OK, dear readers, for those of you who thought I had forgotten the subject of my last post… I shall explicitly start with the question: “Does Flash Fiction work to your advantage as a novel writer?”
From my POV (Urrgghh, don’t you just hate acronyms?) the answer must be a most definite “yes” to FF (Urrggh, again!)
Flash Fiction is tool in our authorial tool box. Let me explain; though, if you will forgive me this week, my post is necessarily brief as I have some unexpected challenges to face. I will explain through a review of some earlier posts.
Those of you who recall my post from July last year, may well remember my thoughts on how useful Flash Fiction can be for the author. Of course, for those of you who don’t recall, may I guide you to the appropriate spot in our illustrious archive!
A VERY PUBLIC ENCOUNTER…
http://thewickedwriters.blogspot.com/2010/07/very-public-encounter_15.html
Oh, and before any of you say “Oi! Isn’t that CJ’s post?”, lest I be accused of plagiarism… Well, the vagaries of the systemic move of our blog from Wordpress to Blogspot – a feat undertaken by our hard-working friend – meant that most of the archived posts appear in her name…
Well, my Very Public Encounter made what I considered (to me at least) a novel (oops, Pun alert) use of my first ever piece of Flash Fiction:
JUST A THOUGHT...
http://thewickedwriters.blogspot.com/2010/06/just-thought_09.html
When faced with a public audience: a book signing, a talk, a literary lunch, show casing a reading of a piece of Flash Fiction is a great ice breaker – as I did with Just a Thought… It also had the great advantage of of providing a reading that did not act as a spoiler.
And guess what? I have C.J. and all my friends here at WW to thank for that idea, for if it were not for WW and the blog topic of the week, I would never have written Just a Thought and I would never have ventured forth with its reading in public.
But, watch out for the unexpected…
My reading of Flash Fiction went so well at the literary lunch that I thought it would be great to do it on the radio. In September last year I got called in to do two Sunday Paper reviews within two weeks of each other, on two different morning shows. I did not want to be repetitive, so I suggested to one of the presenters that I read my piece “Just a Thought”. The presenter agreed – she thought it a good idea. I even e-mailed a copy of the text to her, so she could check through it.
The Sunday in question arrived. And I arrived at studios at the appointed thirty minutes beforehand, to collect a cup of BBC coffee and select half a dozen stories from the National papers before going on air…
There I sat, when, ten minutes before I went on air, the show’s producer came out to me and said:
‘David, we’ve run your story through the script reader and it’s too long…’
Not unsurprisingly, there was a pause…
‘…can you shorten it? By half?’ she said.
Bl**dy h*ll, I thought, ‘…of course,’ I said.
Ten minutes… TEN MINUTES! Just half a Thought?
Out came my printed copy and a pen, desperately looking to slash paragraphs. Try taking a 1000 word flash down to five hundred words in ten minutes. I was praying that, unlike a previous occasion when the producer thought one of my selected news stories was too political for the day, she would not also want me to find another story for the list I had given her.
Sigh of relief; the producer was happy with the list of stories I had chosen and I could concentrate the whole of the allotted time to my task of editing!
For me Flash Fiction is a challenge. A complete story in so many words. But it is also a great framework around which a blog post can be written. Writing Flash is good for practice. And I am with Greg here, Flash is around 500 to 1000 words. What is it with fifty words?
Give it a go!
THE MANDARIN SEGMENT...
http://thewickedwriters.blogspot.com/2010/08/mandarin-segment_11.html
And the radio show? Did I get the story short enough? Did I read it on air?
Yes! And there was me thinking this post was going to be brief… :)
Has anyone else used flash fiction in a public reading? Do drop me a note with me your story.
Showing posts with label publicity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label publicity. Show all posts
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Thursday, July 15, 2010
A Very Public Encounter
Dylan Who? Not Bob, surely? A good friend suggested, when I mentioned that I was about to attend my first literary luncheon as a published author, that I should do a “Dylan Thomas” –
[caption id="attachment_2945" align="alignright" width="129" caption="No, not Bob!"]
[/caption]
“Just wear a scarf, drink a lot of alcohol, and you’ll be OK,” she said. Except that I don’t have a Welsh accent. Good advice, I thought. (And thank you, Kate :) )
I did also think about a donning a black felt fedora… I do wear a hat, on a regular basis… and it is black, felt and fedora-like. But, despite my love of hats, I couldn’t help thinking that, as a relatively unknown author (so far – but I do have appropriate aspirations, I assure you) then I could easily be wrongly labelled as trying to copy that great British author – Sir Terry Pratchett.
[caption id="attachment_2946" align="alignleft" width="149" caption="Love the hat, Sir Terry!"]
[/caption]
So, before I go further, I will take this opportunity to state that I will, at an appropriate time in my authorial career, let my love of wearing hats resurface! I will come-out of the hat closet and reveal all… (But, as readers of my posts will know by now, I am prone to digression… so back to the post in hand!)
Given the free nature of this week’s subject matter, I suggested to C.J. (rather requested, and she – who is the font of all schedule wisdom – kindly agreed) that I post on Friday this week, so that I could write on the experience of my first literary lunch. So, here goes…
The week my book was published, a local paper carried news of an excellent Delicatessen and Tea-room’s launch of a monthly literary lunch. Lunch guests could sit and enjoy an aperitif and three-course lunch, while listening to author’s talk about their work.
“Wow!” thinks I. “What a great way to get some exposure for my newly published book!”
So I called, before the organisers had time to realise I wasn’t well known! What a coup – they booked me in for July 15th, 2010. That was around four month’s ago! Plenty of time to prepare, I thought!
[caption id="attachment_2952" align="alignright" width="93" caption="Much ado..."]
[/caption]
Then my ‘redundant’ employment situation came to a welcome, but unexpected end… and, lo and behold, I found myself with little time to do much ado about anything! (The slight hint of Shakespeare is purely intentional, dear readers.)
In the public eye?
I’ve now experienced radio on quite a few occasions. This time, though, I was to appear in front of people who had actually paid real money to come and listen to me! The pressure was on!
I then realised, a while ago, that there was little advertising of the event. “Strange,” I thought, “maybe I have been found out!” Until the publicity consultant contacted me to tell me the event was a sell-out. They had reigned back on publicity, in order not to disappoint any further potential guests.
[caption id="attachment_2947" align="alignright" width="132" caption="Who goes there?"]
[/caption]
More pressure! Not only were there going to be real people, but the room was going to be full! But who were these mystery guests going to be?
This is problematic, how can you prepare something, if you don’t know your audience? So, under pressure, the night before the talk came this week, faster than I had thought possible. (And in entirely indecent haste, in my humble opinion.) Nothing prepared. What to do!
I have never believed in re-inventing wheels. Interviews work well… I have been interviewed on radio, and in print... Why not take an interview format?
A Brilliant idea!
I don’t ad-lib… I have never ad-libbed… But, I reckon, if you ask any author a question about their book, then they will wax lyrical! Indeed, I have done so. The trick, then, was to come up with a set of one-word questions which would provide the catalyst to 30 to 45 minutes of un-rehearsed monologue! Add a couple of readings, and, hey-presto, a format for my talk.
[caption id="attachment_2948" align="alignleft" width="114" caption="Oops! Did I do that?"]
[/caption]
Well, here is something for you to think about if you find yourself in the same position… FLASH FICTION! (And thank you, the person who suggested the theme a few weeks ago… despite my having never tried it.)
A 500 word short story is an ideal ice-breaker in a public reading. It is a show-case of writing skill – a chance for an audience, who may never have actually read your work, to see how you handle a beginning, a middle, and an end! A normal reading just does not allow that, and can easily act as a spoiler.
OK, so the tea-room was small – at around 16 guests, the room was fully packed – but the audience was a gem! Quality, not quantity! They listened to ‘Just a thought’ intently. And a strange thing happened…
[caption id="attachment_2949" align="alignright" width="100" caption="I said "spontaneous"!"]
[/caption]
Within two minutes of me being introduced… the audience had broken out into spontaneous applause! That has not happened to me before, ever! I can tell you!
The ice broken, the rest was a pure pleasure: a bit about me (needed no one word question as a prompt), and I introduced the book. (I had ascertained that only one guest had actually read it prior to the lunch.) Here, I made good use of a review, rather than my own words, and then I read the short opening scene from ‘River of Judgement’.
One more time?
By this time, the audience were engaged with me. And, although they did not applause after the second reading (I was not disappointed) my set of questions went out of the metaphoric window as I checked that I now only had ten minutes left! Where had the time gone?
The audience seemed attentive, interested and waiting for more! Do they want more? Really?
I asked them… “I have another reading, if you would like?”
Affirmative nods, and some murmurs of ascent! Even an audible ‘yes’ or two! (I had, fortunately, printed off the opening scene from the sequel, freshly written.)
“Will it spoil our reading of the first book,” came a very interested, if slightly concerned voice.
(Note: if you are in business, selling, this would be considered a very strong “buy” signal… time to close the deal!)
“No,” says I. “There were a bunch of obvious crooks in the first book; I am only giving the name of one in the reading.”
More murmurs of approval. So I delivered the opening scene of the unnamed sequel. I did warn my audience that it would be twice as long to read – 1000 words! But they were not shaken!
“Thank you,” I finally announce.
And a lovely lunch was served, during which I spoke to some lovely guests who were really interesting to talk to, and who were really interested in what I had had to say.
“Do you think it went well?” asked one lady who, together with her partner, had been there because their tickets had been booked by a family member in Australia.
“Yes,” I said, with a smile.
“…because it has persuaded me to buy three copies of your book for our friends,” she said.
That one sentence, from that one lady, made the whole thing worthwhile! And I think around half the audience left with at least one signed copy of the book.
[caption id="attachment_2950" align="alignleft" width="133" caption="You can't get enough!"]
[/caption]
As writers, both self-published, and those with publishers, we need to be able to get out there and engage with those we want to buy our books! We cannot be complacent. Every opportunity for publicity must be grabbed with both hands and pursued. We must take every opportunity and maximise its impact. And, if this little story helps show how a previously unknown situation can resolve itself, then I am happy to have had the opportunity to relate it!
Happy writing! (And speaking!) :)
[caption id="attachment_2945" align="alignright" width="129" caption="No, not Bob!"]
[/caption]“Just wear a scarf, drink a lot of alcohol, and you’ll be OK,” she said. Except that I don’t have a Welsh accent. Good advice, I thought. (And thank you, Kate :) )
I did also think about a donning a black felt fedora… I do wear a hat, on a regular basis… and it is black, felt and fedora-like. But, despite my love of hats, I couldn’t help thinking that, as a relatively unknown author (so far – but I do have appropriate aspirations, I assure you) then I could easily be wrongly labelled as trying to copy that great British author – Sir Terry Pratchett.
[caption id="attachment_2946" align="alignleft" width="149" caption="Love the hat, Sir Terry!"]
[/caption]So, before I go further, I will take this opportunity to state that I will, at an appropriate time in my authorial career, let my love of wearing hats resurface! I will come-out of the hat closet and reveal all… (But, as readers of my posts will know by now, I am prone to digression… so back to the post in hand!)
Given the free nature of this week’s subject matter, I suggested to C.J. (rather requested, and she – who is the font of all schedule wisdom – kindly agreed) that I post on Friday this week, so that I could write on the experience of my first literary lunch. So, here goes…
The week my book was published, a local paper carried news of an excellent Delicatessen and Tea-room’s launch of a monthly literary lunch. Lunch guests could sit and enjoy an aperitif and three-course lunch, while listening to author’s talk about their work.
“Wow!” thinks I. “What a great way to get some exposure for my newly published book!”
So I called, before the organisers had time to realise I wasn’t well known! What a coup – they booked me in for July 15th, 2010. That was around four month’s ago! Plenty of time to prepare, I thought!
[caption id="attachment_2952" align="alignright" width="93" caption="Much ado..."]
[/caption]Then my ‘redundant’ employment situation came to a welcome, but unexpected end… and, lo and behold, I found myself with little time to do much ado about anything! (The slight hint of Shakespeare is purely intentional, dear readers.)
In the public eye?
I’ve now experienced radio on quite a few occasions. This time, though, I was to appear in front of people who had actually paid real money to come and listen to me! The pressure was on!
I then realised, a while ago, that there was little advertising of the event. “Strange,” I thought, “maybe I have been found out!” Until the publicity consultant contacted me to tell me the event was a sell-out. They had reigned back on publicity, in order not to disappoint any further potential guests.
[caption id="attachment_2947" align="alignright" width="132" caption="Who goes there?"]
[/caption]More pressure! Not only were there going to be real people, but the room was going to be full! But who were these mystery guests going to be?
This is problematic, how can you prepare something, if you don’t know your audience? So, under pressure, the night before the talk came this week, faster than I had thought possible. (And in entirely indecent haste, in my humble opinion.) Nothing prepared. What to do!
I have never believed in re-inventing wheels. Interviews work well… I have been interviewed on radio, and in print... Why not take an interview format?
A Brilliant idea!
I don’t ad-lib… I have never ad-libbed… But, I reckon, if you ask any author a question about their book, then they will wax lyrical! Indeed, I have done so. The trick, then, was to come up with a set of one-word questions which would provide the catalyst to 30 to 45 minutes of un-rehearsed monologue! Add a couple of readings, and, hey-presto, a format for my talk.
[caption id="attachment_2948" align="alignleft" width="114" caption="Oops! Did I do that?"]
[/caption]Well, here is something for you to think about if you find yourself in the same position… FLASH FICTION! (And thank you, the person who suggested the theme a few weeks ago… despite my having never tried it.)
A 500 word short story is an ideal ice-breaker in a public reading. It is a show-case of writing skill – a chance for an audience, who may never have actually read your work, to see how you handle a beginning, a middle, and an end! A normal reading just does not allow that, and can easily act as a spoiler.
OK, so the tea-room was small – at around 16 guests, the room was fully packed – but the audience was a gem! Quality, not quantity! They listened to ‘Just a thought’ intently. And a strange thing happened…
[caption id="attachment_2949" align="alignright" width="100" caption="I said "spontaneous"!"]
[/caption]Within two minutes of me being introduced… the audience had broken out into spontaneous applause! That has not happened to me before, ever! I can tell you!
The ice broken, the rest was a pure pleasure: a bit about me (needed no one word question as a prompt), and I introduced the book. (I had ascertained that only one guest had actually read it prior to the lunch.) Here, I made good use of a review, rather than my own words, and then I read the short opening scene from ‘River of Judgement’.
One more time?
By this time, the audience were engaged with me. And, although they did not applause after the second reading (I was not disappointed) my set of questions went out of the metaphoric window as I checked that I now only had ten minutes left! Where had the time gone?
The audience seemed attentive, interested and waiting for more! Do they want more? Really?
I asked them… “I have another reading, if you would like?”
Affirmative nods, and some murmurs of ascent! Even an audible ‘yes’ or two! (I had, fortunately, printed off the opening scene from the sequel, freshly written.)
“Will it spoil our reading of the first book,” came a very interested, if slightly concerned voice.
(Note: if you are in business, selling, this would be considered a very strong “buy” signal… time to close the deal!)
“No,” says I. “There were a bunch of obvious crooks in the first book; I am only giving the name of one in the reading.”
More murmurs of approval. So I delivered the opening scene of the unnamed sequel. I did warn my audience that it would be twice as long to read – 1000 words! But they were not shaken!
“Thank you,” I finally announce.
And a lovely lunch was served, during which I spoke to some lovely guests who were really interesting to talk to, and who were really interested in what I had had to say.
“Do you think it went well?” asked one lady who, together with her partner, had been there because their tickets had been booked by a family member in Australia.
“Yes,” I said, with a smile.
“…because it has persuaded me to buy three copies of your book for our friends,” she said.
That one sentence, from that one lady, made the whole thing worthwhile! And I think around half the audience left with at least one signed copy of the book.
[caption id="attachment_2950" align="alignleft" width="133" caption="You can't get enough!"]
[/caption]As writers, both self-published, and those with publishers, we need to be able to get out there and engage with those we want to buy our books! We cannot be complacent. Every opportunity for publicity must be grabbed with both hands and pursued. We must take every opportunity and maximise its impact. And, if this little story helps show how a previously unknown situation can resolve itself, then I am happy to have had the opportunity to relate it!
Happy writing! (And speaking!) :)
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