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So I am still writing this biography. I actually finished the first draft and am in the middle of editing. You think I would be happy, but I'm not. I have found an agent who is interested. You think I would be happy, but I'm not.
I think I am over my head now. I always have been one to tell a good story, that has never been a problem. But when it comes to fixing things, to rearranging, let's face it I suck. I had the story in chronological order, which made sense to me. The agent says no and since they are the ones with ties to a major publisher, I would be a moron not to listen. They don't want chronological, they want something else. They want me to stay in the present and allude to the past. Flashbacks I suppose. That might be above my talent level. I know where they want to start (at the end, just about). It sounds like a lot of work. I hate a lot of work. Especially work where I doubt I'll excel at.
Comments
Okay, Here is a suggestion.
Use the setting for a the present being a vacation you have recently been on. With you traveling around, while reflecting on the past. Swapping back and forth. In that what you see in the present, reminding you of the events of your distant past.
interesting
Do that is fine for small periods of time like a 2 week vacation, but I don't know how it's going to work for a life. I think I'm uncomfortable because that's not the way I tell stories. I like establishing the setting, the characters, and then getting onto events. If I was going to talk about wrestling, I would start by moving to florida, meeting coach chase, joining the team, etc. I wouldn't start with my final match in Honduras and then work backwards.
Katie Leone (Katie-Leone.com)
Writing is what you do when you put pen to paper, being an author is what you do when you bring words to life
Well...
Well, I cannot give you any detailed help. But, I hope my suggestions give you a starting point to work from.
In Media Res
It's Latin for in the middle of things. Begin in the middle of the situation the editor wants you to start with, carry it along nearly to conclusion. Then jump back to a beginning and tell part of that for perhaps a chapter.
Jumpback to where you left off, only this time cover it in a bit more depth, carrying that scene nearly to some sort of conclusion. Then jump back to the next scene of the beginning.
Just make these simple breaks, no framing except to note times, dates and places. When you've done another chapter of the beginning, jump forward to another interesting scene for another chapter and cover that well, then back to the beginning for another chapter, ideally leading up to the scene you just covered.
By this time, you should have a plan for how to finish this, mostly doing something similar as above. End with explaining the circumstances leading up to the scene you began with, finish that scene to a conclusion this time, not retelling it exactly but sort of recalling it to the reader.
Finish with what happened after the crisis you started with, and ideally leave the book with a hook that may imply there is at least another book's worth of stuff you could tell.
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
No pain no gain
Sometimes learning to stretch ones skills can be painful.
Without growing, you can find your works becoming repetitive.
A hook
I think what your editor wants is what's known as a "hook." Something that grabs the readers interest. I write in another genre, more often than I do here and one of my best received works was written in first person and starts with what seems to be the ending. The narrators then traces the sequence of events that led there and after the end (starting point) the epilog wraps the the whole story up in a neat package, leaving the reader to imagine future events.
The whole story is a flashback, sometimes flashbacks within the flashback.
Erin has a good description of how to do it. Perhaps you might want to let someone else read it with the aim of locating the points to make the breaks.
Hugs
Patricia
Happiness is being all dressed up and HAVING some place to go.
Semper in femineo gerunt
readers
i would only be allowed a few beta readers as i signed a nondisclosure agreement
Katie Leone (Katie-Leone.com)
Writing is what you do when you put pen to paper, being an author is what you do when you bring words to life
Oh...
The "nondisclosure agreement" is the first clue they were going to screw you.
If you are not allowed to talk about your book, nor promote it, that screws you.
Keep in mind that book publishers, and movie producers, approve projects which they have no intention of promoting and they fully intent to have fell, so they can count that as a "loss" on their taxes, to get a tax deduction. Due to the taxes, laws, and regulations, in this nation, it is more profitable to be destructive, and screw over people, than to be creative, produce, and employ people.
For future reference, always personally have your story copyrighted by you, before you submit it to publishers, or have it proofread by those you don't trust. Having something copyrighted is not hard, and it is the best CYA for you on your story.
Also, you need to check you contract on other matters. Such as who actually owns the copyright of the story, and is there an expiration date for the contract. They could have stolen your story out from under you, and you not even realize it. And with the non-disclosure agreement, if you complained, or filed a lawsuit, they could sue you into bankruptcy.
The NDA is not between me and
The NDA is not between me and the publisher. The NDA is between me and the biography subject. She gave me complete access to everything and is the other author. I get on the book as a secondary author, no matter how much I write.
Katie Leone (Katie-Leone.com)
Writing is what you do when you put pen to paper, being an author is what you do when you bring words to life