Other Cool Blogs: Magical Words 6/3/2010

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Cliffhangers

Love ’em, hate ’em. Cliffhangers are a sales consideration. On one hand, some people want to dive right into the next book. On the other, some readers thought they were signing on for a completed narrative and get angry when they realize after 100 pages or 400 pages that the story hasn’t ended and they need to buy yet another book. In both these cases, the book needs to be available, otherwise the readers are going to be lost.

Cliffhangers work in a rapid release strategy. “Tune in next week” is okay – “Tune in next year” is not. TV serial vs. a Movie series. The screams around the nation when a TV series ends their season on a cliffhanger! Even three months is an eternity (especially this year). With books, where it can take years to meander through the publishing pipeline of writing, editing, and production, cliffhangers are cruel unless they are all written and ready to come out at once. But to do that, either the writer (and editing team) needs to work like the wind, or be willing to put income on hold for months to years until the series is complete and ready to come out as one book a month.

To Hang a Cliff or to Not Hang a Cliff was a blog written by Diana Pharaoh Francis for Magical Words on 6/3/2010:

She had a story whose ending demanded a cliffhanger. (Always do what is right for the story.) The comments give more insight to considerations for this type of narrative conclusion, so be sure to read them.

Other Cool Blogs: Magical Words 7/24/2010

Magical words for today’s other cool posts – The title says it all: They’re Not Rules, They’re Price Tags.
Edmund Schubert, an incredible short fiction editor, explains why breaking the “rules” needs careful consideration. A truth I abide when I edit – for example, I allow a lot more rules to be broken in dialog than in narrative. Why? Because humans break grammar, punctuation, and spelling (letter pronunciation – wod’r vs. water) rules all the time when talking. But the more a speaker breaks the rules, the harder they are to understand. What is the price tag for the rule that needs breaking?
More importantly, does it help the narrative, or is just a darling to explore?
The link is:

 

Other Cool Blogs: Magical Words 3/18/2011

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The preposition gnome stared at me through the grass. His evil stare hinting, daring me to stand up and run away. But, no, I shall prevail over his grammatical limitations and make my writing gleam.

Kalayna Price has given me the understanding to build the weapons in her Magical Words post “The Preposition Gnome” on 3/18/2011:

Look, I’m not an English major. Understanding what prepositions are, and how to use them best to make lean exciting writing isn’t easy. Ms. Price’s blog gave me insight to this grammar word division.

Other Cool Blogs: Magical Words 8/28/2010

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One of my favorite things is coming up with titles. The poetry of it, capturing the essence in a few words. Like modern painting where a few strokes of a brush captures the movement of a dancer.

Glass Ceiling Policy; Red Mug; Scrimshaw; Roulette Leadership; I was never there; Small Fiddle; Waking up Dead; Lost Doorknobs

The title needs to be unique, yet accessible. Understandable by the reader, but not lost in a library search.

          Memorable.

                    Applicable.

                              Common

                                        and also uncommon.

Edumund Schubert tackles this topic on Magical Words 8/28/2010 “How to Title Your Story – Or Not”: