tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post4669798782926530852..comments2024-03-28T21:31:13.672-04:00Comments on Jungle Red Writers: Openings and Closings.Jungle Red Writershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16646429819267618412noreply@blogger.comBlogger49125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-13967257650811104142021-10-16T21:59:14.802-04:002021-10-16T21:59:14.802-04:00I don't need the body in chapter 1, but I need...I don't need the body in chapter 1, but I need some kind of conflict.<br /><br />I enjoy a bit of a wind down after the crime is solved, especially if there are a few threads to wrap up. But it isn't completely necessary.Mark Bakerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11567392254011373198noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-38460897526843945422021-10-16T18:20:31.191-04:002021-10-16T18:20:31.191-04:00I just got to this now, but thoroughly enjoyed, an...I just got to this now, but thoroughly enjoyed, and learned from, both Rhy's writing and all your comments. Thank you. The tricky part of beginning for me is that I must not follow a pretty good first sentence with a lot of scene setting! That's a lesson I learn again and again. Trisshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08058396345946250313noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-60233778251298380602021-10-16T18:05:36.125-04:002021-10-16T18:05:36.125-04:00Yes, I have trouble opening things. I once stompe...Yes, I have trouble opening things. I once stomped on a bottle of Excedrin until it broke, then put the pills in the old bottle. I had to take medicine back to the pharmacy so they give me the old people cap now. <br /><br />The murder or crime doesn't have to take place right away. Just don't take so long that I wonder if this is a mystery. A good resolution is important to me. I like the details about the crime and also about their personal lives. Sally from PAhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03649707016754971847noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-82564164850664511222021-10-16T16:25:19.300-04:002021-10-16T16:25:19.300-04:00I'm always late whenever I get to comment, as ...I'm always late whenever I get to comment, as I constantly am interrupted while trying to<br />read them all. Love this post, and can so relate, plus laughed so hard about opening things! Don't need a dead body to happen immediately, and I enjoy getting to know the characters. I like things resolved at the end, but don't mind a wee bit of a foretelling of what's to come. Lynn in Texasnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-56941251676186260682021-10-16T15:00:50.126-04:002021-10-16T15:00:50.126-04:00Because I am SO sad that I ripped it off the wall....Because I am SO sad that I ripped it off the wall. HAAAA. You just made my day. xxHank Phillippi Ryanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07630366214207785339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-59172476776745653052021-10-16T15:00:20.771-04:002021-10-16T15:00:20.771-04:00That is SO FUNNY!!!! That is the funniest thing I ...That is SO FUNNY!!!! That is the funniest thing I have every heard. Rhys, you are HILARIOUS.Hank Phillippi Ryanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07630366214207785339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-13288751800137551322021-10-16T14:59:43.027-04:002021-10-16T14:59:43.027-04:00Aww...thank you!Aww...thank you!Hank Phillippi Ryanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07630366214207785339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-74016866547199560452021-10-16T14:25:04.801-04:002021-10-16T14:25:04.801-04:00Opening the bag of inside the box of cake mix is e...Opening the bag of inside the box of cake mix is easy. Pull bag from box. Put bag in mixing bowl. Slice bag with knife or put a nice hole in it. CAREFULLY turn bag over in the bowl and gently lift. If you are using a knife to open the box you may want to turn the box over into the bowl and let the bag slide out of the box before you open it with the knife. :) Now getting a good grip in a jar or bottle to unseal is a different event entirely. I have have tapped (thumped) jars in the counter, used the handle of heavy knives and actually turned the bottle upside down and run hot tap water around the edge to loosen the seal. Can't really do all of that with bottles containing carbonated beverages. <br /><br />Gift wrapping was a major event at Grandma's home during the holidays. Gifts were kept in the shopping bags until the dining room was set up. Paper, some of which might have been saved from previous years was stacked on the table and or buffet. Tape and scissors were on the table. Boxes of package decoration and bows were brought down from the attic. The bows were categorized by size. It was an art project and I got pretty good at it. Now I usually use plain brown paper and crochet long chains of multi colored and multi number of yarn for the ribbon. One trick I've learned about brown paper, which is usually stiff, is to use a small piece of tape to hold for an initial hold until I can get a bigger piece cut or have several precut on the edge of the table that I can just pull up and apply. <br /><br />If the book doesn't have dead body at the beginning, it's fine, they will show up eventually. I can get confused and loose someone if too many people entered all at once. Sometimes I have to go back to reintroduce myself to a character from the beginning of a book if there are too many all at once. I don't mind cliff hangers in series as long as the murder in the current book is resolved. Deana Dalehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09093854261937772980noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-73804020367402683932021-10-16T14:19:11.949-04:002021-10-16T14:19:11.949-04:00Sorry this is late. I hope I am not too late comm...Sorry this is late. I hope I am not too late commenting here. I slept in this morning because I was up late last night reading STRONG POISON by Dorothy Sayers.<br /><br />Rhys, I always thought your closings in all of your novels were perfect and I am VERY picky about that! I often see new to me novelists end a story too early or run a few chapters too long when they could have finished earlier.<br /><br />My writing teacher for my online cozy mystery novel writing class advised us to have a dead body in the first 30 pages. I will have to review my notes. Some novels have several chapters before there is a dead body. Some novels have a dead body in the first chapter. It does not really matter to me when as long as the writing is excellent.<br /><br />Quite agree with you about "character dumping". Again, my writing instructor warns us about putting in too many characters at once. As a reader, I noticed that I often get confused about who is who. That NEVER happens with your novels. <br /><br />Off the top of my head, MANSFIELD PARK by Jane Austen was confusing because I could not remember who was who. I confused the cousins with the aunts.<br /><br />As a reader, I have noticed that many new novels have Multiple Points of View and dual or triple timelines, which throws me off. These are often DNF for me. I liked how Jacqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs approaches the dual time line because the flashback was right in the middle then the end was back to 1929. It was not back and forth.<br /><br />Still thinking about opening lines and closing lines. One of my favorite cozy mystery authors writes two series. In one of her series, the book always starts with "They say..." and that is her writing style. Her creation of characters are wonderful.<br /><br />Yes, I always had difficulties opening cake box mixes. Once in a while there is a cake mix box with clear dot lines to tear off. Same with cereal boxes. I have to use a knife to open the tortilla chips bag.<br /><br />DianaBibliophilehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07764234701385787238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-18817491583009614512021-10-16T13:52:51.328-04:002021-10-16T13:52:51.328-04:00Oh, Kathy, I so recognize your OTC med opening iss...Oh, Kathy, I so recognize your OTC med opening issue. I have the same one. At home, I have started using a box cutter (utility knife) around the edge of the plastic cage (for lack of a better word) and, like you pray, the little, itty bitty pill doesn't fly off the counter. At the office, a pair of scissors along one edge of the cage and then try to squeeze that little bitty pill on to my desk.....gggrrrrrr!!!!Deana Dalehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09093854261937772980noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-5788098751190779072021-10-16T13:21:33.875-04:002021-10-16T13:21:33.875-04:00Oh, Rhys, the gift wrapping comments made me laugh...Oh, Rhys, the gift wrapping comments made me laugh. I'm somewhat better now, but when I was in college and working part-time at a drugstore, the manager decided we should offer gift wrapping around the holidays. When it came my turn to be on gift wrapping duty, I warned him that I wasn't very good at it. I think he must have thought I just didn't want to do it, but after seeing a few packages I'd wrapped, he relieved me of that duty. <br /><br />First lines. I often quote Julia's as the example of a perfect one. And, Jim Ziskin, in his Ellie Stone book Heart of Stone, has a perfect first page, in which his description of the surrounding woods as Ellie drives envelopes the reader. Jim said his editor wanted him to delete that description, but Jim fought for it. I wonder how many great openings almost didn't make it. I definitely don't have to have a dead body in the opening scenes, although I've seen it work beautifully either way. I know that prologues are a love/hate topic, and I happen to be on the side of love, with the caveat, of course, that it be a well-written one that gets me excited about the book that follows.<br /><br />Book endings. I don't appreciate an ambiguous ending at all. I don't want to figure out what it means. I want a story to be clearly over, with no innuendo that leaves the reader scratching her head. Although, I seem to be able to abide a book in a series leaving some lingering questions or suggestions that this isn't the whole story. <br /><br /><br />Rhys, as opening cake mix boxes goes, that bag inside with the powdered cake mix is a challenge for me. It does seem that it is made as a challenge to whether you can open it without any of the mix flying out. There's a certain over-the-counter medicine I take that requires a sharp knife to get an individual packaging open, and then you hope the pill doesn't fly out and end up on the floor. I cannot understand this difficult packaging at all. Do they not want you to take it?Kathy Reelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17004247271452356577noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-6182513310170460592021-10-16T13:20:54.890-04:002021-10-16T13:20:54.890-04:00I am very happy to let the plot slowly unroll. It ...I am very happy to let the plot slowly unroll. It gives me time to get familiar with the characters and the lay of the land. As for the resolution I need more than a solution to the mystery. I need to know the characters I'm invested in are going to be okay.Pat Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12732230586783432052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-50980010974097115572021-10-16T13:11:36.486-04:002021-10-16T13:11:36.486-04:00AAARGH, that is frustrating, Judy!
As for my vis...AAARGH, that is frustrating, Judy! <br />As for my vision, only a slight improvement so far. <br />So I can read/type better on the laptop but all icons/text on my smartphone and tablet are still blurry.Grace Koshidahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05934603958949938617noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-2550218189560175382021-10-16T13:10:59.718-04:002021-10-16T13:10:59.718-04:00Or your eyes then brim with tears?Or your eyes then brim with tears?Jungle Red Writershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16646429819267618412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-8340974452506628232021-10-16T13:04:42.172-04:002021-10-16T13:04:42.172-04:00It has eaten up my comments again. I give up.
Grac...It has eaten up my comments again. I give up.<br />Grace, how are you doing since the eye operation? Is your vision clearer yet?Judyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16128026892155650398noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-91209187676998177092021-10-16T13:01:48.497-04:002021-10-16T13:01:48.497-04:00Around here, I open most packages and almost all t...Around here, I open most packages and almost all the wine bottles. Thanks for the champagne instructions, Rhys. I'll try that next time! <br />Gift wrapping is something I actually enjoy doing. Reusable gift bags are really nice, too. Judyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16128026892155650398noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-50907392436519039892021-10-16T12:27:29.245-04:002021-10-16T12:27:29.245-04:00Rhys, I think the secret to un-packaging is having...Rhys, I think the secret to un-packaging is having the right tools. (Channeling the hubby here.) I have a good pair of scissors and a utility knife in the kitchen and can get most things open, although the clamshells are challenging. We have tape gun, too, which makes sealing packages a snap. I'm good at wrapping gifts, too (taught by my dad) but love re-using gift bags. We've been recycling some of ours for years.<br /><br />As for book openings, I certainly don't require a murder on the first page. I'm happy to get to know the characters and the setting, and especially the author's voice. <br /><br />I've written some books with early murders but most of mine tend to meander a bit!Deborah Crombiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16988750789088153601noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-46209154977449058052021-10-16T12:21:56.377-04:002021-10-16T12:21:56.377-04:00The trick with sticky tape that adheres to itself ...The trick with sticky tape that adheres to itself is to always fold a quarter inch of the tape over before letting the tape go. You are welcome. <br />I am not found of cliff hangers either. A nudge maybe, waiting even a week for a tv cliff hanger can be too much for this person. <br />If an author is introducing us to a multitude of characters, having a cast list up front is really helpful. Beginning? middle end..not a problem.. broken plot? beeeg problem.Coralee Hickshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06691335135691119400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-90210397535496807842021-10-16T12:19:18.543-04:002021-10-16T12:19:18.543-04:00Great line, Hank!Great line, Hank!Deborah Crombiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16988750789088153601noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-21791097289562875442021-10-16T12:17:34.532-04:002021-10-16T12:17:34.532-04:00AND as for the bodies on page one, chapter one--I ...AND as for the bodies on page one, chapter one--I agree with Judi! If I know I'm reading a mystery, and I know someone will get killed, I think it's fun to speculate about who that might be! And easier to care if you are invested in them in some way or other.<br />And my favorite part of my books to write is the coda--the emotional ending after the mystery ending.Hank Phillippi Ryanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07630366214207785339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-16381883518917298262021-10-16T12:15:40.941-04:002021-10-16T12:15:40.941-04:00And yes, first lines: My fave of mine is from AIR ...And yes, first lines: My fave of mine is from AIR TIME:<br /> It's never a good thing when the flight attendant is crying.Hank Phillippi Ryanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07630366214207785339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-68889166604552090932021-10-16T12:15:00.598-04:002021-10-16T12:15:00.598-04:00My favorite unpacking instructions: On the wall of...My favorite unpacking instructions: On the wall of the bathroom by the roller-towel dispenser. PULL DOWN, TEAR UP<br />I always want to rip the whole dispenser off the wall and stomp on it. But that's just me.<br />And yes, always gifts bags and tissue paper. LOVE to reuse them.Hank Phillippi Ryanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07630366214207785339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-81632665852697660152021-10-16T12:13:21.165-04:002021-10-16T12:13:21.165-04:00With me the words are always open other end!With me the words are always open other end!Jungle Red Writershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16646429819267618412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-36923868327321646122021-10-16T12:11:16.957-04:002021-10-16T12:11:16.957-04:00Gift bags for the win! And, yes, it is so importan...Gift bags for the win! And, yes, it is so important to keep the reader wanting more. Great post, Rhys.Jenn McKinlayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13589365995413467367noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-58861359141040997992021-10-16T11:57:04.838-04:002021-10-16T11:57:04.838-04:00My favorite UNpackaging instruction: OPEN THIS FLA...My favorite UNpackaging instruction: OPEN THIS FLAP FIRST<br />To which I add a comma: Open this, flap first. <br /><br />I reuse gift bags, too. Wrap first in tissue paper. And STILL we have piles of waste.Hallie Ephronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04759439029582054503noreply@blogger.com