Monday, May 7, 2012

Blog Me MAYbe: It's Abhorsen not Abortion

It's Monday for Blog Me MAYbe. That means it's May I tell you something about writing? day. Since I'm permanently stuck on either revisions or creating something new, I thought I'd talk about a series of books that breaks lots of rules, including a could-be confusing name, but does it with style and serious draw.

Now, I will admit. If you're not into fantasy, you will not like the Abhorsen Series by Garth Nix. If you do, they are easily one of the best in young adult or adult for that matter. Though hardcore adult fantasy fans will likely find them too tame.

Before we get to the name, let's start with the rule breaking. We've all been told (over and over, and then have passed on this knowledge as if a badge of honor of having done it ourselves) that you should pretty much never start a story with a prologue. But they work so well to get your point across super fast and tell a lot in a one to two page punch, right? Right. Well, at least in Garth Nix's first book in the series, Sabriel, that's totally true. The prologue works for him.

Most of us have likely been told not to use too many gerunds ("ing" words) because that means you're telling. *gasp* And most times, I'd totally agree with this. I use them all the time, and catch myself often. I almost always find them when critiquing (lol). At first, it looks like there are a ton of them. But here's the trick... he uses them right. Here's an example:
"Feeling relatively warmer, Sabriel resumed climbing up the last, winding portion of the path, where the incline was so steep the pathmakers had resorted to cutting steps out of the granite--steps now worn and cumbling, prone to sliding away underfoot." - Garth Nix, SABRIEL
He's only using them to describe something the MC is doing with the first two. She's feeling and climbing. The rest are in reference to other things. So it's not a sentence full of: She's sitting, thinking of her long lost grandma as she is winding the yarn into a ball. Which would be so wrong to write.

And finally, the title. In fact it's the title of the third book, as well as the series. Abhorsen. It seems a little close to abortion. Doesn't it? In fact I was reading the third book--This was a few years ago--and the edition I have is red. Someone actually asked me if I was reading a book on abortion and what that funny symbol meant. But in the end, it's a whatever moment.  Because these books are so good, that Garth Nix can continue to break every rule in the book and I'll continue to read them.

Do you break rules? Are there books out there that you love despite the rule breaking?

11 comments:

  1. I'd like to think I break rules, but typically in first drafts, I tend to follow them. In second drafts I go in and really start to hack a part the rules in order to make the story flow better. Why I don't just start off like that I don't know. I've used prologues before, and I've been told it was a good and needed prologue.

    As far as books that break rules, Graceling. I liked the way Katsa stays true to what she believes in terms of romance.

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    1. That is super interesting. I break all the rules first time through and then try to tidy up after. :)

      I also loved Graceling. But I didn't like the second book very much at all. I'm still looking forward to Bitter Blue though.

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    2. I have skipped the second book all together. I just started Bitterblue and I am sort of loving it. But I love stories about putting worlds back together after wars/tragedies. It's such a fascinating realm and so few books with those plots.

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    3. ooh. I'm so far behind on my TBR pile I didn't even realize it was out. Must get now. :D

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  2. I've never read this series but I've heard good things. Maybe I'll have to give it a shot!

    And I totally break rules. I start a lot of sentences with 'and' and 'but,' I use frequent fragments and run-ons, and I tend to make up words entirely. Am I doing these things successfully? I have no idea, lol.

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    1. According to Grammar Girl (if you've never listened to her podcast, you should! She's awesome) you CAN start sentences with 'and' and 'but'. So that's kinda awesome.

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  3. Yes, I break some of the very rules I used to teach. :) I think there's certainly a time and a place for things like intentional fragments and sentences beginning with conjunctions.

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    1. I agree. I think some people can really make it work and test the boundaries of grammar. :)

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  4. I've mostly read older books my whole life, so the writing style I've traditionally modeled mine after has broken many so-called current "rules" that never existed when all these older books were written. I can see why some of these books show their age, or why some of the older styles of writing come across badly today, but I don't think it's a crime to, say, use adverbs more than five times in an entire novel, use speaking verbs other than say and ask where warranted, or directly tell the reader something when it's more effective and to the point than making the reader guess by "showing" it through excessive verbiage.

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    1. Very interesting points. I think as a reader, I get distracted by too many adverbs, and too many speaking verbs. I truly prefer asked/said. I think the trick, as with anything, is moderation. If there aren't five different speaking verbs per page, then throwing in a murmur or whisper or shout is fine. But if every other dialogue tag has speaking verbs, it gets to be a little much. I'd rather see an action tag associated with dialogue than too many alternate speaking verbs. But that's just me, and I think having a critical eye has informed the way I read now. You definitely have some interesting and valid points. :)

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  5. Hey girl, you won an e-book from me send me your email! Elizafaith13 (at)gmail.com

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