Tuesdays with Story

Tuesdays with Story

May 4, 2021

The first word…

“I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by.”—Douglas Adams, The Salmon of Doubt.

Tuesday evening on Zoom

Eight writers gathered around the glow of their screens this past Tuesday evening to share their work and thoughts.

Jerry Peterson

Escape to the Conch, chapters 7-8

Shorten things and punch up the copy with jokes, particularly chapter 7, Jack said. Both John and Jack wanted the scene leading up to Paf taking after the seller of the fake chart to have a better build—Shelby giving a longer speech about the fake chart—so Ange charging after the seller becomes more believable. Kashmira asked for some chemistry between Shelby and Paf. Jack suggested a way to do that, by having Paf “get in touch” with Shelby by putting his arm around her shoulders during the ferry trips to and from the surfside restaurant.

Larry Summers

Freedom’s Purchace, chapters 9-10

The story of Daniel’s travails with the maroons is well told, but several people desired more depth in the characters, especially Daniel and Luc, and more feeling of background as exemplified by sounds, etc. Betsey’s instant willingness to go with Daniel needs a bit more context, and the vegetative screening of the new maroon camp ought to be mentioned. Thanks, everybody.

Amber Boudreau

The Dragoneer 2, chapters 12-14

Amber read from the very beginning of the 3 chapters she sent. Right away, Jerry noticed we needed a reaction from the main protagonist to the shuddering of the stones beneath her feet. Jaime wondered why so many character’s names are back-alphabet heavy with the exception of the twins who have two similar A names. Kashmiri pointed out a POV issue and Larry questioned if the tyrant wouldn’t play power games with his not-so-unexpected guest. Bird names play a role as the group now knows they need to get to Castle Tern.

Jaime Nelson Noven

Outsleep, chapter 12

We talked this week about Rice’s reaction to the changes in the hospital. Readers wanted to see her do more, wonder more, and be concerned for her safety. Jack also made the good suggestion of finding a word other than quarantine, one readers are not already familiar with. And we spent some time working out the logistics/visuals of picking up a patient with a sheet and taking off a door. Thanks, all!

John Schneller

Precious Daughter, chapters 9-10

Jamie identified a POV problem in using a name of a character not yet introduced (again). A discussion of proper terminology for Nia’s gown did not yield a perfect word but identified the need to describe it more completely. Thanks for reading.

Who’s up next…

For May 18, here’s who will be presenting:

John Schneller (Precious Daughter)

Jerry Peterson (Escape to Conch Republic)

Jaime Nelson Noven (Outsleep)

Kashmira Sheth (Nina Soni, Snow Spy)

There are still two open slots, if anyone wants to jump in.

Yet another reminder for TWS meeting in person!

We will be resuming in-person meetings in June. The June 1 meeting will be at Jack’s, the June 15 meeting at Larry’s. The Zoom link will be maintained, so everybody can be there.

Writing back-page copy for your book

Derek Doepker, founder of Bestseller Secrets dot com, calls this his ‘Captain Obvious’ tip for better writing:

Many of the best copywriters say the same thing: “Write like you talk.”

Now, there are some exceptions for poetry and other styles. However, typically the best book descriptions have a conversational feel.

It’s like a close friend is telling you about the book. So here’s a tip to help with this…

Chat with a friend about your book for 10 minutes, record the conversation, and then transcribe it. While it might not all be usable, you may find a few gems in your conversation to use in a book description.

You can use this approach for emails and other content as well.

Even if it’s not the main way you create content, the speak-and-transcribe approach can be a great way to break through writer’s block and create conversational writing.

Those books we bought and never read

Writers are readers.

We buy books, lots of them, intending to read them. But how many books do you and I have in our libraries that we’ve never read?

Lots.

There’s a word for this business of collecting books and not reading them—Tsundoku.

For BBC writer Tom Gerken’s story about tsundoku and a sister word for much the same thing—bibliomania—click on this link: https://getpocket.com/explore/item/tsundoku-the-art-of-buying-books-and-never-reading-them?utm_source=pocket-newtab

The last word…

“There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.” 
― W. Somerset Maugham