The Lousypoet

So I intend to try and start my writing in earnest tonight. I know my location, my star, and I have some notion of where this tale is going to go. Now, I need a beginning.

I’ve read a number of books on the topic of writing a successful novel. Almost all agree that how your novel starts, even as soon as the first sentence, you must have something that hooks the reader. In fact, the opening line may be the make it or break it point of the novel. So, I decided to take a look at some books that have been personal favourites, as well as some of them being uber popular, and see what the very first line was. So here’s a little glimpse;

“The escalator strained slowly upward.” – The Night Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko

“I’d never given much thought to how I would die – though I’d had reason enough in the last few months – but even if I had, I would not have imagined it like this.” – Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

“”I see…” said the vampire thoughtfully, and slowly he walked across the room towards the window” – Interview With The Vampire by Anne Rice

“The Alchemist picked up a book that someone in the caravan had brought.” – The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

“”Too many!” James shouted , and slammed the door behind him.” – The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper

“The night before he went to London, Richard Mayhew was not enjoying himself.” – Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

“Mr and Mrs Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much” – Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling

“Wind howled through the night , carrying a scent that would change the world.” – Eragon by Christopher Paolini

“Renowned curator Jacques Sauniere staggered through the vaulted archway of the museum’s Grand Gallery.” – The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown

So, taking a look at these examples, the first thing I notice is that all of them leave us asking questions. Upon reading Eragon, we wonder what change will come; in the Da Vinci code we wonder what is happening to this renowned curator that is causing him to stagger. We wonder why Richard Mayhew isn’t enjoying himself, what does the vampire see, why did James slam his door, and just how is our narator about to die?

Even the lines that seem a statement hint that things will soon change. Rowling’s opener states a simple fact, but because she states it so emphatically, we know that it is about to be radically altered. In Night Watch, the elevator may be straining for a number of reasons, but just the image evokes feelings of foreboding and possible collapse. Of all the lines, perhaps the Alchemist’s opener seems the flattest to me, but it still grabs the reader because we instantly know that the title character of the book is present; and what is interesting about the book in his hands? It’s also interesting that by just using the word ‘caravan’ Coelho is already giving us an idea of where and when this might be happening.

So, what did we learn from this little exercise? I guess that I need to work on my first line. What will be the question that will pop into the reader’s mind? How do I make the need to have that answer compelling enough to pull the reader along?

It seems a simple task, to write the first line, to merely get words on page so that something can truly begin. But how can the journey work out if it starts with an empty tank of gas?

I’m off to ponder. When I have my first line, I’ll post it. If anyone is reading this blog, how about some of your insights?

So here’s an interesting rumour. EW.com is floating the story Drew Barrymore will direct Twilight 3. Supposedly they’re looking at a third director because they want the third instalment (Eclipse) to be released all of 6 months after New Moon. This overlapping of production times would mean Chris Weitz, who is directing New Moon, would be unable to do the director duties on the third film. This seems a little off to me. I mean, if Weitz delivers on New Moon, shouldn’t he be given the shot at the third film? I’m guessing that Summit Films is trying to push this series through while people still give a crap. But if they really want a series people will keep coming back to, they should go for quality, not just slap-dash productions. I mean, check out Harry Potter. The films are great movies, regardless of the source material. People keep coming back to the films because they are quality, not just because they’re adaptations of their favourite books. Oh well, I guess it’s a good thing I was never completely in love with this series, cause I predict the films are going to be shite.

Meanwhile, Watchmen continues to get some pretty great reviews. I’m totally pumped for this film. One thing I think is unfair is that it is getting constantly compared to The Dark Knight. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m a big Batman fan and I really did like TDK, but really, I don’t think it was as completely perfect as some people make out. Also, remember that Watchmen has the difficult task of being an adaptation. All Dark Knight had to do was be a good Batman story. I know, certain Batman films in the past have proven that it is entirely all too easy to mess up a Batman story, but I still think crafting an original story with a character with such amazingly rich history as Batman is easier than taking something as complex as Watchmen and trying to compress it all into one film.

Some Book News, Neil Gaiman has a new one coming out in March. It is an illustrated kids book with art by Charles Vess. Apparently the words are from something Neil wrote for Tori Amos when she had her baby girl. While I welcome damn near anything new from Mr. Gaiman, I can’t help but think this is Harper striking while the iron’s hot and getting some more kid lit our there under Neil’s name so soon after his Newberry award for The Graveyard Book. Of course, I’ll probably buy it anyway

In some book into movie news, Mania.com wrote this article on a planned Neverending Story remake. Seems Warner Brothers is looking to breath some new life into this series after 25 years. I suppose some spiffy effects and all will be added, but they’re saying that more of the nuances of the book will be explored instead of glossed over like in the first film. Now, I have to admit, I have yet to work my way through the book. With this news, I might just have to see if I can finish the thing.

I wouldn’t be a good Neil Gaiman fan if I didn’t mention that Coraline opened this weekend and seems to be getting some pretty amazing reviews! Over at Rotten Tomatoes, it has an 87% fresh rating after 119 reviews. The guys over at Ain’t It Cool News are all sold on it. I’m really looking forward to checking this out. Hopefully it will do well at the box office this weekend.

I couldn’t help but laugh. As I wrote the other day, Neil Gaiman’s book, The Graveyard Book, just won the Newbery award, one of the most prestigious awards given for children’s literature. Gaiman’s twitter response was classic, as was his post on his blog. And then comes the news that The Graveyard Book is being turned into a feature film with Neil Jordan (In The Company of Wolves, Interview with the Vampire) doing the adaptation and directing. This could bode quite well for the film! And then we have the theatrical release of Coraline, which looks simply amazing!

And speaking of Coraline, here’s a great little trailer featuring the god writer himself, apparently in his front sitting room and library.

Ahh, to have even a fraction of this man’s talent….

I just received the following announcement in my email! Congratulations Mr. Gaiman, it is well deserved.

January 26, 2009

The Graveyard Book has won the prestigious 2009 Newbery Medal!

A delicious mix of murder, fantasy, humor and human longing, the tale of Nobody Owens is told in magical, haunting prose. A child marked for death by an ancient league of assassins escapes into an abandoned graveyard, where he is reared and protected by its spirit denizens.

The book, published September 30, 2008, was an instant New York Times #1 bestseller, and continues to be counted on many national and regional bestseller lists.

“A child named Nobody, an assassin, a graveyard and the dead are the perfect combination in this deliciously creepy tale, which is sometimes humorous, sometimes haunting and sometimes surprising,” said Newbery Committee Chair Rose V. Trevi&ntildeo.

The Newbery Medal was named for eighteenth-century British bookseller John Newbery. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.

Fragile Things
by Neil Gaiman

Fragile things is yet another compilation of Neil Gaiman’s short stories and poetry. Most of these stories have seen life in other publications, but I suppose if you don’t subscribe to every short story magazine, nor buy every short story anthology, chances are you haven’t seen many, if any, of these stories before.

Once again, reading these, it just comes back that Gaiman is our own modern myth maker. When Gaiman does a full length novel, you can feel the myth and magic simmering along, but it is so clear in these short fables that I had to digest them over far more time than it usually takes me to devour a full length novel. There’s just so many cool ideas, nuanced themes, and sometimes, maddening twists, that I found I could only manage a story or two per sitting. This is in contrast to finishing one of his 500 page novels within a night or two.

Fans of American Gods will be particularly happy to find a new novella based on Shadow’s life two years after the events of American Gods. I really enjoyed it, and being hooked along made me realise just how thirsty I had been for more of Shadow’s adventures. I was almost sad to see it come to an end. It was also interesting to read this having seen Gaiman’s theatrical take on the whole Grendel affair.

There’s also some other things here that are a bit more avante garde, but truly build an appreciation for Gaiman. His writings for Scarlet’s Walk, the Tori Amos album, are really cool. While individually there are snippets of travel and obsession, they add up to something far greater, almost reminding me of the movie Momento when it was all said and done.

All in all, this one was very satisfying. Each story was unique, proving just how seemingly boundless Neil Gaiman’s imagination can be.

The best thing about writing fiction is that moment where the story catches fire and comes to life on the page, and suddenly it all makes sense and you know what it’s about and why you’re doing it and what these people are saying and doing, and you get to feel like both the creator and the audience. Everything is suddenly both obvious and surprising (“but of course that’s why he was doing that, and that means that…”) and it’s magic and wonderful and strange.

- Neil Gaiman – From Neil Gaiman’s Journal – October 15, 2007

The Graveyard Book
by Neil Gaiman

It’s always a pleasure to sit down with a new Neil Gaiman book. The man has yet to disappoint me, and that’s saying something. I had been eagerly anticipating the Graveyard Book’s release for sometime now, and I burned through it.

The Graveyard Book is the tale of Nobody, or Bod for short, who on the night his family is murdered wanders, no more than a toddler, into a local graveyard where he is adopted by the spirits within. The book follows Bod as he grows, matures, ventures into the world beyond the safety of the graveyard, and eventually confronts the truth of his origins.

This book was a little different from Gaiman’s other novels. While most of his books contain driving narratives that propel you forward in the singular story, the Graveyard Book is actually a series of vignettes showing us key moments in Bod’s life. We literally follow the child from barely a year old to the age of 15. It is only the continuing threat of the murderer Jack that provides cohesion throughout the book. There are eight chapters, and really it is only chapters one and seven that serve the overall narrative.

But this way of telling the story had an immense charm to it. Bod is an extremely likable character. Unlike too many other child characters, he is neither precocious, nor do you feel stupidity or ignorance land him in the hot water situations he finds himself in. There is an incredible innocence to Bod that is so refreshing. I was a particular fan of the chapter where Bod goes to school. His observations and the ultimate revelation of where he went wrong struck a very deep chord in me.

Because, in the end, the Graveyard Book is a tale of growing up. While it may be steeped in fantasy, filled with vampires, werewolves, ghouls, ghosts and magic, it really comes down to a tale about a boy becoming a man, and learning that eventually, he has to stand on his own two feet.

I loved this book. The only real complaint I have is that I want more. I want to know more about what happens to Bod. I want more of Silas, his obviously vampiric gaurdian. I can only hope that someday Mr. Gaiman decides to let us in on more of their stories.

Until then, go a find a copy of the Graveyard book. I highly recommend it!

I’m sure more and more of these will be popping up. Neil Gaiman has a new book on the way (The Graveyard Book, which has gotten some high advance praise) so I’m sure everyone and their neighbour will be wanting to talk to him.

For now, here’s one from the website Good Reads

The link to the interview is below;

http://www.goodreads.com/interviews/show/12.Neil_Gaiman?utm_medium=email&utm_source=Sep_newsletter

Saw this on Neil Gaiman’s site (I wish my site was so popular that people sent me cool links on a regular basis…). It’s a site that collects blogs that are made up of only 1 post. Sounds cool. I’ll post the link here for my, and anyone else who happens by’s, later use.

http://1post1der.blogspot.com/