tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8005062827798430682.post7961334219157123709..comments2024-02-21T05:25:03.233-05:00Comments on Adventures in YA Publishing: Active versus Static Backstory and DescriptionMartina Boonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03358736828122139189noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8005062827798430682.post-53211610942383298232011-12-16T17:22:36.410-05:002011-12-16T17:22:36.410-05:00I am impressed visit this beautiful post.Torch car...I am impressed visit this beautiful post.Torch carrying villagers, we are thinking about, we get word of applause,and the theme of the little scene phrase,the wind of laughter, to deny any chance, this is a happy applause.Before we know, the author tells us that, MC is afraid. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.crucialroofservices.com/vancouver-torch-on-roofing.html" rel="nofollow">torch on roofing</a>Ballardcalvinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03702673715430248595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8005062827798430682.post-79333586407375471862011-12-09T10:01:44.491-05:002011-12-09T10:01:44.491-05:00Great advice - another writer described this as sa...Great advice - another writer described this as salt and peppering your scenes, which I found apt, like your "slivering" --Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8005062827798430682.post-8785410738416002242011-12-07T20:43:56.575-05:002011-12-07T20:43:56.575-05:00Jami,
Well said! I love the point that even beaut...Jami,<br /><br />Well said! I love the point that even beautiful passages should serve multiple reasons, and that will actually encourage the readers to pay attention to them. And that's an excellent point about modern readers expecting a deeper POV!Martina Boonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03358736828122139189noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8005062827798430682.post-30342062286100052011-12-07T14:37:09.645-05:002011-12-07T14:37:09.645-05:00@asiamorela:
Or you could just read Martina's...@asiamorela:<br /><br />Or you could just read Martina's comment because she worded it so well. :)<br /><br />I just did a guest post at the GirlsWithPens blog about the different elements a scene can include, and as Martina mentioned, if beautiful passages are in our manuscript for multiple reasons, readers are more likely to *not* skim it.Jami Goldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00957122956518765455noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8005062827798430682.post-36759552903062520322011-12-07T14:30:48.935-05:002011-12-07T14:30:48.935-05:00Great post, Martina! And thanks for the examples....Great post, Martina! And thanks for the examples.<br /><br />If we take the analogy of writing as the act of transcribing a movie in our mind, we should look at setting as the props that our characters interact with. That way the descriptions will be active--because of that interaction.<br /><br />@asiamorela<br /><br />Yes, people still read the old classics...because they're classic. We all know that best-selling authors can get away with more simply because they're best-selling. The same goes with the classic stories.<br /><br />Now, due to TV and movies, people are used to stories with deeper POV. Most stories today are an emotional experience more than just a commentary on society. And in deep POV, we need to see everything through the characters' eyes.<br /><br />So if you're writing a pure classic-style, omniscient POV, commentary-on-society novel, then yes, this writing style might clash with your intent. But don't mistake people's love of the classics for love of the writing style.<br /><br />Just as very little of today's writing will become future classics, very little of the writing from 100 years ago is considered a classic. Again, it wasn't the writing style of the time period that made them classic. It was the story. Most new authors who wish to be successful would be better served by a writing style that immerses the reader into the story, as that's what most readers now want and expect.Jami Goldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00957122956518765455noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8005062827798430682.post-76031426086947346742011-12-07T13:10:48.182-05:002011-12-07T13:10:48.182-05:00Ara, you are way to sweet. Applying the stuff is s...Ara, you are way to sweet. Applying the stuff is so much harder than having the insight though, isn't it? I usually end up writing posts about the things that I struggle with the most. <br /><br />Beth, thank you! I appreciate you taking the time to comment.<br /><br />asiamorela, I think it's partly a generational thing as well as a literary versus commercial thing. Certainly there are many literary novels that have long passages of beautiful description and introspection. Certainly, there are many teens who adore books like TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD or CATCHER IN THE RYE, PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, WUTHERING HEIGHTS, or even THE THREE MUSKETEERS, THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS, and THE COUNT OF MONTE CHRISTO. There are probably fewer who don't skim through MOBY DICK. But the classics are the greatest works of literature. The books that have been loved by generations not for their prose, but for the amazing stories and concepts the prose brings to life. <br /><br />What I believe that Les Edgerton was referencing is more the commercial writers from decades ago who may have been immensely popular at the time, but whose books don't appeal as strongly to commercial tastes. The truth is, there is much more competition for fewer slots on the publishers lists. That's sheer numbers. There are more writers, and more competition for a potential reader's time and attention. We have to bring our best. That's all I was saying, and in that, I was merely referencing what I have read in so many craft books, agent blogs, and editor's notes. Just because a passage is beautiful doesn't mean it belongs in our manuscripts. It has to serve multiple purposes, and we have to use every word purposefully.Martina Boonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03358736828122139189noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8005062827798430682.post-12190084380142884862011-12-07T10:30:14.736-05:002011-12-07T10:30:14.736-05:00Great post, Martina. Thanks!Great post, Martina. Thanks!Beth MacKinneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14510201092365855223noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8005062827798430682.post-10391846170116331222011-12-07T09:37:04.466-05:002011-12-07T09:37:04.466-05:00While I value this type of advice and tend to appl...While I value this type of advice and tend to apply it myself when I write, I was once more struck with the contrast we often make between the old style and the new. You write:<br /><br />"He talks about the "writers of yore" who took up paragraph after paragraph after long paragraph describing "skittering waves, rolling toward the breast-shaped hummocks of the sun-kissed beach." Today, even a sentence or two of that kind of description makes a reader skim."<br /><br />It is more of a question, really, than a point or an argument: who are these "writers of yore"? Since a reader "today" will skim that kind of passage, does it mean that we don't read these authors anymore? We certainly don't read all the old authors anymore, and probably not as much as we used to. But classics and readers' favourites still often come from centuries ago.<br /><br />I don't think I can mention a single favourite author of mine who wrote much past the mid-20th-century, and surprisingly, such is the case of most readers I've come to interact with on the Internet. Of course, not all older writers were necessarily into passive description; what I'm trying to say is, why such a great emphasis on "today", when "today" hasn't yet proven its worth, and most people keep preferring "yesterday" to "today"? Of course new books sell, and I myself buy, read and enjoy them; but very little at this point has been serious competition with the "writers of yore" (probably the "very little" that will become classics and make the "writers of yore" of tomorrow).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8005062827798430682.post-59578216118295777942011-12-06T22:59:22.515-05:002011-12-06T22:59:22.515-05:00Wow, Martina! Eventually, you're going to have...Wow, Martina! Eventually, you're going to have a writing book from these awesome craft posts!!! So true that good writing isn't enough these days--every line has to pull double- or triple-duty. Sometimes I skim description, other times I don't--depends on the author's tone and content, as well as the level of tension.Ara Burklundhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03449683179737319913noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8005062827798430682.post-76227610119797736662011-12-06T21:21:48.762-05:002011-12-06T21:21:48.762-05:00Thanks, ladies! Aren't these great examples. I...Thanks, ladies! Aren't these great examples. I'm having so much fun with examples these last weeks. Literally any page of these books pulls up great writing, and that just confirms why YA lit is so strong these days. The top writers are masters of their craft while managing to write commercially appealing concepts. <br /><br />MartinaMartina Boonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03358736828122139189noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8005062827798430682.post-59728065609365223562011-12-06T19:31:19.961-05:002011-12-06T19:31:19.961-05:00This is awesome stuff. Love this line: We need to ...This is awesome stuff. Love this line: We need to have a good balance of dialogue, action, description, and introspection. <br /><br />I'm always wondering if I've got too much internal dialogue or too much action. This is a good rule of thumb. Thanks!<br /><br />Becca @ The Bookshelf MuseBecca Puglisihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08945707666707799601noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8005062827798430682.post-4737566854161939492011-12-06T18:16:51.805-05:002011-12-06T18:16:51.805-05:00Such great tips especially with the examples from ...Such great tips especially with the examples from the passages you chose. Wish there was a formula but you're right, there isn't one. <br /><br />And congrats on winning the award at The Bookshelf Muse this week. You so deserve it.Natalie Aguirrehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03756087804171246660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8005062827798430682.post-13782212857059286792011-12-06T18:01:43.498-05:002011-12-06T18:01:43.498-05:00I'm a skimmer - unless description has a purpo...I'm a skimmer - unless description has a purpose - just as you've described and shown so well here. Great examples - thanks! :)Jemi Fraserhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02214408467456320167noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8005062827798430682.post-33902999609400720672011-12-06T17:51:35.013-05:002011-12-06T17:51:35.013-05:00These are some wonderful tips, some new but most r...These are some wonderful tips, some new but most re-emphasized on how to make backstory more reader-friendly and less info-dump.<br /><br />Thank you so much.Angela Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03324366495151363782noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8005062827798430682.post-48042907287473038782011-12-06T17:08:52.274-05:002011-12-06T17:08:52.274-05:00I skimmed through this post since I don't real...I skimmed through this post since I don't really have the time now to read all the way through, but this is a good reminder. I need to improve my sense of space for my book's first fight scene. <br /><br />Now, I have a fence, some park benches, a few trees. Those trees need more action. Maybe have stray bolts hit them, making them rustle and have leaves fall on the characters?Chihuahua0http://www.youngaspiringwriter.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8005062827798430682.post-10992877374738040342011-12-06T13:31:05.712-05:002011-12-06T13:31:05.712-05:00Oh I just want to eat this page up! Such delicious...Oh I just want to eat this page up! Such delicious stuff here. Back story is essential but must be handled correctly or it ruins a good story! Wonderful tips and examples, thank you.Karen Jones Gowenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01153821980625034810noreply@blogger.com