The Best Novel Introduction You'll See Today
Vložit
- čas přidán 2. 06. 2024
- Take these storytelling tricks from one of the greatest of all time: Ernest Hemingway.
My most recent published fiction: bangalorereview.com/2024/04/a... (Slow-Build Crime, Small Town, Ageism)
What videos would you be interested in seeing in the future?
How the opening sets the tone and describes the scene reminds me of the opening line of _Suttree_ by Cormac McCarthy:
Dear friend now in the dusty clockless hours of the town when the streets lie black and steaming in the wake of the watertrucks and now when the drunk and the homeless have washed up in the lee of walls in alleys or abandoned lots and cats go forth highshouldered and lean in the grim perimeters about, now in these sootblacked brick or cobbled corridors where lightwire shadows make a gothic harp of cellar doors no soul shall walk save you.
McCarthy introductions are iconic - I love this one.
Hemmingway always knew what his story was to be before he at down to write it. That's what underlies all this. Because he knew what the story was to be, he knew exactly how to begin it.
I hadn't heard about this, but it sounds like a great way to write a complete story. Create a vision and stick to it, rather than try to find it along the way.
Brilliant. I love the opening to Steinbeck's Cannery Row.
And now I see you've made a video on Canerry Row! Glad to have found your channel.
A great moment of serendipity! Thanks for watching - I hope you like the other videos. And give me a recommendation or two if you don't mind, since we've got similar tastes!
Thank you so much for the video
You're welcome! Thank you for watching!
I am glad for the algo to have turned me on to another author who likes the classics. Satire!
Thanks John! Just listened to your "Cringe Short Story" challenge. Best of luck in the contest - I hope you won!
this is fantastic content, thanks for putting this out there. just became your 68th subscriber!
Thank you Val! Lucky number 68!
These types of videos are SO helpful
I'm glad! More are coming - let me know if you have any recommendations!
This is one of my favorite novels have read it three times now. Hemingway is a master of creating characters that that the reader really cares about, they hook you in and make you really sad when the story is over. Harry Morgan, Jake Barnes, Nick Adams, all classics.
Absolutely. "Unforgettable" is one of the best compliments that you could give to a story or a character. Harry Morgan and Nick Adams are two characters that I'll never forget.
your voice hareee woww
Hemingway wrote his books plain and simple. The stories are not always plain and simple but the way he wrote was to the point. I like that. As I've got older and my attention span for reading a book has reduced, I appreciate Hemingway's approach. That's not so say it's the best way or that everyone should follow suit, just that it's my personal preference. At the other end of the scale, I love Dickens' stories but find his style frustrating.
It's true! Hemingway was sometimes criticized by other writers in his day for his simple style. He never used a word he didn't think would appear in a newspaper article; aka, accessibility to his reader was a major concern. I think you laid that out perfectly. I also love Dickens, but he suffered from one of the major pitfalls of a major writer in the Victorian age: pay-per-word. His novels are unbelievably wordy, though the stories are great.
Great video! I hope you end up on Jimmy Nutts’s Chatting with Nuts booktube conversation series someday. I think you guys could hit it off.
Thanks so much! I'll head over and check out his channel!
Got to love Hemingway. I think my favourites are Fiesta, The Old Man and the Sea and his book of short stories A Moveable Feast. Best wishes.
Thank you - Fiesta and The Old Man and the Sea are two of my all time favorites. I'll have a new video on The Old Man and the Sea sometime in the next two weeks!
I remember writing “We all know peanut butter jelly sandwich, But the Secretary forgot about the bread”. In one of my class electives in highschool.
I'm intrigued (your intro did its job) - did you ever finish the story?
Havent read it but was intrigued by his style when i saw he held the lowest grade of reading complexity... his sentences ramble but starting in stride and into dialogue or conflict sure helps! congrats on gaining over 300 subs in 2 weeks!!!
Thank you Francine!
Hemingway was often criticized by other writers for the simplicity of his language, but he remained steadfast in the belief that the most moving work was written with clarity, and was meant to be accessible to the public. Similar to a newspaper. In general, I happen to agree!
good
thank
*Question:* is it okay to have my first chapter take place at a court hearing where at the end of the chapter the MCs brother gets dragged off to jail then in the next chapter have the MC to try to break him out that night and find him missing? I feel like those are two inciting incidents (as getting arrested and thrown in jail is not normal) but I’m not sure.
Great question! The short answer is: it depends.
Now, the long answer.
It sounds to me like the court hearing is the setup, and the MC break-out is the inciting incident for the rest of the story. Does that sound accurate? Setups aren't talked about as much as inciting incidents. They are similar, but distinct, and each is necessary. So as long as it feels right, you should be good to go.
On a more general note: it's ok to do anything, as long as it works. Ask yourself if what you've written matches your vision for the project. Only you'll know if there's a match.
The best I can do is direct you back to your own vision as an artist. You know your project best - so don't let someone who hasn't read it (like me) or someone who doesn't understand your vision give you advice that doesn't help. That goes for any creative project - only take the advice if it gets you closer to your vision.
Hope this helps!
@@aaronsalzman the break out is the start of the inciting incident (he follows him to a pirate ship that takes them to another world). Thank you for your advice, it was really helpful
How did you go about getting published ? I’m looking to get traditionally published
Great question. I want to be transparent - I have not published a novel, though I do have six publications either out or forthcoming in literary magazines and journals. Here are some things to consider:
1. Each short story publication, in a literary magazine, is like winning a contest. Some of these journals get over 1000 submissions, and they only publish two or three stories. As a writer, you have to get used to rejection; but you should retain the confidence to keep putting yourself out there.
2. There are some good online tools to find submission portals for these magazines, like Submittable or Medium. There are others, but these are the ones I use.
3. When I have two or three short stories ready to go, I like to submit in batches. I'll go on Submittable, scan the magazines that are looking for submissions, and read through their websites. If I find a good fit, I'll choose to send the story that fits that magazine the best. The reason I submit in batches is because...
4. Some magazines could take six months to a year to get back to you. This can be frustrating, but it is what it is. Nowadays, many of these magazines are understaffed and underfunded. They're providing a service to writers like us by creating publication opportunities.
It's a tricky system that can take a long, long time. Make sure you read the websites of the magazines and choose those that would be a good fit for you.
I hope this is helpful. Good luck with your submissions!
@@aaronsalzman I’m mainly a novelist right now. I’ve been (seriously) writing novels since 2021. I wrote poetry when I was a teen. It’s hard to find agents that match with my manuscript because half of the time their wants get obfuscated with identity.
I watch a LOT of movies. A LOT. I do not recall ever seeing a movie that starts with "you know how it is" . Also really? this is profound? "you know how it is"??? this is why writers are viewed as pretentious
if "you know how it is" made you drool, wait till you read "it was a cold night in april and the clocks were striking THIRTEEN" ! What will you call that line? if - you know how it is = profound
@devstuff2576 at first, I thought you found someone who agreed with you, but I was relieved that you were only replying to yourself.
Those first words that seem to make you irate were not the point of the video.
He's showcasing how the book instantly establishes the type of environment that the rest of the story will be set in, introduces you to the main character in a strong way which reflects who he is and what he stands for, and immediately puts the protagonist into some intriguing conflict that, not only develops the environment further, but also hooks the reader, making them eager to see how the situation pans out.
All of that is to say what a good opening to a novel should do: hook the reader, whilst giving them a clear and succint introduction to the story and world. Even if this particular novel isn't your fancy, you can't deny that the underlying structure and technique is well done, at least in my opinion.
@webnon ^This is a top-tier comment. I was going to come up with a similar reply, and center the magic that is created when an introduction can do all of the above (hook, set scene, establish character and conflict), as well as take a unique, conversational tone; but I think your response is perfect.
Try to improve sound quality. It is very important.
Thank you!
To have and have not is not one of his most well known novels at all. You will find it in almost no bookstores. What are you talking about. In fact Ernest himself didn’t even like the book.
This looks like a tough one to respond to; let's break it down.
There are plenty of well-known, even best selling novels that you won't find in book stores. Especially old novels. Stock depends on the store, and sometimes, on the part of the country (assuming you're in the USA).
To Have and Have Not was culturally significant enough to inspire several film adaptations, and countless other forms of media. Very few works do the same.
Next, Hemingway liked the work enough to have it published. That does, to a certain extent, speak for itself. He was unhappy with the critical reception of the novel. Critics noted its structural shortcomings; most notably, the ending, which breaks the frame of the narrative around Morgan for a wider meditation on the working class and the wealthy elites. The novel was also criticized for Hemingway's portrayal of real people as fictional characters. Each of these could be a separate video.
Hemingway, as a person, is a complicated guy. You could make a lot of arguments about why someone wouldn't want to read this book. However, what I focused on here was the introduction, which is memorable, and displays masterful writing craft.
I'm glad you liked the video!
@@aaronsalzman He was politically pressured into writing the book and while yes he published it, that has really no bearing on whether he actually liked it, a year or even a decade after releasing it. I liked everything about your video, but as someone who has read all of his works, including lesser known ones. I would say that the average person or even a well read person would not know about “To have and have not.” If you disagree I highly recommend watching the section about the book in Ken Burns 3 part documentary on Hemingway.
I'd recommend reading the novel again, considering whether or not the narrator's (or Harry's) criticism of Marxism and revolutionaries seems forced, sarcastic, or in any other way, disingenuous.
There are a number of reasons why a filmmaker (like Ken Burns) would frame the novel in the way that he did. To bury To Have and Have Not is to bury a much darker side of Hemingway's personality. As a writer, I would argue for the opposite; that we should bring the novel more into the light, discuss it further, and have the hard conversations that it poses.
Similarly, there's a reason the documentary was covered in certain politically-leaning magazines, and not others. It's up to each of us to read between the lines and figure out whether we agree with the frames as they are presented; especially many years after a person's death, in a new, high-stakes, high-emotion, politically charged environment.
As far as disliking the work years later, well - if the point is that people change over time, I can't disagree there.
The Hemingway we know today is a multi-faceted character who would not have fit into contemporary politics. He's a complicated guy. The political pressure that any writer faces comes from all sides. The choices they make, if they are writers (which Hemingway was, first and foremost), are theirs.
Again, all this could be broken into several videos. Back to the original comment; the best I can give you is that I'm glad you enjoy Hemingway, and we'll have to agree to disagree. Thanks for watching!
1:43
Kinda underwhelming.
We'll have to agree to disagree - thanks for watching!
What a boring intro. Sorry. That does not entice me to read the book at all.