A classic start to a book

The first 90 words of Redmond O'Hanlon's 1996 travel book Congo Journey are superb:

     In her hut in Poto-Poto, the poor quarter of Brazzaville, the feticheuse, smiling at us, knelt on the floor, drew out a handful of cowrie shells from the cloth bag at her waist, and cast them across the raffia mat.

     Lary Shaffer and I, despite ourselves, leaned forward on our wooden stools, studying the meaningless pattern; the shells, obviously much handled, shone like old ivory in the glow of the paraffin lamp. The feticheuse stopped smiling.

     “One of you,” she said slowly in French, “is very ill, right now.”

I'm going to list the reasons why I think this works so well.

Firstly, before even reaching the end of the first sentence, we want to read on, if only to find out what a feticheuse is. Later, the reader discovers that a feticheuse is a shamaness; the word derives from the French for “fetish,” and fetishes loom large in the second half of the book.

Secondly, when we read “The feticheuse stops smiling...,” we know something is wrong. You want to find out what it is. Who is ill, and what's wrong with him?

Thirdly, the beginning of the book is sprinkled with clues that we're not in safe, familiar Western territory. The lady lives in a hut; there's a raffia map on the floor; the tools of her trade include cowrie shells; there's no electricity, just a paraffin lamp. Readers of travel books want the exotic, and O'Hanlon delivers the goods from the get go.

The message here is that you don't need to start your story at the very beginning. Find an engaging episode (“the hook”) that'll draw the reader in, and then backtrack if explanation/elaboration/elucidation is needed.

In my next post, I'll discuss an instance where an author had the raw material for a great hook, but failed to use it where he should have.

Getting ideas for articles I

Museums are always stimulating places; every time I visit one, I come away with ideas for articles. In this newish museum, I discovered that Taiwan's first public bus service was launched in January 1913. Guess what subject I'll be pitching to editors shortly, as they begin to make plans for the end of this year and the beginning of next year?

It's said that anniversaries make for lazy journalists. It's true, in a way - but editors and readers seem to like anniversaries, so make a point of what happened in history 100 or even 500 years ago.

Should I write for free?

You needn't.

Over the 700-plus pieces I've had published, fewer than five were done with no expectation of payment. That said, some writers have found giving their work away helps them in the early stages of their career.

One of the hottest and most divisive debates in the world of freelance writing is whether or not new writers, in the course of trying to establish themselves, should write articles for publications which don't pay. Some think it's the best way there is to gain experience and “clips” (published examples of their work which they can show editors when pitching story ideas). A parallel argument rages among photographers.

Many writers are adamantly opposed to writing for free, saying that in all other jobs, people get paid from day one. That's true if you're in a salaried position; no one expects the waiter serving lunch to work for nothing for the first few months. However, I think the freelancer's life is more akin to that of an entrepreneur setting up and running a small business.

A good many writers argue that, by writing for free, freelancers trying to make a name for themselves depress payment rates throughout the industry. I'm not convinced of this. Respected, money-spinning publications (such as airlines' inflight magazines, and the
government-backed monthly I often write for) still pay decent money. Having worked on the other side of the fence, as an editor responsible for both content and advertising revenue, I have a good understanding of magazine economics. I don't think many publications could afford to boost payment rates significantly.

In my experience, it isn't necessary to write for free. If an unpublished writer approaches the editor of a paying publication with a good idea (and shows he or she has a proper understanding of what's needed to turn that idea into a fine article – which is something I'll go into this in future posts) then there's a good chance the editor will give him or her the go-ahead. Because the writer is untried, the editor may well warn that the submission is “on spec,” meaning he'll only use it if it's up to scratch. Also, he'll likely ask the writer to submit it early, in case it needs extensive revision.

The Smoking Pen

Why 'The Smoking Pen'?

It's a nickname given to me by an old friend, and recognition that I'm a productive member of my profession.

I make a living as a writer and editor. I've had three books published since 2001; I've sold more than 700 articles to magazines, newspapers and websites over the past 15 years; and I've edited thousands of booklets, articles and documents for clients which include government agencies. In the past two years, I've helped two previously-published writers improve their work and attain greater success.

So you want to be a writer?

I'm launching this blog because aspiring writers sometimes ask for my help. Through the blog I'm going to share some of what I learned along the way, but not everything. Whether you're a new writer trying to make your first sale, or already have a track record, I can offer tailor-made online tutoring as well as editing services. I can share my research methods, and teach you how to generate ideas and pitch them to editors.

To find out more, contact me at stevencolincrook (one word, no periods, no underscores) (at) gmail (dot) com.