Why do people read books? What are the reasons that they are among the most important inventions of human civilization? You know the answer, although you may not be aware of it.

Today I want to talk about two of the largest concepts of fiction, but let me start from afar.

If you recall history, it becomes obvious that the first prototypes of books – cave walls, clay tablets and bark – emerged as useful tools for the registration and preservation of oral folk tales, the only source of wisdom and life experience at that time. Savvy men quickly appreciated the convenience of such inscriptions and, since that time, books have become a major source of knowledge, transferring information from one person to another, from generation to generation.

Thus, the first reason for reading is the acquisition of knowledge.

The second one is more prosaic. Human life has always been rather monotonous. In ancient times our ancestors worked all day, occasionally having fun quarreling among themselves. As for modern quarrels, they happen mainly within the office … but we’re still constantly striving for new experiences and strong emotions that the monotonous daily routine can’t provide. So the second reason for reading is purely entertainment.

I can fairly say that people read books either to gain new knowledge or to have fun. But, if in ancient times these functions were often delimited, most modern books combine intellectual and entertainment components.

• An intellectual component is the thoughts and reasoning of the author, his or her morality and basic ideas. These elements don’t bring a pronounced entertainment element; they are designed to make the reader think or to teach him something.
• An entertaining component targets the emotional side; it’s everything that makes us worry and laugh – action, love and erotic scenes, conflicts and disputes, etc.

Thus, the intellectual component is an appeal to the mind whereas the entertainment one is an appeal to emotions. Based on this dichotomy, I divide the whole of fiction into entertainment and intellectual, in strict accordance with the prevailing factor. This division is, of course, conditional. Why am I sure it’s necessary? See below.

Entertaining Fiction

Speaking about entertainment literature, I mean first of all books that are enjoyable to read at leisure, that is books that do not require undue stress and do not provoke reflections on complex topics (although entertainment literature can be represented by either ironic detective stories, which ladies leaf through in subways, or historical prose, honed during years).

The first thing I recommend paying attention to is that entertainment literature primarily addresses the reader’s emotions. This is, perhaps, the main vector of its influence. Detective stories try to awaken curiosity; romances to ignite desire; horror stories to scare; adventure stories to worry about the fate of the hero. Moreover, the degree of emotional response largely determines the success of the book; if the text causes the desired emotions, the book will doubtless be successful. It looks easy, but actually making a stranger laugh or tremble with fear is a great challenge!

The second important point is that for many centuries the literary community has developed an arsenal of techniques to solve this “easy task”. An attempt to use them in an “intelligent” text puts it at best into the category of entertainment, at worst it gives birth to something preposterous. I have occasionally seen famous authors attempt to bring serious philosophical meaning through the outline of an action or a quest. Needless to say, these attempts are often unsuccessful.

In my opinion, the most important element of entertainment is the narrative. The author constructs it so to as to hold the attention of the reader from the first to the last page. In many respects, that means the plot depends on the impression generated by the whole story. Again, do not forget that correct structure provides clear, user-friendly text, so the reader stays relaxed, not being distracted by illogical empty dialogues, mistakes, and inconsistencies.

However, morality is the minimal necessary intellectual component that must be present in any entertaining reading to give it at least some value.

Intellectual Fiction

Overall, I believe that intellectual prose requires active participation by the reader in understanding the author’s ideas. Not just in experiencing the carefully prepared episodes, but in conscious mental work on the problems posed. If the reader is not made to think, it’s not intellectual prose.

In intellectual fiction, the content always dominates over the shape. At the same time, the value of a book is determined not by the complexity of the plot but the author’s ability to say something new and important. An author of intellectual fiction doesn’t bring any ready-made solutions, but provides the reader with an opportunity to make his personal conclusions based on the material.

One of the main tasks of intellectual prose is to illuminate the laws of the outside world from different perspectives. Methods and techniques can vary, from straightforward to the highly complex, involving the reader in the process of making a conclusion for himself.

Intellectual prose is characterized by the increased role of the reader, as compared to entertaining prose.

Reading Models

According to studies on perception of so-called intellectual prose, two generalized models of intellectual literature were found – intellectual work and intellectual leisure.

• The first suggests uncomfortable reading with a certain risk of psychological changes. The reader tries to understand the author’s ideas and applies them to himself and his life. Reading turns into internal work, the result of which could be the transformation of attitudes towards the world and oneself.
• The second model suggests that reading intellectual literature can be a comfortable and enjoyable experience. Of course, such reading does not teach anything or change the reader’s mind, as the author’s ideas pass by like bizarre landscapes outside the window of a train, leaving no imprint on the individual. In this case, the intellectual component is the desire to foresee the moral of the story or discover clichés and misses.

The knowledge of these two models brings me to the curious conclusion that the vast majority of readers choose entertaining literature. And even those who seem to prefer something intellectual, sometimes read in an effortless manner.

Bio

Lucy Adams is a professional essay writer from buzzessay.com. She’s a generalist, able to cover a huge variety of topics, from education and science to business and marketing. Feel free to share your ideas with the diligent author and get your high-quality blog post written for free and almost instantly.

‘It’s far too long. The plot is all over the place. Most of the action happens off stage. It doesn’t resonate with a young adult readership. And it’s too preachy.’

I was devastated.

One point she made, which others have also mentioned, was that Cerbonius‘s archaic speech didn’t work. I had given him that antiquated argot because I wanted him to come over as old and provincial. But if it didn’t work, it needed to be changed, I told myself. It needed to be translated from English into English. 

Which do you prefer?

The next steps – if any – remain to be decided on…

As an author of a mere half of a book, I feel greatly honoured to have been invited by the enterprising Tiffani Burnett-Velez to participate in her Historical Novel Blog Tour, mingling with such illustrious writers as Meara Platt, Douglas Hawkins, A. David Singh, Claudia Long, Greg Michaels, Barbara Eppich Struna, Eleanor Parker Sapia. Thanks for the privilege.

Who you are, where you’re from, your writing credits

I wrote this bit under palms in the Brazilian jungle, sipping a freshly-made caipirinha. All nine family members – including two charming grandchildren – were visiting our daughter-in-law’s relatives for Christmas.

Born in (old) Jersey GB, my father was Swiss, my mother of French Huguenot stock. I studied physics in London and met my Finnish wife in Geneva during a research project at CERN. After many moves, we have settled in a beautiful village near Zürich, Switzerland. I’m now facing the prospect of retirement.

I’m known as a friend of nature, loving to ramble in the beautiful Swiss mountains, body surf in the breakers or spend hours watching ants and beetles.

My professional career was mostly in IT, but for the last ten years I’ve worked as a technical writer. So I know how to use Microsoft Word and how to build grammatically correct sentences. But I had absolutely no experience of writing fiction.

What is your latest historical fiction piece?

I wasn’t looking for a story. The story found me – and begged to be written! It’s about young Silvanus growing up on the Isle of Elba in the sixth century, and – like most teenagers – struggling with life’s challenges. He happens to meet the old, exiled Bishop Cerbonius, who lives an austere life in a cave. Their friendship proves to be the key to Silvanus finding his true goal in life.

But: Could I write such a story? Could I muster the fantasy to bring the characters to life? Were the skills to compose captivating prose slumbering somewhere in my breast? Did I know anything about the history of Elba?

In each case the answer seemed to be a resounding NO!

So I started. I’m writing Aquila under the pseudonym Vince Rockston.

Why did you choose to write it?

My wife and I greatly enjoyed a trekking tour on the Isle of Elba a couple of years ago. It was our first time there and, as usual in any new place, I looked for a historical novel which was set on the island and written in a language I could understand (not Italian!) I really wanted to read about the place and it’s people.

No success.

Some weeks after returning home, a story sprang to mind and shouted, “Why don’t you write me?”

A particular incident had caught my attention on one of the last days, as we trudged, weary, down from the highest peak of the island, Monte Capanne. “If anyone is interested, just up there is a cave where San Cerbone lived,” our guide informed us. Most weren’t. But I and one other participant made the effort.

The cave was tiny. Why on earth would a Bishop come and live here? And when was that? Our guide couldn’t say. Mr. Google came to the rescue: late sixth century.

What about that era appeals to you?

Who knows anything about sixth century Italy? Not I. Those were the Dark Ages, weren’t they? When nothing happened.

But I was always one for a challenge.

What little contemporary documentation one finds (e.g. the Variae of Cassiodorus or Procopius‘ Wars of Justinian and Secret History) tend to be about the rulers of the times, the rich and powerful. I am more interested in discovering how ordinary people lived, what they ate, what problems they faced, e.g. pirates, famine, war, religious disputes, disease. And then to reflect on their probable hopes, dreams and fears.

Are your characters real or fictional? If they’re real, how did you fictionalize them?

Cerbonius – or San Cerbone – is a historic character. So are Pope Vigilius, the Gothic King Totila, General Belisarius, and a couple of others mentioned in passing.

I’ve gone into some detail about the life of Cerbonius here, pointing out what historical evidence we have – some of which is contradictory – and where I have padded out his character and life story.

What kind of research is involved in writing your novel?

It’s really a question of trying to plant myself into that setting – geographically, culturally, climate-wise, etc. I went back for a week of research, tracing as far as possible Silvanus‘ footsteps, visiting historic sites and museums, and trying hard to take contact with the people I’d heard knew most about the history of Elba.

I stayed a couple of nights in Angelo Mazzei’s Bed & Breakfast In Poggio. He’s something of a musician and artist, speaks several languages and has a wealth of knowledge about the area and it’s history.

He arranged for me to visit the tiny but very fascinating local museum – Casalino del Castagno – which has many artefacts from the Etruscan and Roman periods.

It was also a great joy to meet up with Paolo Ferruzzi and his son Silvestre, who were renovating the chapel Madonna del Monte above Marciana Alta. I had tried to reach them in advance, as I knew they had written books on the history of Elba and conducted archaeological research. But languge had been an obstacle. In the end, they invited me to a spaghetti lunch cooked by Dad in Napoleon’s erstwhile lodgings! And we managed to communicate in French and through sketches.

Silvestre even granted me a private viewing of his diligently assembled and immaculately arranged Archaeological Museum in Marciana!

Apart from that, I’ve made use of the following:

• Zürich Central Library
• Novels from a similar period
• Source documents, history and geography books
• Museums and their documents
• Internet – Wikipedia and innumerable specialist sites
• Some helpful experts who reply to my E-mail questions.

How do you organize the fictional aspects of your writing vs. the historical facts?

Silvanus’ personality and life experiences are entirely the product of my imagination. I picture myself in his shoes – damming rivers and studying wild animals, struggling to survive in harsh conditions, wondering about the big wide world, sorting out his religious beliefs, practising the family traditions, bartering at the market and succumbing to temptations. As the book develops, I feel I’ve got to know him quite well. I’m sometimes surprised at what he and his friends get up to and how they cope.

As regards San Cerbone, we don’t have a whole lot of factual detail. So I use my fantasy to fill things in. What was his life like as a young man? Why did he flee to Elba? How does he spend his time in later life?

How does the historical timeline move your plot along or influence the actions of your characters?

War between invading tribes from the north and the Byzantine ‘Romans’ – and the resulting destruction and deprivation – were dominant forces at the time. I made myself a timeline, including certain historic dates, and try to fit my story in with as little deviation as possible.

How do you feel about writers taking creative license with historical facts? Or, does it bother you when facts are changed to fit the story in a movie or a book?

For me, the characters and their lifestyle must ring true to the period. Where historic events or persons and mentioned, I’m always tempted to look them up in Wikipedia and find out more. If I discover the author has twisted the facts beyond recognition, that annoys me.

But a certain amount of poetic licence is required in any work of fiction. That’s OK.

What’s next for you after this present work?

This present work still has a long way to go. I’ve only just got past the midpoint of my story, although I have a pretty good idea where it’s going. From now on, it mainly concerns the protagonist’s inner character arc – his thoughts and dreams and questions and goals – rather than events and activities. It’s challenging.

So I keep plodding on, digesting feedback from critique partners and critiquing their work in turn. Revision. Add some color. Cut out superfluous bits. Improve the various voices. Polish the dialogue.

Next? Unless one’s name is Umberto Eco, they say one’s first book never gets very far. But I really have no plans yet for any further writing. I’ll try to finish Aquila and then see if I have courage and energy for a sequel. Or perhaps a totally different challenge.

Next Blogger

Dianne Ascroft is an urban Canadian who has settled in rural Northern Ireland with her husband and an assortment of strong-willed animals. She writes contemporary and historical fiction with an Irish connection.

She has released a novel, Hitler and Mars Bars, and a short story collection, Dancing Shadows, Tramping Hooves. Her articles and stories have been printed in Irish and Canadian magazines and newspapers as well as in anthologies by Writers Abroad, Fermanagh Writers and Fermanagh Authors’ Association.

Online she lurks at www.dianneascroft.wordpress.com. Be sure to take a look.

Many aspects form a novel – plot, pace, voice, character arc, setting, backstory, etc. But a novel wouldn’t be anything without characters. And readers want to get to know the main players. Among other things, they want to discover what they look like. And that, in turn, means they want to see their faces.

I’m not good at faces. Legend has it that I didn’t recognise my mother, although we had arranged to meet outside a certain shop. Often it’s only when an acquaintance I haven’t seen for a while does something – raises their eyebrows, speaks or walks in a characteristic way – that I realise who they are; their personality shines through.

Q: How can I, who don’t notice faces, learn to describe my storybook characters’ appearance?

A: Practice.

Fortunately, I have a glorious opportunity every day to study multitudes of faces – as I commute to work. There they sit, earphones plugged in and newspapers or smartphones on their laps, carefully avoiding eye-contact.

The first discovery I have made is that faces have both physical and – shall we say – emotional features. I am more aware of the latter, which often reveal something of their owner’s character, but I want to learn to draw pen pictures of their objective features.

Let’s have a go – with the two faces shown

Gent

In his twenties, he holds his head at a slight angle, as if wishing to remain detached. His long, curly, dark brown hair, sporting blonde highlights, hangs seductively across his broad forehead and frames his round face. Small, piercing eyes peer out intensively under overhanging brows. A three-day beard and moustache emphasize his tidy, friendly looking mouth, which bears the hint of a smile…

Lady

She has seen many years. Immaculately groomed silver hair dominates her slightly raised brows. Penetrating small blue eyes, furrowed cheeks and tight, emotionless lips radiate an intense but peaceful attentiveness. Her lack of jewellery and modest clothing suggest a simple, hardworking past.

Facial features and their attributes

I’ve started a list of adjectives one might use to describe specific facial features. Maybe that helps…

Shape

• Long, oval, square, round, pointed, pear/diamond/heart-shaped, oblong, triangular, bulbous, gaunt, symmetric

Hair

• colour: dark, black, blonde, brown, chestnut, auburn, red, mouse, grey, white, highlights, fair, jet, maroon
• form or style: bald, receding, full, long, short, tidy, curly, wavy, dishevelled, crew cut, afro, wig, braid, plait, dreadlocks, trendy, bob-cut, asymmetric, fierce, cropped, pixie, loose, bangs, shoulder-length, straight, layered, ponytail, pigtail

Brow

• High, broad, wrinkled, furrowed, lined, smooth, hidden

Skin/complexion

• Smooth, flushed, black, brown, olive, pale, fair, mulatto (!), chocolate, yellow, wrinkled, fresh, sallow

Eyebrows

• Bushy, dark, heavy, overhanging, long, joined, meet-in-the-middle, slight, fair, invisible, dominant

Eyes

• Shape: small, large, bulbous, deer-like, oval, wide, widely/narrowly spaced, almond, droopy, hooded, Asian, slanted, narrow, sunken
• Colour: black, brown, blue, green, colourless, mottled, outlined
• Effect: bright, penetrating, piercing, appealing, warm, cold, distant, glaring, dazzling, laughing, smiling, frowning, scowling, brooding, jolly

Eyelids

• Droopy, full, coloured, painted, shining, dazzling

Eyelashes

• Long, dark, painted, coloured, absent, invisible, minute

Nose

• Broad, long, dominant, aquiline, pointed, hooked, Roman, Jewish (!), fine, wide, straight-edged, snub, curved, fleshy, hawk, thin, Greek, bulbous, beak-like, celestial, turned-up, delicate, aristocratic, pugnacious, button, tiny

Ears

• Rounded, square, pointed, narrow, sticking out, attached lobe, broad lobe, protruding, hidden, prominent

Lips

• Full, narrow, tight, wide, smiling, classic, rubina, pearlique, cupid, Hollywood, angelic, drooping, oval, wrinkled, thin, uneven, even, flat, oversized, inviting, sensuous

Teeth

• White, diseased, missing, widely spaced, false, braced, even, uneven, regular, broken, dirty, smiling, hidden, discoloured, yellow, tarnished, stained, decayed, caried, gold, gleaming, glinting, broad, dominant, large, oval, triangular, rectangular, square

Cheeks

• Full, gaunt, hanging, drooping, rosy, high, protruding, wrinkled, dimpled, blushing, prominent, smiling, jolly, scarred, marked, sunburnt, glowing, rouged, sallow

Jaw/Chin

• Hard, square, pointed, angular, lopsided, receding, double, gentle, bearded, stubbly, rough, dimpled

Beard

• Full, trim, friendly, mutton chops, forked, dutch, sparrow, Klingon, boxed, goatee, anchor, Bin Laden, Lincoln, sideburns

Moustache

• Dali, Fu Manchu, handlebar, Franz Josef, pencil, trim, curly, chevron, horseshoe, lampshade, toothbrush, walrus

Neck

• Thick-set, short, graceful, slim, slender, stocky, hairy, nonexistent

Special features

Bags under eyes, wrinkles, scars, dimples, birthmarks, moles, disfiguration, piercings, tattoos, makeup, ornaments, disease,…

Personality

And then there’s the whole list of character-related features: tired, sombre, jolly, shy, confident, open, withdrawn, smiling, scowling, shifty-eyed, friendly, hostile, fearful, angry, aggressive, etc.

Examples from Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre

Mr Rochester

I knew my traveller with his broad and jetty eyebrows; his square forehead, made squarer by the horizontal sweep of his black hair. I recognised his decisive nose, more remarkable for character than beauty; his full nostrils, denoting, I thought, choler; his grim mouth, chin, and jaw – yes, all three were very grim, and no mistake. His shape, now divested of cloak, I perceived harmonised in squareness with his physiognomy: I suppose it was a good figure in the athletic sense of the term –broad chested and thin flanked, though neither tall nor graceful.

Mr Mason

His complexion was singularly sallow: otherwise he was a fine-looking man, at first sight especially. On closer examination, you detected something in his face that displeased, or rather that failed to please. His features were regular, but too relaxed: his eye was large and well cut, but the life looking out of it was a tame, vacant life – at least so I thought… It was not till after dinner that I saw him again: he then seemed quite at his ease. But I liked his physiognomy even less than before: it struck me as being at the same time unsettled and inanimate. His eye wandered, and had no meaning in its wandering: this gave him an odd look, such as I never remembered to have seen. For a handsome and not an unamiable-looking man, he repelled me exceedingly: there was no power in that smooth-skinned face of a full oval shape: no firmness in that aquiline nose and small cherry mouth; there was no thought on the low, even forehead; no command in that blank, brown eye.

I would be very pleased to receive feedback on this post. What is helpful? What have I forgotten? Can you suggest improvements?

I’ve come to a point in my story where Silvanus engages in heart-searching exchanges with his wise old mentor, Cerbonius. They don’t do much. They talk. This, I realize, can quickly become boring for the reader, who is hoping for more excitement.

What’s the solution?

Well: Look how others do it!

At the moment, I’m (re-)reading Brian McLaren’s excellent book The Story We Find Ourselves In, the second of a trilogy. It’s totally different from my book, Aquila. But it manages to pack very deep philosophical ideas, conveyed largely through dialogue, into a fascinating drama which is at the same time breathtaking (watching giant tortoises mate in the Galápagos islands), harrowing (struggling with cancer and experiencing 9/11 live), and moving, as the players begin to understand God’s plan for this world and love for them in a totally new way.

McLaren’s secret for keeping the reader’s attention is to combine activities with dialogue, while including vivid descriptions of the environment the actors find themselves in.

I’m learning from my betters (I hope).

I’ve already mentioned how I like to use Google Drive for writing the chapters of my book. I can think of three good reasons why (or four):

• I can access it from anywhere where I have Internet connectivity
• It automagically keeps earlier versions of a document
• It has a built-in dictionary/thesaurus function (see the Research panel in the above image)
• I trust Mr G to keep my files safe.

I have other tools which I very much appreciate while writing. Being somewhat lingua-schizophrenic, I tend to forget English words and have to search for them. Online services I’ve found particularly helpful are:

• Visual Thesaurus; its ingenious dynamic display blows your mind. This static image doesn’t do it justice at all
• Thesaurus.com, which doubles as an excellent dictionary
• OneLook reverse dictionary allows you to describe the thing for which you need a good word.

Do you have any favourite tools to help with your writing?

As an aspiring author, I’ve read several books on the art and craft of writing. They confused me. I didn’t even understand the terminology, let alone the principles they advocated.

There’s nothing better than jumping in the deep end and getting feedback from more experienced authors. My hesitant attempts at posting individual chapters of my book for others to critique, have taught me a lot.

I’m beginning to understand and grasp the importance of some of those key terms and concepts:

Action/descriptive beat A description of the actions (gestures, facial expressions, or even thoughts) that accompany a speaker’s words, included in the same paragraph as the dialogue as an indication that the person performing the action is also the person speaking.

Avoid adverbs! Writers are encouraged to use strong verbs instead of cluttering their prose with adverbs. Adverbs seldom add information and sometimes make things less clear. Even excessive adjectives are frowned upon by people like Mark Twain.

Backstory Everything that happened before the story begins and that is in some way relevant to it. Typically, it needs to be introduced subtly and in small doses at strategic places withing the first part of the book, but not too soon.

Character arc How a character overcomes flaws and develops or grows throughout the book.

Cliffhanger An event which leaves the reader in suspense at the end of a chapter or episode, to make him want to read on. If possible, each chapter should end with a cliffhanger.

Climax and resolution The climax is the resolution of the MC’s dilemma, putting happiness back within his/her grasp. It typically involves a change in his/her character. The aftermath of the climax is the resolution, where all the loose ends of the plot are tied up.

Dialogue/speaker tag In its most basic form, this consists of the speaker’s name and a speech-related verb (said, shouted, asked, etc.), indicating which character is speaking. How often to use them and when to replace them with an action beat are keys to attractive style and good readability.

Flashback Information that interrupts the forward flow of the story to show the reader something that happened in the character’s past.

Foreshadowing A subtle hint of some important event that will occur later in the story.

Hook The beginning of a book or chapter intended to catch the reader’s interest and draw them into the story or next major scene.

Inciting and key events The inciting event is the moment the MC’s world is forever changed. The key event is the moment when the he/she becomes engaged by the inciting event.

MC (main character), protagonist  The central character in a story, usually the hero/heroine; usually up against an antagonist, human or otherwise.

Pace The speed and rhythm at which the story moves.

Plot The arrangement of the story’s events, including the actions of the protagonist and how these actions affect the characters.

Plotting vs. pantsing Plotters outline in advance of actually writing a book; otherwise, their books meander, and both the writing and the revising is excruciating. Seat-of-the-pants writers, or “pantsers”, claim that an outline robs their writing of spontaneity and keeps their creative juices from flowing.

POV, Point of View The vantage point from which the story or a scene within the story is told. It’s important to maintain the POV faithfully throughout a scene, i.e. not relate things/ideas/emotions which the POV character couldn’t know.

Premise A single sentence expressing the underlying idea of the story.

Scene The basic building block of any story, typically having three parts: a goal; a conflict; failure to reach the goal.

Show, don’t tell! Telling gives the readers bare facts or explicit emotions, with little or no illustration. Showing uses more colourful details of a scene, including the characters’ behaviour, facial expressions, etc., to reveal what they are experiencing or feeling.

Sticky/glue/transition words are the 200 most common words (excluding personal pronouns), which link together the nouns, verbs, adverbs and adjectives. Almost every document could benefit from a reduction in the number of sticky words.

White space, created by paragraphs, is refreshing, helps the reader process the information in the story, gives their eyes a break and keeps them interested.

WIP Work-in-progress; the book I’m currently writing.

Acknowledgements
Helping Writers Become Authors by K.M. Weiland
Pro Writing Aid

Every author stresses how important revision is. The trouble is, one easily overlooks one’s own weak points, omissions and errors. The solution sounds easy: Get a good Critique Partner for reciprocal manuscript correction.

But how? There aren’t that many budding English-speaking authors in Oberlunkhofen!

I tried several online author sites which offer some facility for critiquing one another’s Work In Progress:

• The Circle at goodreads.com
• The Writers’ Workshop at christianwriters.com
• Critiques – general at writing-community.writersworkshop.co.uk

But the one I have found absolutely the most helpful is:

• The Ubergroup at Scribophile.com

If you join this group, inspiringly led by Jerry Quinn, you commit to submitting a chapter of approximately 3000 words every Monday and to critique the chapters submitted by the 4 or 5 other members of your team by the Thursday. And to follow this routine for 6 weeks at a time. A critique (‘Inline’, by ‘Template’ or ‘Freeform’) must have at least 125 words in order to earn ‘Karma’. And you need 5 Karma points to submit a chapter. Do the maths!

My experience so far is that I receive tough but extremely helpful feedback from my team members, communicated in a humble, encouraging spirit. The drill is rather intense, so I do have some difficulty keeping up and haven’t yet got round to revising my chapters based on the comments I’ve received. But I will.

A sample from an inline critique, where red means “Cut!”, yellow is to mark something and green is for comments or additions:

And a sample of some closing comments:

Thanks y’all!

“Look around where you are right now. Describe this setting – but do so in the words your viewpoint character would use.” This was the exercise I was set in the book I’m currently reading. So I tried, in the words and from the point of view of a 6th century peasant boy from Elba!

Here goes:

What on earth is happening? Or is that the wrong question? Am I, perhaps, no longer on earth? Have I been translated into another sphere or another life in a different world? I’m sitting; sitting on one of many unnatural-looking seats in a colourful house of some sort. It’s warm and light in here, although it feels like night-time. But the house is moving! It’s noisy and I feel it shake and vibrate. There are other people in here, too. At least I think they are people: men and women, dressed very strangely; many with unusually fair hair; many with something strange in front of their eyes, supported by their nose and ears; some have thin strands of something hanging out of their ears, which disappear among their clothes. Would their heads fall off if they weren’t tied on? They don’t seem to be able to talk, nor see very well, because they take no notice of me or each other. Many of them have something like a bundle of thin parchments on their lap, which they seem to be looking at all the time.

I jump as a musical tone sounds from nowhere and a loud voice shouts something. My heart starts racing, but no-one else takes any notice. I suppose they can’t hear or don’t understand what was said any more than I do. But then the house stops and it seems some people leave; others come in from lower down and climb up to where I am, then sit down near me. Occasionally, there are other sounds: something like music or someone indeed trying to talk to a little box they hold to their ear. Why don’t they talk to people, who can answer?

But the weirdest of all is that I can see through the walls in places. I see things rushing past at a fantastic speed, and then slowing down as the house stops moving: huge, grey, box-like structures with coloured marks on them; shining lamps; smaller things on wheels that also have red and white lamps and move around without even a horse pulling them, as far as I can make out. The only things I recognise are the occasional trees and the sky above, with clouds turning red…

Don’t you sometimes make a major change to a chapter – delete a whole section and rearrange the sequence of events – only to have a nagging thought that perhaps that wasn’t such a good idea and in a week or two you’ll want to revert to the old version? 

Google Drive knew that was going to happen all along!

I just discovered it has a feature that relieves a major headache I had: Revision history!

Not  only does it keep all your previous versions, allowing you to restore any one you wish, but it also highlights in green all the changes you made in that revision. Fantastic!

And since the NSA is apparently in the habit of reading Google documents: Perhaps you’d like to rate this post, Mr. President!