tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30931389.post8680841317614392879..comments2023-09-06T05:48:05.398-06:00Comments on Terry's Place: Names and RulesTerry Odellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11610682530545306687noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30931389.post-27839769218197058142009-07-16T11:03:24.106-06:002009-07-16T11:03:24.106-06:00Glad you posted a link back to this. Always fun to...Glad you posted a link back to this. Always fun to read the rules, though I'm sure I break them frequently. I used to tell chess kids you've got to know how it should be played before you can play it your way.Sheila Deethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13465615546936319164noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30931389.post-26039102747226950972009-07-06T12:06:27.498-06:002009-07-06T12:06:27.498-06:00I'll agree - no back story right off the bat. ...I'll agree - no back story right off the bat. And when you do insert it, do it in IV drip style, not tube-feeding.Terry Odellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11610682530545306687noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30931389.post-40222592924979268652009-07-06T11:50:47.673-06:002009-07-06T11:50:47.673-06:00I'd add a rule/guideline about keeping flashba...I'd add a rule/guideline about keeping flashbacks out of chapter one and keeping them to a minimum elsewhere. Inexperienced writers seem to get carried away by writing backstory. Readers care about the action NOW, not before the story started.Nancy J. Cohenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14228901230896110347noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30931389.post-41619404792855360372009-07-06T11:13:38.562-06:002009-07-06T11:13:38.562-06:00That's why I think they're guidelines, not...That's why I think they're guidelines, not rules -- and as any writer knows, there is no one RIGHT way to write. I'm reading a 1965 romance at the moment, and wow, have the "rules" changed!Terry Odellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11610682530545306687noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30931389.post-81328880416519419632009-07-06T11:08:29.811-06:002009-07-06T11:08:29.811-06:00I think Horror books would tend to start more with...I think Horror books would tend to start more with the weather but I don't have any proof. Usually I think they start with weather/setting to set a mood. <br /><br />I think Dean Koontz started Lightening and maybe Watchers with the weather but I don't remember and can't find my books.<br /><br />I also ignore the prologue thing because I like the fantasy genre and a lot of times they have prologues. It's kinda ingrained.Beth Caudillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07822034586213938181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30931389.post-9207867367945907942009-07-06T10:33:50.225-06:002009-07-06T10:33:50.225-06:00Elena, Denise, thanks for stopping by. I don'...Elena, Denise, thanks for stopping by. I don't know why you couldn't post at Nancy's blog, Denise. I think the Internet is nothing more than a roulette wheel sometimes.<br /><br />I've got mixed feelings about prologues -- the book I'm writing now definitely has one. One of my other ones starts with what my daughter calls, "A MacGyver Opening Op."Terry Odellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11610682530545306687noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30931389.post-72748872250251979782009-07-06T10:08:20.878-06:002009-07-06T10:08:20.878-06:00I love Prologues - most of my books have them.
Oh...I love Prologues - most of my books have them.<br /><br />Oh, and Terry, I tried to comment on your other post on names and it wouldn't let me.Denise Patrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18134480528920517406noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30931389.post-3385421292054226742009-07-06T07:58:34.159-06:002009-07-06T07:58:34.159-06:00In the early 50's at an impressionable age, I ...In the early 50's at an impressionable age, I read Rex Stout who said that to become successful as a writer a person needs to have as many jobs as possible. Many years later I realized I took this as permission to indulge my natural peripatetic life when I gave myself permission to stop keeping my resume for my 50th birthday present. It had hit ten pages single spaced.<br /><br />For me, a most excellent "rule".<br />ElenaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30931389.post-71019563394696510992009-07-06T06:38:17.580-06:002009-07-06T06:38:17.580-06:00Snoopy snagged that one.Snoopy snagged that one.Terry Odellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11610682530545306687noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30931389.post-9336853368102639572009-07-06T05:37:59.261-06:002009-07-06T05:37:59.261-06:00You mean it wasn't ' a dark and stormy nig...You mean it wasn't ' a dark and stormy night'?D2TM2https://www.blogger.com/profile/13670166329154081563noreply@blogger.com