Grace's Mosaic Moments


Saturday, November 9, 2024

REQUIEM

SWAMPED by Church's Fall Fair
(major contributor & "table-sitter")

Next Blog - November 23 

 

On the day after the election, my son sent me the following poem. The author is Dean Fiora, and that is all I know about the source. Although perhaps a bit overdramatic, it resonates with the bitter disappointment so many of us felt as the results came in. 

Who killed the country?
"I," said he president.
"A despot on day one,
"My reign has just begun.
"I killed the country."
 
"I," said the Congress.
"When you filled me with morons,
"Disaster was foregone.
"I killed the country."

Who killed the country?
"I," said the media.
"I kissed Donald's butt.
"And your throat is now cut.
"I killed the country."

Who killed the country?
"I," said the Russian.
"In your house horse race I meddled.
"Now you're in a fine fettle.
"I killed the country."

Who killed the country?
"I," said the billionaire.
"A president I've bought.
"Now the nation is fraught.
"I killed the country."

Who killed the country?
"I," said the Supreme Court.
"I took away your rights,
"And now you've lost the fight.
"I killed the country."
 
Who killed the country?
"I," said the insurance company.
"All your claims I denied,
"Thought you got sick and died.
"I killed the country."
 
Who killed the country?
"I," said Big Oil.
"My gunk filled th oceans,
"Setting slow death in motion.
"I killed the country."

Who killed the country?
"I," said the corporation.
"My carbon emissions,
"Led to clime demolition.
"I killed the country."

"We," said the people.
"We disdained education,
"Which helped murder the nation.
"We killed the country."

~ * ~ 

Below, from Facebook:

~ * ~
Life must go on, so next week, back to normal, 
including Gallery & Book Promo!
 
~ * ~

For a link to Blair's websiteclick here. 

For Blair's Facebook Author Page, click here.*
 

For recent blogs, scroll down. For Archives, see the menu on the right.

 

Thanks for stopping by,

Grace (Blair Bancroft)   
 

Saturday, October 26, 2024

Helene, Milton & Why Read Romance

 FLORIDA - HURRICANE CENTRAL

It's been a rough few weeks. Just tonight, the TV news mentioned "a quarter BILLION dollars" damage in Florida from Helene and Milton. This includes total devastation along the Florida Gulf Coast, both storm surge and surge in the Venice area, where I lived for 25 years before moving to the Orlando area to be near the grandchildren. Many properties along the barrier islands were left with three or more feet of sand in the houses, at least one buried almost to the roof level. In addition, every river and stream flooded from the deluge, causing severe water damage to homes throughout Central Florida, including right here in Seminole County, 20 miles north of Orlando. I, thank goodness, live on top of a "Florida hill" (recognizable only because water flows away from it in all directions). And my house managed the wind with only one shingle down and a power loss of maybe 18 hours. (After a series of off-on again Wednesday evening, power failed completely while I was sleeping, coming back on at 6:30 pm Thursday night—definitely among the first in the area to be restored.) I am infinitely grateful for being spared. And praying for the thousands who have lost everything, their homes and businesses pulverized by the one-two punch of back-to-back hurricanes.

However, I have to admit that even though my house and I were spared, preparing for the storms, enduring them, living without electricity, putting everything back where it was before the storms blew through was more wearing than in my younger days. So don't be surprised by hurricane pics in the Gallery or by my delving into Making Magic With Words for an oldie but goodie for this week's blog. "Why Read Romance" is the first "romance" article I ever wrote - created long before the days of my first blog. You will find it below, as originally written somewhere between 2004 and 2010. 

IMPORTANT NOTE:  This is an article aimed at MEN as well as women. Life would be a lot happier if, instead of throwing up their hands in horror, men realized that not all romance novels are super soggy soap operas; that many illustrate behavior that can be both macho and caring. And help them maintain better relationships with the women in their lives. Therefore, GUYS, take a peek. You might learn something!

Found on Facebook:




 Below, my daughter's roof in Sanford, FL. The wind was strong enough to hammer tree branches through the roof like a hammer drives a nail. Water poured in. They're living with a tarp on the roof.

I missed similar damage in Longwood by a whisker—well, by 2 houses. Fortunately, my only trees are low-height flowering trees and 3 palms. Two houses down, the most significant debris pile in Longwood. Two huge oaks came down as Milton passed through (and were cleared to the side of the road early in the morning in order to open the road.) The piles of branches and tree trunks was just carted off this morning (two weeks later), leaving a huge hole in our subdivision's fence and a mess in the backyard that the poor owner will have to pay to clean up. The photo was taken by my oldest granddaughter when she and her sister picked up my yard the day after the storm. The girls came inside, wide-eyed over the debris pile along E E Williamson, and asking permission to add my debris the piles along the road instead of the longer trek to my front yard. After seeing the photo, I told them told to go ahead. My few branches weren't going to add much to the near block-long pile of debris. Below, Hailey's pic of the debris pile behind my house.



 For all those who live in areas where power outages are likely to occur, I heartily recommend the flashlight in the picture below. (I have two of them.) I put one on a cord so I can wear it around my neck. And what a comfort it was during the period when the power kept going in and out, as well as when it was entirely off. It's only 3½" but has a powerful beam. A really handy comfort in a time of need. I can't remember where I got it, but I checked Amazon and they have a brilliant-colored 4-pack for a very reasonable price. 


The last pic in this week's gallery is one that pops up from time to time on Facebook. I post it with the hurricane pics as it has a message as powerful as Helene and Milton combined. Take it to heart! 


WHY READ ROMANCE?


Date of original post to Grace's Mosaic Moments:  May 24, 2014 

Below, original Foreword


Many years ago, the first article I wrote for my website—long before the era of blogs—was entitled "Why Read Romance?" Years later, it was updated for the Blush Blog at Ellora's Cave, and this week I am posting it to Mosaic Moments as something you can wave in front of the noses of all those people, both male and female, who scorn the romance genre. I hope you enjoy it.

WHY READ ROMANCE?


Have you ever had someone glance at the paperback you were reading and declare scornfully, “I never read romance!” Or perhaps you’re an author sitting hopefully at a book-signing, eager to show off your baby, and someone says exactly the same thing.

Let me tell you, it’s worse than rude. It’s downright cutting.

But, Romance Lovers, don’t rush out to buy a book cover or turn to reading exclusively on electronic devices (to hide your habit). Hold your head high and know you are among the majority of readers and/or authors in the country. Romance is Big Business, outselling all other genres rolled into one.

My personal response to those who ask why I write Romance is that I have always liked Happily Ever After endings. There is so much angst in the world, including in my own life, that my inner self absolutely requires a pick-me-up, and that’s what Romance does. It plunges the characters into major conflicts then drags them out again, reassuring us that life can be beautiful—even if we are still struggling to get to that point.

More than a decade ago, I wrote my first version of  “Why Read Romance” (an article posted to my very first website). Through the years I’ve updated it a time or two, but very little of the article you see below has changed. The joys of Romance remain the same, whether we’re indulging in Contemporary Romance, Romantic Mystery/Suspense, Historical Romance, Fantasy, Paranormal, Futuristic (Romantic SciFi), or any of the other sub-genres of Romance. (Whether you’re reading a 40,000-word novella or a 100,000-word “Mainstream.”)

Men indulge in sports, tinkering with machines, and a variety of other hobbies, to get away from the stresses of daily life. I suggest that women read Romance for the same reason. We find pleasure in it, and it takes our minds off our personal problems. I’d go so far as to say, reading Romance is a prescription for improved mental health!

If you need an argument for the die-hard skeptics, however, let’s take a moment to analyze the situation. Here’s how I saw it long ago, and nothing since has changed my mind.

                                                            

First of all, whoever said “Love makes the world go round” wasn’t lying. Real Women aren’t afraid to admit it, while so-called Real Men are generally terrified of it. Real Women read Romance because that prized quality called “Heart” lies at the basis of every relationship. We want it, we seek it, we grasp it. We hang on for dear life. For the world would be a cold, dark place with out Love.

Admittedly, women’s approach to Love could be likened to a rifle. Men . . . well, maybe a shotgun comes closer to the mark. Women like to read about Love. Men would rather do it, thank you very much. Nonetheless, the emotions on both sides of the gender gap are powerful. I would suggest, however, that gentlemen could learn a thing or two from reading Romance.

Big question: Does Love work for everyone? Does it stay new-minted, bright and shiny, dazzling in its intensity?

Probably not. But for many, new love settles into a stronger, more lasting emotion, into warmth, companionship, and respect that lasts a lifetime. Yet women fortunate enough to be part of that relationship still enjoy the nostalgia of reading about those precious first moments, those early days when love was uncertain, agonizing, or downright disastrous. Or when it was a sea of fresh discoveries, exquisite torture of the senses.

And then there are those who, for a variety of reasons, live without vivid memories of love’s halcyon days. For them reading Romance provides glimpses of the intense moments they missed  and inspires hope that those special moments are still to come.

For the rest—those who lost their beloved partners through death, divorce, or desertion. For them, reading Romance can bring back the beauty of when Love was new or, like those who never knew Love, inspire hope for the future. Failing all else, reading a book that ends with Happily Ever After can provide pleasure even for those who know Love will not come to them again.

Love—or reading about it—can perk up a day faster than a bowl of ice cream - with fudge topping.

For some reason—probably the eons-long domination of writing by Men, all the so-called Great Romances are tragedies. (As in Romeo & Juliet, Arthur & Guinevere, Tristan & Isolde, not to mention some contemporary novels, mislabeled “romance” and also written by men.) But finally, in the last two decades, women have begun to write the stories they want to read. And now there are thousands of books about women who learned to cope with conflict, come out on the other side of personal difficulties, and do what had to be done to find the right person to share their lives.

These are the people we should praise. Forget Romeo and Juliet, who mismanaged things badly and never made it out of their teens. To me, that’s not Romance. I look to Jane and Joe Schmo who survived.  And raised their children to be able to love and be loved. Jane and Joe who paid the Mortgage and Dental Bills. Taxes. College. The next generation’s Weddings.

No wonder Jane wants to put her feet up and settle down with a good Romance! Yes, sometimes we all need reminding of those first bright days of love when Joe wasn’t quite so devoted to golfing, fishing, or couch-potatoing. We open a book . . . and there before us is that marvelous Regency gentleman with his impeccable manners . . . or the dashing and untamed Scottish chieftain. We sigh over that pillar of rugged individualism, the American cowboy. Hunky cops and daring men of the Special Forces. Lawyers, doctors, firemen, and businessmen as well. And we just might get an idea or three about putting Romance back in our lives.

As for the women who say they never read Romance—ah, ladies, you have no idea what you’re missing. Pull up a chair, sit down, relax, and try on a Romance. Who knows, a good Romance just might inspire Mellow where it would do the most good.

The many Romances available range from Short & Sweet to Sexy & Sassy. From Thrillers and Suspense to Vampires, Fairies, and Outer Space. From Comedy to Drama and every nuance in between. But they have one thing in common: a happy ending.

As I always tell people, “There are enough problems in this world. I don’t want to read about them when reading for pleasure. I write books with happy endings and I want to read books with happy endings. These books buoy up my day, my week, my year, my life. No matter how dark the world around me, they keep me going. My heart tells me it’s not all fiction.

First of all, whoever said “Love makes the world go round” wasn’t lying. Real Women aren’t afraid to admit it, while so-called Real Men are generally terrified of it. Real Women read Romance because that prized quality called “Heart” lies at the basis of every relationship. We want it, we seek it, we grasp it. We hang on for dear life. For the world would be a cold, dark place with out Love.

Admittedly, women’s approach to Love could be likened to a rifle. Men . . . well, maybe a shotgun comes closer to the mark. Women like to read about Love. Men would rather do it, thank you very much. Nonetheless, the emotions on both sides of the gender gap are powerful. I would suggest, however, that gentlemen could learn a thing or two from reading Romance.

Big question: Does Love work for everyone? Does it stay new-minted, bright and shiny, dazzling in its intensity?

Probably not. But for many, new love settles into a stronger, more lasting emotion, into warmth, companionship, and respect that lasts a lifetime. Yet women fortunate enough to be part of that relationship still enjoy the nostalgia of reading about those precious first moments, those early days when love was uncertain, agonizing, or downright disastrous. Or when it was a sea of fresh discoveries, exquisite torture of the senses.

And then there are those who, for a variety of reasons, live without vivid memories of love’s halcyon days. For them reading Romance provides glimpses of the intense moments they missed  and inspires hope that those special moments are still to come.

For the rest—those who lost their beloved partners through death, divorce, or desertion. For them, reading Romance can bring back the beauty of when Love was new or, like those who never knew Love, inspire hope for the future. Failing all else, reading a book that ends with Happily Ever After can provide pleasure even for those who know Love will not come to them again.

Love—or reading about it—can perk up a day faster than a bowl of ice cream - with fudge topping.

For some reason—probably the eons-long domination of writing by Men, all the so-called Great Romances are tragedies. (As in Romeo & Juliet, Arthur & Guinevere, Tristan & Isolde, not to mention some contemporary novels, mislabeled “romance” and also written by men.) But finally, in the last two decades, women have begun to write the stories they want to read. And now there are thousands of books about women who learned to cope with conflict, come out on the other side of personal difficulties, and do what had to be done to find the right person to share their lives.

These are the people we should praise. Forget Romeo and Juliet, who mismanaged things badly and never made it out of their teens. To me, that’s not Romance. I look to Jane and Joe Schmo who survived.  And raised their children to be able to love and be loved. Jane and Joe who paid the Mortgage and Dental Bills. Taxes. College. The next generation’s Weddings.

No wonder Jane wants to put her feet up and settle down with a good Romance! Yes, sometimes we all need reminding of those first bright days of love when Joe wasn’t quite so devoted to golfing, fishing, or couch-potatoing. We open a book . . . and there before us is that marvelous Regency gentleman with his impeccable manners . . . or the dashing and untamed Scottish chieftain. We sigh over that pillar of rugged individualism, the American cowboy. Hunky cops and daring men of the Special Forces. Lawyers, doctors, firemen, and businessmen as well. And we just might get an idea or three about putting Romance back in our lives.

As for the women who say they never read Romance—ah, ladies, you have no idea what you’re missing. Pull up a chair, sit down, relax, and try on a Romance. Who knows, a good Romance just might inspire Mellow where it would do the most good.

The many Romances available range from Short & Sweet to Sexy & Sassy. From Thrillers and Suspense to Vampires, Fairies, and Outer Space. From Comedy to Drama and every nuance in between. But they have one thing in common: a happy ending.

As I always tell people, “There are enough problems in this world. I don’t want to read about them when reading for pleasure. I write books with happy endings and I want to read books with happy endings. These books buoy up my day, my week, my year, my life. No matter how dark the world around me, they keep me going. My heart tells me it’s not all fiction.

 

~ * ~

For a link to Blair's websiteclick here. 

For Blair's Facebook Author Page, click here.*
*with new posts 

For recent blogs, scroll down. For Archives, see the menu on the right.

 

Thanks for stopping by,

Grace (Blair Bancroft)  







Sunday, October 13, 2024

Hurricanes I Have Known

 My phone is managing Text & Talk, transferring photos not so much. Hopefully, a local hurricane pic or two by next week.

On the lighter side, posted to Facebook before the storm . . .

 

Below, posted without location. 
Best guess:  somewhere along 
Florida's Gulf Coast.

 





 

 

~ * ~

HURRICANES I HAVE KNOWN

As I was mentally running through the list of hurricanes I've endured, I realized the post might be WAY too long, so I'll attempt to confine myself to the two most memorable storms while I lived in New England.

The only date I remember is my first hurricane, as it was my father's birthday:  September 21, 1938. From our home in Mansfield, MA, we drove 25 miles to Providence, RI, planning to spend the morning shopping, taking in a movie in the afternoon. As we wandered around downtown, my father, a Nebraska farmboy, kept sniffing the air, frowning, finally saying, "If we were in Nebraska, I'd call this 'tornado weather'." Shortly after lunch, he declared we were going home. I remember crying because I had been promised a movie. By the time we got our car and started to drive out of town, green balls of fire were leaping out of transformers and even at age five I knew Daddy was right. This was BAD. I was ordered to lie flat on the floor in the rear seat and I did, surfacing only when I heard my parents exclaiming about half-way home. I will never forget the sight of a portly policeman standing with his hand against a giant tree, motioning all cars to move to the far side of the road as they drove by. 

We made it home safely but later discovered that 20 minutes after we left, the tidal wave (now called storm surge) came in, putting 15' of water in the lot where we had parked our car. And a man in our town was one of the 700 casualties when, all unsuspecting—nobody knew anything about hurricanes at that time—he went out to check on his business during the eye of the storm, and the eyewall came back with such force he was thrown through the store's plate glass window. Why 700 casualties? Because absolutely NO ONE knew that storm was out there. So everyone was caught by surprise, as most of the Rhode Island shoreline was washed away, as well as portions of Connecticut and Massachusetts. Allegedly, wind gauges broke at 200 mph.

Many years later, my parents and I would stay in the home of friends on the RI shore. The original house on that property had been swept a mile inland and deposited upright and in one piece on a vacant property. The house owners rebuilt on the original location. And, oh yes, the story is, the old house must have been swept OVER the power lines, as they did not break!

After that, hurricanes seemed to have found the track to New England, and thankfully, weather-forecasting improved. I experienced a number of storms over the years, though nothing to compare with '38, thank God. And then when I was married, with young children, and living on waterfront property in Branford, CT, another memorable storm came my way. We weren't too worried as our house was an 1830 Federal, set about 100 feet back from the beach, and had obviously survived many a storm in its time. Also, we were protected by the jetty of the nearby yacht club and hulking bulk of Long Island eighteen miles across the sound.

BUT we were wakened early in the morning by a roaring noise, which turned out to be a mini-tornado, which crashed one of our three huge oak trees on top of our porch roof. It came so close to our bedroom that one tiny branch poked a hole through the screen. The porch, added sometime around the turn of the 20th c., was solid as rock, no repair needed.

The wind roared and screamed for most of the day, but no more damage that we could see. Until  we finally dared poke our noses out and discovered the electric cable to the house was down across the garage door. Not severed but just lying there. The rose hedge to the right of our lawn was lying flat in multiple directions, confirming they were laid low by a tornado, not the hurricane. My huge front garden, near the beach (maybe 5' by 50') was pretty much flattened. Not a disaster, except a week later we were scheduled to host the wedding of our neighbors' daughter on our lawn. (I ended up staking nearly every flower in the garden.)

As for the electrical cable, my husband drove nails into the top of two 2x4s (likely left over from the playhouse my husband built for our three kids) and he and my sons—while I watched, cringing—managed to maneuver the downed electrical cable into the spaces between the nails and raise the cable above the garage door so we could get the cars in and out.

Three days without power. Fortunately, sunny days. Twins in the neighborhood, classmates of my older son, power-sawed our poor tree into maneuverable pieces. But we had just had $700 worth of food delivered to our basement freezer, and we lost it all. On the third day my neighbor went out on his back porch and howled out over the salt marsh to the east of us—a long, loud wail from a staid Yale professor that spoke for all of us. Then, finally, light. Except our electrical cable was still riding on 2x4s and it finally occurred to us that maybe the power company didn't know about our problem. (They were, in fact, quite surprised to see our home-grown remedy.)

As for the wedding . . . I even managed to get some of the rose hedge back in place before the big event. The weather was sunny; all went without a hitch. But that hurricane, like the infamous '38, was one I've never forgotten.

~ * ~

Featured book:  my first Romantic Suspense, originally written for an early ebook publisher. The setting: the central Gulf Coast town that was my home for 25 years before my move to the Orlando area to be near the grandgirls. (The Venice area was hit hard by Milton this week, including houses inundated with sand!) 

Back to Shadowed Paradise: In addition to using real settings, I incorporated the personal cultural shock I encountered after moving from New Haven's Yale community to a mix of genuine Florida rednecks, mid-Western retirees, and a plethora of "snowbirds" (winter residents only).

 



Shadowed Paradise: a New England widow, 
a Florida "cowboy" & a serial killer


When Claire Langdon's affluent, near-fairytale life in New York is shattered by scandal, she and her eight-year-old son Jamie take refuge with her grandmother in Florida. Once a bright, confident young woman, Claire has been so badly hurt that when she stumbles onto a genuine downhome hero, learning to trust, to love again, seem beyond her reach. She is also forced to deal with the discovery that there are more serious dangers in Florida than alligators, snakes, spiders, and macho males. Like a serial killer, with her name on his list.

Reviews:

"Marvelously versatile, wondrously creative, intelligently written and sensuously inventive, Bancroft's Shadowed Paradise adds new meaning to the therm 'romantic suspense.' . . . as fresh as tomorrow and seriously scary. I loved it."
Celia Merenyi, A Romance Review

"Shadowed Paradise contains all the elements I so enjoy in a book, excellent dialogue, great character development and fine descriptive scenes. The romance is steamy, the suspense is taut and exciting, and the result is a supremely satisfying, well-developed read, guaranteed to keep you glued throughout."
Astrid Kinn, Romance Reviews Today

~ * ~

 For a link to Blair's websiteclick here. 

For Blair's Facebook Author Page, click here.*
*with new posts 

For recent blogs, scroll down. For Archives, see the menu on the right.

 

Thanks for stopping by,

Grace (Blair Bancroft)  

 

Saturday, September 28, 2024

Writing Tip - Dialogue & More

*** Sunday, October 13, 2024 - "Hurricanes I Have Known" ***



Entitled "Two for Tuesday" (Susan Coventry)



 

 DIALOGUE & MORE

Every once in a while I post one of the umpteen articles I wrote over the nine years when Grace's Mosaic Moments was primarily devoted to Writing & Editing tips. Today's article is copied verbatim from the version found in Making Magic with Words, a compilation of posts from 2011-2019, organized by topic and indexed to make it easy to find what you want. (Strongly recommended over plowing your way through my Blog Archives.)

I had to laugh as I read over this particular post, as in my current Work in Progress, I frequently revert to old-time Author POV, telling the story instead of showing it. I also offer quick peeks inside the heads of everyone from the butler to the kitchen maid; basically "head-hopping" all over the place. I guess, after fifty-some books, a change of pace is always welcome. (Perhaps this is a case of "Do as I say, not as I do.)

What you see below is, I believe, still the general attitude of editors and so-called experts, so it's probably a good idea to consider the advice carefully before wandering off the expected path.


June 20, 2015

WRITING WORKSHOP 8 - Dialogue & More


Dialogue.  Dialogue has become the cheater's way out. It's easier to write, easier to read than narrative, so why not have lots and lots of it? Yes, clever dialogue has become a “must” in almost all sub-genres of romance (and most other fiction as well), but that doesn't mean you should forget Narrative. When you've finished a scene with lots of dialogue, go back and take a good look. Did you charge through the scene with only short tags* or no tags without inserting any actions or thoughts?

Ask yourself not only:  Is this dialogue good? But does it move the story forward? Reveal personality? Establish conflict? Or is this "chitchat over coffee"—insignificant and going nowhere? Basically, do not write dialogue for nothing more than its face value. Cute or clever is not enough on its own. Dialogue must have a purpose. It must be part of the longer story. And never forget that dialogue must sound natural. The words should be appropriate for the time period and tailored to fit the mouths of each individual character.

*Tags are: he said, she asked, he growled, she whispered, etc.

Pacing.  A lot of things can hurt the pacing of your story. Are you bogging it down with extraneous detail or venturing into side trips that take the story nowhere? (For example, too much on secondary characters, too little on the hero and heroine.)  Are you "telling" instead of "showing"? Put simply, are you looking at your story from the outside, telling your readers what is happening, like a storyteller of old? Or are you getting inside your main characters' heads and letting us see the story through their eyes—see what they see, hear what they hear, feel what they feel? In short, Showing is active, Telling is passive. Showing grabs the readers' attention; Telling usually puts them to sleep.

Are your sentences convoluted? Are you using twenty words when ten would be more clear and move the story along faster? Keep in mind that excellent bit of advice, "Less is more."

Or perhaps your sentences are too bare. You forgot to add color, descriptions, settings, and/or enough background information so readers can understand what's going on. That also slows the pace because readers are skipping back pages, trying to find answers that aren't there. This mistake, of course, can be lethal, resulting in your book ending up, unfinished, in the Goodwill box.

Or perhaps you wrote several pages of background information before you got to the meat of your story? Inevitably, this puts readers to sleep. As most of you know, Backstory needs to be worked in a bit at a time, rather than in a single information dump.

Grace note: However, in a great many contests I've judged, I've found the fault lies in the opposite direction.  So many authors have been warned about "backstory" that they put in none at all, resulting in total confusion. The reader simply has no idea of Who, What, Where, and When. (“Why” can wait; the others can’t.)

Sometimes lack of sufficient information is due to something I call “Synopsitis.”

Synopsitis.  In the 400+ contests I've judged over the last fifteen-plus years, I've encountered one particular mistake so often, I've given it a name:  Synopsitis. That's what happens when you write a concise synopsis, explaining who your characters are, where they are, what the plot is, etc., and then you begin the book as if every reader has read your synopsis. Since only an editor or agent ever sees your synopsis, the reader is left in total confusion, having NO idea what is going on. Burn this into your brain: Everything you want your readers to know must be in the pages of the manuscript. This also applies to books in a series. Each new book must work in character identifications and something about the action in the previous books. Always approach the next book in a series as if your reader has not read any of the earlier books, or if he/she did, memory has failed.

Point of View.
   A controversial and somewhat flexible topic, depending on what genre you're writing, which publishing house you're targeting. General rule:  tell the story through the eyes of the hero, the heroine, and a villain (if applicable). Some publishing houses allow up to five or more POVs, usually for established authors only. No publisher, NY or e, accepts "head hopping" —leaping from one POV to another, sometimes within a paragraph.*

I personally have never gone along with strict POV rules, but if you are a newbie wanting to attract an agent or editor, I strongly recommend you consider following the above advice. It's all too easy to allow secondary POVs to detract from the h/h. [And sticking to the POVs of hero & heroine only is a must if you're writing Category (all those shorter books in series published by Harlequin/Silhouette and some e-publishers).]

Many "experts" also advise you to stay in one POV for an entire scene. If you must switch, try to do it near the middle so the POVs are relatively balanced. Not my personal cup of tea, but it's good advice for a beginner who wants to break into the market.

Whatever you do, do not give readers a whole plethora of POVs, as I recently encountered in a  book I trashed after three chapters. By that time readers had seen inside the heads of the hero, heroine, their friends, and several different villains, revealing every aspect of the plot and leaving nothing to the imagination. No room for speculation. No suspense, no mystery. So, yes, you can play with the so-called rules, but keep in mind there's a reason for a relatively small number of POVs. This is a case where following the "rules" just might help you write a better book.

*Grace note update: 
Publishers have become somewhat more flexible about Point of View since this post was written, but I still recommend that beginners avoid anything even remotely resembling “head hopping.” 

~ * ~

 For a link to Blair's websiteclick here. 

For Blair's Facebook Author Page, click here.*
*with new posts 

For recent blogs, scroll down. For Archives, see the menu on the right.

 

Thanks for stopping by,

Grace (Blair Bancroft)