CRAFT (or something similar): Are there two or more legit styles?

WARNING**LONG POST UNDER LJ-CUTS**

I brought the subject matter of two important comments up to this level so I could explore the issues and ask for more opinions.

First, houseboatonstyx pointed out several ways to speed up the opening scene.

( Tightening and reshaping the opening, but retaining the basic form )

The overall vibe I got from you was that the opening at the workplace/desk just was too commonplace. I thought about having the call come in while she was at her sister's house, as you suggested, and letting her sister hear part of the convo, but then I decided it would be tenser if she is alone in some karaoke bar--because she's just been stood up by the guy she was going to meet, a friend, Eddie, who'll come into the plot later again when she needs to prove where she was the night Aaron was killed--and goes up to sing and then gets the call. THEN she can go spring this trip on her sister cold, dumping her animals there to be cared for, and really be a pain of a younger sibling. (grin)

Your comments prompted me to redesign the opening. I would call that HELPFUL, wouldn't you? Thanks again.

Then we have the concept of "starting when the story gets going," mentioned in the comments from green_knight. This is an issue that comes up fairly often in all writers' groups. I do worry about this, but I also see books that start too late in the story and that I think should have had some preamble. In fact, one of my older books got that suggestion when I sent it around. It's all so subjective (sigh).

I hear you. Other books of mine, such as LR and Camille, start _in medias res_. This one has a bit of setup instead, which is not uncommon in cozy mysteries. Your question, however, is to the point: can I get past the gatekeepers with this one if the first reader sees it as a boring scaffolding/throat-clearing setup? Hmm.

( Is there still room in the market for books that aren't just like movies and are for readers instead of 'for everyone'? )

This brings me to my theory. The majority of the reading public reads only the bestsellers (and stuff they "have to" read for work or school) and some hand-sold books that are given to them or recommended to them by trusted friends. These readers typically prefer the style that you describe, the no-style style at the breakneck pace (the way that I experience it.)

These are the best-selling authors. That is not my audience, because I can't stand books like that. It's just the way I'm made, I think.

The midlist novel (which is what the cozy midlist mystery usually is--what I'm writing here) is typically not so much like that. There's usually a strong authorial voice and style that is not chicklitty and not no-style. This is usually a plus in the minds of the fans who read the genre, I believe.
And in a mystery, you have to sneak in clues and little "mistakes" that turn out to be lies told by one character, or missed clues, or misunderstandings that one character has about another. If a character has misgivings about another early on, it can serve to ramp up suspicion and suspense.

But is there still room in the market for a slower-paced style? I do see books that are slower-paced, but often they're from established authors. Not always, though.

Again, there are different types of books. One type has a wildly twisting and turning plot that is supposed to absorb most of your attention. The focus is on the puzzles or the action, not on the characters and their inner change.

The other type of book is focused on the inner changes that the characters experience as a result of what happens to them and as a result of the choices they make and the actions they take. These books typically contain more introspection and more of what you may see as explanation.

In my case, I don't have wildly original or outlandish plots, for the most part. I just can't come up with them. My plots are not what will draw readers to my books.
The vibe between the sisters is what will draw readers to read the next book in this series, I think. That works for Janet Evanovich in her series.

I am not a no-style stylist. I wouldn't want to be. I don't want to make them stop writing, though. There's room for both of us. (I hope.)

Jim Van Pelt writes (on his website): "When I was reading novels for the PKD award two years ago, many of the books read like technical exercises, i.e., plug threatening event into slot A, insert appropriate characterization into notch B, attach subplot in niche C, etc. Others read much more organically and, well, joyfully, even the dark parts."

I think I'm more like Jim as a reader. I like to read text designed for a reader. I like to see dramatized scenes. If I'm going to spend a lot of time with a story, I have to like it, and in order to like it, I have to write something I want to read. It's tough to explain.

However, it could be that there's no room in the market for my kind of book. If there is, though, I think it's either in the Literary Masterpiece/Mainstream world (which I won't be able to gain entree to because I'm not doing an eloquent marble sculpture of a book) or in the mystery realm. Lots of cozy mysteries have more introspection and more of a thoughtful pace. That's one thing that attracted me to the genre.

I'll do as much as I can to make the book like others that have sold recently, but I don't think I can start it very much later in the story timestream than this. It's always a tough call.

I did get many good ideas for improving this draft from this series of posts. I thank everyone who has commented, and I hope that others can learn from looking at what we've pointed out or talked about!

What do you think?

Stop and think

Well, the 'net at large is talking about the passing of Rev. Jerry Falwell. While I am sure that everyone has his or her own take on Falwell's influence on the world, I think it is rather bad form and nasty for people to cackle and say ugly things. It reflects on those who are saying the nasty things, not on him, by the way. I believe that he is with God now, even if some of the things he did or advanced were wrongheaded. Only God knows the heart.

My mother's cousin Johnny Rogers also lost his battle with cancer last night. He was in his late sixties and leaves behind a wife, two daughters, and a grandson. He was also a good person and will be missed, and is with God now.

Reading my friendslist and various mailing lists, I see that many other people have ended their walk on Earth today, and others have had wake-up calls. It saddens me and reminds me of the limited time we have to spend learning what we're supposed to learn down here.

So let's try to remember today . . . no man knows the time or the place, and today's the day to do what you meant to get around to. And be nice about it, while we're at it.

John Donne, from Meditation XVII.
"All mankind is of one author, and is one volume; when one man dies, one chapter is not torn out of the book, but translated into a better language; and every chapter must be so translated...As therefore the bell that rings to a sermon, calls not upon the preacher only, but upon the congregation to come: so this bell calls us all: but how much more me, who am brought so near the door by this sickness....No man is an island, entire of itself...***any man's death diminishes me***, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee."