Reading as a Writer Reads — Taking a Lesson from the Writing in Just Fall, a Novel
I am an avid fan of Jane Friedman’s blog on writing and publishing. She is informative and up-to-date, presenting her expertise with scope and clarity.
This week, I read her interview with screenwriter turned novelist, Nina R. Sadowsky. I was impressed with the author’s words on how a background in screenwriting informed her novel writing. I searched for her newest published novel, Just Fall, and found the publisher’s website complete with a generous 51-page excerpt of the novel’s first chapters. I eagerly read it, looking for the screenwriter’s touch in the novel’s chapters and also for something else she describes in the interview:
Because I was gleefully abandoning the highly codified structural requirements of film and TV writing, I wanted to play with structure. So the book has “Now” sections that are all linear and “Then” sections that are deep dives into the characters’ pasts, which are non-linear. I wanted the “Then” sections to be juxtaposed for character rather than advancement of plot, without losing the story’s momentum.
I have prepared a 19-minute video for this week’s article in which I explore Sadowsky’s writing for features that will help all of us in our writing. Here’s the link:
After you watch and read along with me, please use the comment boxes below to let us know your thoughts.