Desperately Seeking Conflict

[raefinlay]

*sigh* I have a problem.

I lurve to develop stuff. Building characters, creating setting, gradually revealing motivation and plot... I lurve it. I lurve it with passionate hotmonkey lurve.



Alas, no one wants to read such painstaking development. Readers want ACTION. They want to know what the story is about right up front, so they know whether to invest the time. This frolicking about with the reader, teasing him with veiled hints, sprinkling character insights... it's soooo last century.

This is the X-box society. We can drive a stick shift and talk on the cell phone and suck a mocha all at once. How does one write for such a culture? Well, not the way I've been writing, that's for sure.

I'm gonna have to think about this for a while.

On a somewhat related note, I finally got the dreaded anticipated EC review for Elisa 1. It was slightly less devastating than expected. As well as helpful, dead-on, and all that stuff. Funny, Ms. Smith-Gaynor said exactly the same thing everyonesakitty told me right after I posted it. Holly is Teh Smart.



And now, I must watch Angel. Because it's Friday night and Friday nights are Whedon nights.

Comments

[kmkibble75.livejournal.com]

Not that she needs it, but I'm going to agree with Bear.

Writing a book and writing for the workshop are two completely different things, and you need to keep that firmly in mind if you post as you go (like I do). There's a trap where you might feel the need to write in a serial format -- a mini-episode with its own arc and conclusion -- to make sure reviewers will want to click the next link and read on. We tend to forget that if someone buys this in a book version, well, chances are they'll read on as long as the writing is good and there's some form of movement.

Let me give you an example -- One of my crits of either Chapter 12 or 13 of Once-Turned said that I needed a better hook to make sure new readers would want to stick around. But actually, I don't, because very few readers, if any, will buy the book in a bookstore, flip to Chapter 13 and begin reading. So while we need a hook in Chapter One, something to make us raise our eyebrows and think, "Well, that's interesting," I don;t think you need to jump into the action-action right away. As long as there's character growth and a hint of a conflict building, I think you'll be okay.

I'm enjoying Elise's Belly as is quite a bit so far...

[raecarson.livejournal.com]

...very few readers, if any, will buy the book in a bookstore, flip to Chapter 13 and begin reading.

yes! very true. when I'm in a bookstore, I read the first few pages to see if it grabs me. then, I read a few random pages in the middle, but NOT for grabbiness. Those, I read to see if I like the style and voice. And yeah, if you haven't hooked a reader by ch 13, ya ain't nevah.