Monday, January 31, 2011

Reading, 'Riting and Ripping 'Em Off


I read a discussion of online piracy a while back that noted that merely saying to someone that DRM (digital rights management) doesn't stop piracy isn't actually a persuasive argument.

Why? Because the people trying to stop online piracy would like to know what will work. Until you've got a better suggestion than DRM, they're not going to dismantle what little protection they've got.

Then, while I was still thinking about what can be done to stop piracy, I read the following eye-popping article by Tobias Buckell:


His take on fighting piracy is definitely the approach most likely to maintain your sanity. He essentially says just don't worry about it.

The article is really worth reading, but here's a summary of Mr. Buckell's main points:
  1. It isn't fair to say a pirated book is a lost sale because the people who pirate your book never intended to buy it. They were never going to be your customer, therefore you haven't lost any money.

    If you made it impossible for them to steal your book, they would not choose to purchase it instead. For whatever reason, they don't believe your book is worth the money.

  2. Yes, you're angry that someone read your book and refused to pay for it. However, when it comes to business decisions, it's better to get your emotions out of the equation and consider whether you are actually being done financial harm.

  3. The best data on whether piracy harms authors currently implies that piracy neither hurts nor helps sales.

    Thus, the people claiming their sale numbers are being gutted by piracy are wrong, and the people claiming that giving away work for free is the key to boosting one's sales are also wrong.

    Book piracy plays a role similar to second-hand book sales. The author gets another reader, but no extra money. If you can stomach the existence of second-hand book stores, you should be able to stomach piracy.
The central point here is that the vast majority of people who want your book are willing buy it legally. Thus, wisdom dictates you worry about the things you can actually control.

You cannot control piracy.

You can, however, write such great books that you turn a few pirates into fans and thereby convince them they should maybe shell out for your next novel.

In other words: don't worry, be happy.

~~~~~~~

What do you think of both Mr. Buckell's article and this mindset? Of course theft is wrong--but is it worth worrying about when you're not being financially harmed?

I'd love to hear your thoughts!



Author website: J. J. DeBenedictis

Sunday, January 30, 2011

From The Query Goblin: "The Family Grim" by Taylor

Taylor has graciously allowed the Goblin to massage the query for The Family Grim. Please pop by and see/say what you think!


Author website: J. J. DeBenedictis

Friday, January 28, 2011

Linky-Love!

Yes, I'm a geek and anything with hard, cold data involved makes me squee with delight, so it'll come as no surprise I thought the following post by Deanna Knippling was brilliant:
From How to Fail, Part 3: Talent vrs. Work
by Deanna Knipplin
g

"They told half the kids that they were really intelligent; they told the other half of the kids that they had really worked hard on the test.

...

The psychologists came to the conclusion that you should praise children for the things they can control–like hard work.

[A]s writers, can we take from that? A few things:
  • If you think (or have been told) you’re talented, you’re more likely to fail after your first setback.

  • If you think you’re talented, you’re less likely to try something challenging or new.

  • If you think you’re a hard worker, you’re more likely to succeed after your first setback than you are when you first start out.

  • If you think you’re a hard worker, you’re more likely to try something challenging or new.
People who think of themselves as hard workers succeed more, doing harder things. People who think they have some kind of magical inherent talent fail more, doing easier things."


Author website: J. J. DeBenedictis

Thursday, January 27, 2011

From The Query Goblin: "Orion: The Reunion" by Kay

Kay has graciously allowed the Goblin to massage the query for Orion: The Reunion. Please pop by and see/say what you think!


Author website: J. J. DeBenedictis

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

down teh rabbit hole

omg so i hav 2 tell you what happned to me this 1 tiem. it was liek falling down the rabbit hole; craziest story evah

it was the day after halloween an i woke up real early. it was sunny an nice but real windy and i decided i would go for a morning run on teh seawall.

so i got out there and it was sooooo pretty with big whietcaps on the ocean an surf pounding up against the wall and the trees were hissing and i was having a good run,really feeling in tune with nature,u know? and liek out of nowhere,this WALL of water jumps up from bhind the seawall and pounces me an it was SO COLD. i mean it was Nov 1 and WINDY out,omg

so i come running out of teh splash zone and some random guy's walking toward me. and he's tryin not to laugh and you can tell he's bursting his spleen or something,poor guy but he doesn't laugh which was nice so i keep running because i'm COLD and what can i do?at least it will warm me up

DON"T GET BORED BCAUS THIS STORY"S GOING TO GET SO INTERESTING IN A SECONG,OK?

so i keep going and my nippls are like pencil erasers and my skin is all speedbumps, an i'm just started 2 gett dry and warmed up when it happens AGAIN.

omg i wanted to cry

but no1 saw me that time,haha so at least i won't be sued for busting another guys spleen,right? LOL. and other than being FREEZING i was having a good run so i kept going but i stayed on teh far side of the path bside the trees instead of the water.

yah so it's Nov 1? and there r autumm leaves on teh path? and i'm running trough them? an yeah,so my ankle finds this hole in teh pavement that my eyes didn't see bcaus of all the STOOPID leaves and BLAMMO.

and oh crap i'm flat on my face and now i've got this nice couple helping 2 spatula me up off teh pavement an i'm bleeding everywhere and mostly just embarrassed so i decide its time to WALK home. no more running,JUST WALK.

and it's still a preety day and i'm mostly concentrating on all my ouchies so i don't notice i'm walkign by the water side of the seawall again

an then there's a third wave. ,only this tiem i feel it grab me and i'm not kidding i feel these cold fingers on my arms

an suddenly i'm loosing my balance,and this thing in the waves-or maybe it's made of teh waves,i don't know-is pulling me into the ocean and its STRONG. and,liek,the fear shocks through me like a lightningbolt that's coldr than teh water because HELLO. HANDS. waves r not supposed to have HANDS,right

and i kind of try to scrunch down so i'mnot as tippy,u know? i'm tryin to get my balance. but it dusn't work and this thing,it pulls me off the wall. i land in teh water and its so cold my chest kind of cramps an i don't think i could have breathed evn if my head was out. an this thing is pulling me DOWN,and i think,whut. i just start kicking. i'm scratching at the water liek i can hurt it,but i can't,and i don't know what way is up nemore.

and its weird,but my fingers snag on this piece of wood floating in tere with me and i,liek,feel this BLAST of relief-like i'm saved now or something

BUT THAT"S NOT TEH CREEPY THING THE CREEPY THING IS I TOTALLY WAS!!!

liek,as soon as i touch that wood,the cold hands let me go as if i burned them. so now i'm just swirling and thinking i can't breathe down here,and then the wood starts to bob in one direction an i realize that's UP and i start kickin like crap

so i get my head up from the water,and i'm bobbing at the bottom of the seawall and i want OUT bcaus i'm thinking that thing won't stay gone long,and the wind is nuts and the trees are all roaring,and it's way to high for me to climb out-or so i THOUGHT bcaus right then i feel something TOUCH me in teh water HOH SHIT and NOW I'M CLIMBING LIKE A FREAKING MONKEY.

but i keep the stick of wood,,and i stop and stab it at the water a bit-and then i sortof think,this is stupid. if i wait much longer tehn i won't be able to climb out at all bcaus the adrenilin will wear off so i boogie up the wall and i get out.

and omg. u remember i said it was windy? and teh trees were roaring? well they're roaring WORDS. an i cant understand but they sound all evil,like YOU OWE US or something,and i think,WHUT,and 2 hell with this,yes i am going to RUN now. HOH CRAP I AM GOING TO RUN.

an it was so weird bcaus there were other people on the seawall,like,it was broad daylight,not spooky or nething. i dont know why this happened to me,halloween was the night BEFORE and its not like nature could get the dates wrong,right?

neway,i am only going to jog on the road from now on.***


***The weirdness of Rabbit Hole Day aside, some parts of this story are true.

Disappointingly, they were the bits about getting drenched, freezing my t*ts off, and then doing a face-plant.



Author website: J. J. DeBenedictis

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

From The Query Goblin: "The Time Weaver" by Xetheriel

Xetheriel has graciously allowed the Goblin to massage the query for The Time Weaver. Please pop by and see/say what you think!


Author website: J. J. DeBenedictis

Sunday, January 23, 2011

My Aversion is Your Boon

I once heard a literary agent say that if your book doesn't offend anyone, it probably isn't moving anyone either. Today's post explores that idea.


The dating website OkCupid has a blog, OkTrends, where they analyse their data and often pull out surprising insights into human relations and human beings.

In their post The Mathematics of Beauty, they note an interesting phenomenon. When they graphed how many (heterosexual) men contacted a (heterosexual) woman as a function of that woman's perceived attractiveness, there was a big spread in the data.

That is to say, one pleasant-seeming woman who was rated as "cute" might get twice as much mail as another pleasant-seeming woman who also rated as "cute"--and why was that, if they were equally attractive?

What the data-crunchers found is that it wasn't a woman's average rating that mattered, but rather the amount by which she polarized opinion.

A classically pretty woman would have a bell-shaped attractiveness rating, with most people considering her "cute" and smaller numbers of people rating her either prettier or less-pretty than that.

However, a pretty woman with unconventional features, or atypical makeup, or facial piercings and visible tattoos, would often have an inverted bell in her attractiveness rating, with the majority of people considering her one of the extremes--either "hot" or "ugly". Her overall rating might average out to "cute", but she really evoked much stronger reactions from people than that.

The data-crunchers found that the latter sort of woman--the polarizing figures--were the ones who overwhelmingly got more interest from would-be mates. It was far better to have a few people consider you ugly than to have the majority of people consider you (merely) cute.

So how does this relate to writing? You can probably guess. Think of all the times you've read about/heard a literary agent saying, "I have to fall in love with the book to offer representation." They don't get excited if they think your novel is merely "cute"; they have to think it's "omg-hawt".

Have you ever heard of the book Lolita? How about American Psycho? Or Fight Club? I don't even read the genres these books fall into and yet I've heard of every one of them because they were polarizing novels. They horrified some people and electrified others. In dating terms, they were the woman with the dreadlocks and the tongue stud.

This implies that when it comes to writing (and maybe life) you should put your quirkiness very firmly on display. Courage is attractive, and playing it safe might not get you anywhere at all.

There is a nice corollary to this principle, too. If you ever have the misfortune to have someone blow up at you because of your writing--to get emotional and tell you the work stinks, that it's offensive, that it will nevereverEVER be published--that may be a very good sign indeed.

Because what one person hates is often what another person adores. If you're provoking emotion, then potentially you're doing something very, very right.

~~~~~~~

What do you think? When is it prudent to be safe, and when should you wave your freak flag high? Do you think books that are good-yet-weird really do better than books that are good-like-the-other-good-stuff? Can being different help you break into publishing, or will it get in the way?

Or is it, like so many things, a matter of degree? Where's the line between "fresh" and "inaccessible"? I'd love to hear your thoughts!


Author website: J. J. DeBenedictis

Friday, January 21, 2011

Awww...Ooza Iddy Biddy Monstrous Killer?

I lived in the arctic as a kid. Polar bears are freakin' dangerous animals.

So I never, ever, ever thought I'd find one this darned cute. Squee!

UPDATE: It's a liiiiiiiie!! Yeah, I guess this boopable sweetums was just too small to be real. This is apparently a toy someone found on Etsy. (Damned cute toy, though.)



Image via The Daily Squee

Sunday, January 16, 2011

The First Week | The First Paragraph



The first week of The Query Goblin site has been much more successful than I thought it would be! Thank you everyone who checked it out or mentioned it elsewhere on the internet. I do appreciate that.

Erm, please forgive me if I keep talking about it? Heh.

I've already learned something--about myself, as opposed to Great Over-Arching Wisdom™ about query letters in general--and I'd like to talk about it here.

On the new site, I'm roughly following the advice of two literary agents with regard to structuring a query: (1) Kristen Nelson, who suggests outlining the inciting incident that kick-starts your plot, and (2) Janet Reid, who says you need to get across who the protagonist is, what they want, what gets in their way, and what's going to happen if they don't achieve their goal.

Both of these tactics make sense, and a good query probably uses both. Let me explain why I like them.

Kristin Nelson's method:
When it comes to writing queries, one of the things writers tear their hair out over is the problem of packing three hundred pages' worth of plot into two hundred and fifty words.

The fact is, you shouldn't try to.

The query letter's purpose is to entice the editor or literary agent into requesting the manuscript. All the query has to do is pique their interest.

Now think about what hooks any reader into a story: It's the promise that things are about to get interesting.

Harry Potter gets a letter saying he's been accepted to wizard school! Lucy Pevensie discovers a wardrobe that leads into a snowy forest! Ilsa walks into Rick's bar in Casablanca!

In other words, it's the tension implicit in your story's inciting incident that makes your reader curious enough about how it all resolves that they're willing to plough through another three hundred pages to find out what happens.

This means the book's inciting incident is one thing that will very economically--in terms of the number of words you use--convince an agent/editor that they want to see more.

Janet Reid's method:
This method forces you to communicate the essence of what your story's main conflict is. It tells the reader who the protagonist is, what they need, what's keeping them from getting it, and why it'll be a disaster if they don't get it.

Giving all this information also provides the reader with a promise that things are going to get interesting, but it does so in a way that encapsulates a lot more of the book's plot.

You see, the main conflict of a novel may or may not include the story's inciting incident. For example, in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, the inciting incident is indeed Harry getting a letter saying he's been accepted to wizard school--but the main conflict is Harry trying to keep the Philosopher's Stone from being stolen by Lord Voldemort.

A query letter could equally-well concentrate on the "Ooh, cool!" idea of a young boy unexpectedly finding out he's a wizard, or on the "Oh no!" idea of a young boy unexpectedly having to defeat a very scary, very powerful enemy. Both could be gripping.

The second method tells the agent/editor more about the whole book than the first does, which might be a factor in you choosing one over the other, but even Janet Reid recently loved a query that focused exclusively and very successfully on a story's inciting incident. You can read it here.

What the two methods have in common is they provide focus. They tell you what to include in your query letter in order to, very economically, hook a reader's interest.

My method:
Oh--I said I'd learned something about myself, didn't I? Yeah, maybe I should get around to telling y'all that.

The thing I've noticed myself doing in every one of the edited queries on The Query Goblin is I try to figure out what the essential conflict in the inciting incident is, and then I try to cram it into the first paragraph.

In Query #1, the inciting incident's tension comes from the fact that Hagai just got a birthday present from the mother he thought was dead.

In Query #2, the inciting incident's tension is due to Anaiiya thinking she's human, only to fly into a supernatural killing frenzy when her family is attacked.

Query #3 is a little different in that the conflict I outline isn't the story's inciting incident, but it is what prompts the character Bane into taking steps to get what he needs. It's the inciting situation.

In Query #4, Ehlana saves someone from assassination only to wind up in political hot water over it. The tension comes from a good person being punished for a good deed.

But wait! Before we move on, I want defend myself a bit. You might have noticed in the edited version of Query #4 that I added something that is not necessarily in the book! Now why the hell would I do that?

Because it added tension. In the rewritten version, I mention Ehlana's magical gift prematurely and implied she is beginning to regret having it. In the book, that may not be true, but in the query, it makes the mention of her gift later seem less abrupt, and it also adds a layer of internal tension to the inciting incident.

More tension = a stronger promise to the reader that this book is going to get interesting.

In Query #5, the tension in the inciting incident is completely internal. Jack feels like he should be happy to be at a new school, but he isn't. That fact is expanded on in the second paragraph, but I made damn' sure it was obvious to the reader even in the first.

Which brings me to my point: What is a hook?

A hook is also a promise that things are going to get interesting. A hook is a conflict that the reader can immediately see won't resolve easily.

When it comes to queries, I work on the assumption that agents and editors read the slush pile with bloodshot eyes and a two-micron fuse. If the first paragraph of the query letter doesn't make them perk up a little, then they're going to skim it all and slap it out of the room with a form rejection. I believe you've got to break them out of their funk right away.

Thus, the first paragraph is where I put the inciting incident's conflict. It's the lure that makes the reader want to continue through rest of the query letter, which--hopefully--will make them want to read the entire book.

Now, after all those words explaining why I write this kind of opening paragraph, I think I'd better refrain from talking about what I think should go in the rest of the query letter for another time!

~~~~~~~

What do you think? Is this a good way to start a query letter, or do you think the first paragraph should be used for other things, like establishing the main character or the world of the novel?

Do you think I'm wrong about needing to "wake up" the agent/editor with a fast shot of conflict right at the beginning of the letter?

I'd love to hear your thoughts on any of this!


Author website: J. J. DeBenedictis

The Query Goblin presents: "From the Neighborhood" by Merry Monteleone

Long-time blog buddy Merry Monteleone has graciously allowed the Goblin to massage the query for From the Neighborhood. Please pop by and see/say what you think!


Author website: J. J. DeBenedictis

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Saturday Silliness

I use Google Reader, and I have a folder of "silly" blogs, which I find is a nice antidote to my folder of "news" blogs.

I don't know if I'm over-tired or what, but I enjoyed the heck out of that folder tonight. Here are some of the images that made me either laugh like an idjit or squeal like Justin Beiber fan:

~~~~~~~

BATS ARE CUTE! NO ONE BELIEVES ME! HERE! I'LL PROVE IT!



Via The Daily Squee

Go here to see more pictures of the baby fruitbats. They're adorable!


~~~~~~~

THIS IS WHAT IT FEELS LIKE TO HAVE A PETTY-MINDED BOSS



Via The Daily Squee

~~~~~~~

YOU CANNOT SHAME ME, CORPORATE SLAVES



Via The Fail Blog


Author website: J. J. DeBenedictis

Question!

Hello, all--just a quick question: Do you want me to keep cross-posting Query Goblin announcements here, or would you rather I omit them from OxyJen?

While the Query Goblin site is young, it makes sense for me to cross-post things in order to get the word out, but I also understand this practice could become annoying to those who want to manage for themselves which blogs they read.

Please let me know in the comments what you would prefer--and feel free to post anonymously if that would make you more comfortable stating what you think!

Thank you for your attention.


Author website: J. J. DeBenedictis

From The Query Goblin: "Hang the Thief" by Vivian

Vivian has graciously allowed the Goblin to massage the query for Hang the Thief. Please pop by and see/say what you think!


Author website: J. J. DeBenedictis

From The Query Goblin: "Redemption" by Amy

Amy has graciously allowed the Goblin to massage the query for Redemption. Please pop by and see/say what you think!


Author website: J. J. DeBenedictis

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

New on The Query Goblin: "Eyes of Stone" by Beckahrah


Beckahrah has graciously allowed Goblin to massage the query for Eyes of Stone. Please pop by and see/say what you think!


Author website: J. J. DeBenedictis

Monday, January 10, 2011

The Query Goblin's first client!


Adam Heine has graciously allowed the Goblin to massage his query for Air Pirates. Please pop by and see/say what you think!

Oh. My. Goodness.

I'm posting this for the benefit of my parents, who visited Australia recently, and my cousin and his wife, who live there.

This is some utterly jaw-dropping footage of flooding in Queensland. Behold how Mother Nature empties a parking lot:



Link found via Gawker


Author website: J. J. DeBenedictis

Sunday, January 09, 2011

Introducing the Query Goblin


So.... I really enjoy giving critiques. I love the act of analysing what works, articulating what doesn't, and trying to come up with better solutions. I love to feel like I'm teaching--like I'm helping.

I haven't done much critiquing lately because I tend to go overboard and I worry that I'm overbearing because of that. Also, because I go overboard, I get burnt out if I critique anything longer than a few pages.

A few days ago, blog-buddy Adam Heine asked for a query letter critique on Twitter, and I took him up on it.

And oh, it was fun. It was everything you want when you give a critique: the query was already well-written, I felt I gave some useful and concrete advice on how to make it better, and Adam was very generous and complimentary in his thanks.

And now I've got the itch again, darn it.

I've been thinking for a few years I'd like to start my own critique blog, but of course there are already a lot of very good ones out there. Also, I don't want to either burn out or be overbearing, and I do want to create a site that focuses on improvements, rather than simply pointing out all the things that a person did wrong.

Well. Here's my attempt to do this:

I don't know how successful The Query Goblin blog will be, but at least it is very different from other sites, and I think I'll enjoy running it.

If you have a query you'd like to toss into the Goblin's maw to get things started--or you know somebody who does--please point them my way! And thank you very much for checking out the site.


Author website: J. J. DeBenedictis

Monday, January 03, 2011

What Works: Furs and Ice by Josh R. Vogt

Today's excerpt for the "What Works" blog series is not an excerpt at all, but an entire story--specifically a piece of flash fiction written by blog-buddy Josh R. Vogt for the Clarity of Night competition.

Furs and Ice
By Josh R. Vogt

All futures hide in the clouds, Father told him. Trap the sky beneath your feet, and walk what must come.

As Omen trudges onto the frozen lake, he scratches at the wolf pelts cloaking him. Oracles always wear stinking furs.

Such is our way, Father said.

Omen hates stinking furs. He smells the rancid unguent Father drank each morning, trying to ward off the bleeding cough. Its stench tainted the old oracle's breath, his bowels, the hide walls of their hut. Now it follows like Father's ghost, come to see the son's first foretelling.

He reaches the middle of the lake and stands amidst the gray reflections of cloud and twig and crag. Omen stomps. Ice shrieks. Its polish shatters into a maze of cracks. The reflections within no longer move, trapped for his scrutiny. Trapped, just as he is. Forever an oracle, wearing the stinking furs of a babbler.

Omen's feet are numbing. Skin sticks to the ice as he steps towards shore. He hunches, looking for signs to convey.

There, branches knot in a telling of early summer. Beside this, a rounded cliff predicts many births within the tribe. A step further--

Omen stops. Stares at the next frozen vision. A bird's spread wings reveal a chance for freedom, offered to those with the strength to grasp it.

The future within the ice groans for release.

He raises his foot for another stomp. It will be a bitter swim to shore, but faster once he sheds the furs.
I love this piece as an example of what to aim for in your writing because it's so short, and yet it demonstrates so perfectly how to structure a story.

As I've mentioned before, stories are about change. They start when the protagonist's life is knocked out of balance and they end when that life is brought back into a new, different form of balance.

Also, every scene in a story should revolve around a turning point--a moment of irrevocable change, one where the characters involved cannot step back from or undo what has happened. In a flash fiction piece, you only have time for a single turning point. In fact, the turning point is the entirety of the story; everything else in the work is there to support the turning point.

The first sentence of Furs and Ice begins to establish the world that the protagonist, Omen, lives in; foretelling is a real profession, and the protagonist's father taught Omen to give himself over to his fate.

The second sentence immediately establishes a tension between this lesson and the protagonist's own beliefs. Omen trudges, which implies a lack of enthusiasm, and he thinks the furs he has to wear smell terrible. This is not a portrait of person who is happy to accept his fate.

The third sentence underscores the internal tension by fleshing out what Omen's father taught his son, while the next paragraph firmly establishes Omen's distaste for the role he is supposed to step into. The line "... [the stench] follows like Father's ghost, come to see the son's first foretelling" makes it clear Omen feels trapped by tradition and familial obligation.

In just a few sentences, the author has set up a strong and relatable tension between what Omen wants and what his father wanted for him. This tension whets our curiosity; Omen's life is out of balance, and we know something is going to break. We keep reading to find out what.

The next three paragraphs show Omen seemingly acquiescing to his fate; he does the job he's supposed to do. He reads the fortunes of the tribe, and although his internal situation is unstable, externally, he gives the impression of accepting the status quo.

But then, the foretelling shows Omen a way out, and he doesn't even hesitate. The story ends right at its lone turning point--Omen's moment of irrevocable change. He chooses to stomp on and break the ice, abandon his tribe and his fate, fling off the hated furs, and swim to a new life.

A story, to feel complete, needs to take an unbalanced situation and restore it to balance, but in such a way that the protagonist's final state is different than his initial state.

At the end of this story, Omen has restored his internal balance and is mentally in a new place. His external life is very much in chaos, but given the author highlighted the internal conflict, not any external ones, this feels like a satisfying resolution to the story.

Now let's look at the work in another way.

A story's turning points are often called reversals. The protagonist's life is either in a good or a bad state, and the turning point changes it to the opposite status.

Right before the final, largest reversal, it's common for the storyteller to try to make the audience think this is the protagonist's final state. It's often called the "black moment" because this is usually a state worthy of despair--one seemingly without hope.

And, usually, the hero makes one last, valiant effort immediately after the black moment and saves the day after all.

In Furs and Ice, when Omen is foretelling for his tribe, this is effectively his black moment. He has apparently chosen to accept his fate even though that fate makes him very unhappy. But then the reversal occurs: Omen makes one last, valiant effort and gets what he wants after all.

In Summary:

What works about this piece is that it is about change, as all stories must be. Omen wants a different life and finds a way to get it. Despite the story being very short, it nevertheless bases itself around a compelling and satisfying turning point in the protagonist's life.

The work also establishes tension, a promise that in this situation things must change, which is what keeps readers engaged in the story.

This piece has a satisfying ending because it gives the protagonist what he needed, albeit at a price. The author builds up tension, then releases it via a solution to the protagonist's problem, and this release is what creates a feeling of satisfaction in the reader.


Of Interest:

Josh is a newly-agented writer with a book out on submission to publishers--wish him luck! He also just launched a new blog called Write Strong, which features technical discussions on the subject of becoming a better writer. I encourage you all to check it out!


Author website: J. J. DeBenedictis

Saturday, January 01, 2011

Reading List - 2011

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Books I Read in 2011

(Ratings out of 10 - consider 6 to be the minimum of what I expect a published book to be.)

The Feedstore Chronicles
by Travis Erwin
Finished book on: Dec 31, 2011
Quality of writing: 7.5
Quality of story: 8
Enjoyability: 8.5

The Cold Commands

by Richard Morgan
Finished book on: Dec 29, 2011
Quality of writing: 8.5
Quality of story: 8.5
Enjoyability: 8.5

The Neon Court

by Kate Griffin
Finished book on: Dec 26, 2011
Quality of writing: 8.5
Quality of story: 8
Enjoyability: 8

The Midnight Mayor

by Kate Griffin
Finished book on: Dec 22, 2011
Quality of writing: 8.5
Quality of story: 8
Enjoyability: 8

Unclean Spirits

by M. L. N. Hanover
Finished book on: Dec 5, 2011
Quality of writing: 7
Quality of story: 6.5
Enjoyability: 6

Aloha From Hell

by Richard Kadrey
Finished book on: Nov 26, 2011
Quality of writing: 7.5
Quality of story: 7.5
Enjoyability: 8

Snuff

by Terry Pratchett
Finished book on: Nov 20, 2011
Quality of writing: 9
Quality of story: 9.5
Enjoyability: 9.5
Comment: Love me some Pratchett! A great book as usual.

The Devil Wears Prada

by Lauren Weisberger
Finished book on: Oct 25, 2011
Quality of writing: 6.5
Quality of story: 7
Enjoyability: 7.5

The Fallen Blade

by Jon Courtney Grimwood
Finished book on: Oct 17, 2011
Quality of writing: 8
Quality of story: 6.5
Enjoyability: 7.5

Broken Angel

by Sigmund Brouwer
Finished book on: Oct 10, 2011
Quality of writing: 7
Quality of story: 7
Enjoyability: 7

Jasmyn

by Alex Bell
Finished book on: Oct 8, 2011
Quality of writing: 7
Quality of story: 7.5
Enjoyability: 7.5

The Smoke Thief

by Shana Abe
Finished book on: Oct 7, 2011
Quality of writing: 8
Quality of story: 7
Enjoyability: 7

The Poisoned Crown

by Amanda Hemingway
Finished book on: Oct 4, 2011
Quality of writing: 8
Quality of story: 8
Enjoyability: 8

The Sword of Straw

by Amanda Hemingway
Finished book on: Oct 2, 2011
Quality of writing: 8
Quality of story: 7.5
Enjoyability: 7.5

The Screenwriter's Bible

by David Trottier
Finished book on: Sept 30, 2011
Quality of advice: 9

The Greenstone Grail

by Amanda Hemingway
Finished book on: Sept 28, 2011
Quality of writing: 8
Quality of story: 8
Enjoyability: 8

The Demon and the City

by Liz Williams
Finished book on: Sept 25, 2011
Quality of writing: 7.5
Quality of story: 6.5
Enjoyability: 7.5

The Erthring Cycle

by Wayland Drew
Finished book on: Midnight between Sept 20 and 21, 2011
Quality of writing: 9
Quality of story: 8
Enjoyability: 9

A Madness of Angels

by Kate Griffin
Finished book on: Sept 19, 2011
Quality of writing: 9
Quality of story: 8
Enjoyability: 9

Myth Alliances

by Robert Lynn Asprin
Finished book on: Sept 8, 2011
Quality of writing: 6.5
Quality of story: 7
Enjoyability: 7

The Heroes

by Joe Abercrombie
Finished book on: Aug 23, 2011
Quality of writing: 8
Quality of story: 7
Enjoyability: 7

Kraken

by China Mieville
Finished book on: Aug 16, 2011
Quality of writing: 8
Quality of story: 5.5
Enjoyability: 6.5

Ghost Story

by Jim Butcher
Finished book on: Aug 6, 2011
Quality of writing: 7.5
Quality of story: 7
Enjoyability: 7.5

A Dance With Dragons
by George R. R. Martin
Finished book on: July ~15, 2011
Quality of writing: 8
Quality of story: 7.5
Enjoyability: 8

The Scar

by China Mieville
Finished book on: June 13, 2011
Quality of writing: 8.5
Quality of story: 7.5
Enjoyability: 8

The Ambassador's Mission

by Trudy Canavan
Finished book on: June 4, 2011
Quality of writing: 7
Quality of story: 6
Enjoyability: 6

Wither
by Lauren DeStephano
Finished book on: May 15, 2011
Quality of writing: 8
Quality of story: 7
Enjoyability: 7

Fury of the Phoenix

by Cindy Pon
Finished book on: May 6, 2011
Quality of writing: 7
Quality of story: 7
Enjoyability: 7

Market Forces

by Richard Morgan
Finished book on: May 3, 2011
Quality of writing: 8
Quality of story: 7
Enjoyability: 7.5

Altered Carbon

by Richard Morgan
Finished book on: Apr 28, 2011
Quality of writing: 7.5
Quality of story: 8
Enjoyability: 7.5

Broken Angels

by Richard Morgan
Finished book on: Apr 12, 2011
Quality of writing: 9
Quality of story: 9
Enjoyability: 9
Comment: I loooooooove this guy's stuff.

The Diamond Age: A Lady's Illustrated Primer

by Neal Stephenson
Finished book on: Apr 8, 2011
Quality of writing: 8
Quality of story: 7.5
Enjoyability: 8

Patient Zero
by Jonathan Maberry
Finished book on: Apr 2, 2011
Quality of writing: 8.5
Quality of story: 8.5
Enjoyability: 9

Kill the Dead

by Richard Kadrey
Finished book on: Mar 25, 2011
Quality of writing: 7.5
Quality of story: 7
Enjoyability: 7.5

Sandman Slim
by Richard Kadrey
Finished book on: Mar 24, 2011
Quality of writing: 7.5
Quality of story: 6.5
Enjoyability: 7.5

Sacrifice: Mortal Path, book 2
by Dakota Banks
Finished book on: Mar 20-ish, 2011
Quality of writing: 8
Quality of story: 6.5
Enjoyability: 6.5

Pump Six and Other Stories

by Paolo Bagigalupi
Finished book on: Mar 6, 2011
Quality of writing: 8.5
Quality of story: 7.5
Enjoyability: 8

A Song for Arbonne

by Guy Gavriel Kay
Finished book on: Feb 15, 2011
Quality of writing: 9.5
Quality of story: 9
Enjoyability: 9.5
Comment: Goodness, that was an awesome book. Guy Gavriel Kay always delivers!

Plot and Structure

by James Scott Bell
Finished book on: Feb 7, 2011
Quality of advice: 7

How to Write a Damn Good Novel II
by James N. Frey
Finished book on: Jan 27, 2011
Quality of advice: 6.5

Elantris

by Brandon Sanderson
Finished book on: Jan 21, 2011
Quality of writing: 6.5
Quality of story: 6
Enjoyability: 6

The Godfather
by Mario Puzo
Finished book on: Jan 18, 2011
Quality of writing: 8
Quality of story: 8
Enjoyability: 8

Mogworld
by Yahtzee (Ben) Croshaw
Finished book on: Jan 6, 2011
Quality of writing: 8
Quality of story: 7.5
Enjoyability: 8
Comments: Funny, very clever at the end, with a protagonist who's a charmingly sarcastic, contrary, irascible everyman zombie with a deathwish.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Books I Didn't Finish

Rogue Angel: The Dragon's Mark
by Alex Archer
Stopped Reading on Page: 29
Reason Why: Great prologue, but too much "telling" in the main story.

The Unincorporated Man

by Dani and Eytan Kollin
Stopped Reading on Page: 105
Reason Why: Fascinating idea but low tension and characterizations seemed unconvincing

How to Write a Damn Good Novel

by James N. Frey
Stopped Reading on Page: 54
Reason Why: Found advice simplistic

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