"WORDS ARE, IN MY NOT-SO-HUMBLE OPINION, OUR MOST INEXHAUSTIBLE SOURCE OF MAGIC. CAPABLE OF BOTH INFLICTING INJURY, AND REMEDYING IT." ~ALBUS DUMBLEDORE

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

#VAbook: First Page Critiques

So. I took eleventy bajillion notes during this one panel, Dancing with the Manuscripts, at The Virginia Festival of the Book.

Yes, you read that correctly. ELEVENTY BAJILLION. 

Before you run away screaming with flailing muppet arms, you should know I'm not writing all eleventy bajillion notes out here today.

You will not have to read a novel-length post if you stick around. 

Relieved?

Phew.

INSTEAD I sorted the notes into categories and simplified them into pretty pictures.       And by pretty pictures, I mean word clouds and nothing more.

But first?

An explanation:

Ahead of time, writers could submit their first 100 words to be critiqued during the session. Sadly, I did not discover this until past the deadline. But lots of other people did and I kept track of everything said about THEIR pages.

Winning Qualities for Your First Page
prose = beautiful language, active verbs, clean writing
engaging = good setup, foreshadowing, emotions evoked right away, fun to read, wanted to know more immediately




Red Card Qualities for Your First Page
(Panelists held up red cards if they didn't want to read past those first 100 words.)

prose = bad metaphors, clunky language, too many adverbs
bad description = take too long describing one thing, vague

something interesting : one panelist didn't like an entry because Hitler was referred to flippantly (the MC compared someone to Hitler), because she'd JUST been to a WWII panel, so it hit too close to home for her at the moment. timing really can be everything



Tada! 

Donzo.

In what could have been an epic-length post, I brought you pictures. (Well, really it wasn't me. It was wordle.)


QOTD: What's your favorite number. 

Mine's eleventy bajillion. 
Or nineteen.

28 comments:

  1. I think eleventy bajillion is a great number. I'm partial to godzillion. I'm also one of those people that insists #13 is NOT unlucky. No really, it's not unlucky! But of course that is because I was born on Friday the 13th and that is my way of making myself feel better.

    Awesome post! I'm thinking my WIP is one giant red card. Hmmm... much to work on.

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  2. I love Wordle! :) Sounds like it was a great workshop to attend.

    And seriously don't feel bad about the eleventy bajillion notes -- I do the same thing. I'm an INSANE note-taker. LOL.

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  3. Great post :D Loved it. Thank you and your bajillion notes!

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  4. Thank goodness that Tolkien and Bilbo Baggins proved that Eleventy is a number.

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  5. Karen and I were just talking about first pages yesterday, and being stressed out about making sure they really grab attention.

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  6. I think eleventy bajillion is a nice number besides I like odd numbers anyway. But after thinking about it how could anyone resist nineteen bajillion. It just flows, thanks to you I have my new favorite number.

    Nineteen Bajillion...

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  7. Great stuff, Sara! My favorite number is 4. :-)

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  8. I love how you did this! That was a fab session!

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  9. Wordle FTW!

    Sara FTW!

    Love and huggles,
    Lola

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  10. Derf-teen and fifty katrillion.

    Love Wordle - my husband uses it all the time. Awesome post!

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  11. I love this. These are the best notes ever. The pictures say it all. :D

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  12. This is great. I actually need this right now, since I'm trying to write a brand new 1st chapter. Thanks for sharing!

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  13. I definitely have some of the bad points in my first pages. Thank goodness for revisions! My fave number is 23. Always.

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  14. This post cracked me up. Those ingredients for a good first page seem so straightforward. Easy almost. Why then, do I spend so much time in revision??? Fav. number? I like number 2.

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  15. This is like the BEST. It's clearer than writing ten pages on the same thing. Thanks for sharing it!

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  16. Eleventy bajillion is A LOT! And yet somehow you've condensed that into graphics that make more sense than any notes could. Great stuff! Really helpful.

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  17. Seeing Creative's Friday Links sent me! I loved the way you did this. How fun!

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  18. Ok, that was some serious awesome. I may have to start doing all my posts as word clouds.

    And interesting that there are so many ways to do it WRONG but only a few to do it RIGHT. (p.s. I popped over from the Friday Links on Stina's blog)

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  19. Great post! I love eleventy bajillion, too!

    And where in Virginia was this? How did I miss it!?

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  20. Great post! I love how you emphasized the important stuff. Thanks!

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  21. That was really cool, seeing the comments in word clouds. Thanks for sharing. I think first page sessions and manuscript consultations at conferences are sooo educational.

    Enjoy the rest of your weekend. :)

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  22. Fun post, and very helpful. That "unclear POV" makes me wonder just how clear mine is. I'm going to go back and check.

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  23. What a stroke of brilliance! Wordle! This is the best use of Wordle I have seen yet. I am soooooo tweeting this!

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  24. Great post! I really like seeing this at conferences (although I'm sure it can be horrifying if you're one of the people whose pages are being read).

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  25. I was engaged, immediately! Nice post. Good advice! :)

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Yay! I love when you have things to add :)