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| Linda W. Yezak |
I recently finished two
novels written by two authors with timing trouble. One didn't know where to
start the story, and one didn't know where to stop.
The first, written by a
newbie, opened with the main character on a walk. During that walk, she reminisced
over events that had just occurred. I've done that before–a paragraph or two
devoted to action that occurred before the book's "page 1." I got
dinged for it, too. When I fixed it, I discovered that going back to present
the action instead of just telling about it gave the reader an opportunity to
get to know the character before disaster struck.
The newbie's story would benefit
from moving time back, too–particularly since he'd devoted far more than a
paragraph or two to the event. If he'd begun his novel with the action the
character now ruminated over, he could've presented the setting better and
grounded the reader into the era. And he could've presented the event far more
powerfully than by telling the reader what had happened before. Yes, he had us
in his character's head, but the character told us about her emotions instead
of letting us experience them with her. A cheater's form of deep POV—the author
is still "telling," he's just telling from inside the character's
head.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not
talking about opening your novel with backstory. The event I'd skimmed over and
the event the newbie avoided were both the key incidents that kicked off the
action in our novels. I should've known better than to present the action
through the character's memory because I've dinged other authors for the same
thing. As for the newbie, I can only hope he'll learn in time.
Start/Stop Lesson #1: If you find yourself explaining an event before you
actually get to the action, you probably ought to start with that event.
The second book I read was a
mystery. It opened with the dead body being discovered, and the rest of the
novel was devoted to finding the killer. Typical mystery.
In developing the characters,
the author deepened them by presenting some of the baggage they carried into
the novel from their backstories, events that didn't affect the plot, but
rounded out the characters and made them more realistic. Having the characters
dump their baggage and heal from old wounds became a subplot that had to be
tied up for the reader to have a satisfying experience with the novel.
Problem was, once the murder
was solved and the bad guy got his measure of justice, the novel should've been
over. The primary point of a mystery is the mystery itself and getting it solved.
This author continued the story to illustrate how each of the other characters
managed to deal with their problems and heal from their wounds.
As I tried to decide whether
to finish this book, it dawned on me that I'd listened to an audio book by this
author before, and she did the same thing in that one. Her point, I suppose, is
that her characters were more important than the event that brought them
together. My point is, she ended her novel in the wrong place, because once the
mystery was solved, I was ready for the book to be over.
It's not that I didn't care
about the characters—I did. She did a good job with them. But certain genres
dictate when a book is over, and Mystery is one of them. The whole point of
Mystery is the mystery. The point of Romance is getting the guy and gal
together. The point of Action/Adventure is accomplishing the goal the
characters set out to do. Once the point
of the story is achieved, the novel is supposed to end.
Solving backstory issues
belongs in different genres: Women's Fiction or Literary—any genre where the
point of the story is the character's inner journey. This is where the main
plot is to bring your characters from "damaged" to "all
better." In virtually any other genre, such a journey is a subplot.
Start/Stop Lesson #2: Tie off your subplots before you settle your main
plot. If you're a chapter or two
from ending your manuscript, you should bring the subplots to a satisfying
conclusion. The author of the mystery had ample opportunity to settle her
subplots before solving the murder and capturing the bad guy, she simply chose
not to. And I chose not to finish reading the book. My new one had arrived and
I was anxious to start it. Once the previous author confirmed my
"whodunit" guess and dealt with him according to his sins, I was
ready to move on.
Knowing where to start and
stop your novel is just as important as avoiding the bad stuff: sagging
middles, cookie-cutter characters, bland settings, and so forth. Knowing where
to start will keep your readers reading; knowing where to end will keep your
readers anxious for your next release.
About the Author:
Linda W. Yezak lives with her husband and three cats in a forest in
east Texas, where tall tales abound and
exaggeration is an art form. She holds a BA in English and a graduate
certificate in Paralegal Studies. Thirty years later, she’s finally putting her
degree in English to good use, combining it with her natural inclination toward
story-telling to create fun, unique novels.
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About The Cat Lady's Secret:
When one of Emily’s gifts captures the attention of an avid journalist, her identity as the town’s anonymous benefactor—and her renewed relationship with her high school sweetheart—are threatened.
As her private life begins to unravel, she realizes the one hope for regaining control lies behind prison walls.
Welcome, Linda! I enjoyed your post. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for having me here, Delia!
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