Tag: The Miles Between

Posted in Books, Reading

Quiet Books: Can I hear a YES?!

Posted on by beckylevine

Remember “edgy?” Okay, the word is still here. And I like it–I like edgy books. I admire the strength these authors put into their words, the sharp and almost painful voice with which their narrators tell their stories, and the power that pulls me in and keeps me turning the page, at times faster than I can really keep up with.

BUT…

I also like books that AREN’T this way. Lately, I’ve heard the word “quiet” tossed around. People are talking about it on Twitter & Facebook. Writers are trying to figure out what it means, when they hear it from publishers and agents, and they’re trying to figure out–I think–if it has to be a bad thing. Because I think there is some sense out there that it may, indeed, be something that, well…won’t help your book get picked up and sold.

Honestly, I hope that’s not true. Not only because I suspect that my own writing may be more quiet than…edgy? Loud? Whatever that other thing is? But because–if my understanding of quiet books is right–I value them so much for the reading experience they bring me that I don’t want to see them go away.

I’ve been thinking about a few authors whose books I’ve read–some recently, some not so recently–books that I think of as “quiet.” (Some of these authors have also written what I’d called edgier books that I also loved, but I’m not talking about those today.) I’m going to name these books, and I want you all to take this labeling as a STRONG recommendation to go out and read them. Because they’re all incredible, powerful writers. Just…in a different way.

All of these books, like the edgy ones, deal with teens who face problems. BIG problems. MODERN problems. The two things that seem to be different, to me, are the pacing and the voice.

These books don’t rush. I’m not sure the edgy ones do, either, but I find myself rushing through them, often, to find out what’s coming next. These “quiet” stories don’t feel slow, I just feel like I have time to sit with them, to follow the explorations the author is making into character and choices and connections and to make my own explorations at the same time.

The narrative voices in these books also give me time. Somehow, there is a strength of character in the hero (even if they’re not 1st person, we’re almost always getting the story through the hero’s perspective) that makes me feel confident and safe. I’m not saying I read their stories knowing that they’ll be okay, or expecting a predictable ending. That’s not it. It’s that somehow I believe the hero has the strength to make it through their pain and their experiences, and that strength lets me breathe a bit more slowly and read for HOW they’re going to do that–to watch their choices with curiosity, sympathy, and hope.

I’m not doing this very well–telling you what I like so much about these books, without sounding like I’m putting down the others. Honestly, I like them all. I just get sad when I hear writers worrying about whether they shouldn’t write these books. I want to stand up and shout, wave my arm frantically to get their attention, and say, “Yes! Please! Keep writing!”  I want to tell them that I crave their kind of story, and that I’m not the only one who feels that way.

Am I? 🙂

Posted in Secrets

The Power of a Secret

Posted on by beckylevine

I’m just reading Mary E. Pearson’s The Miles Between. It’s a fun read, less intense than Pearson’s last book, The Adoration of Jenna Fox. There’s something, though, that Pearson does in both books–beautifully.

She gives her MC a secret.

In The Adoration of Jenna Fox, the secret is a biggie. A BIGGIE. I’m only about 2/3 through The Miles Between, so I don’t know whether the secret that Des, the MC in The Miles Between, is carrying is as big in itself. I do know that the secret carries, for Des, as much weight as Jenna’s does for her. And I know that Pearson uses both secrets to carry tension through out both stories.

How to do that?

Here’s what I’m coming up with.

  • Know that secret perfectly. Know every detail, how every person involved impacted that secret and was impacted by it.
  • Don’t let your MC know the whole secret at the start. Leave a surprise for her. Otherwise, when you get to the end, the reader will get a discovery, but your MC won’t. And I’m pretty sure that will make the moment fall flat.
  • Know your MC’s understanding of that secret. If she knew about “it” when it happened, how did she sit it. As the story opens, what is her understanding of/interpretation of that secret? How many of the actual facts of that secret is she aware of. And what will her view of it be at when the story ends. (I’m guessing you could/should leave her reaction to learning the whole truth)
  • Make your hints concrete. Honestly, pet peeve here, but nothing drives me more crazy (as a reader and an editor) than vague hints about something we don’t know. That’s just being vague about vague. Find a way to slip in something solid, without giving away the secret. Just enough to make the reader say, “Ooh,” and “Hmm,” and try to add together all the little specifics you’ve given them and figure out what’s coming. And then feel deliciously happy that they can’t yet, but still know it’s coming.
  • Craft the right moments to place the hints. Yes, the hints have power of their own–they can take a happy moment and turn it dark; they can take a seemingly normal day and fill it with suspense. But you can’t just write a scene, remember that your readers need a reminder of the secret, and drop in the hint. The hint has to arise from the actions and interactions in that scene, at that moment. It has to connect with what your character is doing, saying, and thinking. If you know that it’s “time” for a hint, but the scene you’re writing doesn’t support it…rewrite the scene. My guess is you’ll give it a lot more power when you do.

To see solid examples of what I’m talking about, I really recommend reading either or both of these books. As I said, Jenna’s story is incredibly intense and Des’ has a very different pace. So I think reading both would be the way to go, see how the secret thing is handled in two very different stories. I have a secret I want to weave into my WIP, and my plan is to go back to both of these books & really take apart what Pearson is doing. (Jordan reminded me with her comment below that I wanted to ask for any other examples you’ve got for books that do the secret thing. I’d love to hear any other titles.)

Then I’ll see if I can come even close to doing it as well. 🙂