Author: Alison

Book Summary for March:

Maze of Bones (39 Clues) by Rick Riordan
One False Note (39 Clues) by Gordon Korman
The Magician (Book two of the ‘Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel) by Michael Scott
The Art and Craft of Storytelling by Nancy Lamb
Nightmare Academy (Monster Hunters) by Dean Lorey
Rules by Cynthia Lord
Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott

April:

Dead Beat (Dresden Files) by Jim Butcher
The Sword Thief (39 Clues) by Peter Lerangis
The Tales of Beedle the Bard by JK Rowling
My Fair Godmother by Janette Rallison
Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George
Straw into Gold by Gary D. Schmidt
Farworld (Water Keep) by J. Scott Savage
The Bone Magician by F.E. Higgins
Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

I was able to read a bit this past while. As you will see, in March I read two ‘How to write’ books. One by Nancy Lamb, and the other by Anne Lamott. They were both completely different from each other and both very good. Each of them taught me new things about writing. The ‘Art and Craft’ book seems more instructional, while ‘Bird by Bird’ is more anecdotal, but each of opened new windows and doors for me. The fun part about not having any knowledge about something is that whatever you read about the subject, you will learn something.
I am also taking an online course in how to write, and more to break through thinking barriers. It is from Holly Lisle and is entitled “How to Think Sideways.”
I’m excited about it and the possibilities.

Another realization this month: No matter how much positive energy I put toward my writing, nothing will happen if I don’t actually write. 🙂

First- finishing up the books read in February:
The Black Book of Secrets by F.E. Higgins
Savvy by Ingrid Law
(both of them awesome by the way)

So last I wrote about studying story beginnings. I thought I would let you know what I discovered. I’ve drawn some conclusions and now I’ve moved on to Characters. I’m going to flesh out my characters a bit more, get to know them. Anyway, back to story beginnings. As you probably know, beginnings are important, essential even. But, there are different types of beginnings. To demonstrated, I will share some of my favorite books and their first sentence.

Some books begin with a boom: some type of mortal peril, or danger.

The Black Book of Secrets by F.E. Higgins:
“When I opened my eyes I knew that nothing in my miserable life prior to that moment could possibly be as bad as what was about to happen.”

The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner:
“I didn’t know how long I had been in the King’s prison.”

Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder:
“Locked in darkness that surrounded me like a coffin, I had nothing to distract me from my memories.”

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman:
“There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife.”

Graceling by Kristin Cashore:
“In these dungeons the darkness was complete, but Katsa had a map in her mind.”

Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale:
“My lady and I are being shut up in a tower for seven years.”

Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George:
“It was my aunt who decided to give me to the dragon.”

Some begin with a curiosity. A little something to draw you in, but with less tension or worry.

Into the Wild by Sarah Beth Durst:
“In the darkness, the heart of the fairy tale waited . . . .”

Crown Duel by Sherwood Smith:
“The broken shutter in the window creaked a warning.”

Savvy by Ingrid Law:
“When my brother Fish turned thirteen we moved to the deepest part of inland because of the hurricane and, of course, the fact that he’d caused it.”

The Alchemyst by Michael Scott:
“OK – answer me this: why would anyone want to wear an overcoat in San Fransisco in the middle of Summer?”

Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy:
“Gordon Edgley’s sudden death came as a shock to everyone – not least himself.”

Other stories began with some type of description of surroundings or character.

Wild Magic by Tamora Pierce:
“Each year, at the end of March, a great fair was held in Cria, the capital of Galla.”

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins:
“When I wake up, the other side of the bed is cold.”

The Host by Stephenie Meyer:
“The Healer’s name was Fords Deep Waters.”

I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have to Kill You by Ally Carter:
“I suppose a lot of teenage girls feel invisible sometimes, like they just disappear.”

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan:
“Look, I didn’t want to be a half blood.”

Dark Lord of Derkholm by Diana Wynne Jones:
“Will you all be quiet!” snapped High Chancellor Querida.

Even the books that started with a background description, by the end of the first paragraph had some hook. An idea that drew you in. The hardest part of doing all the research was not being pulled into the books and read them all over again.
So, I decided that the beginning was even more important than first realized. I need to revise and rethink my beginning. A way to draw the reader into the story. But, I don’t want something that feels forced. Hmmmm, a quandary. So, once I nail down my characters, it’s back to the beginning.

First, an update on which books I have read.

Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
Death Masks (Dresden Files) by Jim Butcher
The Cabinet of Wonders (The Kronos Chronicles:Book 1) by Marie Rutoski
Alcatraz versus the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson
Blood Rites (Dresden Files) by Jim Butcher

So, I have been a bit non-existent as far as this blog is concerned. Mostly because I have had nothing to say. (A shock, I know.) But, there have been some interesting developments that I would like to share. I was at a sort of impasse with my story. I knew it didn’t sing to me like the books that I love to read, and yet I didn’t know how to proceed. I didn’t know how to fix my mess.

So, I decided to have someone look at it. I sent it off to an editor that does some freelance work. And I just got it back the other day. It looked like it was bleeding from every paragraph due to the amount of comments written. It was a bit overwhelming, and at first it was also disheartening.

However, as I read the comments and the report that she sent along with the story it all clicked for me. I found myself saying ‘Oh, I should have caught that.’ Or, ‘I would have thought that same thing if it was someone else’s story.’ As I have thought about it over the past few says, it has started to blossom in my mind and I’m excited about it again. I can see places to enrich and better. It’s kind of fun.

I do believe that one problem I had was that I eliminated a lot of knowledge the reader needs in order to have an ‘exciting’ beginning. I was trying to jump into the action and not doing a good job of it. So I think my first thing I will do is look at beginnings. I’m going to go through some of my favorite books and look at how they start. Do a bit of research. POV, background, opening lines, that sort of thing.

I’ll let you know what I find.