Hello again! I realize it’s been a loooong while, but that’s because I’ve been busy growing a business. I couldn’t let this question go unanswered, though. Have a look! 😉

March 1 question – Have you ever read a line in novel or a clever plot twist that caused you to have author envy?

How about an entire book or series?

Absolutely! In fact, I’m reading one now.

I’m reading Darkdawn by Jay Kristoff, the third book in the Nevernight series. I can say that the entire series has screwed up my insides and given me the greenies with envy.

But more importantly, it has inspired me and fed the individual fire within.

The story of Mia and her exploits is EPIC; there’s no other way to say it. But it’s the physical structural elements the author has employed that make my heart race.

Why? Because he breaks every ‘rule’ out there. All those little things within text that many say detract from the reading experience, well, they are there.

Such as:

• Footnotes – yes! In a fiction text, there are footnotes, and they are brilliant. I love this as a technique to impart other stuff that information junkies like myself just have to know. And those that don’t want to know about the three kinds of sea drakes in the Sea of Sorrows don’t have to read them. Simple as that! But I warn you, you might miss the best joke on the page if you skip them…
• Italics – I say “Use ’em, anytime you want to. Just be consistent.” And do use them for the things they should be used for as well, such as book titles and other works the style guides recommend them for. Consistency is the key here.
• Other typefaces – YES!!! Why else do we have all these gorgeous fonts and letter forms if not to use them in printed works? Kristoff uses all small capitals for one of the characters. 😱 Imagine that? I did only find this out when I switched from the audiobook to the hardcover, however. But up until that point, the narrator was stellar at character voices. Seeing the text only made me love it more.
• Creative word placement on the page – such as stringing words across a page to mimic stepping into a shadow in long strides. Love it! When I read that construction, I feel the shadows stretching to accommodate Mia as she steps; I see her jump and land soundlessly on the next word. It adds another level to the reading experience. What’s not to appreciate?
• Taking the piss on himself and critics in the text – In the banter between two characters, the author raises the absurdity of footnotes in a fiction book, like “Who does that?” and the brutality of the ending of the second book. It is brutal; I was wrung out for an entire day after listening to it. First-class book hangover. But I love that he addresses the things he knew he would get slag for in a laugh-out-loud way. Why not? Rules, even implied ones, exist to be broken; that’s one of my mottos, but I’m also an Aquarius, and we live for such things.

Expressing creativity takes many forms. I always encourage the authors I edit for to make the story and text work for itself and for them.

If you want to s p a c e out a word to illustrate how a character speaks or thinks, do it! I’m with you.

Italics for a character’s inner thoughts? Love it, I do this myself. The form of italics has a softer, inner thought feel to it, more secretive, more private.

Footnotes¹ for extra info and cheek? Bring them on.

I hope to see more of this type of rebellion in writing. We are already creating pictures with words in the reader’s mind, why not create them on the page with the physical form of the words?

The only character I’m not as yet comfortable using in printed books is the interrobang (!?) because it is used in the texting universe. But I think it will become mainstream shortly; it is perfect for expressing that exclamation-question tone. And as we all know, language and writing constantly evolve with communication preferences and societal norms.

For now, I’m off to write inspired, however the words want to come out. How about you? Will you?