3,751 Reply by Norm d'Plume

(5 replies, posted in Writing Tips & Site Help)

Welcome, Randall, and thanks again for the review. I'll recip shortly.

I use chapter titles to tease the reader, either with a few word summary of a key event in the chapter, or with a little misdirection.

For example, my story builds up over many chapters that one of my MCs, Apollo, is heir to the Imperial throne and is expected to become emperor and lead a holy war. It's pretty much a given that that event will occur, so I give the reader something to look forward to when they check out the table of contents. Through chapter titles, they see his rise and fall, followed by a climax where everything will be decided. As you read it, you know he will fall, but he doesn't. As a result, I have a chapter called Emperor Apollo that includes his coronation, which is the peak of his success before the fall.

It's kind of like when you saw the second death star in Return of the Jedi. You know a big battle will occur, but not the how, including the fact that Emperor Plapatine has planned the whole thing. So, there were still a lot of surprises left to be had in ROTJ. Dune did something similar. It used epigraphs at the top of each chapter (I use them too) to give historical information about Maud'dib, the protagonist. You know from early on that Paul Atreides will become Maud'dib, but you have to tear through the book to get there and see how it happens.

The other example, misdirection, I do for fun (my story tries for a fair bit of humor). I have a title called Joseph Enters Heaven. He's a religious character, so it could be interpreted as him going to Heaven (in some form). In reality Heaven is the name of a prison.

By using both types of chapter titles, I also keep the reader guessing.

If you want the whole story to be a closely held secret and only unfold through the content of the chapters, then leave them out. If you prefer to tease them with some information, then use chapter titles. The latter also gives potential readers a little more information about the book when they're deciding whether or not to buy it. You have the book title and the book summary to sell your novel, but a few interesting chapter titles in a TOC might help seal the deal. In my book, a chapter titled "Worlds Collide" let's the reader know that, as suggested in the book summary, the quests of the two MCs will indeed collide.

Hope that helps.
Dirk

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3,752 Reply by Norm d'Plume

(5 replies, posted in Marketing Your Writing)

It would have saved me quite a few bucks on Star Wars: Darth Plagueis. Great bedtime reading for those with insomnia. It does pick up after many painful chapters. I only stuck with it because of some interesting writing techniques.

Personally, I have no problem getting paid by the page. The onus is on me to write a story people want to finish. And if they don't like it, perhaps they won't leave a nasty review about having wasted $10 on a doorstop.

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3,753 Reply by Norm d'Plume

(26 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

Dune uses omniscient POV and is the best-selling sci-fi novel of all time. Today, publishers are so focused on a POV style that masterpieces of the past would never even get published.

I started with omniscient because I didn't know any better and was strongly encouraged to drink the cool-aid and switch to 3rd person limited. I'm glad I did because there are several key chapters that wouldn't have worked if I had been inside both MCs heads at the same time.

That aside, I plan to self-publish, so I have no problem breaking a few rules to tell the story the way I would like to read it.

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3,754 Reply by Norm d'Plume

(37 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

Charles_F_Bell wrote:
j p lundstrom wrote:
Mike Roberson wrote:

Checking out the dif in foreword, prologue's and such.  Found this interesting.
http://theeditorsblog.net/2011/07/06/pr … -prologue/

Mike--I just read the article, and I have to say I'm in the group of readers against prologues. My main complaint? I want to read the story, not the  background junk.  JP

Don't worry! Everything alleged in that blog post is wrong.  A writer's prologue is like operatic or broadway musical composer's overture. The concept started in Greek drama to be like a movie trailer, and if the listener/reader is turned off by a overture/prologue, then is it a fact that he had better spend his money elsewhere.   Readers should thank an author for a prologue.

I agree with Charles on this. My prologue isn't something you're meant to slog through to get to the story. It's part of the story. I use it to set the stage for everything that follows, except for the main characters, who aren't born yet. It's set in the era of my MCs' parents and grandparents. It creates history for the MCs.

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3,755 Reply by Norm d'Plume

(37 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

Mike Roberson wrote:

I was raised on brains and eggs, Charles.  I read the article with an eye to removing large flashbacks.  The Prologue would actually hold the crime of years before.  Then the story would lay out the impact on characters years later.  My only thought is to limit the size of flashbacks.  Now I am thinking if I'm good enough I can work the info into the characters thoughts as the story unfolds.  Just a rookie, playing with his new found brain.  Mike

Mike, if it helps, my prologue is 5000 words (about ten pages). I'm going to put up version 4 tomorrow. As NJC mentioned somewhere in this thread, make the prologue a good short story. If you decide not to go with it, you'll have fleshed out the details of the past to use to fill in the rest of the story.

From what I've read of your story, I think the flashbacks would work well as a prologue, unless there's more of the past than I've read so far (Clay's interrogation and guilty plea). There's nothing quite like trying to squeeze a ton of story into 10 little pages. Tonight I deleted a lot of stuff I previously thought was essential to the prologue, all to pick up the pace.

The other way you might consider going is to break up the flashbacks into a long guilt trip for your MC. Have him think of it in short recollections that coincide with your main story unfolding. Only you would know if that makes sense here.

Cow brains and eggs? Now that brings back memories. :-)
Dirk

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3,756 Reply by Norm d'Plume

(18 replies, posted in Marketing Your Writing)

1. Sell
2. On
3. Amazon

Sorry, couldn't resist. :-)

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3,757 Reply by Norm d'Plume

(26 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

Many articles I've read equate omniscient POV, multiple POV, and head-hopping, as if there were no distinction, which is how I learned it. Interesting to see the subtle differences. To the best of my recollection, Dune (mentioned in the article) uses not just omniscient, but head-hopping. I'll have to look for it again the next time I re-read the book.

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3,758 Reply by Norm d'Plume

(3 replies, posted in Spirituality & Religion)

Added to my list.

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3,759 Reply by Norm d'Plume

(5 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

Janet Taylor-Perry wrote:

I think I've got it figured out. Publisher sent to B & N before telling me. The other thing is extended distribution in UK AND I just got a nice little deposit to my account.

Now, I need to know how to check sales with these two.

Janet, I thought you were self-published. Who's your publisher?

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3,760 Reply by Norm d'Plume

(342 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

dagnee wrote:

I WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE AN ANSWER EVEN IF IT'S JUST THAT YOU DON'T KNOW. IT'S A PAIN IN THE ASS WHEN I AM ON MY KINDLE AND HAVE TO WAIT AS IF I AM USING DAIL UP ONLY TO GET A TIMED OUT MESSAGE. I USE MY KINDLE A LOT.

neutral

Dagnee, when your Kindle hangs and you're about to restart the wifi, have you tried first accessing the wifi from another device?

Dirk

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3,761 Reply by Norm d'Plume

(13 replies, posted in Writing Tips & Site Help)

Janet Taylor-Perry wrote:

Lupus knitted his brow and ground his teeth. Windsor suppressed the urge to smile at causing him to bristle over the use of his first name.

to smile/him/to bristle/his doesn't flow well. I prefer Tom's combined sentence for this one, perhaps with a tweak or two.

Thanks
Dirk

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3,762 Reply by Norm d'Plume

(13 replies, posted in Writing Tips & Site Help)

I went with Tom's version above. It's less show-y than K's, but I want a fast back and forth between the two characters. Causing him to bristle is not something I want to dwell on with added dialogue. It's a verbal dueling of words on the verge of a deadly battle. I want to keep up the pace.

Thanks.
Dirk

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3,763 Reply by Norm d'Plume

(83 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

amy s wrote:

Does this help?

Oh, heck. I had my answers after the first few replies to this thread. The rest is just good entertainment. :-)

Thanks to all.
Dirk

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3,764 Reply by Norm d'Plume

(83 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

amy s wrote:

This isn't the first time this has been debated by minds bigger than ours. I can't believe no one has mentioned the Myth of Sysiphus by Albert Camus. He poses the question: If there is no god, then how can there be meaning in life? He postulates that suicide is a natural endpoint of the futility of living. I debated this in a morality class and won points on a test because the teacher asked this question: What did Camus debate in the Myth of Syphilus? One answer was 'is there a god' and the other was something like, 'advocating suicide is the only logical endpoint because life is meaningless.'

I won the points because the primary question of the philosopher's posit didn't have anything to do with suicide. It had to do with the question, "Is there a God." Only once that question was answered could the other be debated.

How does this relate, Dirk? It comes down to the person who is in the heads of each MC. If it is God, and he has told the boys that this is their destiny, then he has to be right. This may be because each of them has been chosen, or it may be predestiny, where they are on a clearly defined path visible only to the Maker.  Your debate makes it clear to me once again that you aren't writing about mental illness at all, BTW. 

Personally, the whole concept of free will makes God less omniscient, (IMHO). Man is going to do what he's going to do anyway and God guides rather than plowing the road and shooting anyone who steps astray. I think the second MC is there as backup. If one person doesn't change the world, then the other can pick up the pieces and keep the plan on track.

Does this help?

I'm not sure why you keep thinking God is real in this story. If you hear God tell you it's your destiny to conquer the galaxy, that doesn't mean you're sane and He's real. If he's imaginary, he could be saying the exact same thing. How would you be able to tell? The only way is to follow the characters and see how things unfold. As you've seen, the two boys' experience with God is very different and they are on different timelines until early in the story when events in the galaxy begin to overlap, finally bringing them together.

So far, Apollo is trying to avoid his fate, but is repeatedly forced to do things God has been warning would happen. Joseph, on the other hand, has committed to his quest, even though he is constantly confronted with increasing evidence that he is seriously ill. Consider, he's been asked to create a new religion called the Christian Heresy that will surge across the galaxy like a tidal wave, toppling kings, quees, and emperors in its path. If that's not nuts, I don't know what is.

Check out the new epigraph at the top of chapter two, if you like. It's the only thing I changed about the chapter at present. It summarizes the real vs. imaginary debate in a way that hits the reader over the head that this could go either way.

Following the discussion here, I'm simply going to tweak the wording for Joseph's character that he has free will to walk away at any time. It's his destiny to "lead" the quest, but that doesn't necessarily mean he will succeed. For the time being, Apollo will remain stuck on the course God has warned him will happen.

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3,765 Topic by Norm d'Plume

(13 replies, posted in Writing Tips & Site Help)

I have a dialogue between two characters: Admiral Windsor, the POV character, and Admiral Gaius Lupus, her deadly nemesis.

Windsor says: “Two encounters in three months, Gaius? I don’t recall a formal declaration of war. Surely the emperor doesn’t plan to unleash the Apocalypse over me.”

The next part is what I'm wondering about. Can I say,

     Lupus bristled at the use of his first name.
     Windsor suppressed an urge to smile.

Or should I say,

     Windsor saw Lupus bristle at the use of his first name. She suppressed an urge to smile.

The first option could be viewed as a POV slip. After all, how can she know that's why he bristled? In the second option, it's clear that she took his bristling to be in response to her calling him by his first name.

I prefer the first option because I don't like to remind the reader too frequently that we're in Windsor's POV when the whole chapter is her POV.

Thoughts from the POV police?

Thanks.
Dirk

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3,766 Reply by Norm d'Plume

(83 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

njc wrote:

imagine you could eavesdrop on every radio message ever sent

Google

njc wrote:

and you set about making sure that history unfolded the way it was "supposed to."

Apple

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3,767 Reply by Norm d'Plume

(5 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

Sol, I'm still not seeing behavior consistent with what you've told me. I read your latest post about the (apple) writing competition. It still shows up on my home page. I don't mean to beat this to death, but I think it would help us to know how it works so we know when/when not to rely on it as part of our workflow.

Thanks.
Dirk

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3,768 Reply by Norm d'Plume

(5 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

Is there a timeout? Why/when do posts disappear from the home page? My post to a thread in the Medieval group is the newest one, yet it doesn't appear on my home page.

Thanks.
Dirk

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3,769 Topic by Norm d'Plume

(5 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

Sol, can you please tell us the algorithm used to determine whether or not something is a new post? I posted a couple of replies to one of Amy's threads today, the last one timestamped shortly after 17:00 hours, and already the thread has disappeared off my home screen at 19:00 hours. Others seem to stick around longer, although I may be mistaken.

How does it work?

Thanks.
Dirk

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3,770 Reply by Norm d'Plume

(83 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

Charles_F_Bell wrote:

Homer's Achilles, we suppose he added to the existing ancient legend, is a turning point in Western civilization in that Achilles is given a destiny but he also has a choice through his own action or inaction between two outcomes, so even in a culture of intervening-meddling gods, Man has effective freewill.

Free will is one of my options. One of my two MCs repeatedly has the ability to walk away, but believes so strongly in his course of action, that he ignores the ever-increasing insanity of his quest. Another option is to say that the MC was destined to lead the quest, though not necessarily succeed in it.

The other one I'm exploring is the case where the MC was never given a choice, but is trying his best to avoid his fate, which he believes would lead to all-out war for the human race. So far, he keeps failing to divert away from that destiny.

Finally, there is a very real possibility that either or both destinies are just imagined.

Eventually, it all collides. Should be a blast. Pun intended.

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3,771 Reply by Norm d'Plume

(10 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Basic)

Connect with Janet Taylor-Perry here on the site. English teacher, author, and part-time editor. There are others too. If you can post your request to Premium, you should do so.

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3,772 Reply by Norm d'Plume

(33 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

max keanu wrote:

I'll be gone for 10 days. Off to Washington state to explore medical marijuana. I'll be staying here part of the time:
http://www.anchorage-inn.com/
Also, Gig Harbor with friends  & the Paradise Inn to get inspiration for a horror novel like, The Shinning.

Is this the right place to post trivia like this? Is this the community forum?

Good luck, Max. FYI, I read a news article recently that says the actual content of pot's active ingredient is very inconsistent. Only about 20% of edible products had the advertised content. 60% had too little. 20% too much.

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3,773 Reply by Norm d'Plume

(83 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

Thanks, Karin. The idea of the prophecy being wrong is a good fit. I hadn't considered it since both boys are told about their destinies by God, or at least a voice that claims to be Him. The prophecy is only as real as the deity (as opposed to mental illness). I need to dedicate some time to making that connection more obvious.

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3,774 Reply by Norm d'Plume

(83 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

Vern, surely there was never any doubt that I would respond. :-)

I need to adjust the wording I use in the book's next draft. I think it's more correct to say they're destined to lead the quest, without knowing if they'll succeed. Even that isn't quite right, since one of them is given the option to walk away even before he begins.

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3,775 Topic by Norm d'Plume

(83 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

I was wondering if anyone has any thoughts about the use of fate/destiny in your writing. I have two characters, both of whom are told it is their destiny to save the human race from the Apocalypse, although they use different, even conflicting, methods in the attempt to do so.

Can someone fail to achieve one's destiny? The very word suggests otherwise. If it's fate, how dumb do you have to be to screw it up? Can you walk away from fate?

Thanks.
Dirk

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