Tuesday, August 28, 2007

DAY 3 MAUI WRITERS RETREAT : IN SEARCH OF THE PERFECT PROLOGUE (OR WAS THAT THE PERFECT MAI TAI?)

This is the bar at the Wailea Beach Resort and Spa.
We know it well.
We find our muses here.

So that pesky pesky prologue. We have met many authors who use them.
It's just that many beginning writers do them badly.
Including me.
My first prologue was a mess. It eventually became chapter 1.
And then transformed back into a prologue.
So do not despair. You can have your prologue...and eat it too...
Or is that cake?
I have to wake up at 2 am to do live radio interviews so I can't be sure.

When I walk to class each morning I pass this pool. If I glance over superficially I miss the koi. The water lilies. The fragrant blooms lining the edge. Our homework is to create a scene. Expand it. Make it richer. Deeper.
See the koi.
Smell the jasmine.
Touch the water.
Make something happen.
We read a scene from Bel Canto and learned.
And then we went out to dinner. We sat behind our heroes...Jacquelyn Mitchard and Ann LeClaire.

They are both teachers here at Maui and are working hard.
Very hard...in fact Ann is having trouble keeping her eyes open.
Jackies new book STILL SUMMER and Ann's book THE LAVENDER HOUR are out and at books stores everywhere.
Buy many copies of each...
Along with LOTTERY.
Ann likes dragonflies too.
That is SO cool.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Aloha Pat,

I will cheerfully accept hand-me-downs from John Lescroart, he's one of my favorites.

Mahalo,

Wandering Star Bob

Anonymous said...

Such a fancy place and they don't keep the pool any nicer than that? Koi Vey!

ORION said...

Very funny!
It's either that or swim with the sharks!

Adrienne said...

Am loving these pictures Pat! Man, makes me want to be there so much!

Aprilynne Pike said...

Prologues are so tricky. I have come to the conclusion that half of the time they are someghing the author needs to write, but not actually put in their story. The book my agent and O are prepping to send out was like that. I had this fabulous idea and ran home to start . . . with the prologue, of course.:) I got done. printed it out, handed it to my hubby and said, "What do you think?"

He read it over and said, "It's great that you wrote this, but this is not where you want to star your story."

After another day and a mini-fit, I realized he was right.

But it was still good for me to write it.:)

Jaye Wells said...

Just wanted to let you know that today when I picked up my local library's monthly newspaper, your smiling face peered back at me. It was a full page article about you and the book. For what it's worth, you're a celebrity in Plano, Texas.