tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post1037013269000515138..comments2024-03-20T02:26:46.482-04:00Comments on Joanna Bourne: Technical Topic -- Why the First Scene Should Be a GhostJo Bournehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457862962618886252noreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-87468823692310731922013-09-02T19:59:49.316-04:002013-09-02T19:59:49.316-04:00Deniz and Jo,
Y'all are too kind, but I only ...Deniz and Jo,<br /><br />Y'all are too kind, but I only borrowed the term from Rafe Steinberg, who had it from his Harvard professor back in 1947: poet John Ciardi. I blogged about it in June of 07 (yes, I looked it up) but I don't know how to create a link here.Bethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08504439129670380071noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-85289258026393226952013-08-28T22:12:59.796-04:002013-08-28T22:12:59.796-04:00That is a motto if I ever heard one.
"You ...That is a motto if I ever heard one. <br /><br /> "You aren't cutting the first three chapters. You're creating Bonus Material."<br /><br />If I could just gather together all the words I've wasted writing those first three chapters and turn it into a coherent book ...Jo Bournehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13457862962618886252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-36567052012790346362013-08-28T22:10:30.484-04:002013-08-28T22:10:30.484-04:00Yes! If one can just get through the first draft....Yes! If one can just get through the first draft. It makes so much difference to have the whole plot laid out before you.<br /><br />(That's when you see all the plotholes ...)Jo Bournehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13457862962618886252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-37331912677146702292013-08-28T22:09:20.212-04:002013-08-28T22:09:20.212-04:00I think life must be incredibly difficult for thos...I think life must be incredibly difficult for those linear thinkers who can't -- how would one put it? -- can't throw the spaghetti of the scenes against the wall to see what fits.<br /><br />I don't know that I've ever pried up the first chapter and set it down somewhere else. First chapters tend to be so specialized. But I sure as heck have moved chapters nine through eleven further back in the story to become seventeen and company.<br /><br />Diana Gabaldon is another of those -- "Write the scenes that come to you and they'll fit in someplace." There are some other great writers who do this.Jo Bournehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13457862962618886252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-58922810146361027882013-08-28T22:05:17.582-04:002013-08-28T22:05:17.582-04:00Yo are so lucky. Those scenes that come to eat ou...Yo are so lucky. Those scenes that come to eat out of our hand when we're not chasing them are the best ones. <br /><br />Sometimes the boyz in the basement dome through big time.Jo Bournehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13457862962618886252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-60465402647010604682013-08-28T22:03:50.867-04:002013-08-28T22:03:50.867-04:00It makes excellent sense. That POV fiddling is so...It makes excellent sense. That POV fiddling is something we all do. Change maybe ten words here and add ten there and you got a 30% better characterization.<br /><br />It's a kind of magic.<br />Jo Bournehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13457862962618886252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-28445179527478419162013-08-28T22:01:56.330-04:002013-08-28T22:01:56.330-04:00Initiator of many good things, Beth is. *s*Initiator of many good things, Beth is. *s*Jo Bournehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13457862962618886252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-62386401331594382692013-08-28T21:36:39.157-04:002013-08-28T21:36:39.157-04:00Cannot tell you the number of books I've writt...Cannot tell you the number of books I've written that started three chapters too early. Not three pages, not three scenes, three CHAPTERS. The only way to figure that out... Oh, the pain of it all. This is where website bonus material got its start. Grace Burroweshttp://graceburrowes.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-38634687155460219642013-08-28T17:08:49.029-04:002013-08-28T17:08:49.029-04:00I think the first three chapters are the hardest. ...I think the first three chapters are the hardest. I've learned to just get through the first draft, then go back and start adding in. Only then do I go back and rewrite the first chapters, and they still end up getting changed after my beta readers are done with them. Shared.Ella Quinn - Romance Novelisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07733983485270470132noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-1528278800404181542013-08-28T15:38:42.684-04:002013-08-28T15:38:42.684-04:00Wow! Write in grey! I never thought of that, but w...Wow! Write in grey! I never thought of that, but what a cool idea. I've learned not to labour over chapter one because more likely than not it'll end up as chapter fifteen or four or something as I reshape the book. I just keep writing scenes as I see them, then put them together again like a puzzle. <br /><br />Thanks for the great perspective, Jo!Genevieve Grahamhttp://www.genevievegraham.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-15746171626347101612013-08-28T15:21:53.525-04:002013-08-28T15:21:53.525-04:00I so relate t this. I was done, done I tell you wi...I so relate t this. I was done, done I tell you with it and all of a sudden, lying in bed it hit me that this was the chapter, so at 5:30 am on vacation, I got up and wrote it in. And there it has sat..for the most part...Nancy S. Goodmanhttp://www.rakesroguesandromance.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-32592876807565936582013-08-28T13:53:02.966-04:002013-08-28T13:53:02.966-04:00Great post, Jo. I like fiddling with my first chap...Great post, Jo. I like fiddling with my first chapters, like making a good first layer of a cake. Of course, as I get deeper into the story, say at the 40-50K place, I do go back and make further adjustments. In my second novel, Against the Wind, I didn't decide till midway through the heroine should be an artist. So I had to go back and have her see the villain as an artist would. The first chapters basically remained the same but her POV was slightly altered. Make sense?Regan Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02977297105533227463noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-26420143667800645852013-08-28T13:51:16.594-04:002013-08-28T13:51:16.594-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.Regan Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02977297105533227463noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-39196501826821216972013-08-28T11:31:18.870-04:002013-08-28T11:31:18.870-04:00I think it was Beth's term, if I remember corr...I think it was Beth's term, if I remember correctly...Deniz Bevanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17134553551048836979noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-7713157563446167792013-08-28T10:28:04.304-04:002013-08-28T10:28:04.304-04:00'Gangplank' is a good word for it.
When w...'Gangplank' is a good word for it.<br /><br />When we're tense about the writing; when there seems to be only one way to do it -- a lot of times this comes from deep uncertainty. Sometimes it helps to take the whole writing thing a little less seriously. Jo Bournehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13457862962618886252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-68571057605407308762013-08-28T07:59:58.277-04:002013-08-28T07:59:58.277-04:00This is the advice I keep trying to give linear wr...This is the advice I keep trying to give linear writers I know, who simply won't move on until they're satisfied with page one, let alone chapter one. I'm trying to instill in them the 'gangplank' idea - and the excitement that comes with forging ahead with the story and characters!Deniz Bevanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17134553551048836979noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-26016645334976346122013-08-26T20:34:03.460-04:002013-08-26T20:34:03.460-04:00Oh, thank you so much. I am the original Yenta.Oh, thank you so much. I am the original Yenta.Jo Bournehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13457862962618886252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-89629600944671188502013-08-26T20:32:56.400-04:002013-08-26T20:32:56.400-04:00My problem is I write the beginning. Then I write...My problem is I write the beginning. Then I write it again. Then again ...Jo Bournehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13457862962618886252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-63036183191230180272013-08-26T20:31:17.911-04:002013-08-26T20:31:17.911-04:00That is so cool and interesting. I spent years wr...That is so cool and interesting. I spent years writing non-fiction and I love it. Jo Bournehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13457862962618886252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-67752932791126494812013-08-26T20:27:53.687-04:002013-08-26T20:27:53.687-04:00I look upon Bird by Bird as a great book to solve ...I look upon Bird by Bird as a great book to solve a problem I don't happen to have.<br />A good read, anyhow.Jo Bournehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13457862962618886252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-57923907673963932732013-08-26T20:26:07.740-04:002013-08-26T20:26:07.740-04:00Maybe the hardest scene in he book, that kickoff s...Maybe the hardest scene in he book, that kickoff scene. <br />I have trouble with love scenes too.<br /><br />If I ever write a love scene as the first scene in the book, I think the universe will implode or something.<br /><br />Jo Bournehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13457862962618886252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-10674698754904616402013-08-26T20:23:26.206-04:002013-08-26T20:23:26.206-04:00Whatever works.
I endlessly dither. I'll a...Whatever works. <br /><br />I endlessly dither. I'll admit it. I think that's part of my process or something.Jo Bournehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13457862962618886252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-3896119746344324712013-08-26T20:16:58.300-04:002013-08-26T20:16:58.300-04:00There's something enticing about fiddling with...There's something enticing about fiddling with those first chapters. Maybe it's hard to let go of the edge of the pool and swim out in the deep end ... Jo Bournehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13457862962618886252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-86599903911383232762013-08-26T20:14:38.131-04:002013-08-26T20:14:38.131-04:00Hi Nan --
This is so true. We start out with one...Hi Nan --<br /><br />This is so true. We start out with one character and 30,000 words later, he's grown into somebody else entirely. Trying to fit him into the old first chapter is like trying to fit your sixth grader into his kindergarten shoes.Jo Bournehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13457862962618886252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-44792204159229744562013-08-26T14:51:12.887-04:002013-08-26T14:51:12.887-04:00Thank you Jo! I have been agonizing over that stup...Thank you Jo! I have been agonizing over that stupid first chapter, and I don't want it to be stupid. I'd left it alone for a long time. When I went back to write it, I was surprised to see that my character was showing up on the page a totally different person from when I'd began the story. I was pulling my hair out. Now, I think I see why. It makes perfect sense that I would know her better now than when she first emerged.<br />Thank you, thank you, from a slightly less confused, Nan<br />Nanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15144509743750525639noreply@blogger.com