Jane Friedman

Hon skriver regelbundet i Writer´s Digest och ger en hel del bra skrivtips på Twitter. Här är hennes hemsida och blogg.
Här är några av skrivråden på Twitter:

Least favorite opening: Description of perfect weather outside, w/character waking in bed, peering out window, thinking about day.

Most writers overwrite. More detail/description, more explaining than needed. Even I do it. But you have to go back & cut cut cut!

I do not recommend you start your story w/character thinking, "This isn't happening." (This opening is in fact quite common!)

I love an opening that in 300 words can make me really fall in love with (or hate) a character. I'm hooked!

Problematic: Opening up w/character's inner monologue, contemplating themselves/life. Are you as good as Dostoevsky?

Jane Friedman om e-böcker

"Jane Friedman is the co-founder and CEO of Open Road Integrated Media, a new company that will produce and market e-books as well as accompanying documentary clips and trailers. The innovative publishing pioneer—and former CEO of HarperCollins Publishers Worldwide—spoke to an audience of NYU-SCPS Center for Publishing students and faculty and industry insiders about her new venture, marketing e-books, and the future of publishing."
Videos med Jane Friedman om framidens bokförläggeri.

Första sidan i en roman

Jane Friedman twittrar skrivtips om vad man ska tänka på när det gäller romanens första sida:
"If you open yr story with grief/loss of loved one, make sure you're starting in right place. Real conflict often isn't until later."
"Make story problem clear on Page One -- don’t be slow or coy about pulling back the curtain, be bold."
"Do not start your book with your character squinting into the sun, deep in thought."
Här kan man läsa mer om ämnet "första sidan" (#1stpage).

Open Road Integrated Media

"Former HarperCollins honcho Jane Friedman steps into the future, launching Open Road Integrated Media to publish e-books drawn from known and amateur authors.

The e-books will include video and audio content, including author profiles and mini-documentaries. They will be also compatible with reading devices like the Kindle and Sony Reader—neither of which currently display video—and mobile devices like the iPhone.

The e-books will be marketed through a proprietary platform “designed to reach consumers where they live, socialize and shop online,” according to an announcement the company released Wednesday at the Frankfurt Book Fair in Germany.

´We believe that a story should live everywhere, on all screens, and to that end I look forward to working with authors and agents to create enhanced e-books that place their stories at the front and center of a multi-media universe,´ Ms. Friedman said, in a statement."

Läs mer här.

The Secrets to Publishing Success

Writer´s Digests Jane Friedman tipsar om oundgängliga länkar.

Här är exempel på vad första sidorna i ett manus inte ska innehålla:

- Flashback on first page
- Too much backstory or explanation, slowing story down
- Waiting for the protagonist to appear (or unclear protagonist)
- Starting with an alarm clock or ringing phone
- Lots of characters introduced on first page
- Ordinary day stuff (getting out of bed, walking to kitchen, etc)
- Ordinary crisis moment without distinct voice or twist
- Too much telling about the story, not enough showing
- Nothing happens -- no action or problem
- Interior monologue: in character's head, just lots of thinking, no acting or interaction with anyone else
- Predictable story start or story line without a unique take
- More of a journal entry (stream of consciousness), and not a story
- Wrong starting point; not starting at a point of change
- Too confusing, not enough reason or motivation to figure out what's happening

PS: Kom ihåg att regler är till för att brytas. Bara det finns en tanke bakom det och ett konsekvent genomförande.