Touch imagery has always been a useful storytelling tool. Even when we're not putting together a lyrical masterpiece, it sneaks into our language. We talk about warm smiles, slippery personalities, getting caught between a rock and a hard place.
As it turns out, touch imagery might be more than just a product of an overactive metaphor engine. It may have something to do with the underlying way our brain structures our thoughts. Psychologists sometimes call it the scaffolded mind hypothesis. It's the idea that sensory and motor experiences provide a type of scaffold for us to conceptualize more abstract ideas. For example, the physical warmth associated with affectionate touch later becomes a way to think about interpersonal warmth.
Getting Blog Graphics on a Budget
Holy smokes! Will Self Publishing Make You Die was shared more in the past week than Narrative and the Brain, the previous top post, had been shared over the past 8 months. Since alarmist pseudoscience appears to be all the rage, I'm hard at work on the follow-ups: 1) Bad Prologues and Other Signs of the Apocolypse and 2) Do Adverbs Cause Erectile Dysfunction?*
Today however, I'm braindead from my yearly committee meeting. It went well, but after puzzling over rather challenging data all week, I'm going to write a post that doesn't require coherent sentences.
I've been looking into getting a blog header graphic and recently asked twitter for suggestions. As always, twitter rose to the challenge. Here is a compilation of the responses I got. If you have any other suggestions, please leave them in the comments.
*I may or may not actually be writing those follow-up articles.
Places to get art or stock photos (copyright and permissions vary from site to site):
1. DeviantART (@shaunduke)
2. Take a photo of something relevant that photographs well & crop to needed shape (via @audryt)
3. Dreamstime
4. iStockPhoto
5. Wikimedia Commons
6. 123rf
Ways to find graphic designers
1. Etsy (go to Everything Else, then Custom or Graphic Design)
2. Sites like 99designs and pimtim , and crowdspring let you hold design contests for a set monetary prize
Miscellaneous
1. Kinetiva has a DIY Branding Toolkit
2. Beautiful Blog Designs features blog designs, designers, and templates.
Graphic designers on twitter or recommended by people on twitter:
1. Bill Journee
2. J.M. Lee
3. Goofy girl designs (currently closed)
4. The Fae Group
5. Amanda Cobb
6. Jane R.
Today however, I'm braindead from my yearly committee meeting. It went well, but after puzzling over rather challenging data all week, I'm going to write a post that doesn't require coherent sentences.
I've been looking into getting a blog header graphic and recently asked twitter for suggestions. As always, twitter rose to the challenge. Here is a compilation of the responses I got. If you have any other suggestions, please leave them in the comments.
*I may or may not actually be writing those follow-up articles.
Places to get art or stock photos (copyright and permissions vary from site to site):
1. DeviantART (@shaunduke)
2. Take a photo of something relevant that photographs well & crop to needed shape (via @audryt)
3. Dreamstime
4. iStockPhoto
5. Wikimedia Commons
6. 123rf
Ways to find graphic designers
1. Etsy (go to Everything Else, then Custom or Graphic Design)
2. Sites like 99designs and pimtim , and crowdspring let you hold design contests for a set monetary prize
Miscellaneous
1. Kinetiva has a DIY Branding Toolkit
2. Beautiful Blog Designs features blog designs, designers, and templates.
Graphic designers on twitter or recommended by people on twitter:
1. Bill Journee
2. J.M. Lee
3. Goofy girl designs (currently closed)
4. The Fae Group
5. Amanda Cobb
6. Jane R.
Will Self Publishing Make You Die???
There's been quite a bit of talk on the interwebz lately about self-publishing, and I'm jumping on the bandwagon. I’ll leave discussions of sales numbers, platform, production values, etc. to other blogs. Today, we're going to take a look at a much more basic concern. That's right folks, we're going to look at whether self-publishing makes you die.
Now this requires some context. A couple weeks ago, agent Mary Kole (who keeps a very helpful blog, btw) posted an article arguing against self-publishing. Now my own views on self publishing are pretty moderate (It’s doable, but incredibly hard work, and you should get objective confirmation that your writing is up to par.), but I hopped over to read the lively debate in the comments.
One argument caught my attention. Given the odds for traditional publication, good manuscripts do slip through the cracks. Since you've worked so hard on the novel, isn't it worth it just to try?
That kind of made sense. What do you have to lose? If you fail, at least you know it’s your fault and not because the acquisitions editor read your manuscript the week his mother-in-law was in town. Sure, there's stigma, and there will always be people who say you’re selling your failures. But what's that to the knowledge that you really tried your best?
At that point, I caught myself. “But wait, Livia,” I said. “ You're a psychologist. You can't just blithely ignore social factors as if they don't matter.” And I was right (funny how often that happens when you argue with yourself). Social status has considerable impact on health and quality of life.
There's one study that looked at the effect of social status on longevity. The researchers compared the lifespan of Nobel laureates to Nobel Prize nominees who didn't get the prize. The Nobel Prize winners ended up living on average 1.4 years longer than the nominees. Now remember that even the nominees were highly respected in their field and financially pretty well off. But being a laureate added over a year to the winners’ lifespans!
Once I remembered this, I became highly agitated. Was it possible that self-publishing writers were jumping in without realizing the risk to their health? Should I warn people, or should I just sit back and wait for the coming holocaust? I could just see it -- self published writers dying off in droves, 1.4 years before their time.
Luckily, I caught myself again and realized I was jumping too quickly to conclusions. Because many other factors contribute to your health. Among those is ability to control your circumstances .
And self publishers do win in the control department. They don't have to deal with the publishing roller coaster -- the agent who loves your work but decides to leave the industry to become an organic farmer. The editor who inherits your manuscript from the editor who inherited your manuscript from the editor who took over your manuscript after your original editor left publishing house. The art department who decides that your children's book about puppies would really sell much better with hot vampires on the cover. All stressful events out of an author's control -- events that in combination just might start shaving days off your life.
So what's the moral of the story? I’m not quite sure. Perhaps the best thing is not to think about it too much, and write the best book that you can.
Hm.. Isn't that always the conclusion we come to at the end of the day? *sigh* Here's to many more happy years of writing for all.
So what do you think, writer friends? Any aspects of your writing life cutting your days short? Or is it smooth sailing?
Note: The research described and linked to from this article is real. If you haven't figured out by now, everything else -- including interpretation of research, implications for the publishing industry and the pros and cons of self-publishing -- should be taken with tongue planted firmly in cheek.
Now this requires some context. A couple weeks ago, agent Mary Kole (who keeps a very helpful blog, btw) posted an article arguing against self-publishing. Now my own views on self publishing are pretty moderate (It’s doable, but incredibly hard work, and you should get objective confirmation that your writing is up to par.), but I hopped over to read the lively debate in the comments.
One argument caught my attention. Given the odds for traditional publication, good manuscripts do slip through the cracks. Since you've worked so hard on the novel, isn't it worth it just to try?
That kind of made sense. What do you have to lose? If you fail, at least you know it’s your fault and not because the acquisitions editor read your manuscript the week his mother-in-law was in town. Sure, there's stigma, and there will always be people who say you’re selling your failures. But what's that to the knowledge that you really tried your best?
At that point, I caught myself. “But wait, Livia,” I said. “ You're a psychologist. You can't just blithely ignore social factors as if they don't matter.” And I was right (funny how often that happens when you argue with yourself). Social status has considerable impact on health and quality of life.
There's one study that looked at the effect of social status on longevity. The researchers compared the lifespan of Nobel laureates to Nobel Prize nominees who didn't get the prize. The Nobel Prize winners ended up living on average 1.4 years longer than the nominees. Now remember that even the nominees were highly respected in their field and financially pretty well off. But being a laureate added over a year to the winners’ lifespans!
Once I remembered this, I became highly agitated. Was it possible that self-publishing writers were jumping in without realizing the risk to their health? Should I warn people, or should I just sit back and wait for the coming holocaust? I could just see it -- self published writers dying off in droves, 1.4 years before their time.
Luckily, I caught myself again and realized I was jumping too quickly to conclusions. Because many other factors contribute to your health. Among those is ability to control your circumstances .
And self publishers do win in the control department. They don't have to deal with the publishing roller coaster -- the agent who loves your work but decides to leave the industry to become an organic farmer. The editor who inherits your manuscript from the editor who inherited your manuscript from the editor who took over your manuscript after your original editor left publishing house. The art department who decides that your children's book about puppies would really sell much better with hot vampires on the cover. All stressful events out of an author's control -- events that in combination just might start shaving days off your life.
So what's the moral of the story? I’m not quite sure. Perhaps the best thing is not to think about it too much, and write the best book that you can.
Hm.. Isn't that always the conclusion we come to at the end of the day? *sigh* Here's to many more happy years of writing for all.
So what do you think, writer friends? Any aspects of your writing life cutting your days short? Or is it smooth sailing?
Note: The research described and linked to from this article is real. If you haven't figured out by now, everything else -- including interpretation of research, implications for the publishing industry and the pros and cons of self-publishing -- should be taken with tongue planted firmly in cheek.
Tips from Muse and the Marketplace
In couple months ago, I attended Muse and the Marketplace in Boston. As is becoming my tradition with conferences, I'm passing on a few helpful tips below.
But first, I shall reenact for you my first conference critique. It went something like this.
Livia enters dimly litdungeo conference room,clutching manuscript and scanning different tables for her agent. Finally spies Agent at very end of room and crosses over, bravely ignoring the tortured screams, cackles, and tongues of flame that burst occasionally from neighboring tables.
Agent: Hello.
Livia: Hello. (Kicks at enormous rat, which hisses but promptly get eaten by an even bigger cockroach)
Agent: I have a question. Was this the first thing you've written?
Livia: Uhhh.... (madly brainstorming ways to appear less dumb) Oh, uh... this little thing? Uh, yeah, of course. I mean. OH YEAH, it's not like I consider this a REAL manuscript or something. Just a little bit 'o fun on the side, in case you were wondering why it sucked -- I mean not that I'm saying that you're saying that it sucked but yeah, totally, if it read like a first manuscript it's just cuz ...... (Keeps digging grave for a few more minutes. Vultures circle overhead.)
Agent: Oh okay. I was just wondering, cuz this was actually my favorite submission. I actually didn't have much to say because I just wanted to keep reading.
Livia: (Blank stare)
Dungeon transforms into hotel conference room. Carrion eaters disappear. Screams from neighboring tables transform into polite conversation. Tongues of flame turn out to be smartphone LCD displays.
Hehe, yeah, so the first few minutes took a few days off my life, but the encouraging feedback afterwards counteracted that, for (hopefully) no let loss of lifespan. And after I stopped pscyhing myself out, I realized that Agent was very nice.
But anyways, on to the conference tips.
Writing Tips (On writing children, but applicable to other characters)
Observe kids in the age range you're writing. How do they move? How do they interact? For example, ever noticed that toddlers have a bow legged stance and a stomach-forward way of moving? Even if you don't write that out, it will show through in your writing.
-- Lauren Grodstein, author of A Friend of the Family
In the same way, listen to them talk. Listen to their patterns of speech.
-- Lauren Grodstein
[Note from Livia: Alan Rinzler also has a good article on eavesdropping for dialogue on his blog]
If your research is thorough and people still aren't believing your character, then it's a writing problem, not a research problem. Make your writing strong and authoritative enough that the readers have to believe it.
-- Lauren Grodstein
Generally speaking, the YA market responds to big drama. A girl reconciling with mom? Maybe. A girl reconciling with mom after Dad dies in a space shuttle explosion? More marketable.
--Lauren Grodstein
On Platform and Publicity
If you're an aspiring fiction writer, focus your time on making your book better rather than on blogging. Unless your numbers are huge, blog followings won't help you get published.
– Julie Barer, Barer Literary
[Note from Livia: The other panelists agreed with this, and I've also been seeing this advice elsewhere -- it seems like there is a backlash against the recent push for aspiring writers to build up their internet presence. What do you think?]
Five years ago, writers were beholden to their publicists to make their book known. Now you have much more control. “It’s a wonderful feeling.”
– Allison Winn Scotch, author of The One That I Want
On Self Publishing
There isn't as much of a stigma anymore to self publishing. Agents and editors watch self published books to see if they do well (Upwards of 15-20,000 copies sold).
– Julie Barer
While it's true that in self publishing, you get a higher percentage of the cover price, you're also taking all the financial risk of publishing the book upon yourself. In traditional publishing, you share the risk with the publisher. Remember that most books don’t earn out their advance.
– Sanj Kharbanda, VP Digital Marketing Strategy for Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Do you need a publisher? There are parallels to the music industry. If you want to be Lady Gaga, you need a traditional publisher. But just as recording technology has made it possible for indie bands to put out cds, self publishing now makes it possible for indie authors to put out their own books.
– Joshua Benton, director of Nieman Journalism Lab at Harvard University
On Ebooks and the Digital Marketplace
On a family vacation, Julie Barer's mother started chatting with another woman on the beach. They were both reading on their kindles, and Julie's mom thought the other woman’s book was interesting. Four seconds later, Julie's mother also owned the book.
– Julie Barer
In the digital marketplace, you get a small number of extreme blockbusters and a long tail. It’s easier than ever to get a book out, but it’s getting harder to make a lot of money from it.
– Joshua Benton
In digital formats, books are no longer limited by length. You don't have to add filler or cut out content to make a book fit the expected word count for the genre. A digital book can be just as long as it needs to be.
– Joshua Benton
Hope you found these useful! Let me know your thoughts.
But first, I shall reenact for you my first conference critique. It went something like this.
Livia enters dimly lit
Agent: Hello.
Livia: Hello. (Kicks at enormous rat, which hisses but promptly get eaten by an even bigger cockroach)
Agent: I have a question. Was this the first thing you've written?
Livia: Uhhh.... (madly brainstorming ways to appear less dumb) Oh, uh... this little thing? Uh, yeah, of course. I mean. OH YEAH, it's not like I consider this a REAL manuscript or something. Just a little bit 'o fun on the side, in case you were wondering why it sucked -- I mean not that I'm saying that you're saying that it sucked but yeah, totally, if it read like a first manuscript it's just cuz ...... (Keeps digging grave for a few more minutes. Vultures circle overhead.)
Agent: Oh okay. I was just wondering, cuz this was actually my favorite submission. I actually didn't have much to say because I just wanted to keep reading.
Livia: (Blank stare)
Dungeon transforms into hotel conference room. Carrion eaters disappear. Screams from neighboring tables transform into polite conversation. Tongues of flame turn out to be smartphone LCD displays.
Hehe, yeah, so the first few minutes took a few days off my life, but the encouraging feedback afterwards counteracted that, for (hopefully) no let loss of lifespan. And after I stopped pscyhing myself out, I realized that Agent was very nice.
But anyways, on to the conference tips.
Writing Tips (On writing children, but applicable to other characters)
Observe kids in the age range you're writing. How do they move? How do they interact? For example, ever noticed that toddlers have a bow legged stance and a stomach-forward way of moving? Even if you don't write that out, it will show through in your writing.
-- Lauren Grodstein, author of A Friend of the Family
In the same way, listen to them talk. Listen to their patterns of speech.
-- Lauren Grodstein
[Note from Livia: Alan Rinzler also has a good article on eavesdropping for dialogue on his blog]
If your research is thorough and people still aren't believing your character, then it's a writing problem, not a research problem. Make your writing strong and authoritative enough that the readers have to believe it.
-- Lauren Grodstein
Generally speaking, the YA market responds to big drama. A girl reconciling with mom? Maybe. A girl reconciling with mom after Dad dies in a space shuttle explosion? More marketable.
--Lauren Grodstein
On Platform and Publicity
If you're an aspiring fiction writer, focus your time on making your book better rather than on blogging. Unless your numbers are huge, blog followings won't help you get published.
– Julie Barer, Barer Literary
[Note from Livia: The other panelists agreed with this, and I've also been seeing this advice elsewhere -- it seems like there is a backlash against the recent push for aspiring writers to build up their internet presence. What do you think?]
Five years ago, writers were beholden to their publicists to make their book known. Now you have much more control. “It’s a wonderful feeling.”
– Allison Winn Scotch, author of The One That I Want
On Self Publishing
There isn't as much of a stigma anymore to self publishing. Agents and editors watch self published books to see if they do well (Upwards of 15-20,000 copies sold).
– Julie Barer
While it's true that in self publishing, you get a higher percentage of the cover price, you're also taking all the financial risk of publishing the book upon yourself. In traditional publishing, you share the risk with the publisher. Remember that most books don’t earn out their advance.
– Sanj Kharbanda, VP Digital Marketing Strategy for Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Do you need a publisher? There are parallels to the music industry. If you want to be Lady Gaga, you need a traditional publisher. But just as recording technology has made it possible for indie bands to put out cds, self publishing now makes it possible for indie authors to put out their own books.
– Joshua Benton, director of Nieman Journalism Lab at Harvard University
On Ebooks and the Digital Marketplace
On a family vacation, Julie Barer's mother started chatting with another woman on the beach. They were both reading on their kindles, and Julie's mom thought the other woman’s book was interesting. Four seconds later, Julie's mother also owned the book.
– Julie Barer
In the digital marketplace, you get a small number of extreme blockbusters and a long tail. It’s easier than ever to get a book out, but it’s getting harder to make a lot of money from it.
– Joshua Benton
In digital formats, books are no longer limited by length. You don't have to add filler or cut out content to make a book fit the expected word count for the genre. A digital book can be just as long as it needs to be.
– Joshua Benton
Hope you found these useful! Let me know your thoughts.
Top Ten Posts of Year One
We had lots of kind retweeters and insightful commenters last post, but only one person wanted the copy of Lost Mission
, so Taffy, it's all yours.
The blog has turned 1! It's been exactly one year and 4 days since my rather random first post. I didn't start out planning to write about psychology and neuroscience -- but then, blogs do take on a life of their own. A huge thank you to all of you for your support.
Here's a list of my favorite posts from the last year, in chronological order.
1. Pillars of the Earth: an example of a prologue done well: Prologues are such a contentious topic these days. Here's my analysis of a good one. Do you agree?
2. Three useful pointers from "How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy": Tips on world building, exposition, and finding readers from Orson Scott Card -- useful for other genres as well.
3. Narrative and the Brain: This is the one that started the blog on a neuroscience trajectory.
4. Voice Finding Techniques from Cathy Yardley: Wondering about that ever elusive voice? Some tips on discovering your own.
5. Seven Reasons Agents Stop Reading Your First Page: Actually a guest post for Guide to Literary Agents.
6. Neil Gaiman Breaks Writing Rules!: I wrote this as an afterthought, and it turned into one of my most popular posts. I guess writers like to rail against the rules.
7. 100% Absolutely and Completely Realistic Neuroscience Love Scene: Pure silliness. But oh so much fun.
8. Helpful Tips From a Harvard Writer's Conference: A hodgepodge of helpful tips from an excellent conference.
9. Loading the First Impression for Quick Characterization: Suzanne Collins is who I want to be when I grow up, and I really admire the way she does supporting characters.
10. How To Get (And Keep) People's Attention: What's the difference between getting people interested and putting them to sleep?
Thank you all again for a great year.
, so Taffy, it's all yours.The blog has turned 1! It's been exactly one year and 4 days since my rather random first post. I didn't start out planning to write about psychology and neuroscience -- but then, blogs do take on a life of their own. A huge thank you to all of you for your support.
Here's a list of my favorite posts from the last year, in chronological order.
1. Pillars of the Earth: an example of a prologue done well: Prologues are such a contentious topic these days. Here's my analysis of a good one. Do you agree?
2. Three useful pointers from "How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy": Tips on world building, exposition, and finding readers from Orson Scott Card -- useful for other genres as well.
3. Narrative and the Brain: This is the one that started the blog on a neuroscience trajectory.
4. Voice Finding Techniques from Cathy Yardley: Wondering about that ever elusive voice? Some tips on discovering your own.
5. Seven Reasons Agents Stop Reading Your First Page: Actually a guest post for Guide to Literary Agents.
6. Neil Gaiman Breaks Writing Rules!: I wrote this as an afterthought, and it turned into one of my most popular posts. I guess writers like to rail against the rules.
7. 100% Absolutely and Completely Realistic Neuroscience Love Scene: Pure silliness. But oh so much fun.
8. Helpful Tips From a Harvard Writer's Conference: A hodgepodge of helpful tips from an excellent conference.
9. Loading the First Impression for Quick Characterization: Suzanne Collins is who I want to be when I grow up, and I really admire the way she does supporting characters.
10. How To Get (And Keep) People's Attention: What's the difference between getting people interested and putting them to sleep?
Thank you all again for a great year.
Do Flashbacks Change Reader Expectations? (Lost Mission Giveaway)
I was reading Lost Mission by Athol Dickenson and noticed a curious thing in the narrative structure. One of the storylines focuses on Lupe, a small town shopkeeper in Mexico who feels called by God to preach in America. She shares her thoughts with her priest, who upon hearing her, takes her to see the retablo, a miraculous alterpiece said to date back to the early conquistadors.
Lupe made no move.
The priest's voice came from the shadows. "Come with me, daughter. Have no fear."
"But Padre--"
"Lupe, do you have faith in our Lord?"
"Yes, Padre, I do."
"Then come."
And thus commanded, Lupe bowed her head and entered.
The scene ends here. The next time we see Lupe, she is already on her way to America. It's only after she loses her way that we finally flash back to the scene where the priest takes her to the alterpiece. When Lupe first sees it, it looks like a normal painting of the crucifixion. But ...
"You must look more carefully. Draw closer, daughter."
Then Lupe saw the mourners and the Virgin... and she thought it could not be, and yet...
Lupe collapsed.. . .
Kneeling she stared at the altarpiece and trembled.
"Do not fear it, Lupe," said Padre Hinojosa, bending down beside her with a grunt, for he was not young. "It was ordained in love more than two centuries ago.
"But it is blasphemy!"
"Blasphemy? No, daughter. Not that."
After more arguing, the priest convinces Lupe that the altarpiece is indeed from God, and he gives it to her to take to America.
It's very rare for a writer to skip forward in a narrative and continue the the story later in flashback. I'm guessing Dickson had several reasons for doing this.
For one thing, marking a passage this way sets it apart as a crucial point in the story. I remember when a critique buddy submitted a scene with the same structure: buildup to climax -> jump cut -> reveal climax as flashback. In that case, the content of the flashback was a side plot, and not important to the core of the story. Narrating it this way felt too dramatic for the material, and all the group members independently suggested that the writer to narrate it more straightforwardly.
So Dickson uses the flashback to mark the scene as important -- which it certainly is. The altarpiece serves as a touchstone for the entire novel. But I think there's something else going on here too. In the flashback, we learn that the altarpiece is miraculous, but we don't know why. Lupe clearly reacts to something, but we never see what it is. We don't find that out until the big reveal towards the end.
Now if Dickson had narrated the whole thing straight without telling what Lupe saw, it would have seemed dishonest. There's something about a flashback that allows the writer more freedom to pick and choose information. We know that the narrator is hiding something, but it's less strange for him to do so in a flashback.
What do you guys think? Is there something about flashbacks (and perhaps other modes of narrativing -- prologues? epilogues?), that changes reader expectations?
Also, I received Lost Mission as a free review copy from the publisher and I will now pass it on to someone else who'd like to read it. If you'd like me to send you the book, retweet this post and paste the link to the tweet in the comments. I'll draw a name on Wednesday morning, June 30th.
by Athol Dickenson and noticed a curious thing in the narrative structure. One of the storylines focuses on Lupe, a small town shopkeeper in Mexico who feels called by God to preach in America. She shares her thoughts with her priest, who upon hearing her, takes her to see the retablo, a miraculous alterpiece said to date back to the early conquistadors.Lupe made no move.
The priest's voice came from the shadows. "Come with me, daughter. Have no fear."
"But Padre--"
"Lupe, do you have faith in our Lord?"
"Yes, Padre, I do."
"Then come."
And thus commanded, Lupe bowed her head and entered.
The scene ends here. The next time we see Lupe, she is already on her way to America. It's only after she loses her way that we finally flash back to the scene where the priest takes her to the alterpiece. When Lupe first sees it, it looks like a normal painting of the crucifixion. But ...
"You must look more carefully. Draw closer, daughter."
Then Lupe saw the mourners and the Virgin... and she thought it could not be, and yet...
Lupe collapsed.. . .
Kneeling she stared at the altarpiece and trembled.
"Do not fear it, Lupe," said Padre Hinojosa, bending down beside her with a grunt, for he was not young. "It was ordained in love more than two centuries ago.
"But it is blasphemy!"
"Blasphemy? No, daughter. Not that."
After more arguing, the priest convinces Lupe that the altarpiece is indeed from God, and he gives it to her to take to America.
It's very rare for a writer to skip forward in a narrative and continue the the story later in flashback. I'm guessing Dickson had several reasons for doing this.
For one thing, marking a passage this way sets it apart as a crucial point in the story. I remember when a critique buddy submitted a scene with the same structure: buildup to climax -> jump cut -> reveal climax as flashback. In that case, the content of the flashback was a side plot, and not important to the core of the story. Narrating it this way felt too dramatic for the material, and all the group members independently suggested that the writer to narrate it more straightforwardly.
So Dickson uses the flashback to mark the scene as important -- which it certainly is. The altarpiece serves as a touchstone for the entire novel. But I think there's something else going on here too. In the flashback, we learn that the altarpiece is miraculous, but we don't know why. Lupe clearly reacts to something, but we never see what it is. We don't find that out until the big reveal towards the end.
Now if Dickson had narrated the whole thing straight without telling what Lupe saw, it would have seemed dishonest. There's something about a flashback that allows the writer more freedom to pick and choose information. We know that the narrator is hiding something, but it's less strange for him to do so in a flashback.
What do you guys think? Is there something about flashbacks (and perhaps other modes of narrativing -- prologues? epilogues?), that changes reader expectations?
Also, I received Lost Mission
as a free review copy from the publisher and I will now pass it on to someone else who'd like to read it. If you'd like me to send you the book, retweet this post and paste the link to the tweet in the comments. I'll draw a name on Wednesday morning, June 30th.Me too, Vicki. Me too.
Tonight Vicki has dressed for leisure, not work, as she sports baggy purple sweatpants and a loose sweater. It is time to go to work, but she strolls with me around Alonzo de Mendoza. Sometimes it is like this; she takes a night off and visits with me as I treat my street patients . . . .
At 1:35 am, I pack my things and prepare to go home. Vicki strolls over. “We should go and party sometime, Chi” she tells me, trying to make eye contact. “You can take me clubbing.”
“I don’t think that would be a good idea.” I try to take control with a serious stare.
“Come on, Chi.” She maneuvers about, shaking off my stare. “What is a little dancing and a few drinks? It won’t hurt anyone.” For street girls, “Dancing” means that the man pays for the girl’s drinks and the girl lets the man have sex with her.
“Vicki,” I say,” you know I don’t dance. You see these two left feet. Plus, I have the rhythm of a chicken.”
She giggles. “I can teach the chicken how to dance.” She grabs hold of my arm and scoots her hip against mine.
“No.” I parry her hand away and back off. “Vicki.” I look her square in the eyses.
“No.”
Vicki sits down on a bench. She pouts. I sit down too, on the other side. Cold silence. She looks out into the distance and sniffs, then sniffles. He doesn’t want to dance with me. I can hear the words in her head. . . . She looks at me. Looks me square in the eyes. She narrows her eyes at me – out of hate or out of curiousity. “I wish,” says Vicki, “I wish there were more good men like you out there.”
Me too, I say to myself. Me too. . . .
She walks over to the street boys. As she approaches them, her steps stutter. Vicki turns around and looks at me. I see on her face a look of pain – if not pain, then some sad question about her fate. When? Where? How?
Me too, Vicki. Me too.
When Dr. Chi Huang was about to graduate from Harvard Medical School, he took a half-year sabbatical with organization that provided medical care to street children in Bolivia. Fifteen years later, he's still there, splitting his time between Boston and Bolivia. He has since founded Kaya Children International, an organization that provides shelter for street children around the world.
I've had the privilage of hearing Dr. Huang speak about his work several times, and it is truly inspiring. The story above, from his book When Invisible Children Sing
, has a happy ending. Vicki, who was working as a child prostitute, eventually moved off the streets and as of 2005 was attending classes to become a beautician.
Why am I telling you about this group? Well, today is donation matching day at GlobalGiving.org. Any donations made before 11:59pm EST time on Wednesday, June 16th will be matched by 50%. If the group's work intrigues you, I invite you to join me in making a donation at their project page.
Thank y'all for tuning in. We'll return to our regular programming next week.
At 1:35 am, I pack my things and prepare to go home. Vicki strolls over. “We should go and party sometime, Chi” she tells me, trying to make eye contact. “You can take me clubbing.”
“I don’t think that would be a good idea.” I try to take control with a serious stare.
“Come on, Chi.” She maneuvers about, shaking off my stare. “What is a little dancing and a few drinks? It won’t hurt anyone.” For street girls, “Dancing” means that the man pays for the girl’s drinks and the girl lets the man have sex with her.
“Vicki,” I say,” you know I don’t dance. You see these two left feet. Plus, I have the rhythm of a chicken.”
She giggles. “I can teach the chicken how to dance.” She grabs hold of my arm and scoots her hip against mine.
“No.” I parry her hand away and back off. “Vicki.” I look her square in the eyses.
“No.”
Vicki sits down on a bench. She pouts. I sit down too, on the other side. Cold silence. She looks out into the distance and sniffs, then sniffles. He doesn’t want to dance with me. I can hear the words in her head. . . . She looks at me. Looks me square in the eyes. She narrows her eyes at me – out of hate or out of curiousity. “I wish,” says Vicki, “I wish there were more good men like you out there.”
Me too, I say to myself. Me too. . . .
She walks over to the street boys. As she approaches them, her steps stutter. Vicki turns around and looks at me. I see on her face a look of pain – if not pain, then some sad question about her fate. When? Where? How?
Me too, Vicki. Me too.
When Dr. Chi Huang was about to graduate from Harvard Medical School, he took a half-year sabbatical with organization that provided medical care to street children in Bolivia. Fifteen years later, he's still there, splitting his time between Boston and Bolivia. He has since founded Kaya Children International, an organization that provides shelter for street children around the world.
I've had the privilage of hearing Dr. Huang speak about his work several times, and it is truly inspiring. The story above, from his book When Invisible Children Sing
, has a happy ending. Vicki, who was working as a child prostitute, eventually moved off the streets and as of 2005 was attending classes to become a beautician.Why am I telling you about this group? Well, today is donation matching day at GlobalGiving.org. Any donations made before 11:59pm EST time on Wednesday, June 16th will be matched by 50%. If the group's work intrigues you, I invite you to join me in making a donation at their project page.
Thank y'all for tuning in. We'll return to our regular programming next week.
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