posted
I've given a great deal of thought to the 13 line rule of these forums over the months and years, and while I agree with the principal of it, I began to wonder about the behavior of real readers in bookstores. It's great to have a first 13 to suck the reader in, but I have to ask -- how many of you read the beginning of a book when you pick one up in the bookstore/library/etc?
It occurred to me the other day that I almost never read the first page. I check the back for a synopsis & subject, and then I crack it open somewhere in the middle and start reading to see if I like the author's style. Am I the only person here who does this?
If it is a common behavior, then it might have implications for the "first 13" philosophy. Not every section can advance the plot or act as a hook of some sort, but I don't think the first 13 should really be unique in any way. Piquing the reader's interest is important in the beginning, but it is also important in the middle, at the end, and everywhere in between. Certainly this would be important for the oddballs like me who browse sections in the middle to get a feel for the story flow before buying, but it's also important to keep your reader hooked. I have had a few books by very good authors that I've put down because I lost interest in the middle. One in particular that I'm thinking of is Neal Stephenson's Baroque cycle books. I just stopped reading in the second book and never picked it up again. I love NS's writing style - the beauty and humor of it never changed, but I stopped being interested. Somewhere in there, each 13 stopped being a "first 13."
Would anyone be inclined to try something a little different in the short stories & novels forums from time to time? How about a random 13 challenge - the rules:
posted
Actually, I do read the beginning, after checking out the blurb on the back. The reason I do that it because I read a book from beginning to end, and if I find I can't get through the beginning, I won't read on. If that's going to happen, I don't want to have bought the book at all.
The other thing I want to note is that, in every submission guideline for novels I have ever read, they specifically state they want the *first* three chapters. They don't want the middle of your book. That means that, to get published (in theory what we're all working towards), your beginning needs to be good enough to make them want more. While I do think that they're reading more than just the first 13 lines, and I do agree that the whole book needs to be good, the truth of the matter is that, to an unpublished writer, the beginning is very important. The rest can be critiqued by someone who is doing the whole work.
The problem with doing a critique of a random 13-line section is that there would be no context. Information that is vital to understanding what is going on in that section that would not be available. It helps to remember that every work, short or long, is more than 13 lines, and that it all has to work together, each succeeding section or chapter building on the ones before it. As has been discussed many times, the only reason we limit what is posted to 13 lines is for publication rights purposes. Most of the time, the first 13 really is an invitation to critique the whole work anyway. I find that the response level of those willing to read the whole thing can be a good test of whether that beginning might cause an editor or slush reader to keep reading.
posted
I think someone has recently tried posting a segment from the middle of his or her novel. As I recall, feedback was difficult because those who read the segment were confused due to the lack of back story. I think this was recent so the thread may not be that far back if you want to reference the discussion.
Personally I don't read anything in the middle of a book before I make a purchase. I usually only read the first page or so to see if it draws me in. In fact, only rarely do I read the blurb on the back of the book.
posted
I didn't mean to imply that the first 13 were unimportant, or even that they aren't more important than any other section of story. I also certainly didn't mean to suggest a replacement of first 13-based crits and forums. However, particularly as to the point about context, beginnings notoriously lack context and drop you in the middle of something.
A random 13 critique would be less of an invitation to critique the whole work and more of a query into the style, power, and voice of the narrative. If a random 13 happened to land you in a patch that is terribly boring on its own, one might be inclined whether or not that section should be in the work at all.
As a fictional example, for a random thirteen I might not know why Fiona is clutching something called the Godspell beneath her cloak, or whether or not the Godspell could fit under a cloak, but I could still enjoy how you described her emotions, the way she flitted about her head and jumped at noises. If she's brushing her teeth for thirteen lines... I might ask why this is important enough to be more than two words, or even present at all.
Perhaps it's silly. I'm trying it on a few of my own WIPs at the moment to see if it yields anything.
posted
I do the same thing, I jump ahead and browse maybe in part because I expect the first page to be contrived, gimmicky, and "hookish". Maybe that's just a reaction to our obsession with it here, though.
posted
There's a misconception that's common on here (common enough that I fell foul of it when I started) that the first 13 is about hooking a reader.
The first 13 is not about hooking the reader, it's about hooking the editor. The reader is indeed not as likely to be so focussed on the opening; in a short story environment, the reader is normally buying a whole package (hough this is changing with online delivery mechanisms) and in a novel it is more likely to be cover picture and back cover copy that is the "hook" to get the reader interested. They MAY then read the opening, just to get a feel for the style, so it's certainly not unimportant, but the reason we focus on the first 13 here so much is to get an editor to keep reading the story, in the hope of selecting it FOR readers.
quote:...how many of you read the beginning of a book when you pick one up in the bookstore/library/etc?
I do, when picking up a book by an author I've not read before.
About 50% of the time I won't read the blurb on the back either (though I may check for reviews/testimonials quotes). Often I find the blurb to be a bit of a plot spoiler (ie, "When a werewolf shows up at Jim's school..." - why waste my time reading the events leading up to that?). I just want to know if the style of writing appears engaging.
But I suspect I'm no the regular market demographic; as tchernabyelo pointed out the first 13 is more aimed at editors. From the link leading to this forum:
quote:We set the limit at 13 lines for two reasons:
First of all, the first page of a manuscript should only have about 13 lines on it, since that first page should begin in the middle of the paper. It is not unusual for an acquiring editor to read only the first page (13 lines) of a submission before deciding whether to reject the submission or keep reading. We submit that 13 lines is enough for a potential reader to determine whether or not they want to read more.
Second, Hatrack River Writers Workshop forum is not a publisher, and we do not want you to risk using up your electronic rights to a story by posting any more than the first 13 lines on our website. Most professional editors are not interested in purchasing work that has been published online, and we want you to have every chance to be professionally published if that is your goal.
posted
I'll add my agreement to what other's have said. But I want to say it my own way so sorry for the repeat.
It's about the editors. For readers there are so many different angles to look at when searching for a book, pictures, blurbs, random reading, reviews, recommendation from a friend, even the 'hey that cute guy/girl is buying this book, if I buy this book perhaps they will go out with me,' factor. Editor's just have a stack of paper, and they have found through years of work and the experience of their forebears that it is far more convenient, in a lot of ways, if you start at page one.
Of course that doesn't mean your challenge won't be fun. It will probably be quite useful.
posted
For me as a reader trolling the shelves at a bookstore -- yes, the title, cover and jacket/back blurb are important to induce me to pick the book off the shelf. However the first page is critical. You can lose me real fast with a bad or bland first page.
I know that some writers make the first page(s) really good and slack off after that so I will read on a bit, maybe even sample from the middle before making up my mind. I never buy a book where the first page fails, though. I have found over the years that if the opening is not good, the rest is never good.
posted
I do all three. Test 1 - I look at the blurb (I'll not look inside if it doesn't sound interesting). Test 2 - I open the first page (if I don't like it, I'll put it back). Test 3 - I open to the middle (I'm a little more forgiving here, but I just want to get a strong sense of style). Test 4 - I look at the price (unless I'm borrowing it from the library).
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quote: A random 13 critique would be less of an invitation to critique the whole work and more of a query into the style, power, and voice of the narrative.
I'm not sure one can separate style from content.
I just picked one of my stories at random, and 13 lines within at random.
My random 13 is mostly dialogue. The characters speak in an odd fashion, using some strange words; it only makes sense if one has read what went before and understands their world. If this story has voice (and I like to think it does) it's a voice that's supposed to resonate with the milieu I've created, one that takes two or three pages to establish.
Another example: if we picked almost any 13 lines at random from China Mieville's "Perdido Street Station" we'd probably all cry "Purple!" But if you start the book at the beginning, the purple prose comes and goes and the combination of plot, characters, milieu and voice provokes the "willing suspension of dissing Purple" -- at least, for this reader and China's legions of fans.
On the basis of my sample of two works I fear that crits of a random 13 would be overly discouraging for lack of understanding of what went before.
But, can one never divorce style from content? When I sample text at random in a book prior to purchase, I often sample chapter beginnings (will it grab me after I put the book down at bedtime the night before?) and chapter endings (I like good cliffhangers, and we can often see those despite not understanding what's going on).
Perhaps there are 13-line patches of text that can be evaluated for style, voice and power without understanding what went before. If there are, I think one would be less likely to get discouraging crits if they were picked judiciously by the author, and not at random.
posted
I'll second what tchernabyelo and others have said---the first 13 is to hook the editor. The editor (or slush pile reader) likely has a stack of manuscripts, and probably will do little more than read the first page. Maybe even the first line. If you can't hook an editor, it really doesn't matter how brilliant your story is--it won't get published.
I would argue the first 13 has to be unique. It's got to be an accurate representation of what's to come, but you've got to entice people to read. You can't just start out as if the story has been going on prior to the first 13. You've got to set it up.
As for how I approach books--I'm drawn to the cover and the title. I hate to say it, but it's true. I read the back of the book. If it sounds interesting I'll open it up and try out the first page. If the first page seems good I'll flip around to somewhere in the middle and just read another excerpt. If it passes those tests then I'll buy it.
I think the random 13 lines exercise you propose would be interesting and enjoyable, but I don't see it enabling a very fulfilling critiquing process. It would be impossible to say, well, this makes no sense, because we don't have enough information to know if it makes more sense. We couldn't even say, well, your MC seems like an interesting fellow, because we have no context to judge that statement with.
Going back to the first 13 and its uniqueness---it's like painting a picture. You're doing preparatory work to set the canvas for the rest of the image. The first strokes you lay aren't going to be like the strokes you put down later. You don't simply start in one corner and paint the entire piece until it's done. Rather, you are arranging the perspective, blocking in the main elements of composition. You start layering elements--a sky wash, a green wash for the land, etc. That's how I see the process.
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