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This week: Blurb or Blurt? Edited by: THANKFUL SONALI Library Class!  
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| "Why did they say that? It spoiled the story for me." or "Why didn't they tell me that before?" - What's your reaction to the blurb of a book? (Hey, for the purposes of discussion, this edition of the Newsletter does contain some spoilers!) |
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Dear Reader,
I'm re-reading "Mr. Majestic" by Zac O'Yeah. I had last read it a couple of years ago, and have thus forgotten many of the details. In my quest to re-discover it, I started with the blurb on the inside front cover ... and promptly regretted it.
(Spoiler alerts all through!)
Mr. Majestic (an alias, of course, his real name is immaterial here) is hired to search for a woman who has gone missing. The blurb gives away the fact that he falls in love with her -- and that, I now recall, is something that happens way in to the book. I would have preferred to not know that at the start, to have it unveiled as the author wrote it.
I usually avoid reading blurbs, since I'm not sure what I'll find out before the author wanted me to know it. I was glad of that when I read 'The Hand of Mary Constable" by Paul Gallico. I read the blurb after I finished reading the book, and found that the moment which had had me most tense and surprised had, in fact, been revealed up front! It happens in the climatic scene, and I was absolutely flabbergasted that someone thought it was okay to put it there for anyone to know before they had even entered the world of the story!
What happens is, the protagonist is a ghost-hunter, trying to prove that some hauntings are fake. In the climatic scene, he gets in to the box from which the ghost apparently appears, to demonstrate how the hauntings are carried out. In that box, he discovers a man with a poisoned needle, waiting to stick it in to his neck.
The moment when he realises he is not alone in the box is chillingly written, and actually had me holding my breath -- which would not have happened had I read the blurb before I had read the book.
Oh, and I was admiring the new covers of the Harry Potter books, they're indeed beautiful. But, as has been pointed out in some online discussions on fan-pages, too, the cover of "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" reveals too many details about what actually happens in the chamber. Again, something that happens close to the end of the book. So the cover has Harry with a sword, and the phoenix is flying around. If someone is reading the book for the first time. this would be a give-away once they reach a certain point in the story and realise that what's on the cover hasn't yet happened, so, that's what's going to happen. Spoiler, indeed.
I'm not sure if it's just me, but I'd rather have blurbs (and cover illustrations) that give me what the story is about, rather than give away what actually happens in it. Sure, mention that there are 'surprises' along the way, or that the hero has to use 'all his ingenuity' or 'the help of loyal friends' to get out of a situation, but don't take away the breathless moment when a crucial bit of action happens by having me say, "I knew that already!"
To sign off, a couple of blurbs I really like:
Blurb on the back cover of Richard Bach's "There's No Such Place As Far Away"
Can miles truly separate you from friends? If you want to be with someone you love, aren't you already there?
Blurb on the back cover of Paul Gallico's "The Man Who Was Magic"
Somewhere west of east, just north of south, only a mile beyond the boundary of time, lies the fabulous hidden city of Mageia, home of the world's master magicians ...
Thanks for listening,
Sonali |
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Thank you for the responses to "For Authors Newsletter (December 3, 2014)"
Do stories relate to the things we talk about, in our work?
I work at a gas station, on the night shift. One day I realized my life had a sharp parallel to being on a starship. Tiny quarters, work at a computer console, harsh alien environments (Arizona has 120 degree weather, no plantlife, and the architecture is uniformly ugly.), life being threatened randomly by armed strangers who don't actually damage me, and most of all, the 'people' look like humans, but are hostile and alien — far less 'human' than the aliens on Star Trek!
The brain is wired to see parallels, because everything it can do relies on that. So yes, of course: whatever humans are interested in, should inform our stories! - Joto-Kai 
Wow, Sonali, a great newsletter! Yes, bullying comes in all shapes and forms. I'm thinking parents bullied by their children because I'm writing something about that. I wish I could have been at that discussion but your newsletter is the next best thing. Thanks for sharing. - An apple a day.... 
Your News Letter makes some good points. - monty31802
I am disabled, as are all my family and friends. I find the poverty that this causes does have a way of creeping into my writing occassionally, but I have to be careful not to make stories into political platforms. - Odessa Molinari 
John Grisham's new book Gray Mountain is full of his own poicital beliefs. He's a popular writer and can say what he wants. This is a great way to use your life experiences as a platform for change. Show the right way to effect change by telling it in story form. Its been done since the beginning of time. I doubt it will change. - Quick-Quill 
Real life discussions in insurance aren't particularly intriguing for any purposes, let alone writing.  I do however pick up on foibles that could be used to make characters interesting. I have one colleague who always starts a reply with 'Well, the answer is...' and another who must pace whilst talking on the phone, he can't talk and sit still at the same time. Both habits drive me crazy in the office, but they make for good material for fictional characters.  - Elle - on hiatus 
I think real life discussions on any topic not only mold you as a person but a writer as well. It can create the type of writing you may wish to do as well as the type of characters you create. For instance...I grew up in a Christian home but my father also encouraged me to read a lot. His interest were not only religious texts but science fiction and fantasy, thus I read A LOT of fantasy with some science fiction thrown in. I also did have a lot of religious conversations while growing up. But it was that immersion into fantasy which really got my imagination going and caused me to want to write. Sure, I'll probably write something in the Christian sector at some point but fantasy is where my heart sings because my father wasn't afraid to let me explore books. - Elfin Dragon-finally published |
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For Authors: March 25, 2015 Issue [#6895]
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