K is for Knickerbocker Group

The KNICKERBOCKER GROUP was a group writing in and about New York during the first half of the nineteenth century. The name was made famous by Washington Irving in Knickerbocker's History of New York. Their association was one of geography and chance rather than of close organization.

Writers have always tended to flock together and form groups. Now with the internet, there need be no geographical boundaries, and our group can consist of writers around the world. A few groups I've noticed are the Blogger writers (more closely knit imho than the Wordpress writers), the indie ebook authors on Amazon forums, those on Facebook groups (I'm part of one of these and the constant email notifications are currently driving me insane), those all represented by a single literary agent, or published by the same publisher, those writing the same genres.... If you think about it, writing is such a solitary venture, yet we like to interact with other writers. Who else can really understand our peculiarities?

(This post has been inspired by and in some instances, directly quoted from A Handbook to Literature, 8th Edition, by William Harmon and C. Hugh Holman)

J is for Journal

The official literary definition is: "A form of autobiographical writing including a day-by-day account of events and a record of personal impressions. It is usually less intimate than a diary and more obviously chronological than an autobiography."

The word JOURNAL gives me a pleasurable thrill. I am a prolific journal-writer. When I was little, I began every entry as "Dear Diary," now I just start with the date. I use large three-ring binders with punched papers that are blank on one side "scratch paper" and I fill the pages quickly with large loopy handwriting, going through pens almost as fast as I go through paper. I will fill about 6 of these binders per year. Love the J word JOURNAL!!


(This post has been inspired by and in some instances, directly quoted from A Handbook to Literature, 8th Edition, by William Harmon and C. Hugh Holman)

I is for Imagery

IMAGERY designates a special usage of words in which there is a change in their basic meaning. Patterns of IMAGERY, often without the conscious knowledge of author or reader, are sometimes taken to be keys to a deeper meaning of a work. Some critics tend to see the "image pattern" as indeed being the basic meaning of the work and a better key to its interpretation than the explicit statements of the author or the more obvious events of plot or action. Contrasting images of light and dark are among the most conspicuous of IMAGERY.

Students in literature classes often get tired of teachers harping on how IMAGERY is used in literature to express meaning and theme, but it is this very thing that gives a work the depth that sets it apart from a simple telling of a story. And it is done so subtly by a skilled writer that it takes a careful reading, usually more than once, to recognize how the author uses IMAGERY.

(This post has been inspired by and in some instances, directly quoted from A Handbook to Literature, 8th Edition, by William Harmon and C. Hugh Holman)

H is for Hyperbole

I could have gone with historical novel but I chose HYPERBOLE-- which is pure and simple exaggeration. It can be used to heighten effect, or for humor. Shakespeare employed HYPERBOLE extensively. Children's books often use it with great success. Think the Lemony Snicket Series of Unfortunate Events books, and anything by Roald Dahl.


(This post has been inspired by and in some instances, directly quoted from A Handbook to Literature, 8th Edition, by William Harmon and C. Hugh Holman)

G is for Gothic Novel

The true GOTHIC NOVEL is a novel in which magic, mystery, and chivalry are the chief characteristics. Where a suit of armor may suddenly come to life among ghosts and clanking chains. Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley's Frankenstein is an example of the genre. The novels of Charlotte Bronte and the mystery and horror type of short story exploited by Edgar Allen Poe contain materials and devices traceable to the GOTHIC NOVEL.

The term is today often applied to works, such as Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca, that lack the Gothic setting or the medieval atmosphere but that attempt to create the same atmosphere of brooding and unknown terror as the true GOTHIC NOVEL.  It is also applied to a host of currently popular tales of "damsels in distress" in strange and terrifying locales. Author Isak Dinesen has used the term "Gothic" in titles to indicate simultaneously a literal setting in northern Europe and a fantastic spirit combining horror, crime, romance, and realism.


(This post has been inspired by and in some instances, directly quoted from A Handbook to Literature, 8th Edition, by William Harmon and C. Hugh Holman)

F is for Fantasy

FANTASY designates a conscious breaking free from reality. It applies to a work that takes place in a nonexistent and unreal world such as a fairyland, or concerns incredible and unreal characters, or relies on scientific principles not yet discovered or contrary to present experience, as in some science fiction or utopian fiction. FANTASY may be employed merely for whimsical delight or it may be the medium for serious comment on reality.

FANTASY is not my genre, but oh how I loved The Hobbit, one of my favorite books ever. Why is that, fantasy readers? Why would someone who can't stand to get past one chapter of a fantasy book (I only read Harry Potter to see what all the fuss was about),  have The Hobbit as one of her favorites? I don't know the answer to that.

(This post has been inspired by and in some instances, directly quoted from A Handbook to Literature, 8th Edition, by William Harmon and C. Hugh Holman)

E is for Episode

An EPISODE in a work of fiction is an incident presented as one continuous action. Though having a unity within itself the EPISODE in any composition is usually accompanied by other EPISODES woven together to create a total work. It is an incident injected into a piece of fiction designed to illuminate character or to create background without advancing the action.

Think about a book that is all action, you think it might be exciting but really it would be tiresome. EPISODES exist for a purpose outside of promoting plot or advancing action. To illustrate this, I quote from a book I read recently that I really, really liked and reviewed  here on Goodreads: Mississippi Cotton by Paul H. Yarbrough (WiDo Publishing, 2011).

The following paragraph is just part of the EPISODE which involves a man stopping by the farm at breakfast. It doesn't move the plot along, there is no real action; even the character mentioned, Earl Hightower, is not a main character. But it creates background, illuminates character-- the Southern character-- and sets a tone. EPISODES enrich and add depth and interest to the story. Mastering them are a crucial part of learning the craft of writing.

Earl put his brown hat in the chair next to him. In his work clothes, he looked tanned and strong—a real cotton farmer. His blue cotton shirt sleeves rolled up revealed big hairy forearms, with hard-looking muscle that came from farm work. He had a gentle way about him, but a mannerism that made you know he was definitely no softy. One of his big hands swept around the cup, not using the crook, and took a big swallow. Black. No sissy coffee for Earl Hightower.

 

(This post has been inspired by and in some instances, directly quoted from A Handbook to Literature, 8th Edition, by William Harmon and C. Hugh Holman)

D is for Description

DESCRIPTION is one of the four chief types of composition (along with argumentation, exposition and narration) that has as its purpose the picturing of a scene or setting. Although sometimes used for its own sake (as in Poe's Landor's Cottage) it more often is subordinated to one of the other types of writing, especially to narration, with which it most frequently goes hand in hand.

If you write YA, go easy on the DESCRIPTION. Younger readers love dialogue and will avoid a book that has large paragraph blocks describing the environment. Keep your descriptive passages brief and include in the dialogue tags to make your story a fast read.

Some genres are known for fuller use of description, such as fantasy where the readers need to visualize the world created in the story. And literary fiction. In fact, in these particular genres, if the author doesn't utilize DESCRIPTION properly, their readers will feel cheated.

(This post has been inspired by and in some instances, directly quoted from A Handbook to Literature, 8th Edition, by William Harmon and C. Hugh Holman)

B is for Blurb

In the book trade, a BLURB is the very short matter printed on the jacket or back of the book and elsewhere in promotional material. The term was invented by Gelett Burgess before the first World War. One can take a phrase or brief section out of a review and create a BLURB. This is perfectly acceptable practice. When someone agrees to give advance praise (or not so praising) and/or a review of a work, it's with the understanding that the publisher and author can glean BLURBS for promotional purposes.

How to get BLURBS for your work? Ask those you know with credentials. You could ask famous authors but they will most likely ignore you or send a form email telling you to contact their agent, who will then ignore you. Most of us know a few people whose credentials will look good on a BLURB, and who would be willing to read an ARC of our book. Think of local media people in your community, newspaper blurbs always look good. Think of your college professors, if their expertise would apply to your book. Think of other published authors. None of these people need to be famous, they simply need appropriate credentials.

And don't forget-- you can cut and paste. Like if someone writes back and says, "This completely confused me, I couldn't get past the first chapter, and your punctuation was atrocious. But I loved the dialogue."  Then guess what you use, and forget the rest? "Loved the dialogue." ~ Really Helpful Blurb-giver and Author of 3 Novels.

(This post has been inspired by and in some instances, directly quoted from A Handbook to Literature, 8th Edition, by William Harmon and C. Hugh Holman)

A is for Action in a work of fiction

The ACTION in a work of fiction is that series of events that constitutes the plot, or what the characters say, do, think or in some cases fail to do. Orderly ACTION differs from aimless or episodic activity; an ACTION customarily has a beginning, middle and end.

So it's not just the entire work that needs a beginning, middle and end, it is the ACTION as well. Or what one might think of as "scenes." And each scene must mean something. There must be a purpose for its existence in the manuscript-- to advance the plot, to explore the characterizations, to set the tone or develop themes. "But this really happened to my uncle Ned" isn't a good enough reason to include meaningless ACTION into your story.

(This post has been inspired by and in some instances, directly quoted from A Handbook to Literature, 8th Edition, by William Harmon and C. Hugh Holman)