Quotes and Cookies: Fat Books & Thin Books

"Inside every fat book is a thin book trying to get out."

~Unknown

I saw a thing on Facebook once that said, "I like fat books and I cannot lie" and I laughed and laughed because, come on-- that's funny.

But I cannot lie.

I do not like fat books.

Okay, that's a lie, too. I sometimes like fat books. But I have to REALLY be in the mood for it. And the writing has to be so very fan-freaking-tabulous that walking at a really slow pace is okay. Because it feels like stopping to smell the roses.*

But mostly, I want to feel the wind on my face (especially if the wind smells like roses, and I swear it can be both). Once upon a time, I used to look at a thin book and think it had less substance and depth. I've been reading books faster and more frequently than I ever have in my life, and through it I've come to realize something: if written well, a thin book does not lack substance and depth in the least. It just has incredible pacing.

And pacing means a lot to me.

It's what pulls me through a book. It's what makes me want to read just one more chapter even when it's late. An expertly-paced book is very important to me. And when I read a book that's not paced well, I just keep stopping on all the extra stuff in there. The stuff that doesn't add to the story, and makes me feel like I'm trudging uphill through cold tar, and now that I've seen that quote, I think "There's a thin book in here, trying to get out."

How about you? How high does a well-paced book rank for you?

While you're thinking about it, have a big fat cookie.

photo credit: GloriaGarcía via photopin cc

And remember that I love you the same, regardless of how fat you like your books. :)



*(And for the record, I have read fat books with incredible pacing, too-- I'm mostly talking about books that are fatter than they should be, you know? The ones where the author included ALL THE THINGS, but then never took out the extras that, in the end, just bog it down.)

L is for Leave Out

"I try to leave out the parts that people skip."

~Elmore Leonard

Best revising advice ever! If people are going to skip it, take it out. Of course, it's also paired with the understood Put in the parts people want to read.

Ahh. If only it were so simple.

But I don't know-- maybe it is that simple. Maybe the challenge lies in knowing which parts people will want to skip. And once you know that, it's as simple as leaving out those parts.

What do you think? Simple or not so simple?

And do you know what makes you think better? Staring at cookies! (Right? I know it totally helps me.)

Photo credit and recipe link for Cookies & Cups (thanks, Jo!)

Happy Friday the thirteenth, everyone!!

They need goals, dang it. GOALS!

Don't you hate when you read a book and you just can't seem to root for the main character? Tons of thing happen to MC! But MC just gets swept along in the current, and somehow you can't seem to care.

If it's a character that is otherwise likeable, then I'd venture to say that, nine times out of ten, the reason you're not rooting for the character is because they don't have goals. They aren't working toward something. They haven't made a plan, or they aren't making forward progress.

I know this. It's a huge pet peeve of mine, actually. Yet I still did it.

My writing group and I meet weekly, and we submit a chapter each week. I had written the first draft of a section a couple weeks ago, then went back through to do a quick edit before sending it to my group. Something wasn't right with the chapter, and I could feel it. But I couldn't immediately see the problem, and I was already past my group's deadline, solidly encroaching on too-late-to-read territory. So I sent it. And, like every week, I was reminded why a writing group is so important. They pointed out that Hope didn't have a goal for the chapter. (Her previous goal had been lost in the chaos of a major natural disaster.)

There are huge book-encompassing goals. Ones that you lay out from the very beginning. They can even be series-encompassing goals. But sometimes the goal need only last a single scene or chapter. It may not change how the chapter starts or how it ends, but the presence of or lack of a goal will definitely change how much the reader roots for your character.

But it doesn't stop there. Goals also greatly affect pacing.

Have a part in your manuscript that seems to drag? Take a look at it. It's likely because there isn't any progress being made toward the end goal. Sometimes the answer lies in helping the MC to do things that help him/her to progress toward the goal. But sometimes things genuinely need to get in the way of that goal. If that's the case, see if there's a goal the MC can have-- even if it's only a goal that will last through that one chapter or that one scene. If they are making progress toward ANY goal-- be it the main goal or not-- it will help your reader root for your MC.

You probably already know all this. But as I learned last week, a reminder is worth its weight in... words, I guess. Happy writing! May your day be fabulous, and may all your characters be full of goals.



P.S. The clone I made of myself came out looking like a featherless chicken with one eyeball. It isn't pretty. Or functional, sadly. In an effort to siphon a few more hours a week, I'm only going to post on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays for the next three weeks. So when a post doesn't go up in the wee hours tomorrow morning, know that I'm not dead. ;)