tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19111384.post8808554570904114871..comments2024-03-24T17:06:47.135-04:00Comments on Story Bones: Oh Great Internet Brain...Steve Buchheithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12999709767641212586noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19111384.post-88640181037158671152009-06-15T22:07:06.953-04:002009-06-15T22:07:06.953-04:00Jarrett, see, that's what I've been debati...Jarrett, see, that's what I've been debating. <br /><br />Dendrophilous, okay, well, I try and make them interesting. <br /><br />Gabriel, good to know.<br /><br />Mer, and I think I'm about to over-think, so time to pull the trigger. <br /><br />"I'll do it!" So I'm going to break it up to keep the sense of quickness going. If I feel that the "first three" won't give such a good representation of the book, I'll merge them again for the submission. <br /><br />So for those of you who have read parts, I'm making the break after Gary defeats the five people in the reception area and calls in. I'm thinking of starting the second part with a paragraph or two about the Hernandez family and who the son-in-law is. Hopefully not more than 30 words.Steve Buchheithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12999709767641212586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19111384.post-58066589726587997392009-06-15T20:03:30.085-04:002009-06-15T20:03:30.085-04:00I agree with Mer that as long as people are readin...I agree with Mer that as long as people are reading and the narrative flows, it doesn't matter the order. The action/rest pacing works in some instances, but not in all and should only be used where most effective.<br /><br />Two action packed chapters back to back is a great way to kick things off. Keep the reader on the edge of their seat and when they think they can't take anymore, come in with the slower chapter to relax them.<br /><br />You want to avoid killing your momentum. Like you've said before, you can fix a broken page, but not a blank one. Chapters can be re-shuffled, re-ordered and re-cut. Worry about them later once your tale is told.Gabriel Novohttp://gabrielnovo.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19111384.post-71510463305107937132009-06-15T13:05:27.654-04:002009-06-15T13:05:27.654-04:00I have done this. And by "this," I mean,...I have done this. And by "this," I mean, "overthought the start of my book." <br /><br />As long as people keep reading, there is no right or wrong way to do this. <br /><br />For the purposes of a person who might be sending out the first three chapters of a work someday? I might stick with the longer first chapter, and redivide up into shorter chapters later. <br /><br />But overthinking this will kill your momentum, and it's really not that important. Chapters are an artificial construct. It's good to end them on cliffhangers, sometimes. Shorter ones read faster, and seem better, on occasion. But overall, it's the scenes that matter more.Mer Haskellhttp://fairmer.livejournal.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19111384.post-72151717229713949852009-06-15T08:17:12.394-04:002009-06-15T08:17:12.394-04:00If they were interesting, I doubt I'd notice t...If they were interesting, I doubt I'd notice two action chapters in a row.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19111384.post-72334319645947507272009-06-15T01:27:06.322-04:002009-06-15T01:27:06.322-04:00My wife and I just talked about this a few nights ...My wife and I just talked about this a few nights ago. We both agreed that we liked books with shorter chapters. It makes us feel like we are making progress. Gives us a feeling of momentum.<br /> <br />She's reading a book now that is 350 to 400 pages long but only 12 chapters. She's enjoying it but can't get past the longer chapters. Says it's feeling like a slog.<br />I am reading a book of the same length but its chapters are only five to 10 pages long. That's what is keeping me turning the page. More, I think, because I know that even if this is a rest chapter it won't last long.<br /><br />My two cents.Jarrett Rushhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03880414261275692088noreply@blogger.com