tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-515660504291275491.post2373083993036003875..comments2023-06-10T22:42:19.087+10:00Comments on Australasian Christian Writers: THE CRAFT OF WRITING: Bait and switch (plus a book giveaway)Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-515660504291275491.post-75211147142014375662013-12-10T09:58:40.003+11:002013-12-10T09:58:40.003+11:00I'd have loved to have seen it Annie.I'd have loved to have seen it Annie.Dalehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14217918666756258037noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-515660504291275491.post-60731166198469463822013-12-05T14:14:32.337+11:002013-12-05T14:14:32.337+11:00Thanks, Dale.Thanks, Dale.Annehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02264631051671432037noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-515660504291275491.post-66667478382041537732013-12-05T14:13:59.467+11:002013-12-05T14:13:59.467+11:00Ahhh... now I actually got my start in writing a l...Ahhh... now I actually got my start in writing a long time ago (under a rather transparent pseudonym) by writing a fan story which used the exact dialogue of the last episode to bring it to a different conclusion. It was quite famous for a while. In fact, it came very close to winning a prestigious FanQ award in the US. I was advised it was impossible to even be nominated for this award without sales of 50,000 copies of the story. The guy who told me was a zine dealer who estimated there were a quarter of a million copies circulating and that it was seen as the only real way to interpret the final episode. Somebody made a lot of money from my story - since I only sent one copy to the US.Annehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02264631051671432037noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-515660504291275491.post-17386947330825887972013-12-05T10:45:41.124+11:002013-12-05T10:45:41.124+11:00Great article Annie.Great article Annie.Dalehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14217918666756258037noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-515660504291275491.post-59664488925723597672013-12-05T10:44:08.331+11:002013-12-05T10:44:08.331+11:00Another here who loved Blakes 7. Except for the en...Another here who loved Blakes 7. Except for the end. Felt that was a bit of a let down as though the author boxed himself in and couldn't figure out a way out.Dalehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14217918666756258037noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-515660504291275491.post-27153863616110369842013-12-03T14:30:44.638+11:002013-12-03T14:30:44.638+11:00Sure, sure. Just as it's not the reason I love...Sure, sure. Just as it's not the reason I love <i>Space: Above and Beyond</i> - REALLY!Annehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02264631051671432037noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-515660504291275491.post-66036705407535688332013-12-03T14:22:12.571+11:002013-12-03T14:22:12.571+11:00I like it... it's dramatic and immediate.I like it... it's dramatic and immediate.Annehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02264631051671432037noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-515660504291275491.post-57284500678854903682013-12-02T19:26:19.082+11:002013-12-02T19:26:19.082+11:00Annie, great post! My opening paragraph in 'Fa...Annie, great post! My opening paragraph in 'Falling for the Farmer' is a single line hook: She had to escape now!<br /> Narellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07665380446283721576noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-515660504291275491.post-48241414470565947612013-12-02T19:09:19.448+11:002013-12-02T19:09:19.448+11:00Yes have to say I was. Its not the reason I love S...Yes have to say I was. Its not the reason I love Stargate REALLY!Ausjennyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07644698706787568679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-515660504291275491.post-73565799222345125872013-12-02T19:08:37.032+11:002013-12-02T19:08:37.032+11:00I think it comes down to the hook that's easie...I think it comes down to the hook that's easiest for you personally. Sometimes I find that what I need to do is just chop out the bit at the front that isn't so exciting - and cut straight to the chase...Annehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02264631051671432037noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-515660504291275491.post-68564225614302266572013-12-02T19:07:03.141+11:002013-12-02T19:07:03.141+11:00Ahh, a fellow sf fan!Ahh, a fellow sf fan!Annehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02264631051671432037noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-515660504291275491.post-53295444572038393202013-12-02T19:04:00.644+11:002013-12-02T19:04:00.644+11:00I to loved MacGuyver (it could be for Iola's r...I to loved MacGuyver (it could be for Iola's reason too) I loved the Dr Who shows too and also Blakes 7.<br />Ausjennyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07644698706787568679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-515660504291275491.post-70226353805571794442013-12-02T16:35:14.361+11:002013-12-02T16:35:14.361+11:00Loved that opening, Annie. I can see why the non-f...Loved that opening, Annie. I can see why the non-fantasy reader couldn't stop reading. <br />Thanks for sharing. :)Dorothyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13622521834128746217noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-515660504291275491.post-86984646185172868162013-12-02T15:45:32.288+11:002013-12-02T15:45:32.288+11:00I would have to agree :)I would have to agree :)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04449342827457837314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-515660504291275491.post-70441582079022585522013-12-02T14:31:03.403+11:002013-12-02T14:31:03.403+11:00A great post Annie with great advice as usual! Tha...A great post Annie with great advice as usual! Thank you.Elaine Fraserhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15724607299832750567noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-515660504291275491.post-78074002859757176562013-12-02T12:18:25.115+11:002013-12-02T12:18:25.115+11:00Thanks Annie! I think I'll have to pay more at...Thanks Annie! I think I'll have to pay more attention now and look for that detail of atmosphere and interruption. You've given me much to think on!Catherine Hudsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03947906623825971761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-515660504291275491.post-33295312419335162732013-12-02T11:39:18.160+11:002013-12-02T11:39:18.160+11:00Love those examples, Jo-Anne. But in Christian nov...Love those examples, Jo-Anne. But in Christian novels...?Annehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02264631051671432037noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-515660504291275491.post-48298661915545694762013-12-02T11:37:36.123+11:002013-12-02T11:37:36.123+11:00Hi Andrea
I think readers are more forgiving of a ...Hi Andrea<br />I think readers are more forgiving of a lack of narrative hook than editors. The reason, at least in my opinion, is that readers assume a book will spark up quickly if it's been published by a major house. After all, an editor wouldn't invest time and money otherwise. In other words, there's an unspoken trust between the reader and the publisher. <br /><br />However I think this may be breaking down as the deluge of self-published books makes even readers more astute about what they like about their favourites - and start looking for similar things.Annehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02264631051671432037noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-515660504291275491.post-30355798934706526502013-12-02T11:33:32.329+11:002013-12-02T11:33:32.329+11:00No, Terry Nation only wrote the hooks in MacGuyver...No, Terry Nation only wrote the hooks in MacGuyver. He didn't write the whole episode... which explained to me, when I discovered it, why some episodes were so uneven and didn't live up to their initial promise. I love the image of the heroine going over the waterfall - but, as you say, the rest of the book has to live up to the beginning.Annehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02264631051671432037noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-515660504291275491.post-46096008516122932932013-12-02T10:34:23.771+11:002013-12-02T10:34:23.771+11:00As a writer, I appreciate the immediacy of a narra...As a writer, I appreciate the immediacy of a narrative hook for both the story's sake and to grab the attention of an editor. As a reader, it doesn't bother me so much. A book has to pique my interest only a little in the first page for me to keep reading, but as Iola wrote, it then has to keep it going. Am I in the minority? I think I might be!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04449342827457837314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-515660504291275491.post-79882399673309827512013-12-02T08:12:33.819+11:002013-12-02T08:12:33.819+11:00I think one that would fit into this category of n...I think one that would fit into this category of narrative hook (although it kind of overlaps into the 'puzzle' style as well) is the opening couple of sentences from 'Kane and Abel' by Jeffrey Archer: 'She only stopped screaming when she died. It was then that he started to scream.' Also, the opening few sentences of 'The Kite Runner' by Khaled Hosseini made my blood chill well before I found out what happened that day: 'I became what I am today at the age of twelve, on a frigid, overcast day in the winter of 1975. I remember the precise moment, crouching behind a crumbling mud wall, peeking into the alley near the frozen creek...' Jo-Anne Berthelsenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09775045057529728396noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-515660504291275491.post-75033814203137054752013-12-02T07:07:49.056+11:002013-12-02T07:07:49.056+11:00Terry Nation wrote MacGuyver? That explains why I ...Terry Nation wrote MacGuyver? That explains why I liked it so much (that, and Richard Dean Andersen). <br /><br />I can think of a couple of Christian novels I've read with a great opening hook. One had the heroine going over a waterfall in a barrel. Unfortunately, the rest of the book was a typical US historical Western, and while it was good, the beginning was the best part.<br /><br />The opening hook of Rooms by James Rubart was good, and the rest of the book was equally good if not better. I really enjoyed it.<br /><br />An opening hook is important, but it's equally important that the rest of the book lives up to the opening.Iolahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17199141868703826943noreply@blogger.com