Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Teaser Tuesday

Today I'm participating in Teaser Tuesday. This weekly meme is hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.
The rules:
Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
 
My teaser is from page 14 of Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook by Donald Maass.
 
"How do you build a larger-than-life character in your current manuscript? What does your protagonist say, do, and think that he, or we, would never, ever venture?"

Just for the record, I think the Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook is one of the all-time most useful books for writers. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend it.
 
Have you read the Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook? What are you reading right now? Care to share a teaser?

29 comments:

Unknown said...

You've definitely brought a good book to my attention!!!! Looks like my amazon order just got larger!

Joanne said...

I like your sentence choice. I've done this with my work, having a character do something that the reader might like to do, but would never have the nerve to. It's a way of bringing imagination to life.

S.A. Larsenッ said...

I have that book!! I've tabbed so many pages, the book practically doesn't close. Plus, the cover fell off. :)

Old Kitty said...

Oooh I like the advice!! Thanks lovely Susan Fields! Take care
x

Amy said...

Great teaser! I am definitely checking this one out - thank you for sharing! :)

Carolyn V said...

Ohhh, great teaser. I love a good writing book. I'm going to have to check it out!

Shannon O'Donnell said...

MUST. BUY. BOOK!!!

Carol Riggs said...

Ha! I finally bought that book but I haven't read it yet! I may bring it to my SCBWI retreat next month and read it on my free time in the evenings. Thanks for the reminder! I've heard it's really good, and that's why I bought it. :)

Alexandra Shostak said...

Interesting. I've never actually read that book--I'm picky with books on craft, but this one sounds pretty good! :) Thanks for sharing.

Cherie Reich said...

Very good teaser. I've heard about the book, but I haven't read it yet. Perhaps I should soon. :)

Talli Roland said...

I really must get that book. Thanks for sharing!

A.L. Sonnichsen said...

I've read the book itself, but don't own the workbook. I've heard good things, though. You know what's funny? When I was querying, I found an agent at Donald Maass' agency who represented my genre, but I was too scared to query her!! I just couldn't do it! WRITING THE BREAKOUT NOVEL totally intimidated me. :)

Amy

Dawn Simon said...

I have to, have to, have to get that book! I already have THE FIRE IN FICTION, and I've heard Donald Maass speak a couple times. He really knows his stuff--so smart.

Brian's Home Blog said...

I think my breakout character must be broke!

Kelly Polark said...

I have that booK! I won it at Stina's blog. I actually brought it to Florida last week thinking I'd have time to work through it. I do plan to use it in October to plan for Nano!

The Happy Whisk said...

It's Tuesday already? My gosh. Goes too fast.

Golden Eagle said...

I've heard of that book before, but never read it--thanks for the teaser! :)

DEZMOND said...

well, that was a teasing sentence, wasn't it?

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

interesting... I'll have to check out this book. Thanks for the tease :)

Lydia Kang said...

That's a great thing to contemplate when writing. I liked Maass's book, it reinforced a lot of what I was already learning from my writer bloggy friends.

Jemi Fraser said...

I think the man's a genius! :)

alexia said...

I've heard so many good things about that book! I'll get it one of these days...

Dianne K. Salerni said...

Okay, I've got my book all open to share my teaser sentences ... and I notice that none of the other commenters are sharing their sentences. Is this not what we're supposed to do???

Well, I'm gonna anyway. I don't have a page number, because it's on my Kindle, but this is from the middle of the free sample of Lindsay Buroker's steampunk novel, The Emperor's Edge:

"The bodies were charred into anonymity and still smoldering. Eight, Amaranthe counted as she walked around the pile, sodden floorboards creaking ominously beneath her feet."

Having read another book by Buroker which I thoroughly enjoyed, I'll probably go ahead and buy this one, too.

Anonymous said...

Fantastic questions. They've got me thinking. :)

Deniz Bevan said...

That's not just a teaser, that's great advice! Must make sure my character is larger than life.......

cleemckenzie said...

That is a great book for writers. I think it's time I reread some of it. Thanks for nudging me with your excerpt.

I'm reading Provenance and I loved this line on page 23."The world's gone mad,"Myatt told the professor. '"Art was never meant to be just a question of money."'

Cynthia Chapman Willis said...

I love Writing the Breakout Novel and the accompanying Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook by Donald Maass! Great pick.

Talei said...

Very good tip - I like it! Thanks for sharing! ;-)

Margo Berendsen said...

I have that book because EVERYONE loves it and recommends it! But I read his Fire in Fiction first, so I haven't been as motivated to get into the Workbook. But you've just motivated me!