Category Archives: #amwriting

What’s in a Title – Guest Post by Jane Corry

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by Debbie Burke

@burke_writer

Author Jane CorryToday please welcome author Jane Corry, bestselling thriller author from the UK. Her books have sold more than a million copies in 20 countries. She’s also a magazine feature writer and columnist. For three years, she was the writer in residence at a high security male prison.

An important choice we authors grapple with is  what to call a book. Jane graciously shares her experience in today’s guest post: 

WHAT’S IN A TITLE?

 

‘Never judge a book by its cover.’ Or so the saying goes.

If I was re-writing this advice, I’d say, ‘Always judge a book by its title.’

At least that’s what many of us seem to do when choosing our next read (including me).

Before I got published, I never really thought about how titles were created. I certainly didn’t realise that they could take different forms and myriad conceptual stages between that first written line and the published baby.

They generally start off as a working title (the one which the author initially thinks of) and then metamorphosise during various meetings and edits.

Now, some 19 books on, I realise that THE title – the one which the book finally steps out in, ready for the ball – is a mixture of fluke, getting it right first time, and arduous, handwringing, plus increasingly urgent emails and discussions on behalf of both publisher and author.

To make it even more complicated, the various departments of the publishing company might well have different views. The sales team, for example, might like one title; publicity, another, and the editor yet a third. (Or 63rd as in the case of a friend of mine.) Then there’s the author who might well be feeling distinctly unsettled by the prospect of their baby being given a new identity. Who gets the final say?

Good question. In my experience, it may well be Sales because when all is said and done, it comes down to money. Sales have a feel for what they can sell which is why they are there in the first place. But are they always right?

You won’t know until the sales figures start coming in…..

Titles also often go through trends. First person has gone down well in the last few years. ‘I did this… I did that’ on the cover, can draw in potential readers by making them identify with that ‘I’.  Two of mine were along those lines: ‘I Made A Mistake’ and ‘I Looked Away’.

Names in a title can also help because you feel you are going to be reading about a real person even though you know it’s fiction. Take ‘The Seven Husbands Of Evelyn Hugo’.

Maybe this is why my one of my favourite childhood books is ‘What Katy Did Next.’ If it had been ‘What a Little Girl Did Next’ it might not have had the same personal angle.

A question in a title is often a good bait. ‘Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before?’ is screaming to be picked up. Indeed, it’s been in the top ten charts for months

The titles, which I feel have worked best for my books, include the ones which just fell into my head. For example, ‘I Died On A Tuesday’ came to me when I was cycling down to the promenade for my daily swim in the sea and nearly got knocked off my bike.

This is exactly what happens to Janie, my heroine. (Spoiler – she survives.)

Ironically, I’d already written this scene in the draft of the as yet untitled novel I was currently working on.

My near-miss as well as the irony, really shook me up. My life could have changed in a second. It was scary. But also inspirational. This, I realised, was my way of getting fear into my title – usually a good bait.

I also wanted the reader to wonder how the unknown ‘I’ in the title could be dead, if the protagonist is still talking?

The specificness of a certain day hopefully makes the story feel more real and relatable. But why a Tuesday and not any other day of the week? My gut instinct told me that  the word had a certain tuneful lilt which lifted the spirits to balance the word ‘Died’.

I was very relieved when the publishers didn’t even discuss my ‘I Died On A Tuesday’  title because they liked it. Phew! It felt like scoring a strike in bowling – something I usually leave to my grandchildren.  Early reviewers even said lovely things like ‘Great title’. Fingers crossed for sales when it comes out on June 6. (Details at the end!)

Sometimes brainstorming can help. When I started writing crime (without an agent or editor), I came up with ‘My Husband’s New Wife’. Then  I floated the title past a friend, who suggested “My Husband’s Wife.’

Technically this isn’t quite accurate because the fictional woman in question is the new wife. But it trips off the tongue better and sounds more intriguing. I will be eternally grateful to that friend. In return, I help other authors brainstorm their titles too.

Every now and then, a chance remark can inspire a title. For some years now, I’ve been swimming in the sea every morning with a friend who lives over the road. One weekend, she turned up on a new orange bike. I admired it. ‘Yes,’ she said. ‘It belonged to the dead ex.’ (Rather sadly, she’d had to clear out her former husband’s possessions after his death.)

‘Wow,’ I said. ‘May I use that as a title please?’ And so my third book ‘The Dead Ex’ was born.

If you are really stuck, you could try that old trick of putting words in different cups and picking some out at random. Or you could go through sayings/ proverbs/ favourite song titles and adapt them. Always keep your ears open for something that someone says which strikes a chord and has title potential.

Escapist titles are popular because it helps us remove ourselves from our everyday lives and problems. A friend of mine who isn’t a writer says she’ll buy anything with ‘sunshine’ or ‘mermaid’ in it.

Certain titles work even better when the ‘sell’ on the cover explains or amplifies the significance.  I recently heard about a writer called Rebecca Paulinyi who’d had a stroke and went onto write a rom com. She called it ‘At the Stroke of 30’.  The blurb explained that it was about a heroine who had to re-evaluate her life after having a stroke on the eve of her thirtieth birthday. Brilliant.

Alliteration is also catching. (‘The Secret Seven’ comes to mind as I write this sentence.)

So does a touch of menace. My current novel in the US and Canada is called ‘Coming To Find You’.  It’s a time-slip set in the Second World War in a small Devon village and the present-day where Nancy is hiding in the same house, 80 years on.

Nancy’s stepbrother has escaped from prison and is about to break in through her kitchen window. My publisher, agent and I did have quite a lot of discussion about this title and I’m very grateful that they went for my own suggestion, ‘Coming To Find You’, which has, I felt, a combination of that sing-song childhood hide-and-seek game along with an underlying threat. That book got to number 7 in the Sunday Times.

Sometimes I think that maybe the best way to write a novel is to think of a really gripping title first before writing. Then use the title as a basis for the idea. It might certainly help someone who isn’t sure what to write about and will hopefully get some great sales!

Meanwhile, you can follow me at janecorryauthor on Twitter/X; Instagram; Tik Tok and Facebook. My website is janecorryauthor.com

The digital edition of I DIED ON A TUESDAY is out on June 6th.  If you wanted to make my day and order, just go to:  https://www.amazon.co.uk/Died-Tuesday-gripping-thriller-bestselling-ebook/dp/B0CNT62W14

The paperback edition is out on June 20th. You can find me in bookshops, supermarkets and online.

If you’re in the US or Canada, you can order on the following links:

Canada: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/735469/coming-to-find-you-by-jane-corry/9780385697880

US: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/735469/coming-to-find-you-by-jane-corry/

Meanwhile, good luck with your next title. I hope this helps……

~~~

Jane, thanks for these great tips! Best wishes on a successful launch! 

~~~

TKZers: How do you choose a title? Do Jane’s suggestions inspire you? 

Sugar Daddies: Sweet Treats or Sticky Situations?

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By Elaine Viets

Long before “sugar daddy” was a popular term, rich, older men gave pretty young women money and expensive presents for companionship or sex.

Call them protectors, benefactors or Santa baby, sugar daddies have been celebrated in operas, pop songs, movies, and television.

Puccini’s 1898 opera, La Boheme, has two sugar daddies. The Viscount is Mimi’s protector and rich, old Alcindoro keeps the brassy Musetta in fine clothes. Movies from “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” to “Pretty Woman,” are variations on the sugar daddy theme.

Where did the term come from?

The Ginger website says, “The word ‘sugar’ has been slang for money and luxury since the mid-19th century, and defines the nature of the relationship between the couple. The word ‘daddy’ was slang among prostitutes for an older man since the 16th century, and refers to the age difference between the two.

“Sugar daddy” has been used since the beginning of the 20th century, supposedly when Adolph Spreckels, heir to the Spreckel’s sugar fortune, married a woman 24 years younger, who called him “Sugar Daddy.”

That’s one theory, anyway. In the 1920s, a candy called Papa Sucker, (no, I’m not kidding) was born. In 1932, the sucker was renamed Sugar Daddy to suggest “a wealth of sweetness” according to Tootsie Roll Inc.

Yeah, right. I’ll ignore the fact that a Sugar Daddy is a sucker

The company didn’t try to explain the smaller, chewy Sugar Babies.

By that time, it was pretty clear that sugar daddy and sugar baby had nothing to do with candy.

About ten years ago, sugar daddies went online, and there are many sites where wealthy, older men can meet sweet young things. It’s called sugaring, or sugar dating. Some young women claim they’re sugar babies to pay for college, or enjoy luxury travel.

Is sugar dating prostitution?

Depends. A Texas law firm says, “Dating partners of all ages often exchange gifts or help each other with financial obligations. This does not break the law. However, many sugar baby relationships do blur the lines between relationships and prostitution. In Texas, it is illegal to offer sexual conduct for money. It is also illegal to pay a fee for sexual conduct.”

I use this modern twist on sugar daddies in “A Scarlet Death,” my new Angela Richman mystery. Selwyn Skipton, a rich, respectable old man, is found strangled on black satin sheets.

Turns out Selwyn had a secret life. He was a sugar daddy. Here’s a section from “A Scarlet Death” where death investigator Angela Richman tried to explain sugar dating to a sceptacal Det. Jace Budewitz. They are in a Chouteau Forest coffee shop, reading the late Selwyn’s computer files.

Jace brought another round of coffee, and we read in silence for about half an hour until I hit pay dirt. “Jace, you won’t believe this. Selwyn was a sugar daddy.”

“You mean like in the movies? A rich old guy who buys diamonds and gifts for pretty young women?”

“Sort of. Sugar daddies don’t have to wait by the stage door to pick up blondes any more. Now they can find them on the internet.”

“Of course they can,” Jace said.

“Selwyn used a site called DatingDaddies.com. From what I can figure out, he’s dated several sugar babies. The website says, ‘Sugar babies are young, attractive women paid to provide “companionship” to their daddy.’

“That word, ‘companionship’ is in quotes,” I added. “Here’s the rest: ‘Daddies may give their sugar babies presents or help pay their rent. The degree of intimacy is between the daddy and his sugar baby.’

“I can almost see the wink,” I said.

“Here’s an ad Selwyn saved for a sugar baby named Tammi.”

I read it out loud:

‘“I am twenty-one, a sweet, fun-loving business major. I want a Daddy with a kind heart. I prefer mature Daddies. I don’t smoke, but I do enjoy champagne and good conversation. Color me passionate about art. I love to talk about it, especially nineteenth-century artists. Or, if you want to have a quiet evening, Daddy, I’m a terrific listener. I’ll do my best to make you happy. I would love to find a business-savvy Sugar Daddy. In my free time I like to read and go for long walks.’

“Get this, Jace. Her username is Clover Honey.”

“Is this for real?” Jace asked. His eyes were round.

“Definitely. There are a zillion sugar baby websites. Tammi uses a pretty standard headline for her bio. It says, ‘Let’s have a secret.’ I see that one a lot.”

“What’s the difference between a sugar baby and a prostitute?” Jace asked.

“Not much,” I said. “But I’m old-fashioned. Sugar babies who charge outright often have ‘P2P’ in their ads. That means ‘pay to play.’ Most just want gifts or rent money.”

“If those men give their sugar babies money, that’s prostitution in my book,” Jace said.

“I’m not arguing with you, but sugar babies seem to be good at rationalization. Supposedly, many of them are college students trying to avoid student debt.”

“Right,” Jace said. “And strippers have hearts of gold and only take off their clothes to help their sick old mothers.”

Jace was usually more open-minded. I shrugged and said, “Just passing on the information.”

“Any photos of this Tammi sugar baby?”

“Yes, but her face is either hidden or in shadow in all three photos. In one photo she’s hugging a big chocolate Labrador, and all I can see is her long, blonde hair. In another, she’s wearing a teeny red bikini, and her face is shadowed by a big straw sunhat. In the third photo, she’s peering through palm tree fronds. About all I can see in any of the photos is long blonde hair, long legs and a big bust.”

“How can a sugar daddy make a decision, if he can’t see the woman’s face?”

“From what I’ve read, if a daddy is serious, the sugar baby will send photos so the man can see her face.”

Jace shook his head. “Sounds dangerous for both parties.”

“It is,” I said. “Sugar daddies have been blackmailed and some were murdered when they quit forking over cash. Sugar babies have been raped when they didn’t put out, and even killed.”

“That’s what I thought,” Jace said. “So these sugar babies have the same risks as hookers.”

“Seems like it. The sugar babies are paid well for it,” I said. “This file says Selwyn paid Tammi $85,000 in six months.”

Jace whistled. “I bet none of the women in the Forest are sugar babies.”

“Ha. You’d be surprised. I’m guessing some are. Sugar babies can be rich, bored, young women who want a short walk on the wild side, or their real daddies have cut off their allowance and the women want designer clothes.”

“That’s just greedy,” Jace said.

“May I ask why you seem to hate sugar babies?”

“I don’t hate them,” Jace said. “I have more respect for women who just say they’re sex workers. They don’t play games.”

What do you think about Sugar Daddies and Sugar Babies, TKZers?

 Reviewer Cynthia Chow calls my new Angela Richman mystery, “an outstanding procedural that depicts Angela’s death investigations while also delving deep into class structures and the behavior of the entitled.” Win a copy at Kings River Life. https://www.krlnews.com/2024/06/a-scarlet-death-by-elaine-viets.html

 

Old Dog Learns New Trick

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by Debbie Burke

@burke_writer

 

Public domain photo

 

When it comes to learning new technology tricks, I’m definitely an old dog. But if there’s a way to learn a new trick in a program I already use, rather than having to master a whole new program, I’m thrilled.

In this case, the new trick is in Word.

Recently I stumbled on a post by Wendy Lyons Sunshine entitled How to Teach Word a Scrivener Trick on Jane Friedman’s always informative blog.

Scrivener is a popular and powerful writing program that number of TKZers use and swear by. One Scrivener feature that’s always appealed to me is the corkboard. You write each scene on a virtual index card. Then if you discover problems with timeline or continuity, you can easily rearrange scene order.

Unfortunately, despite taking several classes in Scrivener, I never mastered the learning curve.

So I continue to use Word since it’s the preferred program for most publications I write for.

For my novel first drafts, I write in scenes, separated by white space and asterisks. In later drafts, I divide scenes into chapters. Some chapters are only one scene long, others are three to five scenes.

A problem arises when I write scenes out of order. That leads to a jumble of scenes that need to be rearranged before completing the final draft.

This is where we pantsers get in trouble. You outliners in the audience, feel free to smirk here.

Eventually I have to find those out-of-order scenes buried in the 75-80K manuscript and, using cut and paste, reposition them where they should be. But locating those scenes, as well as their new position, can be a pain in the posterior.

Being old school, I write a summary of each scene on a 3X5 card. I lay the deck of cards on the living room floor and rearrange them as needed until the scene order is correct.

But…the Word doc still needs to be changed. That requires a lot of scrolling back and forth to find the right scene, highlight and cut it, then more scrolling to paste it into its new location.

Yes, outliners, I hear you snickering. If you had an outline, this problem wouldn’t come up.

But it turns out Word has a trick to mark scenes so they’re easy to find.

Now I’ll give the floor to Wendy since she explains it very well. She graciously granted permission to quote the following excerpt:

“Insert descriptive headings throughout the manuscript. You might insert a heading above each:

  • Chapter
  • Section
  • Scene
  • Any unit of content that needs to be easily identified or moved.

The goal is to clearly identify where a chunk of content begins. By default, that chunk ends where the next chunk (denoted by a heading of the same level) begins.

Assign styles:

Open Word “Styles” and assign each of the descriptive headings a standardized heading style. Assign “heading 1” style to chapter titles, then assign “heading 2” to other types of content.

Open the Navigation Pane

Now that headings are set up, open the navigation pane via View > Show > Navigation Pane. The Navigation Pane will display vertically along the left of the screen. 

Use the Navigation Pane two ways. First, you can navigate to specific content by clicking on that specific heading. Second, and most wonderfully, you can reorganize content by dragging and dropping the headings. Navigation Pane headings behave much like Scrivener’s index cards and are easily shuffled around.

Dragging a heading moves all associated content together in one bundle. This works beautifully across a large document and is far easier than trying to cut/paste/or drag blocks many pages apart.

Fiction writers can adjust this approach for their needs by crafting headings to describe POV, scene, location, interiority, backstory, etc.”

Thanks for making my life easier, Wendy!

After reading her instructions, I went through my WIP (working title Fruit of the Poisonous Tree) and chose Heading 2 for the beginning of each scene. Still using Heading 2,  I wrote a brief summary of that scene, so it stands out easily in the manuscript.

Now, within the Word doc, I can easily jump to the summary of each scene. No more wasted time, scrolling through pages, searching for the parts that need to be cut and pasted to different locations.

When the scenes are in correct order, then I’ll place the chapter breaks, using Heading 1.  That makes formatting easy for Kindle Direct Publishing and Draft2Digital.

Best of all, this new trick is within Word so I don’t need to learn a whole new program to accomplish what I need.

Photo credit: Lars Curfs CC-BY-SA-3.0

Now I’m still an old dog, but a happy one.

~~~

Many thanks to Wendy Lyons Sunshine and Jane Friedman for their kind permission to quote.

~~~

 

TKZers, were you aware of this capability in Word?

How do you keep track of scenes and rearrange them in your manuscript?

Do you know any other Word tricks to share?

Running and Writing
  and the Marathon

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Come what may, all bad fortune is to be conquered by endurance.  –Virgil

* * *

Writing a novel is often compared to running a marathon, and my experience dealing with the unexpected in the London Marathon in April 2010 was a good rehearsal for my later efforts in writing.

I’ve never been a good marathon runner. I’m better suited for the half-marathon. But in 2009, having completed three marathons (San Antonio, Vancouver, and Toronto), I decided I’d go for just one more. And I wanted to run one of the big marathons for that once-in-a-lifetime experience.

I told my husband I’d like to celebrate our anniversary in 2010 with a trip to the UK where I would run the London Marathon in honor of our marriage. Then we could spend a week or so vacationing. Frank was supportive, and for some unknown reason, I was convinced everything would go my way.

Hmm.

The major marathons are so popular that they can’t admit everyone who wants to enter. If you’re a very good runner and can meet the qualifying time for your age group, you’ll be entered. But if you’re like most runners (me, for instance) and can’t meet the qualifying time, they’ll put your name into a lottery and it’s just a matter of chance.

So when they opened the online registration in April 2009, I jumped in and registered along with 150,000 other runners. Although only about a quarter of those would get places, I was ridiculously confident. Around October, I received an email from the London Marathon notifying me that I wasn’t chosen. Rats.

But they held out another possibility. I could run for a charity. “That’s even better,” I thought. I could do a good deed as well as run the marathon. So I applied to several of the charities that I thought I’d like to support, and a few weeks later, one of them called. With about four months to go, I had cleared the first hurdle. I was in the race.

I was sure that from then on everything would be smooth sailing. (You can smile now.)

My running buddies at work were all excited that I was going to run the London, and that made me even more determined to do well. When they asked what kind of time I was planning on, I spouted off a near-impossible-for-me number. But if everything went perfectly, maybe I could make it.

Everything did not go perfectly.

  • Our treadmill, on which I was doing almost half of my training, broke. We needed a new one anyway, so we bought a bigger, better model. A few days of training lost.
  • I injured my knee in a tempo run. A couple of weeks of training lost.

I had stumbled over those first hurdles, but my excitement continued to ramp up as the days ticked closer to the race. Since I suffer from jetlag on international trips, we planned to fly to London six days prior to the marathon to allow my body to adjust to the time change before the race. But then…disaster.

  • A few days before our scheduled departure, I woke up to the news that a volcano in Iceland had erupted, volcanic ash was drifting over western Europe, and airports were closing. Heathrow was one of them. Our flight was cancelled.

You can overcome a lot of obstacles. But a volcano? Time to throw in the towel.

But then the winds shifted, and airports reopened. We managed to get on a flight that put us in London in the early morning hours of Friday before Sunday’s race day. Okay, so my jetlag would be a problem, but the excitement of the race would probably overcome that. (Are you laughing yet?)

I dragged myself out of bed on race day after just a few hours of sleep to discover there were more obstacles: the weather was warm (not good) and it was drizzling rain (super not good). Frank and I agreed on where we’d meet after the race, and he walked me to the starting area to join the other thirty-seven thousand people who had paid perfectly good money to punish their bodies for 26.2 miles.

But at least I had made it to the starting line. Now all I had to do was finish.

The London Marathon is unique. It’s a big party, and many of the marathoners wear costumes. One guy was dressed in a full suit of armor and someone else was carrying a huge replica of the Angel of the North sculpture on his back.

As time ticked down to the start, you could feel the buzz in the air. After an entire year of waiting, hoping, training, and planning, the starter’s pistol fired, and we were off.

I wish I could say everything went well.

  • For the first time ever, my GPS watch malfunctioned. Bad omen.
  • Another first: I got a side stitch. At least now I can describe in a book what it feels like to be stabbed just below the ribs.
  • As the miles went on, fatigue set in, and I realized I was getting a blister on one of my heels.
  • By the time I got to the eighteen-mile mark, I was starving. I guess the time change had messed up my body clock. Honestly, if I had seen a child holding a sandwich by the side of the course, I probably would have snatched it out of the kid’s hand and run away before anyone could catch me. But there were no sandwiches, my back and foot hurt, and I was run-walking so slow that I knew I was going to turn in a terrible time.

* * *

That’s when I had THE THOUGHT. I could quit. I could just step off the course, find a volunteer to give me a cart-ride to the finish, and it would be over. I wouldn’t suffer the embarrassment of a poor showing. I’d just tell everybody I was injured and couldn’t finish. I could bandage my foot and take an Advil and eat a steak dinner and forget this stupid marathon. The whole thing was wrong from the start. Why hadn’t I seen that? Why did I have to be so stubborn when there were just too many problems to overcome?

That little exercise in self-pity and frustration got me through the next mile or two. Then I had the SECOND THOUGHT. I would cross the finish line even if I had to crawl. Even if I was the last person across. Even if they had taken down the banners and all the volunteers had gone home and I didn’t get a medal or a T-shirt. Even if my feet were bleeding so profusely that I was leaving a trail of blood behind me on the course. (Self-martyrdom can be useful in certain situations.)

And I knew no matter how long it took, Frank would be waiting for me, and I knew exactly what he’d say when he saw me. After all, this was the race to honor our marriage, not to show off my great (ha!) running talent.

Those reflections got me through another mile or two, and then I was within just a few miles of the finish, so it didn’t make sense to quit.

I crossed the finish line. I didn’t crawl, and I wasn’t the last person in the race. There were still a couple of thousand people behind me, including angel sculpture man and the guy in the suit of armor. A volunteer hung a medal around my neck and someone else handed me a T-shirt that said “LonDONE 25.04.10.” Then I walked into the meeting area and saw Frank waving. As I limped toward him with my hair frizzy from the rain and my clothes damp with sweat, he jogged over and put his arm around me. “Great race, honey.”

* * *

So yeah. Writing a novel, especially a first one, is a lot like running a marathon. You start out with all this enthusiasm and confidence, but then things get hard, much harder than you thought. There are unexpected challenges, and it’s discouraging when agents and publishers don’t immediately see your genius and rush to sign you to a life-long contract.

That’s when many people give up. They hit the wall and decide it’s not worth all the pain and disappointment. According to selfpublishingus.com, only about 3% of people who start writing a book actually finish it. And of those, even fewer have their book published. But for those of us who stay in the race, there’s a satisfaction of accomplishment few have known.

I learned some lessons from the London Marathon that I believe apply to my writing.

  • Life (and running and writing) is more about what you put into it than what you get out.
  • It’s more about fighting the good fight than winning.
  • It’s more about the journey than the destination.
  • You value what you earn more than what someone gives you.

And in the long run (pun intended), whether it’s running or writing or living, endurance is more important than talent.

* * *

 

This has been a very long TKZ blog post, and if you made it to the end, you deserve a medal. Maybe you should consider running a marathon.

 

 

* * *

So TKZers: Have you ever run a marathon?
Have you faced obstacles when writing your books?
How do you deal with the setbacks?

* * *

 

Kathryn Frasier is training for her first marathon, but murderers keep getting in her way.

Run with Kathryn in The Watch Mysteries. The ebook boxset is on sale at  Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Google Play, or Apple Books.

How Did I Get Here?

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With Memorial Day upon us, many folks will be on the road, listening to music or daydreaming while stuck in traffic. Nothing at all interesting about it. Though we want our stories to mimic real life, showing every moment or mile gets boring and repetitive fast.

My characters are constantly on the move. If I showed the entire drive, boat ride, or flight, I’d destroy the pacing. Instead, move characters from point A to B by skipping the boring parts.

via GIPHY
When we jump ahead, tell the reader how much time has passed.

Nothing is more jarring than a character at home one minute and in the next paragraph they’re in a new location with no explanation of how they got there. Ground the reader in the first sentence. Or at least, in the first paragraph. Some writers include a scene break between paragraphs — either white space or *** — but that still does not absolve us from orienting the reader.

Show the characters getting into the car. Add a few lines of plot-related dialogue or trees zip past the window to show movement. And boom, they arrive at their new destination. Or, if nothing interesting happens, write something like…

Forty grueling minutes later without air conditioner, I arrived at the hotel with a wet scalp and my t-shirt molded to my chest.

A new chapter signals a time or POV change and/or a new setting.

It’s fine to speed past uneventful stretches in a story. In fact, it’s encouraged. Just be sure to give the reader a sense of how much time has lapsed, especially at the start of a new chapter. Even if we include a timestamp, we should still mention it as many readers will only recall whether the previous chapter took place during daylight or darkness.

Don’t make them have to backtrack to guess where or when the chapter begins.

If the action continues from the previous chapter, it’s still a good idea to set the scene with a brief mention of any time gaps or sensory cue to ground the reader. It doesn’t have to be complicated. “A few hours later” does the trick.

Establish who is present in every scene.

Nothing irks me more than a character appearing out of nowhere to offer a clue when they weren’t in the scene earlier. Too convenient. And frankly, obvious and lazy.

Again, adding a character to a scene needn’t be complicated…

The screen door slapped open, and Jack strolled out to the porch.

Now the reader knows he’s there, so when he offers that all-important clue, it makes sense within the scene.

Change in POV

As a reader and a writer, I don’t understand the fad of including the POV character’s name at the top of each chapter. In my opinion, it’s unnecessary. If we ground the reader in the character’s POV right away, they should know whose head they’re in without a label. If they don’t, then we’ve failed to set the scene. I prefer rotating POVs. They’re easy to follow and add to the overall rhythm of the story.

If you want to include the POV character’s name as a chapter heading, then by all means do so. It’s your story.

The main takeaway for this post is to orient the reader, whether the characters are on the move or we switch to a new POV.

For writers: How do you handle travel or signal a change in POV?

For readers: Have you ever been jarred out of a story due to a change in space or time?

Happy Memorial Day to TKZers in the U.S.!

Food for Stories

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by Debbie Burke

@burke_writer

Josie family album

Food can lead to a bountiful banquet of stories.

Not long ago, I enjoyed a week-long visit with an old friend to celebrate her 96th birthday. Josie is Greek and has a well-deserved reputation as a legendary cook. She makes the best baklava I’ve ever tasted. Phyllo, melted butter, honey, cinnamon, phyllo, more butter, chopped nuts, more butter. Layer after layer of pure heaven.

Years ago, one of my relatives was getting married and asked Josie to make Greek food for the wedding. Apprentice volunteers (including myself) spent the weekend in her kitchen and dining room, under the gentle but exacting guidance of our revered goddess of Greek cooking.

Josie showed us how layer baklava and how to stuff grape leaves (dolmades) along with sharing her secret marinating tricks for roast leg of lamb (slivers of garlic embedded all over the meat along with spices and olive oil).

Spanakopita – Photo credit: terri_bateman, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

The most labor-intensive dish was spanakopita. Phyllo dough is filled with cheese, spinach, and egg then folded flag-style into triangular pastries, brushed with melted butter, and baked. Each one takes about five minutes to carefully fold, but only five seconds to melt in your mouth.

Phyllo is more delicate than 3000-year-old parchment scrolls. When the tissue-thin dough tore as I handled it, that ruined the perfect appearance required for the fancy party. Of course, I had to eat my mistakes and, wow, did I goof up a lot!

The Greek food at the wedding was a huge hit. Prior to this cooking marathon, Josie and I had been friends, but that weekend sealed our close bond forever.

During my recent visit for Josie’s birthday, we went through her dresser drawerful of old recipes. Some were in cookbooks with many margin notes added in ink; others were on paper or index cards in her neat, careful handwriting. The pages were stained with butter, olive oil, chocolate, and other evidence of intense use.

Josie’s family album. She is the girl on the right.

I learned her mother was a first-generation immigrant from the island of Patmos who didn’t know how to read or write. She was a wonderful cook but never used measuring cups or spoons. Memorializing her mother’s recipes in writing took considerable time, experimentation, and guesswork. The effort was worth it.

Fascinating historical tidbits came out in our conversations over the recipes. “During wartime, when there was no food, Greeks didn’t starve like other countries because they ate greens. They went out in the country and picked wild greens. And that kept them from starving.”

Josie recalled picking dandelions to eat in the spring when she was a child. “I wasn’t crazy about them, but my mother insisted.”

Josie’s family as adults

Her family consisted of five boisterous boys and two girls. “Growing up with five brothers, I learned to hold my own. I wasn’t easily intimidated.”

Seven kids kept their parents busy trying to feed them during Prohibition and the Depression. Her father, whom she called the “original Nick the Greek,” made ouzo in a still in their basement.

Josie’s dad, Nick the Greek

Nick was an early pioneer of route sales. Every day, he walked around their neighborhood, pushing Josie in a baby carriage. He stopped to chat with friends who admired Nick’s adorable toddler in the carriage. After a few minutes of visiting, each walked away with a bottle of ouzo that had been hidden in her blankets.

She also recalled men coming to their house in the middle of the night. Nick always welcomed them. They joked and chatted for a while, then left.

“Why do those men come here so late?” Josie asked her mother.

“Never mind, they’re just visiting.”

She later figured out they were Nick’s satisfied midnight customers.

When she taught her father how to sign his name, he was very proud of that accomplishment.

Josie caught a fish for dinner

Josie high school graduation photo 1945

Our conversation turned to her early jobs. At 18, she moved from Pennsylvania to Brooklyn. There, she managed a coffee store on Smith Street near Flatbush Avenue. The owner liked her because her accounts always balanced to the penny…except for one problem customer.

A man came in every morning and stole a newspaper. He was a big guy and evidently hid the paper under his arm. She could never catch him in the act, but she knew his habits. After stealing the paper, he would walk around the corner and have breakfast at a cafe.

Flatbush Avenue
Photo credit: Wikimedia.com

One day, she followed him to the cafe and sat down at the counter on the stool beside him. While waiting for their breakfast orders, she engaged him in friendly conversation. She kept pleasantly chatting as he grew visibly more nervous. Finally, she said, “You know, it’s hard for small businesses to survive. Even losing a single newspaper makes a difference.”

“All right! All right! I did it!” the man blurted out. “I’ll pay!”

Her gentle, non-accusatory appeal to his conscience worked. From that day forward, he always paid.

The young woman working alone in a store could have made a tempting target. But Josie received protection from two unlikely bodyguards.

Lou was a burly Italian bookie operating in the neighborhood who made sure no one bothered her. Once, she fell seriously ill with the flu. Lou took her home to his apartment where his wife nursed her back to health with homemade soup. She slept on their couch until she recovered and was forever grateful for their kindness.

The second bodyguard was a so-called “hobo” who met her bus every morning and walked her to the coffee store. Each night, he walked her from the store to the bus stop. “You don’t need to do this,” she told him. He just smiled and continued to escort her.

One night, he was murdered—knifed in a doorway. When she learned about his death, she was heartbroken. “He was so nice to me and never expected anything in return.”

Another early job was in a mill on the Ohio River. The factory made plating to line soup cans. She worked in the lab, testing tin samples because different soup ingredients required different formulations of tin. Inspectors visited often to check compliance for food safety. Before hearing her story, I thought a soup can was simply a soup can.

Josie’s siblings and in-laws

Here’s a festive meal with Josie’s siblings and in-laws. She’s not in the photo perhaps because she was in the kitchen, refilling platters with more goodies.

Starting with recipes, Josie took me on a week-long journey into the past.

Recipes are like old family Bibles and photo albums, rich with history and memories. I learned fascinating facts and anecdotes that never make it into history books. Yet such rich details add texture, color, and verisimilitude to stories about bygone days. Josie’s stories gave me the itch to dive into historical fiction.

I visited for her birthday but I’m the one who left with a precious gift.

~~~

TKZers: Do you have written family histories, or recordings of oral histories?

Do people and stories from the past inspire your work?

What is your favorite source for historical details?

~~~

 

Ninety-six-year-old Josie is a fan of the Tawny Lindholm Thriller series but has one criticism: “Honey, I wish you’d add a little more sex!” 

I’ll take your suggestion to heart, Josie! 

Clarity in Writing

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“Having knowledge but lacking the power to express it clearly is no better than never having any ideas at all.” –Pericles

* * *

I recently had cataract surgery on my right eye. The left eye gets its turn later this week. Prior to the surgery, I was accustomed to viewing objects with a slight blur to them, and that’s not bad when you’re looking at the world in general. As a matter of fact, maybe it’s preferable. But it wasn’t a great method for reading, and the font size on my iPad was getting close to max, so I finally agreed to undergo the procedure. Within a couple of hours after the operation, the world suddenly came into perfect focus, and I could see details I had been missing for years.

All this made me think about writing. No surprise there, but it’s not about seeing the words on the page, but rather seeing the story you want to tell. That kind of sight is what every author aspires to, and one way to obtain it is to understand the theme of your book.

* * *

In his book Story Engineering, Larry Brooks writes

“Not to be confused with concept, theme is what your story is illuminating about real life.”

I like that “illuminating about real life.” Theme is the fundamental message you want your readers to get. It’s the lens through which they will view your story and understand the deeper meaning within it.  And when that happens, the reader will walk away with a memorable experience.

But how do you choose a theme?

* * *

“To produce a mighty book, you must choose a mighty theme.” —Herman Melville

* * *

Writers.com lists some of the common themes in literature. These include

Coming of Age
Faith vs Doubt
Family
Fate vs Free Will
Good vs Evil
Hubris
Justice
Man vs Nature
Man vs Self
Man vs Society
Power and Corruption
Pursuit of Love
Revenge
Survival
War

A few of the novels mentioned on the writers.com site were Jane Eyre (Coming of Age) by Charlotte Bronte, The Iliad (Hubris) by Homer, To Kill a Mockingbird (Justice) by Harper Lee, and 1984: A Novel (Man vs Society) by George Orwell.

They didn’t mention All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, but that is the book I would choose for its powerful theme of War.

* * *

Some authors decide on a theme before starting a new work. Others may work on their novel for a while before seeing the theme take shape. In any case, having an underlying theme for the story leaves the reader with something more than a good reading experience. It’s a message to carry with them beyond The End.

As a mystery writer, the theme for my books is always that truth will be found and justice will be served. But my last novel, Lacey’s Star, took it one step further. It was based on the theme that finding the truth may depend on who you decide to trust.

My stories also reference the importance of faith and family and emphasize the need for endurance. “Never give up” is an underlying message in every book.

* * *

So TKZers: Do you identify a theme for your books before you start writing? Or do you “discover” the theme as you go along? What themes have you used in your books? What memorable themes have you taken away from books you read?

* * *

 

“The truth is bitter, but with all its bitterness, it is better than illusion.” –Ahad Ha’Am

2024 Eric Hoffer Grand Prize Award Finalist
2024 Eric Hoffer Mystery/Crime Award Honorable Mention

Available at  Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Google Play, or Apple Books.

Slipstream — A Unique, Hybrid Fiction Cross-Genre

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Recently, I was Zoom chatting with a writer friend. She asked me how it was going with my current work-in-progress—a project titled City Of Danger. I chuckled and said, “I’m intentionally breaking all the rules.”

“What genre is it in?” she asked.

I kept chuckling. “Hard to put a finger on it. It’s kind of a dog’s breakfast. Part hardboiled/noir detective crime fiction. Part thriller and suspense. A lot of historical nostalgia from the 1920s. And some sci-fi from a dystopian future. It involves malevolent AI and time travel. I might even throw in a touch of romantic comedy.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I’m not doing what every editor, agent, and publishing guru always says to do. ‘Strictly write to one genre.’ Nope. I gotta be different.”

“Sounds like Slipstream.”

“Slipstream? What’s that?”

“It’s a unique, hybrid fiction cross-genre. The style has been around awhile, but it’s really gaining traction. Slipstream pushes creativity boundaries. It explores the depths of human experience, the human condition, in novel ways.”

“Damm. I thought I was inventing something new.”

She laughed, and we moved on to other things. When we were done, she’d piqued my interest. I Googled “Slipstream” and asked Chat about it. Did I ever get my eyes opened, and it fit exactly with what I stumbled upon while building City Of Danger.

Among other information, I found a great article in The Write Life titled How to Write Slipstream Fiction—Full Guide and Definition. Here’s the link and the piece’s opening words which don’t need me rephrasing:

In the ever-evolving genres of fiction, Slipstream emerges as a genre that defies the traditional boundaries of storytelling, offering a unique blend of the real and the surreal. This genre, sitting at the crossroads of speculative fiction and literary fiction, challenges our perceptions of reality, inviting readers and writers alike into a world where the ordinary becomes extraordinary.

If you’re intrigued by the idea of crafting narratives that transcend conventional genres, Slipstream fiction may be the creative avenue you’ve been searching for. This article is your comprehensive guide to understanding, appreciating, and ultimately writing Slipstream fiction that captivates and resonates.

What is Slipstream fiction?

Slipstream fiction is a genre that thrives on ambiguity, challenging both writers and readers to explore the spaces between the known and the unknown. Let’s dive into the core aspects that define this intriguing genre.

Our Slipstream fiction definition

Slipstream fiction is notoriously difficult to pin down with a single definition, but at its core, it represents a narrative that straddles the line between the speculative and the literary, often blurring the boundaries of reality and the fantastic. This genre is not just about fantastical elements or futuristic settings; it’s about invoking a sense of wonder, unease, or the uncanny through stories that feel both familiar and deeply strange.

Slipstream challenges our everyday understanding of reality, pushing readers to question what they know about the world around them.

It is this unique blend of the real and the surreal that sets Slipstream apart from more conventional genres, making it a fascinating field for writers who want to explore the depths of human experience in novel ways.

What are the key characteristics of Slipstream fiction?

Before we delve into the characteristics that define Slipstream fiction, it’s important to understand that these traits work together to create a distinctive reading experience that defies easy categorization. Here are the seven most important characteristics of Slipstream fiction:

  1. Ambiguity: Stories often leave more questions than answers, challenging readers to find their interpretations.
  2. Cognitive dissonance: The narrative may combine elements that traditionally don’t coexist, creating a sense of unease or perplexity.
  3. Surreal atmosphere: The setting or events have an otherworldly quality, even if rooted in the familiar.
  4. Emotional resonance: Despite the fantastical elements, the core of Slipstream fiction lies in its ability to evoke deep emotional responses.
  5. Intellectual stimulation: These narratives encourage readers to think deeply about themes, ideas, and the nature of reality itself.
  6. Genre blending: Slipstream fiction often incorporates elements from various genres, refusing to be boxed into a single category.
  7. Metafictional elements: There’s often a self-awareness within the narrative, playing with literary conventions and reader expectations.

Keep in mind that Slipstream fiction is by its nature a genre that blends elements and influences from a wide range of sources. As a result, feel free to use or ignore whichever characteristics of Slipstream depending on what your story requires.

———

So, now I was really intrigued. I spent the better part of a day digging into Slipstream, and I did what I do with most things that intrigue me. I encapsulated it visually on an 11×17 inch sheet. It came out looking like this:

Some of the takeaways from my research were the terms cognitive dissonance, cognitive equilibrium, and cognitive consonance. I wasn’t quite sure what they meant and how they meshed with the Slipstream style. Here’s what my little AI friend said:

Combined, these three terms encompass aspects of cognitive psychology related to the harmony, conflict, and resolution of beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors:

Cognitive Dissonance highlights the discomfort that arises when there is inconsistency between beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors. It emphasizes the tension that individuals experience when they hold conflicting cognitive elements.

Cognitive Equilibrium refers to the state of mental balance or harmony that individuals strive for, wherein their beliefs, attitudes, and understanding of the world are consistent and coherent. It reflects the desire for stability and coherence in one’s cognitive processes.

Cognitive Consonance underscores the psychological comfort that individuals experience when their beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors are in agreement with one another. It signifies a state of alignment and consistency in cognitive processes.

Together, these concepts provide insights into how individuals navigate the internal conflicts and seek harmony in their cognitive processes, whether by resolving inconsistencies (cognitive dissonance), striving for balance and coherence (cognitive equilibrium), or experiencing comfort in consistency (cognitive consonance).

The concepts discussed in this thread—cognitive dissonance, cognitive equilibrium, and cognitive consonance—can intersect with the genre of Slipstream in intriguing ways.

In Slipstream literature, there’s often a deliberate blending of genres, a crossing of boundaries between the familiar and the strange, resulting in narratives that defy conventional categorization. This blending can mirror the cognitive tension of cognitive dissonance, as readers encounter elements that challenge their expectations and beliefs.

Moreover, Slipstream narratives often disrupt traditional narrative structures, creating a sense of cognitive imbalance akin to cognitive dissonance. The stories may provoke a sense of unease or uncertainty, inviting readers to question their assumptions and perspectives, much like cognitive dissonance prompts individuals to confront conflicting beliefs.

At the same time, Slipstream literature can evoke a sense of cognitive equilibrium through its exploration of the surreal and the ordinary coexisting. Just as individuals seek cognitive balance by assimilating new information into their existing frameworks (cognitive equilibrium), Slipstream narratives integrate disparate elements into a cohesive whole, inviting readers to find meaning in the juxtaposition of the familiar and the unfamiliar.

Cognitive consonance also finds resonance in Slipstream, as readers may experience a sense of satisfaction or resonance when seemingly incongruent elements in the narrative coalesce into a coherent whole. This alignment of disparate elements can evoke a feeling of harmony, akin to the psychological comfort of cognitive consonance.

In summary, the concepts of cognitive dissonance, cognitive equilibrium, and cognitive consonance offer a lens through which to explore the cognitive dynamics at play in Slipstream literature. The genre’s blending of genres, disruption of narrative conventions, and integration of disparate elements can evoke cognitive tensions and resolutions reminiscent of these psychological concepts.

———

Me — This is all well and fair, because the object of all fiction is to suspend disbelief in the reader and take them on an exciting, memorable journey. Mixing genres has been successfully done by many writers with many stories over time. Here are some of the Slipstreams that made it big:

Ficciones by Jorge Luis Borges.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Station Eleven by Emily St, John Mandel

Cloud Atlas and The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

Hardboiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami

The City & the City by China Mieville

The New York Trilogy by Paul Auster

The Arrival by Shaun Tan

Her — the movie by Spike Jonze

However, the granddaddy of Slipstream, and one of the early ground breakers, was The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka. It’s about a guy who wakes up one morning and finds that he’s turned into a giant insect and has to deal with a situation that truly sucks. Here’s the opening paragraph:

Kill Zoners — Who has heard of the Slipstream style? Has anyone read Slipstream, and what do you think of wildly mixing genres? And has anyone written anything that resembles Slipstream? Let’s get a discussion going and share experiences.

The Case of the Bird-Brained Witness

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By Elaine Viets

   The witness to the murder could repeat every word the killer and the victim said during the fatal confrontation.  The witness was alive, but not human.

          What was the witness?

          A parrot. An African grey to be exact.

          While researching A Scarlet Death, my new Angela Richman, death investigator mystery, I learned about parrots as murder witnesses. This information has been compiled from news stories.

          Consider the 2017 case of the woman in Michigan convicted of her husband’s murder, thanks in part to his parrot. Police first thought someone had murdered the husband and tried to kill the wife. The woman survived being shot in the head. But the parrot repeated the husband’s last words. The parrot said, “Don’t f—-ing shoot!” in the husband’s voice. Turns out the woman murdered her husband and then tried to kill herself. The details of the shooting were remarkably vivid, as reported by the parrot. It was an African grey.

          In 2018, another parrot witnessed the rape and murder of a woman in Argentina. Her parrot repeated the whole terrible crime, saying, “No, please. Let me go,” which investigators believe were the last words of the woman.

          My favorite case was the parrot who knew too much. In the mid-1990s, Echo was put into witness protection. The New Orleans parrot belonged to a crime boss who was suspected of child abuse, among other crimes. Late at night, the bird would sometimes cry like a child, then sound like it was moaning in pain, and then make a noise like whack, or thwack! as if someone was being hit. The bird had to be hidden because it knew too much and wouldn’t shut up.

        When an animal seriously harms or kills a person, it’s often put down. But in past centuries, the beast was given a trial.

          Pigs for instance. Whether you think pigs are cute little animals, or pork chops on the hoof, they have a bad reputation. People who live in farm country know the stories of farmers who had heart attacks out by the pig pen and were eaten by their animals.

          In the Middle Ages, pigs were tried for murder. In 1386, a sow mauled a child so badly, it died. The pig was arrested, imprisoned and stood trial for murder. The homicidal hog was found guilty and executed by hanging.

Weirdly enough, the sow was dressed in men’s clothes when it was hanged. There’s no record if the defendant was eaten.

          In my new book, A Scarlet Death, Buddy, a murder victim’s African grey parrot seems to recount details of its owner’s brutal death.

          Chouteau Forest death investigator Angela Richman and attorney Montgomery Bryant are discussing the parrot’s testimony over dinner.

          “Let’s go back to the parrot,” Angela said. “Any chance that talking birds will be allowed to testify in court? They’re very smart.”

          “Too many problems,” the lawyer said. “How do we know Buddy the parrot actually heard the victim being murdered?”

          “Because of what he said. And Buddy’s words match the facts.” Angela speared a tender piece of chicken breast.

   “But what if we don’t know the facts?” Monty asked. “Or what if Buddy is imitating something he heard on TV? People could be convicted on the word of a parrot that watched CSI.”

          “But Buddy said the killer’s name.”

          “He did. How do we know the parrot didn’t just drop that name in there because he heard his owner say it on the phone?”

          “OK, I get it,” l said. “But I wish we knew what animals were saying to us, don’t you?”

          “Some of them, like cats and dogs.”

            Monty finished his last bite of burger and said, “However, I’d just as soon not know what this cow was saying on the way to the slaughterhouse.”

           So, did Buddy the parrot help the police solve his owner’s murder? You’ll have to read A Scarlet Death to find out.

Enter my contest to win a free ebook of A Scarlet Death. Send your name and email address to WinEVbooks@aol.com. Contest closes midnight, May 31.

 

 

Clerihew, Haiku, and You

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A word fitly spoken
    is like apples of gold in a setting of silver.

–Proverbs 25:11

* * *

A few months ago, James Scott Bell posted Micro Fiction for Your Writer’s Brain on TKZ. It was about writing fiction that was less than 500 words long. (I’ll wait while you go back and review.)

That post gave me an idea for writing about even shorter form fiction, and I came across a few types that are both fun and challenging.

The Clerihew

The clerihew is a form of poetry that was invented by E.C. Bentley, the author of Trent’s Last Case and other novels. Bentley’s full name happens to be Edmund Clerihew Bentley. I guess when you have a middle name like Clerihew, you may as well come up with some clever and inventive use of it.

Here’s the definition of clerihew from Wikipedia:

A clerihew (ˈklɛrɪhjuː) is a whimsical, four-line biographical poem of a type invented by Edmund Clerihew Bentley. The first line is the name of the poem’s subject, usually a famous person, and the remainder puts the subject in an absurd light or reveals something unknown or spurious about the subject. The rhyme scheme is AABB, and the rhymes are often forced. The line length and metre are irregular. Bentley invented the clerihew in school and then popularized it in books.

Here are a couple of examples:

Sir Humphry Davy
Abominated gravy.
He lived in the odium
Of having discovered sodium.

Did Descartes
Depart
With the thought
“Therefore I’m not”?

Here’s my humble attempt:

Albert Einstein
Had a very great mind
While in his prime
He relativized time

* * *

The Haiku

Back in 2021, Steve Hooley and his sister, Joyce, wrote a wonderful TKZ post on haiku poetry.

Dictionary.com defines haiku as

a major form of Japanese verse, written in 17 syllables divided into 3 lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables, and employing highly evocative allusions and comparisons, often on the subject of nature or one of the seasons.

Here are a couple of rather famous ones:

“A Caterpillar” by Matsuo Basho

A caterpillar,
This deep in fall –
Still not a butterfly.

 

“A Poppy Blooms” by Katsushika Hokusai

I write, erase, rewrite
Erase again, and then
A poppy blooms.

 

And another one by me:

Azalea blossoms
Pink, but ragged on the edge
Tomorrow’s lovers

* * *

The Limerick

Here’s what Britannica.com has to say about this poetic form:

Limerick, a popular form of short, humorous verse that is often nonsensical and frequently ribald. It consists of five lines, rhyming aabba, and the dominant metre is anapestic, with two metrical feet in the third and fourth lines and three feet in the others. The origin of the limerick is unknown, but it has been suggested that the name derives from the chorus of an 18th-century Irish soldiers’ song, “Will You Come Up to Limerick?” To this were added impromptu verses crowded with improbable incident and subtle innuendo.

 

Here’s a non-ribald example.

A tutor who taught on the flute
Tried to teach two tooters to toot.
Said the two to the tutor,
“Is it harder to toot, or
To tutor two tooters to toot?”

Personally, I love limericks. I occasionally compose one in honor of politicians or other strange creatures.  😎 I won’t share any of those, but here’s one I made up just for today:

My computer decided to die
Just as the deadline drew nigh
When the publisher screamed
I knew I was creamed
So I kissed my contract good-bye

* * *

So TKZers: What do you think about these poetic short forms? Pick one or two (or all three) and astound us by entering your work in the comments. Include something in your poem about one of your books if you’re so inclined.

* * *

There once was a pilot named Cassie
An intrepid sleuth was this lassie
She flew into danger,
But it didn’t change her
And she found the murderer fastly.

A 2024 Eric Hoffer Grand Prize Award Finalist

Buy on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Google Play, or Apple Books.