Kae Cheatham's Blog: Whoa! Another Author?, page 23

QUIZ

Here's the first Literary quiz. I will post a quiz every Sunday, with additional information posted on Monday.

Name the protagonist in James Fenimore Cooper's historical, Satanstoe
Natty Bumppo

Leatherstocking

Corny Littlepage

Susan DeLancey

none of the above

?? Here's the correct answer.

Active Senior

Now that I qualify for this marketing category of "senior," I'm really conscious of how my peers are represented in books. Several mystery writers have had senior protagonists, but most often in the Cozies and the protagonist is a bit ditzy and whimsical. The Man from Yesterday by Seymour Shubin offers a a fresh character with senior status.

In this mystery, retired police detective Jack Lehman becomes embroiled in investigating a heist that hasn't yet been reported to the police. In his seventies, Lehman can't always recall details on demand, and the local constabulary thinks he's a bit balmy--even when his life is threatened. Nonetheless, Lehman is doggedly active, aggressive and creative in his search for the truth. His emotional relationships with wife and son, as well as memories from the past, are also interesting.

Shubin has created a believable character and good supporting cast in this intriguing story.

GITP Guest

Check out the Linda Sandifer's guest post at the GITP blog.

There are times when I am absolutely bummed out by author...

There are times when I am absolutely bummed out by authors having too many "main" characters and switching point of view. They hop from one character's head to another. It has always seemed to be a quick fix way to tell a story. Rather than working out the literary strategies to relate a story from just one or two protagonists, the head hopping allows information to come forth without much stylistic creativity. Yet there are times…

When reading David Brin's Kiln People and Garcia-Roza's
Southwesterly Wind I was struck by how appropriate it was to move in thought from character to character. I'll admit it took me a while to see the stylistic value in Garcia-Roza's book, but by the end, I knew it had to be written that way.

Both of those books were written by authors whom I consider skilled wordsmiths. I'm certain they thought out the complexities and made a conscious decision to employ this style.

In contrast, I think too many contemporary writers give viewpoints from many characters because they don't want to take the time to properly develop their story. They might consider this an "omniscient" viewpoint—where they can tell all, see all. But the omniscient style is much more distinctive, with the "narrator" having a distinctive voice and attitude. I like that style, and see very little of it.

Telling the BackStory

Here are two books that have different and effective ways of telling the backstory. The tactic often used is a direct narrative about the past, but these authors were more creative.

In the historical piece, The Diezmo, Rick Bass used a first-person narrative, and the reader learns right at the beginning that the story is a remembrance, told fifty-years after the fact. This allows information to be presented that the narrator wouldn't have known at the time, and we're told that:"...he always paused near the end. It was not until much later...that I found out he had been skipping a sentence..." (page 11). Background information about characters is given ("$1400 worth of jewelry…")--precise facts that the narrator wouldn't have known at the time. Bass could also relate incidents about other people who weren't in the narrator's presence--information the narrator learned during the ensuing 50 years ("John Alexander and his group spent the rest of the day lying in that pool...In the meantime--never dreaming of Alexander's success...")

The book's Epilogue reinforces the fifty years that have past before the telling, and gives closure to the story.

The other title is contemporary. In Blue Dog, Green River author Brock Brower chose to make his first-person narrator the recipient of a story. The "I" character is river rafting with a friend, and the friend, Paul, tells the story. Opening lines: "'I spaced the dog [Blue Dog].' Paul Nozik started telling me his story up on a Navaho sandstone ledge..."

The narrator isn't really a participant in the story, but the verbose Paul tells it all, including the background of other characters, the geology of the region, and more. The reader is reminded of the passive narrator on occasion: "Paul stood up, dusting his palms, you could see excited. He does love to tell you the best part of a story…He got me up, politely dragging me along for company, talking his way around to the far side of this squared-off limestone." Brower breaks up Paul's storytelling with chapters from Blue Dog's perspective, in an omniscient narration rich in language and detail.

Both authors kept their stories short (Blue Dog, Green River - 108 pages, The Diezmo- 208 pages) and I enjoyed reading these well-crafted books.

Character Variety

An interesting article popped up in my inbox from the newsletter I receive at my Books & Writers site. Written by Noah Lukeman, (author and literary agent) he gives a detailed examination of what type of characters compel readers. In his article "The Importance of the Journey" he writes:

"...The task of the writer is to create characters...on the verge of change, characters that will, in some way, be unrecognizable by the end of the work...."

The detail given to support and implement his premise is very compelling, but it shouldn't be taken as an absolute. It depends on what you're writing.

Historical fiction and romances benefit from the character's journey. In mysteries, however, where a series will have an ongoing detective character, it would be tedious to have each new title fraught with the main character having some major angst and changing by the end of the book.

To me, the "going through a change" type story a bit like a morality play. It seems rather nice for the naïve and is especially good in fiction for young readers. I've written YA books, and know that teaching some imperative is vital. But it seems quite easy to predict what will happen if the character is set up to 1) suffer some ignominious circumstance; 2) recognize the pitfalls; 3) make a change for the better. Ho hum. (Lukeman does represent screen plays, however, and to me it seems that writing for film most times fits into the "naïve" category.)

I'm drawn to stories that present "slice of life" situations, where characters don't always solve their dilemma as a denouement of the story. A book I truly enjoyed was The Secret of Hurricanes, by Theresa Williams, where we meet a troubled, but interesting person and follow her through situations of pain as well as glory. In the end we see what she has become, although it's not a given that SHE sees what she's become.

Jan Blensdorf's My name is Sei Shōnagon has a similar development. We have learned what made this character who she is today. I'm happy with that.
Perhaps this might be what differentiates "popular" fiction from "literary" fiction. Both of the titles I referenced are probably considered the latter.

This all just shows that "what's sauce for the goose, ain't sauce for the gander." My opinions versus Lukeman's are why there are myriad fiction books produced each year.

Three cheers for variety!

Book Distractions

I often find elements in a novel that pull me away from the story or theme. A few years ago I read Jeremy Jackson's first novel, Life At These Speeds. This contemporary novel, written in first person, is a convincing depiction of an adolescent's four-year coming to grips with death and loss. The setting of track and field events is persuasive, with high school and college administrators bending the rules to get their hands on primo athletes. A good sense of place in the Midwestern environment.

Drawbacks: Jackson's use of ridiculous names for most characters (except for protagonist Kevin and the coach he likes) belittled the serious themes in the book.

Yet perhaps Jackson was attempting to give some levity to a serious and often troublesome topic. I guess it's akin to the way some people twitter, laugh and giggle when something controversial is mentioned—especially something dark. It becomes a way to relieve tension, or draw emotions from a debilitating concern. But I found the names distracting.

What story elements distract you?

Friends Find Venue

In the closing of Bookstores post I mentioned that the authors of A SEASON OF DARKNESS had lost their opening book signing because of the David-Kidd closing. The dilemma didn't last long. The book signing has officially been moved to Borders at 7:00 Wednesday, Dec. 8.

Borders!? I didn't know there were any of those left.

So while the demise of Davis-Kidd was mourned, it's nice to know that Nashville hasn't been left without major bookstores. In fact, the other book signings by Gobbell and Jones will be at Mysteries & More and Sherlock's Downtown.(These are the types of stores I prefer...But more on that later.)

The town also has a Books-A-Million and several large new/used bookstores.

Whatever. Mid-TN folks, mark your calendar to visit with Doug and Phyllis at Borders (you know where it is).

Contact-- Finally

I while back I contacted the Barnes & Noble "corrections" department and asked them to consolidate my meager titles under one name. Contact was made by e-mail with an addie given to me by the rep in the distribution department. I hadn't been able to find a single link on the site for "customer" or "author" service.

So I e-mailed my request. Received nada in return and after two days with no changes to my B&N page, I assumed my missive didn't get through.

So I emailed my request again--this time with a delivery confirmation tag and a return receipt request. Ah! Delivery confirmation! but that was it.

Yet when I visited my B&N page the next day, my titles were consolidated as I had asked.

Wouldn't you think a company with a big online presence would at least have an auto-responder to let people know they "heard" you?

Story and Characters Should Be Memorable

I started reading a book from my public library and as I went along (page 5, page 6) I thought, This sounds familiar. I moved on through more pages alternating from interest in the story to confusion because it seemed to ring of another book I'd read. No It wasn't the same book. I began to think, Plagiarism? This is so blatantly like that other book!

Perplexed, I turned to the front matter to see if I could sort out the conundrum. The thing was, neither the author's name nor the character names rang a bell, nor did the location--only pieces of the back story -- a terrible crash into a canal where the wife doesn't get saved until hours after the husband (in shock and with a broken collar bone) has been rescued. She is still in a coma a few years later.

Then I find the connection in fine print on one of the front pages that was still attached to the next page (sign of a new book). The character was the same as in the author's first book.

Ah, yes! I thought, glad to have the connection.

But...

I can't recall a thing about the first book except for the car crash. I don't remember the story line, or any resolution. I have vague memory of the protagonist in his wife's hospital room, but wouldn't have been able to name his profession if I hadn't picked up this second book.

Although this is probably a fluke on my part -- not being focused when I read the first book, or lacking interest in the story (so many readers--not everyone will like the same thing) --but it points out how important it is to develop fiction that is compelling through both the story and the character.

Author and Writer's Digest columnist Nancy Kress, in her book Characters, Emotions & Viewpoint states "Characters are the common denominator in fiction…without believable and interesting characters, you don't really have fiction at all…Character is the key." She points out how both plot and story depend on character.

So what does that say about this book I couldn't remember? Hmm.