Read the Beforeitsnews.com story here. Advertise at Before It's News here.

By Teralyn Rose
Contributor profile | More stories

Story Views
Now:
Last hour:
Last 24 hours:
Total:

Author's Notes that Ruin a Novel

Wednesday, June 20, 2012 17:17

% of readers think this story is Fact. Add your two cents.

A Writer’s Journey

Most historical fictions end with a few pages of the author discussing the book. He/she will talk about the history, what was accurate and what was changed, how the research was done, what happened to the characters afterwards, things like that. Author’s notes can be very interesting.

They can also ruin the entire book.

I’ve hated author’s notes for many reasons. The problem I run into the most is when the author’s notes are more interesting than the novel. I’ve read multiple books that focus on a silly love story or a miniscule difficulty, have a happy ending, and then in the author’s notes there’s scandal, war, betrayal, struggle, and challenges no human should ever have to face, and yet the characters make it through. Why didn’t the author write about that?

Sometimes I spend the entire book getting invested in the characters, only to find out in the author’s note they all met with tragedy. It breaks my heart. A book might be based on a love story and the author’s notes reveal the couple broke up. I read one book that ended happily, then said in the author’s note all the characters died horrible, gruesome deaths.

Sometimes authors think their books are more accurate than they are, and you can tell by their notes. I read one novel where I happened to be familiar with the topic, for instance. In the notes, the author listed a few very minor discrepancies. I chuckled because I knew darn well those were not the only issues.

I’ve read more notes than I care to mention that say, “Everything in this book is true.” Bull. First off, even if it is all true you sound like a snob when you say it, and second off, just because you think your book is all true doesn’t mean you’re right. We are authors, not historians. Few of us know everything there is to know about our topic.

This might sound like a catch 22, but I also don’t like novels that have no author’s notes at all. They make me suspicious.

Don’t get me wrong; I’ve read author’s notes I’ve really liked.

For me, the best notes are the ones that shock me because I had no idea so much in the novel was true. The author will say in an off-hand way, “So after the character did this…” and I’ll think, “That really happened?! Seriously?”

Other good ones enrich the text by giving you more information the author couldn’t put in the novel. In Pope Joan, Donna Cross discussed the evidence supporting the idea that there was once a woman pope and the motivation the Catholic church might have had for keeping the story quiet, as well as their methods for doing so. It was fascinating.

Others explain the author’s experience with the material. In Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Lisa See described her Chinese upbringing and how her family taught her the same ideas her characters were taught (example: “Obey your husband, your mother-in-law, and your son.”) She talked about going to China and meeting an old woman with bound feet – one of the last. I longed to go on the same journeys she went through.

Some notes explain the author’s emotional connection to the text. Going back to Snow Flower, Lisa See had an injury while writing that book and couldn’t leave the house, so she felt the same isolation her character went through.

Do you ever get bugged by author’s notes? Which novels have notes you’ve really liked?

On A Writers Journey, aspiring novelist Teralyn Rose Pilgrim talks about the excitements and disappointments that go along with her budding career. Currently agents are looking at her historical fiction about Rome’s Vestal Virgins.
teralynpilgrimm.blogspot.com

Read more at A Writer’s Journey

Source:

Before It’s News® is a community of individuals who report on what’s going on around them, from all around the world.

Anyone can join.
Anyone can contribute.
Anyone can become informed about their world.

"United We Stand" Click Here To Create Your Personal Citizen Journalist Account Today, Be Sure To Invite Your Friends.

Humic & Fulvic Liquid Trace Mineral Complex

HerbAnomic’s Humic and Fulvic Liquid Trace Mineral Complex is a revolutionary New Humic and Fulvic Acid Complex designed to support your body at the cellular level. Our product has been thoroughly tested by an ISO/IEC Certified Lab for toxins and Heavy metals as well as for trace mineral content. We KNOW we have NO lead, arsenic, mercury, aluminum etc. in our Formula. This Humic & Fulvic Liquid Trace Mineral complex has high trace levels of naturally occurring Humic and Fulvic Acids as well as high trace levels of Zinc, Iron, Magnesium, Molybdenum, Potassium and more. There is a wide range of up to 70 trace minerals which occur naturally in our Complex at varying levels. We Choose to list the 8 substances which occur in higher trace levels on our supplement panel. We don’t claim a high number of minerals as other Humic and Fulvic Supplements do and leave you to guess which elements you’ll be getting. Order Your Humic Fulvic for Your Family by Clicking on this Link , or the Banner Below.

Our Formula is an exceptional value compared to other Humic Fulvic Minerals because...

It’s OXYGENATED

It Always Tests at 9.5+ pH

Preservative and Chemical Free

Allergen Free

Comes From a Pure, Unpolluted, Organic Source

Is an Excellent Source for Trace Minerals

Is From Whole, Prehisoric Plant Based Origin Material With Ionic Minerals and Constituents

Highly Conductive/Full of Extra Electrons

Is a Full Spectrum Complex

Our Humic and Fulvic Liquid Trace Mineral Complex has Minerals, Amino Acids, Poly Electrolytes, Phytochemicals, Polyphenols, Bioflavonoids and Trace Vitamins included with the Humic and Fulvic Acid. Our Source material is high in these constituents, where other manufacturers use inferior materials.

Try Our Humic and Fulvic Liquid Trace Mineral Complex today. Order Yours Today by Following This Link.

Comments

Online:
Visits:	1,611,354,459
Stories:	8,173,453