Affliction is the next Anita Blake novel, ya'll. It's called Affliction. And it's a novel. About Anita Blake. Because if you're visiting my blog you MIGHT not be up on this whole novel title thing, which is what I've been harping on for the last SIXTEEN BLOG POSTS, so I'm going to say it six zillion more times so you don't get it confuzzled with another title.
I do...not actually have that thing with beginnings, but that explains a LOT about LKH as a writer. I usually get middles, climaxes and endings, and I have to figure out how to get characters A B and D (C, sadly, shall die halfway through) to the parts i do have without boring the hell out of people. With her, the beginnings are good, the middles are OH GOD DID YOU JUST GET LOVE-JUICE ON ME and the endings are "Well, shit, we have to tie this all together now".
Bridge chapter. You know, human beings are REALLY good at connecting dots without having the lines drawn in first. The ONLY reason to have a bridge chapter is if there is a big, ugly ass troll sitting on the bridge with its hand out wanting quarters. And if for some reason you need a bridge chapter and you cannot possibly work without it, you need a troll there, too. (letting characters talk so you can develop that relationship a bit is not a bridge chapter. It's a required development chapter, and those are worse than bridges because you can't throw a troll in to keep things lively. You have to let it actually be about *the relationship*,)
But I'll bet ya fifty bucks the "bridge" is gonna be "two characters talking for no damn reason, because maybe you forgot the thing we talked about TWO PAGES AGO. (and the book is named Affliction, just in case you forgot)"
LKH either sucks at writing, or she thinks her audience is twelve.
no subject
I do...not actually have that thing with beginnings, but that explains a LOT about LKH as a writer. I usually get middles, climaxes and endings, and I have to figure out how to get characters A B and D (C, sadly, shall die halfway through) to the parts i do have without boring the hell out of people. With her, the beginnings are good, the middles are OH GOD DID YOU JUST GET LOVE-JUICE ON ME and the endings are "Well, shit, we have to tie this all together now".
Bridge chapter. You know, human beings are REALLY good at connecting dots without having the lines drawn in first. The ONLY reason to have a bridge chapter is if there is a big, ugly ass troll sitting on the bridge with its hand out wanting quarters. And if for some reason you need a bridge chapter and you cannot possibly work without it, you need a troll there, too. (letting characters talk so you can develop that relationship a bit is not a bridge chapter. It's a required development chapter, and those are worse than bridges because you can't throw a troll in to keep things lively. You have to let it actually be about *the relationship*,)
But I'll bet ya fifty bucks the "bridge" is gonna be "two characters talking for no damn reason, because maybe you forgot the thing we talked about TWO PAGES AGO. (and the book is named Affliction, just in case you forgot)"
LKH either sucks at writing, or she thinks her audience is twelve.