Saturday, August 7, 2010
Starting Slow
A few posts back I mentioned Charles Grant's essay on building tension in a story and now I've found another essay that talks about building your story slowly. Coming from a background of flash writing I'm finding that I'm enjoying laying out a little bit of background before jumping into the action when writing. For me, it adds a layer of beauty to the bones of a story. Here's the link to Alma Alexander's essay, "In Defense of Slow". http://storytellersunplugged.com/almaalexander/2010/07/30/in-defense-of-slow/
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6 comments:
I so agree with this, but it's hard finding editors (or agents) that do.
Yes, they seem to want their stories to read like an MTV video - all flash and no substance.
It doesn't need to be guns, boobs, or explosions but it needs to intrigue. Example is Patti's "The Instrument of Their Desire." That's a perfect story.
If the opening is dry readers go away. I'm speaking for ezine reading which I've been studying closely. Our most successful stories at BTAP have a captivating title, dynamite opening, obviously a great plot with characters and a twist ending.
Yes, Patti has that knack for leading you into a story without grabbing you by the throat. She has a knack for using the perfect words to capture your imagination and keep you reading.
As for dry, stories that open with lengthy descriptions stall the story for me. I like openings that make you wonder what is going to happen or why it's going to happen.
Okay, guys, you're making me blush. And right back at you. I couldn't write a credible western (David) nor a other-wordly story nearly as good as Sandra's.
I think you've hit the nail on the head, Patti! We all have different approaches to stories, no matter the genre. But when editors want stories to all start with a bang, we tend to loose that differentness (probably not a real word but hey, it fits) which tends to make every story read the same.
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