| You know, I really hate it when someone
| |
| | work one day to find you'd lost
|
| catches me crying over a book.I
| |
| | everything?Yes. Both could work. BUT...
|
| surreptitiously dab at the corners of my
| |
| | hold on a minute.To make us really care,
|
| eyes with a finger. I turn away from
| |
| | why not take a little bit of extra time?
|
| anyone else who might be in the room.
| |
| | Get into that character's mind. Help the
|
| Darn it! Why was I born such an emotional
| |
| | reader to slip into his skin... to settle
|
| sponge?The good part is, of course, that
| |
| | in, finding out some of the history. This
|
| the author has succeeded admirably. I am
| |
| | is what will make us care.It need not
|
| really involved with those characters.
| |
| | take up much story time or space:
|
| When bad things happen, I'm aghast. I can
| |
| | sometimes just a few extra paragraphs.
|
| feel their pain. I want things to get
| |
| | Sometimes a couple of pages. You don't
|
| better for them - as soon as possible! I
| |
| | have to go into flashback or spend pages
|
| can't turn those pages fast enough to
| |
| | telling the backstory. A few hints are
|
| find out what happens next.We'd all love
| |
| | enough.Don't start with the explosion -
|
| to think that our prose is powerful
| |
| | show the happiness of the victims a few
|
| enough to have readers reaching for the
| |
| | moments beforehand. THEN have the big
|
| tissues. But how do we do that? What's
| |
| | bang, when we know enough about them to
|
| the secret to putting words together to
| |
| | care. Foreshadow the danger, or the
|
| make our readers cry?If We Don't Know
| |
| | approaching disaster, while we're getting
|
| Them, We Don't CareSome of you probably
| |
| | to know the characters. THEN show things
|
| sob regularly over sad stories on the
| |
| | going wrong.Here's an example from a
|
| nightly news. Others are more
| |
| | published book: Demolition Angel by
|
| hard-hearted - it really takes a lot to
| |
| | Robert Crais
|
| make you cry.Let's imagine you're sitting
| |
| | Code Three Roll Out Bomb Squad Silver
|
| down in front of the TV set. You're only
| |
| | Lake, CaliforniaCharlie Riggio stared at
|
| half-watching the news; flipping through
| |
| | the cardboard box sitting beside the
|
| a magazine at the same time. Then up
| |
| | Dumpster. It was a Jolly Green Giant box,
|
| comes one of the night's big stories - a
| |
| | with what appeared to be a crumpled brown
|
| major road accident. You gaze at the
| |
| | paper bag sticking up through the top.
|
| mangled wreck and shake your head. There
| |
| | The box was stamped GREEN BEANS. Neither
|
| are some awful accidents...Then the
| |
| | Riggio or nor the two uniformed officers
|
| announcer gives a name. You sit bolt
| |
| | with him approached closer than the
|
| upright, and take another look at the
| |
| | corner of the strip mall there on Sunset
|
| car. Your heart sinks like a stone. Oh
| |
| | Boulevard; they could see the box fine
|
| no... oh no. That's Janet's son they're
| |
| | from where they were."How long has it
|
| talking about. That road fatality - that
| |
| | been there?"One of the Adam car officers,
|
| STATISTIC - is the youngest son of one of
| |
| | a Filipino named Ruiz, checked his
|
| your neighbours; so proud of his first
| |
| | watch."We got our dispatch about two
|
| car. Your hand flies to your mouth, and
| |
| | hours ago. We been here since.""Find
|
| tears spring to your eyes. Oh, poor
| |
| | anyone who saw how it got there?""Oh, no,
|
| Janet...There's a lesson here. Bad luck
| |
| | dude. Nobody."The other officer, a black
|
| is infinitely more tragic if we know the
| |
| | guy named Mason, nodded."Ruiz is the one
|
| person concerned. We put ourselves in the
| |
| | who saw it. He went over and looked in
|
| place of his/her family members. We start
| |
| | the bag, the crazy Flip.""So tell me what
|
| thinking about the repercussions.We
| |
| | you saw.""I told your sergeant.""Tell me.
|
| HURT.How can you apply this knowledge to
| |
| | I'm the sonofabitch who's gonna approach
|
| your writing?Give The Reader A Chance To
| |
| | the damned thing."Ruiz described seeing
|
| Get To Know Your CharacterYou've probably
| |
| | the capped ends of two galvanized pipes
|
| been advised many times to plunge the
| |
| | taped together with silver duct tape. The
|
| reader into the story right away. Start
| |
| | pipes were loosely wrapped in newspaper,
|
| at the point of change. Dive into the
| |
| | Ruiz said, so he had only seen the
|
| action; involve the reader.This is good
| |
| | ends.Riggio considered that. They were
|
| advice - to a point.I've read far too
| |
| | standing in a strip mall on Sunset
|
| many books (published and unpublished) in
| |
| | Boulevard in Silver Lake, an area that
|
| which the author has begun with Something
| |
| | had seen increasing gang activity in
|
| Bad happening to the main character. The
| |
| | recent months. Gangbangers would steal
|
| idea is to get the reader hooked from the
| |
| | galvanized pipe from construction sites
|
| first sentence. Oh my goodness... how
| |
| | or dig up plastic PVC from some poor
|
| will Jane get out of this?The bad news
| |
| | bastard's garden, then stuff them with
|
| is, it doesn't always work. And almost
| |
| | rocket powder or match heads. Riggio
|
| always, the reason it doesn't work is
| |
| | didn't know if the Green Giant box held
|
| because we're reading about strangers. To
| |
| | an actual bomb or not, but he had to
|
| become really involved you have to
| |
| | approach it if it did. That's the way it
|
| 'become' the viewpoint character. Then
| |
| | was with bomb calls. Better than
|
| you will feel her pain!Let's dig into
| |
| | ninety-five percent turned out to be
|
| this a bit more. Living in your own skin,
| |
| | hairspray cans, some teenager's book bag,
|
| you have a whole slew of background
| |
| | or, like his most recent call-out, two
|
| experiences to call upon. If 'something
| |
| | pounds of marijuana wrapped in Pampers.
|
| bad' happens to you, there's a history
| |
| | Only one out of a hundred was what the
|
| all waiting.Case OneYou support a
| |
| | bomb techs called an "improvised
|
| talented child all the way through to
| |
| | munition".A homemade bomb.
|
| Olympic success. You've lost count of the
| |
| |
|
| sacrifices the family has made. Then at
| |
| | This introduction of Charlie Riggio
|
| the crucial moment - that child loses his
| |
| | takes up roughly one printed page. The
|
| balance on the swimming blocks at the
| |
| | author spends another three and a half
|
| Olympic selections meet and is
| |
| | pages letting the reader get to know
|
| disqualified. Years of training down the
| |
| | Charlie. We see how careful he is; how
|
| drain. (OK, it happened to Ian Thorpe...
| |
| | much experience he has. We are led
|
| but it could have been anybody: the years
| |
| | through the procedure of checking out the
|
| of training and sacrifice are the same.)
| |
| | bomb prior to its disposal.And when the
|
| How does a parent feel? How does the
| |
| | bomb detonates at twenty-eight thousand
|
| athlete feel?Case TwoYou scrimp and save
| |
| | feet per second and kills Charlie, do we
|
| for years, sometimes working three jobs,
| |
| | care?You better believe it.Let the reader
|
| and finally build a successful business.
| |
| | get to know your character before you
|
| At last, you are financially secure - you
| |
| | wield the axe... and the tears will
|
| can have anything you want. Then your
| |
| | flow.(c) Copyright Marg McAlister Marg
|
| partner, having siphoned off all the
| |
| | McAlister has published magazine
|
| money, leaves the country. You're
| |
| | articles, short stories, books for
|
| bankrupt. At nearly sixty years of age,
| |
| | children, ezines, promotional material,
|
| you have nothing.So? you're saying.
| |
| | sales letters and web content. She has
|
| Wouldn't either of those two scenarios be
| |
| | written 5 distance education courses on
|
| good openings for a novel? Losing your
| |
| | writing, and her online help for writers
|
| balance at the crucial moment? Going to
| |
| | is popular all over the world.
|
