Happy Punctuation Day!

It's National Punctuation Day! Hurrah!

Some ways you might celebrate include:

• Lament the use of possessive apostrophes in plural words.


• Write sentences that make use of semicolons; they're very useful (though perhaps not quite as useful as parentheses).


• Mock unnecessary quotation marks.


• Investigate the mysterious interrobang.


• Make punctuation-shaped food (PDF) if you're really ambitious.
  

Personally, I think I'll observe a moment of silence for the Associated Press's omission of the serial comma. Luckily, the Chicago Manual of Style, which we use here at BookPros, requires the serial comma, so the books we publish are unambiguous and easy to read. Thanks, punctuation!

Raiders of the Lost Plot Arc

As we’ve mentioned on the BookPros blog before, clichés aren’t necessarily bad. They can be a colorful way to evoke a precise image in your reader’s mind. But when the entire plot of your book is a cliché, that’s most likely a problem. Strange Horizons, an online magazine for “speculative fiction,” keeps a running list called Stories We’ve Seen Too Often, which details some plots that have been overdone. Some of them are fairly specific to science fiction (which is basically what “speculative fiction” means), but others apply to all genres.

In particular, I’d like to take a closer look at their very first overused plot:

Person is (metaphorically) at point A, wants to be at point B. Looks at point B, says "I want to be at point B." Walks to point B, encountering no meaningful obstacles or difficulties. The end. (A.k.a. the linear plot.)

This is a plot (or lack thereof) I’ve encountered too many times as a creative writing student and as an editor. It’s true that, once in a while, some cutting-edge author successfully breaks some of writing’s most sacred rules, but it’s extremely rare to do away with something as basic as plot arc and still keep your reader interested. Picture the basic plot arc as a bell curve that drops off very quickly at the end; your protagonist struggles upward against obstacles and setbacks until the story reaches a climax and then a denouement.

One of the most fundamental reasons we read fiction—or creative non-fiction, for that matter—is to live vicariously through a book’s characters. It may seem like readers would only want to live through happy events vicariously. After all, why would you want to imagine yourself in stressful situations when you already have to deal with stressful situations every day? Well, because your real stressful situations don’t resolve themselves very easily. When you read a book, you get the emotional satisfaction of seeing the solution to every problem. Not every book has a happy ending, but every book—every good one, at least—has a complete ending. We may not be happy about a character’s final situation, but even with a cliffhanger, we have a pretty good idea of what it is. In real life, you never know how your problems will turn out; in literature, all your worrying and page-turning is rewarded with certainty.

But it’s not much of a reward if nothing bad ever happens to the character. A character without struggles is a character without vitality. No one can relate to a life that charmed. We won’t read to the end of Joe’s mountain-climbing adventure unless we’re uncertain he’ll make it . If he effortlessly defeats marauding pumas with one punch and is conveniently impervious to the effects of altitude sickness, we assume he’ll be just fine and abandon him for someone whose destiny is more unclear and therefore more interesting.

Whatever you’re writing, if there’s a narrative, make sure to clue us in to the difficulties the character encounters before you give us the resolution.

Banned Books Week

By Sara Hickey, Publishing Assistant

The last week of September is approaching, and that means that the American Library Association’s annual Banned Books Week will soon be in full swing! Bookstores and libraries across the country will commemorate our freedom to read by participating in BBW (September 26–October 3). According to the ALA, the goal of BBW is to celebrate “the freedom to choose or the freedom to express one’s opinion even if that opinion might be considered unorthodox or unpopular and [to stress] the importance of ensuring the availability of those unorthodox or unpopular viewpoints to all who wish to read them.”

If you are interested in getting involved in Banned Books Week, check out bannedbooksweek.org for a list of events and suggestions for things that you can do to promote the cause.

What Our Staff is Currently Reading

Working in the publishing industry, we see quite a variety of titles every day. Everything from children’s stories to health care books to memoirs passes through our offices. When it’s time to go home though, what do we like to read? See what’s currently got our attention below:

Peggy Keefe, Senior Client Services Coordinator
I'm reading two books right now for book clubs I'm in. For one, I'm reading The Hakawati by Rabih Alameddine for the second time. It is one of my top five favorite books so I'm rereading it rather than taking a break this month. I'm also reading The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. Our book group chose it since the movie is coming out soon. I'm a little more than halfway through it and am really enjoying it. The story revolves around a murdered fourteen-year-old girl, who watches over her family and killer from heaven as time goes by. I'm not big on stories about people reflecting on their lives and emotions, but luckily there are enough action, dialogue, and mystery sequences to pull me through the more introspective parts. I’m looking forward to Peter Jackson's interpretation!

Michelle Filips, Publishing Coordinator
I'm reading Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury. Written in 1962, it is about two thirteen-year-old boys, Jim Nightshade and William Halloway, who witness the supernatural arrival of a carnival to their town in late October. "Mr. Dark" runs the carnival and wears tattoos (hmmm…Illustrated Man?) of each person who, lured by the offer to live out his secret fantasies, has become bound in service to the carnival.

Several years ago I read Dandelion Wine and had a love/hate relationship with the earnest but nostalgic tone Bradbury took. I think I was too young to want to be bogged down with the weighty sense of growing up. Ultimately, I think I loved it.

Using Dandelion Wine as a stepping stone, Something Wicked This Way Comes examines good and evil and the loss of youth in a more serious, sinister tone. While I’m only in the first few chapters, I am enjoying it so far.

Lauren O’Neal, Editor
I just finished a book called The Greatest Man in Cedar Hole by Stephanie Doyon. I picked it up for a dollar at a used bookstore in New York a few years ago, so I didn't have very high expectations, but it turned out to be quite charming. It tells the story of the inhabitants of a small town called Cedar Hole, with all the scandal and gossip that go along with life in literary small towns. Doyon did a great job of making the reader sympathize with all the characters, even as they resented and argued with each other, usually for good reasons. There were some sloppy passages, though; it could have used just one more edit before it went out.

Conversely, after all the hype about David Wroblewski's The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, I picked it up expecting greatness, but got only mediocrity. It was solidly written, sure, but bogged down by overly long descriptions of the minutiae of training and raising dogs (and I say this as someone who grew up in a dog-showing household). Likewise, it was intelligent, but it got way too much credit for its allusions to Hamlet. Anyone can write an inscrutably evil usurping uncle figure; Disney did it with cartoon lions. It's making that allusion give depth to the book that counts, and that's where I thought Wroblewski fell short.

Lara Kramer, Editing Assistant
Currently, I'm reading Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts. It's a novel set in India based on the real life events of the author, an escaped Australian convict who fled to India and made a life there for ten years. He meets a string of interesting people and becomes passionate about the culture.

Overall, it's a fairly decent book, but not my normal style. It has great, intelligent one-liners and moments of important philosophical questioning/thoughts. I'd suggest it as a nice escapist/travel novel.

Katie Quinn, Client Development Coordinator
I had never read any Harry Potter books before, but this summer I started with number one, and I am now about to finish the series. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7) by J. K. Rowling is definitely the best so far. I can't wait to get to the end, but I also don't want it to be over. Harry has traveled around in books one through seven in my purse since June, and it's going to be a little tough parting. Next on the list: a re-read of the Anne of Green Gables series.

Jacob McRae, Editing Assistant
I'm rereading Geek Love by Katherine Dunn. It's told through the eyes of Olympia Binewski, a timid, humpbacked, albino dwarf, who details the strange (and sad) lives of the Binewskis, a family of carnies. I highly recommend it not only for its strange story, but also for Dunn's enchanting prose.

Erin Werley, Senior Editor
I'm reading The Hakawati by Rabih Alameddine. It's a novel composed of sets of stories about four generations of the same Lebanese family. It tells the contemporary story of Osama al-Khattar, a Los Angeles software engineer who returns to Beirut where his father is dying, and reconnects with his family. Their stories (hakawati means storyteller in Arabic) are interweaved with tales based on old Arabic fables, involving genies, slaves, and princes, which juxtapose the grand, luxuriant past with the postwar present.

Cody Goehring, Director of Client Development
Moonrise by Ben Bova is part of a series of sci-fi books called the Grand Tour, which is a fictional account of human colonization of the solar system. Obviously, this book is about the human colonization of the moon. When the book starts (about 2040), there are already research and tourist colonies on the moon, but the main character of the book begins its industrialization by starting to mine it for resources. For a book written in the early 90s, it does a good job of not sounding dated, and it could have easily been written today.

Phenix & Phenix actually promoted Mars Life, also part of Bova’s Grand Tour series, which is how I learned of the series and the author.

Caitlin Topham, Editor
I’m currently on a bit of a craft kick, and my reading list definitely reflects it. I recently finished Craft, Inc.: Turn Your Creative Hobby into a Business by Meg Mateo Ilasco which provides excellent advice for any crafter hoping to sell their handmade wares (like handprinted fabric, plush toys, and embroidery patterns) for a living. The book was a quick read and easy to follow. Ilasco included profiles of many successful crafty entrepreneurs, and discussed marketing, online selling, publicity, and the pitfalls of doing craft for a living.

The other craft-related book I just finished was Handmade Nation: The Rise of DIY, Art, Craft, and Design by Faythe Levine and Cortney Heimerl. It’s actually based on a documentary of the same name, which recently screened here in Austin. It chronicles the DIY/art/craft movement of the past five to ten years, and features interviews with successful crafters, including many from Austin. The book is more of a coffee table book, with lots of full-color images showcasing interesting handmade wares (the latch hook rugs by the Austin artist Whitney Lee, which feature semi-nude women posing, come to mind). While the book, and the film, were interesting, I would have liked more of a contextualization of how the movement came about and evolved—though perhaps that’s just the art historian in me kicking in.

Up next is something completely different: Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri, a book of short stories by the author of The Namesake, one of my favorite novels.

Andrea Barbosa, Client Services Coordinator
I'm currently reading Honor's Splendour by Julie Garwood, one of her many books (I think she's written over twenty—sigh). Yes, it's a romance novel. If you're looking for a fun, quick read that gives you little butterflies every now and then, then try settling down to one of her books. This particular love story is endearing and sweet, even though it centers on revenge. Garwood has managed to make me laugh out loud (and blush) on several occasions with this one, and I'm only halfway through it.

Other good reads from my summer reading list:
Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia
Impossible by Nancy Werlin

On my nightstand:
The Hakawati by Rabih Alameddine
The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

How to Avoid Genre Jumping, Part 2

By Jacob McRae, Editing Assistant

Our previous blog post on this topic covered some of the most beloved genres within modern fiction, but science fiction, fantasy, horror and mystery were left out. To the untrained eye, most of these genres might blend together, huddled under the umbrella of magic spells, shadowy characters, and peculiar quests. But each possesses its own supernatural charm, and requires an extraordinary amount of imagination, as the authors who endeavor to write any of these must be as consistent as they are inventive.

Science Fiction

Think biology, physics, astronomy, aliens, cyborgs. Authors tend to build upon existing notions derived from contemporary science (as well as abandoned, disproved theories), technology, and philosophies to create their own worlds or construct their own pasts, futures, and modern variations of the earth we inhabit. These stories are often detail driven, so don’t think the word fiction grants a writer complete freedom, as readers pick up on incongruous information. An author may distort reality as much as he or she pleases––as long as the story is able to support itself.

Orson Scott Card, author of Ender’s Game, and Frank Herbert, creator of the Dune series, are both well known and respected for their endurance within this genre. As Herbert shows us, when reading and writing sci-fi, there is bound to be fabricated terminology.

Dune: Thufir Hawat, his father's Master of Assassins, had explained it: their mortal enemies, the Harkonnens, had been on Arrakis eighty years, holding the planet in quasi-fief under a CHOAM Company contrast to mine the geriatric spice, melange.

Fantasy

Fantasy is composed of elements recycled and applied for every generation. Vampires, elves, fairies, and ogres are familiar faces strewn along the pages of these stories, and it’s up to an author to turn commonplace items into new, refreshing interpretations. Fantasy distinguishes itself from sci-fi and horror by avoiding more scientific and macabre details. It is a realm in which myth and magic is paramount; it is sanctuary for the unfathomable.

Examine this passage from a novel by Neil Gaiman.

Stardust: He picked up a crystal cat, no bigger than his thumb. Sagely it blinked at him, and he dropped it, shocked; it righted itself midair, and, like a real cat, fell on its four paws. Then it stalked over to the corner of the stall and began to wash itself.

Horror

Within this genre, there’s a greater need to develop the characters based on a psychological understanding, as to coincide with the reader’s own fears and anxieties. It’s fairly easy to develop the protagonist as a victim/ hero, but one question an author might have trouble answering is just how to develop the antagonist. Should it be the incarnate of evil or a deluded psychopath? Putting the villain in plain sight can be advantageous and thrilling, but the allure of a subtle killer will make a reader sleep with the lights on.

Here, Stephen King, a master of literary horror, illustrates that a villain needn’t be subtle or human—simply rabid.

Cujo: Low to the ground it was, with huge shoulders bulking above its cocked head, its eyes amber-glowing pits––a thing that might have been half man, half wolf. And its eyes rolled to follow him as he sat up, his scrotum crawling, his hair standing on end, his breath a thin winter-whistle in his throat: mad eyes that laughed, eyes that promised horrible death and the music of screams that went unheard; something in the closet.

Mystery

These novels are gigantic riddles waiting to be solved by investigative readers. An author of mystery should not attempt to frustrate a reader with a plethora of petty, unsolvable crimes, but, instead, deliver a grandiose scheme, a complex machine that requires dissection. Every item should be chosen purposefully, whether it involves a character in a particular scene or a simple description of an item. Remember that multiple viewpoints can make a story increasingly complex without trifling with the overall plot. The key is controlling and emphasizing a character’s voice.

Look to masters like Agatha Christie and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle for age-old guidance within this genre. Christie knows a foolproof method to kick off a fun mystery novel: a dead body.

The Body in the Library: A Miss Marple Mystery: In her sleep Mrs. Bantry frowned. Something disturbing was penetrating through the dream state, something out of its time. Footsteps along the passage, footsteps that were too hurried and too soon. Her ears listened unconsciously for the chink of china, but there was no chink of china… Out of the dim green light Mary's voice came, breathless, hysterical. "Oh, ma'am, oh, ma'am, there's a body in the library!"

All four of these genres are unique, and work well on their own, but one shouldn’t dismiss the apparent alchemy that occurs between them. Vampires and horror, vampires and romance, vampires and anything seem to be the key to success (perhaps the challenge is finding something vampires do not improve). When writing purely for one genre, it’s important to understand others similar to it. By better comprehending them, you can effectively design your book for your intended audience.

How to Avoid Genre Jumping

by Robert Rich, Editing Assistant

Are you a fan of romance novels? If so, you probably don’t want them to read like Fight Club. On the other hand, if you like that minimalistic style, Danielle Steele’s newest sordid love affair isn’t likely to appeal to you. Despite the current hoopla surrounding “genre jumping,” the honest truth is that the genre of your book should dictate how you write it. When readers pick up a Danielle Steele book, they know what they’re getting. Similarly, if you are writing a teen book, it’s important to consider your audience and genre. What do teens expect in a book? What kind of slang do they use? All stories are best told in their own individual way, and the only way to discern those differences is by reading everything, from all genres. Let’s take a look at the major genres, along with the specifics of their style and—as always—some examples.

Minimalistic Fiction
Minimalistic novels are your typical “edgy” works, full of drug use, sex, violence, and many other illicit activities you want to keep your child away from. As the name suggests, there is little embellishment in these types of works, and the major characteristics are biting satire; sardonic wit; short, choppy sentences; and a disregard for standard grammar and punctuation. Let’s look to Fight Club author Chuck Palahniuk for examples.

Survivor: I’m the hijacker. And I start to laugh. I ask Fertility, You set me up, didn’t you? And still laughing she says, “A little.” And still laughing I ask if she’s really pregnant.

Mainstream Fiction
The telltale sign of a mainstream thriller is often its familiarity. Frequently recycling stock stories, these books lack a defining literary style, and simply present the facts, scene by scene, action by action, until the end, when everything is nicely resolved in a denouement you probably saw coming a mile away. Any “deep” thoughts are presented through metaphorical ruminations, usually about hope, love, death, or a combination of all three. Dean Koontz shows us how it’s done.

The Darkest Evening of the Year: Behind the wheel of the Ford Expedition, Amy Redwing drove as if she were immortal and therefore safe at any speed.

Literary/Experimental Fiction
This is the genre trying to prevent the slaughter of the English language. The subject matter can be anything, including those recycled stories from mainstream fiction works. The difference is in the way it’s written. Sentences flow on and on, diction is painstakingly proper, and the message is so reflective and philosophical that your IQ is raised with each and every page. Here, Mark Z. Danielewski bumps you up a couple more points.

House of Leaves: Though many continue to devote substantial time and energy to the antimonies of fact or fiction, representation or artifice, document or prank, as of late the more interesting material dwells exclusively on the interpretation of events within the film.

Memoir
The memoir is the easiest genre to identify, because it looks like a blog post. The important trait of a memoir is its conversational tone, which allows the reader to connect with the author and feel like they’re doing more than reading a story from someone else’s life. The prose is straightforward, the tone casual, and contractions abound. Here, Augusten Burroughs shares his life with you.

Possible Side Effects: The first time I was star-struck, the object of my affection was a glamorous Easter Airlines stewardess. I was eight. “I call them by their first names, Jack and Carolyn,” I told her with pride. “They’re my father’s parents.”

Young Adult
The importance here is subject matter. Young Adult novels can be written in a variety of ways—although they typically fall under the mainstream fiction style—as long as they satisfy the desires of teenagers. Trouble with parents, struggling to find your identity, and thinking you’re in love at the ripe age of 16, it doesn’t matter; as long as that high school freshman can relate, it’ll sell. As Stephanie Meyer shows, you can even love a vampire.

Twilight: The host was female, and I understood the look in her eyes as she assessed Edward. She welcomed him a little more warmly than necessary. I was surprised by how much that bothered me. She was several inches taller than I was, and unnaturally blond.

Romance
Sex. Lots of it. In very interesting places. Write it like mainstream fiction, have people go at it constantly, and you’re made in the shade. Danielle Steel heats up the page.

The Ring: Her smile broadened and she held out a hand toward him, her intricate, diamond-encrusted signet ring gleaming in the sun. It was Kassandra who intrigued him, who seemed to hold the mystery of life and beauty for him.

Depending on your genre, these are some authors you can look to for guidance. This doesn’t mean you can’t be creative. But you also don’t want to trick your readers. If your book is for kids, don’t employ your old SAT dictionary. And if it’s for retirees, don’t worry about keeping up with the latest street slang. Add your own flourishes, but be sure to stick to the main conventions of the style so that it can reach the biggest possible audience. Once you hook the reader with what’s familiar, then you can blow him away with your personal style.

Tips for Writing Children's Books

By Jacob McRae, Editing Assistant

So you want to write a children’s book? Well, first, you have to ditch the fancy tricks, because no child is going to pick up Candide or Ulysses so that he or she may have a new topic of conversation for a slumber party. That doesn’t make the process any less puzzling, though, because as an author, you have the ominous task of enchanting, educating, and entertaining your young audience. A daunting revelation, indeed!

Know your audience

Children often possess a selfish, wild imagination, which means an author can be somewhat lenient with their creative prose. Young readers don’t require verbose, dense descriptions, so stay simple. A classic example is Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak, as it employs precise, playful prose without overburdening a young reader. Here’s a healthy rule: the younger the audience, the shorter the text and the simpler the vocabulary. Be careful not to deliberately patronize your audience, though. Think how frustrating it was when “the grown-ups” underestimated you, but remember how intimidating it was when you were overestimated! Balance is key when writing children’s literature.

Children need the ability to relate to the characters, so stick with archetypes that are accessible to them, like students, parents, bullies, and friends. The protagonist should be the gender of your target audience, as well as around their age. Using slightly older characters may appeal more to readers, because it gives them a model for what they want to be, rather than a recycled version of their own identity. Try using an animal for a less specific, neutral character. If you write a story of heroes and villains, be clear about the virtues and morals you are exploring.

Research!

When writing children’s literature, you must know what is relevant to youth culture. The interest of children is perpetually in flux, so it is your responsibility to adapt. Watch cartoons, listen to new music, read successful children’s books, and absorb popular slang (unless you intend to write a story with a historical setting). As an adult, it might be difficult to appreciate the trivialities that dominate a youth’s life, but these are necessities that must be explored and digested to produce a modern, engaging story.

The 3 Rs

Know the three Rs: repetition, rhyme, and rhythm. The benefit of repeating vocabulary is that it helps instill terms into the reader’s mind, giving him or her a helpful platform to digest and enjoy the book. Rhyme creates a familiarity with word pronunciation, as well as memorization (think about the success of Dr. Seuss). Rhythm is especially important, as you do not want a story’s pace to be erratic; it could leave children bored or confused.

Getting words to work with pictures

The first thing most children do when they open a book is scavenge for illustrations. The complication is getting them to read, too. Using short, concise statements with details the reader can identify in the illustration is a good idea. Try making images that pose a conflict so that the text may act as a resolution (or vice versa); this establishes a reason for the reader to access both the text and the visuals. The Legend of Honey Hollow by Jeanne McNaney is a fantastic example of combining current situations—in her case, global warming—with vibrant images and a simple, yet engrossing story.

Just like adults, children possess a wide array of personalities and quirks, so don’t be afraid to try something fresh when writing for these young readers. Just remember to stay current and simple.

Be sure to check out these past blog posts for more information related to children’s literature.