by Anne Glynn
Anne Glynn.com
  • Anne Glynn - Books by Anne & Glynn
  • What's New
  • Books & Such
  • The Newsletter Thing

Fixin' to talk about Texas.

6/29/2017

7 Comments

 
Picture
Let me offer one last "how to write popular fiction" tip. Dean Koontz has adopted it in his latest opus (which, by the way, nails most of the earlier points I mentioned) so you're in good company if you choose to do the same. Write short chapters. Embarrassingly short chapters. You've tapped out five pages that exist as a single moment in time? Now they're a chapter! You've just completed a single page that connects to nothing else in the story line? Another chapter!
  
James Patterson is famous for using buckets of chapters in his books -- some of those chapters are no longer than a paragraph -- and he's done okay in the book biz. When Dean adopted the shorter-is-better philosophy for The Silent Corner, he was simply following in the master's footsteps. I've heard a couple of theories as to why the bite-sized chapter is so popular. One of my friends, Sue, believes multiple chapters creates an artificial sense of urgency to a story. Look how quickly those chapters are flying by! -- and the reader doesn't have time to be bored before another chapter has come along. The Good Witch says she thinks it's because today's readers are so easily distracted, they lose their train of thought if they have to stop mid-chapter...so make every chapter so short, they NEVER have to stop mid-chapter. And, yes, the readers might lose their train of thought, anyway, but they won't puzzle over it for long because they have a new chapter to read! 
 
I'm not a fan of the nugget-length chapter, but I'm in the minority here. All I know is, my next manuscript is going to have thirty chapters because that's the deal I made months ago. So how am I doing on that manuscript? I managed absolutely zip-a-dee-doo-dah work on my writing this week. Instead I went to San Antonio. The picture above? A not very good shot of San Antonio.

Picture
It was a last minute thing, this trip, but it provided an opportunity for us to see, hug, and kiss some family members that we haven't seen, hugged, or kissed for much too long. We rented a car, drove for two days, and did the Airbnb thing when we got into Texas. Neither of us had ever been to Texas or San Antonio before, so we hugged/kissed, did the River Walk, ate gloriously-delicious Mexican food, and touristed our way over to the Alamo.
 
When one of our family members asked if we wanted to see the Alamo, I told him, "I think I've heard of that. What is the Alamo, exactly?" "You don't remember the Alamo?!" he replied, shocked, and I told him I was only kidding. I don't think he believed me. This is my cell phone shot of the Alamo, which is much smaller than I imagined from the movies. It was fun to see but, overall, my feeling is I won't need to see it again for a decade or so.

Picture
We made some lovely new friends (but they refused to move to Arizona, so we'll probably see them as often as we see the Alamo) and had such a good time, we decided we didn't even mind the long drive, the damage to our bank account, or the mosquitoes that fed upon us as if we were the insect-version of gloriously-delicious Mexican food.
 
But then there was the heat....
 
How hot was it? This is the gooey image of the vitamins I left in the car one morning, and only remembered by the afternoon. It was sweltering in Texas, sweltering in New Mexico, and sweltering in Arizona when we returned. When we stopped for lunch in Phoenix, it was 119 degrees. But it was, according to Glynn, "A dry heat. A terrible, strength-sapping, life-devouring dry heat" so we had that going for us.
 
Now that I'm home, it's time to focus on that slow-growing manuscript. If this is the last blog you see for a few weeks, please know I'm hard at work, trying to finish...well, some piece of the story. It's time, don't you think?

7 Comments
A.S. Akkalon link
7/1/2017 12:38:40 pm

I have accidentally long chapters because I write in scenes with no thought to which should fit together as a unit, and then I edit, cut some scenes and add others. The result? A lot of chapters in the 6k to 8k range, and some that are 300 words. I'll fix it eventually. Probably.

I got all excited when I read you say "What is the Alamo, exactly?" I thought, "Finally, someone is going to explain this weird word that keeps coming up in TV programmes and may or may not have something to do with Native Americans." But then you were only kidding that you didn't know, whereas I'm serious. But I'm not American so I figure it's okay for me to not know.

Reply
Anne
7/1/2017 01:58:34 pm

I've always enjoyed reading chapters in the 6-8k range, but I'm the last of a dying breed, apparently. Many of today's novels seem to embrace the more chapters, the better theory. Your 300 word pieces can absolutely be a chapter.

Fantasy novels are a different sort of beast, I believe. The most popular ones seem to have enormous page counts and their chapters go on and on. You'll be fine.

Reply
A.S. Akkalon link
7/1/2017 07:16:31 pm

I'm allowed to go on and on? Yay! That makes me feel so much more hopeful about my editing. :)

I have noticed that chapters have been getting shorter in recent years. I guess we're all getting dumber. ;)

Reply
Anastasia Abboud link
7/15/2017 08:44:58 pm

Your description of your time in Texas is just hilarious! Thank you for the laugh. I live in Houston and can certainly empathize.
I wish you the best with your chapters, short or long.

Reply
Anne
7/16/2017 09:48:51 am

Anastasia, what a wonderful name you have! If I shared your name, I'd almost have to be an international spy. It's almost a given.

Glynn felt the women in Texas were exceptionally pretty. Which means, we won't be returning to Texas for quite awhile. :)

Thanks for dropping by.

Reply
Alice
6/3/2019 09:10:40 pm

Hey there! I'm a big fan of your books and I was wondering what happened to you and if you were going to continue your One Bride for Seven Brothers series? Back in 2016 I was pregnant and couldn't do much but read. I discovered your books on Amazon and they became my guilty pleasure. I read all your different books you have listed on Amazon and enjoyed each one. I followed your blog and read your updates when you posted them and saw you were writing a new book on your own and also had the Seven Brothers series with your husband going on. Every so often I check back in because I want to know how the Seven Brothers series ends but it's been years now. Are you ever going to publish another book? Anyways just wanted to pop in and say I'm a big fan of your books. Thanks for writing the ones you did publish. They entertained me through a terrible pregnancy where I was on bed rest from around 6 months to giving birth. After my c-section your variety of books continued to entertain me. I hate never reading the ending to a series and always wondered how you were going to end Seven Brothers and if you ever finished the new book you were writing on your own. I hope you are healthy and well. Thanks again for some great stories to entertain me through a rough spell in life.

Reply
Anne
6/4/2019 04:54:56 pm

Thanks so much for your comments, Alice. You have no idea how they've lifted my spirits.

I haven't disappeared, and neither has Glynn. I hadn't realized how long it's been since I updated the blog! This weekend, I'll put up a new post (assuming I remember how) and share some of what's been happening.

Thanks for not giving up on the Seven Brothers. It was taking us too long between brothers, so Glynn and I vowed to finish writing the series before we released the next story. We're currently mid-way through the last novella!

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    I'm on Facebook

    ... but, really, the good stuff is posted here.



    Welcome!

    At the back of my paperbacks and e-books, you'll find this:
     
    A collector of vintage Barbies and younger boyfriends, Anne Glynn currently resides in the American Southwest.
     
    The truth is a little more complicated. I'm Anne and my S.W.P. (Significant Writing Partner) is Glynn. Together, we write as 'Anne Glynn'.
     
    However, I am a collector of vintage Barbies and I have, on occasion, collected the younger boyfriend. Not so much these days.
     
    I'm glad you're here.
     

    Archives

    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    July 2020
    December 2019
    June 2019
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.