Tuesdays with Story

Tuesdays with Story
April 12, 2021

The first word . . .

“Research is a wonderful word for writers. It serves as excuse for EVERYTHING.” –Rayne Hall

Tuesday evening on Zoom . . .

Six TWS writers came together this week, with a couple bow-outs for health reasons or heat reasons, one notably to “cool the dog,” which, we decided, would be a great name for a story. Here’s what was said.

— Amber Boudreau (chapters 9-10, Dragoneer, Book 2). . . Amber chose not to read from the massive number of pages she sent, setting the tone for the evening. Jerry questioned where she chose to end one chapter in particular: the middle of a scene. Amber struggled with how to add more of a pivot or change to the chapter ending and Kashmira suggested highlighting the main character’s emotional response at that moment might help. Larry brought up a good point about the description of the tyrant and where it fell in the ms. John wanted a little more description of the rat golem. Jerry enjoyed the way Amber reintroduced the book and the Librarian back into the story at the end of the chapters sent. 

— Kashmira Sheth (chapter 2, Nina Soni, Snow Spy) . . . Kashmira submitted 2nd chapter of her Nina Soni, Snow Spy. Jaime and Larry thought it was age appropriate and true to Nina’s character. Amber suggest to bring in Jay to the keep that thread going.

— Jaime Nelson Noven (chapters 10-11, Outsleep) . . . Jaime started with a question about the temporary shift in tone, and it was generally agreed that the shift wasn’t too jarring. We discussed how funny Rice’s comedy act should be, given her internal monologue is funnier, that she’s not a very successful comedian, and that her focus has been shifting from telling jokes to politics. We also talked about Rice needing an emotional thought toward the end of ch. 11, since this is the first time she’s seen anyone in this “dead” state. And we pontificated on society’s motivation for supporting the outsleep program. Thanks, all!

— Larry Sommers (chapters 1-2, Freedom’s Purchase Rewrite) . . . There was general agreement that the pacing of the new version is better and more compelling. There is a choppy or episodic quality, particularly in the abrupt transition from the Norwegian boathouse scene in Ch. 2 to the Mississippi River scene in Ch. 3. Some readers felt they didn’t know enough about Anders at the end of Chapter 1 to care much about him. The “caul” was a controversial element, with some readers seeing it as a needless distraction. Thanks, everybody.

— John Schneller (chapters 6-7, Precious Daughter) . . . Jaime initiated a discussion of POV violation by using Jacob’s name when Nia knows not his name. They need an introduction…. quite easily done. Larry asked for clarity in the war preparations. Most found these chapters easy to follow. Thanks for reading!

— Jerry Peterson (chapters 6-7, Conch Republic) . . . We have to see Ange get rid of his leg cast, John said. John and Larry didn’t buy that Ange would participate in Shelby’s prank on her uncle who also is Ange’s employer. It’s a way to get yourself fired, John said. Larry’s still looking for the plot. “It appears to have something to do with Central american countries,” he said.

Who’s up next . . . 

On April 20, here’s who will be presenting:

Kashmira Sheth (Nina Soni chapter)

John Schneller (Precious Daughter, Ch. 8)

Jerry Peterson (Conch Republic, chapter)

Bob (???)

Mike (???)

Larry (Freedom’s Purchase, Ch. 5-8)

Our editor . . .

Jaime Nelson Noven <anglonerd@gmail.com> will edit our April issues of Writer’s Mail. She would appreciate your news. Email it to her and she’ll include it in the next issue.

Sound Advice from Rayne Hall

Rayne Hall, author of the Writer’s Craft series, was recently interviewed by AutoCrit (where Jaime took her online horror writing class this winter). She gave advice on the use of sound and smell, paraphrased here:

The moment you describe a smell, the reader is there. A single sentence about smell is more powerful than a whole paragraph about something your character sees. You don’t need to describe a smell, just mention it. With sounds, on the other hand, what you need is a really good verb (like whooshed).

In a fast-paced scene, only focus on sound. For a slower paced scene, you can use the other senses. In fact, Hall recommends creating a collection of sounds for your tool belt by going to a location and writing down everything you hear. Dropping in sounds, especially when your character is unable to perform an action in a particular scene, can heighten the tension. (A dog barked in the distance. A car door slammed. A seagull shrieked.)

Hall reminds us that you can only describe the smell of a place when the character first arrives there. We don’t notice smells as much after we’ve been in a place for a while. Hall likes to combine smells for a more unique experience. (The seaside smelled like seaweed, fried fish, and salt.)

How to read more books . . .

I just don’t have time to read as much as I would like. You’ve said it. I’ve said it. New York Times bestselling author Neil Pasrichai used to say the same thing, but no more. He now reads 50 to 100 books a year. Here’s one way he squeezes out more time to read:

Reapply the 10,000 steps rule. A good friend once told me a story that really stuck with me. He said Stephen King had advised people to read something like five hours a day. My friend said, “You know, that’s baloney. Who can do that?” But then, years later, he found himself in Maine on vacation. He was waiting in line outside a movie theater with his girlfriend, and who should be waiting in front of him? Stephen King! His nose was in a book the whole time in line. When they got into the theater, Stephen King was still reading as the lights dimmed. When the lights came up, he pulled his book open right away. He even read as he was leaving. Now, I have not confirmed this story with Stephen King. But I think the message this story imparts is an important one. Basically, you can read a lot more. There are minutes hidden in all the corners of the day, and they add up to a lot of minutes.

In a way, it’s like the 10,000 steps rule. Walk around the grocery store, park at the back of the lot, chase your kids around the house, and bam—10,000 steps.

It’s the same with reading.

When did I read those five books a year for most of my life? On holidays or during long flights. “Oh! A lot of downtime coming,” I’d think. “Better grab a few books.”

When do I read now? All the time. A few pages here. A few pages there. I have a book in my bag at all times.

Slipping pages into all the corners of the day adds up.

Happy reading.

Pasricha shared his thoughts on reading in the February 3, 2017, issue of the Harvard Business Review.

Pasricha recommended another way to get more reading time: Put your television set in the basement. Don’t watch it, he says, except for something really, really important.

Roald Dahl’s poem “Television” says it all:

“So please, oh please, we beg, we pray

go throw your TV set away

and in its place, you can install

a lovely bookshelf on the wall.”

How many hours of television do we watch a day? Between two and four.

How many pages can you read in a book in that time?

A lot.

April Fools’ . . .

I kind of dread April Fools’ Day. I’m pretty gullible and always feel I need to be on my guard. That said, there is one reason I do look forward to April Fools’ Day every year. Shelf Awareness, the biggest daily book industry newsletter, has a tradition of posting a hilarious April Fools’ Day issue that has fooled me once or twice in the past (gullible, remember?). Last year, they skipped this special issue because there was too much darkness going on in America early April 2020, but this year, I was glad to see it back.

Complete with articles on Sean Spicer being named Executive Director of Banned Books Week, the head of B&N launching a TikTok channel, and a Frances McDormand film about Amazon workers trying to unionize, you can read the hilarious issue for yourself over your morning coffee… 2021 April Fools’ Issue

Past issues: 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 

—Jaime

A Call for Information . . .

If you would like to add or update your bio, photo, or links on our website, please reach out to Jaime.

The last word . . .

“A person who wrote badly did better than a person who does not write at all. A bad writing can be corrected. An empty page remains an empty page.” –Israelmore Ayivor