences can be hard, as you try to let the reader know where we
are and who is POV...
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mary rosenblum
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and still make it a strong
opening for the chapter!
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mary rosenblum
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This is the Tuesday Forum with
me, Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor, fiction and nonfiction writer and we're
talking about transitions. 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, or use the ask a question icon in
order to ask a question. Your regular 'send' bar won't reach me! You can
also type /ask in front of your question to reach me.
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mary rosenblum
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Actually, a really nice
example of a LOT of transitions is Snow Falling on Cedars, by Guterson.
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mary rosenblum
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He zips around from past to
present, flashback to reality. And he does a really good job, for the most
part...
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mary rosenblum
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of keeping the reader with him
and located.
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mary rosenblum
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That book would have been a
MESS if he had used poor transitions.
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rcourt929
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Could you use an external
observer for your POV? (3rd person
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mary rosenblum
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Sure, rcourt.
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mary rosenblum
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Harper did that rather nicely
in 'To Kill a Mockingbird'.
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mary rosenblum
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Scout, the narrator, is not
the main character in the book.
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mary rosenblum
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She simply tells the reader
what is going on and it works very well.
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mary rosenblum
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I have read others like that.
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mary rosenblum
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Mary Renault did that in her
book about Alexander the Great...
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mary rosenblum
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which is narrated by a slave
of his.
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mary rosenblum
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I think that one is 'Fire From
Heaven', but I"d have to run upstairs to look.
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rcourt929
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Is there a preferred approach?
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mary rosenblum
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For what, rcourt?
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mary rosenblum
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If you're talking about a
narrator who is not the central character...
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mary rosenblum
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there's no particular
'preferred' approach...as in every aspect of fiction...
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mary rosenblum
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it simply must WORK.
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mary rosenblum
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However, in the cases where it
has worked...the ones I've read...
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mary rosenblum
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the MC has been a character
that would have been difficult to pull off..
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mary rosenblum
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if the reader was inside that
person's head.
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mary rosenblum
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In these cases, the distance
worked.
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mary rosenblum
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Because you DO distance the
reader from the MC by using a narrator like that.
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mary rosenblum
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But, say, if I was going to
write a book about a new prophet who galvanized, say, the Muslim world...
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mary rosenblum
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I would probaby use a narrator
character...
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mary rosenblum
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because while I could show
this person motivating thousands...
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mary rosenblum
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I would have a hard time
creating a character readers could know intimately that would seem real.
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mary rosenblum
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_I_ don't know what goes into
a Messianic mindset and most readers don't either..
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mary rosenblum
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and we probably all have
different ideas...so I'd maintain some distance there.
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rcourt929
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Would a narrator style keep the
raeder as observers?
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mary rosenblum
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Exactly, rcourt. We are
watching with the narrator.
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mary rosenblum
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The narrative distance here is
much greater than it would be in a limited third person...
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mary rosenblum
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where we are filtering the
scene through the perceptions of the main character.
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geezer
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In my climactic chapter there
are no people. A world is self destructing and I describe it from outer
space. It is all narrative. Can this work?
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mary rosenblum
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Sure geezer...that is called
cinematic, it is all narrative and it can work well...
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mary rosenblum
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just make it SHORT.
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mary rosenblum
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While a planet disintegrating
can be awe inspiring in the short term...
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mary rosenblum
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pages and pages of details get
dull fast unless people we care about are dying...
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mary rosenblum
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and even then...you can
quickly have too much.
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rosedak
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Mary, your comment about the
Messianic world made me think of a question about factual knowledge in a
fictional/fantasy story. How much research do you think is necessary to the
story. I want to have believablilty but not be boged down in the science
aspects.
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mary rosenblum
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Well, rose, most readers,
myself included, are jolted completely out of a story when the find a
'fact' that they know is not true.
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mary rosenblum
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So you strive for
'verisimilitude' rather than 'truth'.
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mary rosenblum
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YOu want the story to seem
real. Most readers, for example, will believe in Mary Renault's world of
ancient Persia...she has lots of well researched details of daily life.
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mary rosenblum
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A real expert will undoubtedly
find mistakes in the book...but how many experts on ancient Persia will
read it?
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mary rosenblum
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You do need to get most of
your details right...a book DOES involve time and energy spent in research.
(You should see my library of books I've acquired through research and
those are only the ones I've purchase! LOL)
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mary rosenblum
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In a fantasy world, where your
universe is made up, YOU make the rules. So there, work for consistancy.
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rosedak
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I know, my library takes almost
3 storage units. 30,000 and counting. But my drastically varing interests
cause me to take on a lecturing tone...which gets in the way of the story.
I guess i'll just have to find a personal balance?
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mary rosenblum
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YOu do, rose. Early on in my
career, my readers were constantly telling me to leave stuff out. I have a
much better sense of how much I can include and what I have to leave out
now...comes with LOTS of practice.
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mary rosenblum
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Well, this has been a fun
Oregon hour.
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mary rosenblum
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Do join us tomorrow, for our
casual chat.
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mary rosenblum
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And Friday I'll be talking
about Publishing Options in our Friday Forum.
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mary rosenblum
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Thanks for coming all!
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mary rosenblum
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Have a good day!
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mary rosenblum
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Bye all!
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