My second mentor text is from an emerging author that I've worked with on multiple accounts: Flashfall. I've barely read any novels that are driven in first-person present tense, so it was an interesting shift. Being in the shoes of the character when something is happening as opposed to being told when it happened was a new experience. The voice in the narration is the main character's own and is paced accordingly: "I wait for him to protest. To say that I can't take the risk and to announce he'll be the one to fight through radiation to mine the sands we need. But he doesn't. He just holds my gaze steady with his. I am Outpost Five's lead ore scout. If anyone has a chance to find what we need, it's me" (184). The narration is subjective, has emotion and its own opinions--I know what the main character Orion feels about all of her situations.
Another thing I've learned from this novel is that story arcs require constant drive. The author Jenny Moyer had talked to me personally about giving the characters a difficult time, and when their situations seem to be lightening up, something worse occurs and keeps the readers on edge on behalf of the characters. "My claw of a hand slips. I cry out, firing the bolt and falling. It sinks into an arch of rock, and my wrist nearly snaps with the force of the rope catching. I dangle from the line, swaying over the pool of orbies. I try to shake off the ones clinging to me, but they've dug in deep" (17). Her caving partner Dram is unconscious, her hands are injured by parasitic creatures, and she's acquiring injuries elsewhere, all while being exposed to radiation. The readers would wonder how she could ever escape this situation, and it keeps them reading.
One thing I noticed about the characters is their relationships--they have to feel tangible and work realistically. They communicate with one another realistically, adhering to their lives and situation. The two main characters, Orion and Dram, have years worth of friendship to fuel their chemistry and interactions, going through thick and thin together. "'Shhh, just sleep.' He threads his fingers through my tangled blond strands, as if he's replacing the memory with something new. Something good... Dram pulls me closer... 'I won't leave you. I won't let anything steal you away'" (91). Although the advancement of their relationship was predictable, it worked. There was substance to provide any reason for them to be the way they are, and that should be the case with all characters.
Another thing I've learned from this novel is that story arcs require constant drive. The author Jenny Moyer had talked to me personally about giving the characters a difficult time, and when their situations seem to be lightening up, something worse occurs and keeps the readers on edge on behalf of the characters. "My claw of a hand slips. I cry out, firing the bolt and falling. It sinks into an arch of rock, and my wrist nearly snaps with the force of the rope catching. I dangle from the line, swaying over the pool of orbies. I try to shake off the ones clinging to me, but they've dug in deep" (17). Her caving partner Dram is unconscious, her hands are injured by parasitic creatures, and she's acquiring injuries elsewhere, all while being exposed to radiation. The readers would wonder how she could ever escape this situation, and it keeps them reading.
One thing I noticed about the characters is their relationships--they have to feel tangible and work realistically. They communicate with one another realistically, adhering to their lives and situation. The two main characters, Orion and Dram, have years worth of friendship to fuel their chemistry and interactions, going through thick and thin together.
"'Shhh, just sleep.' He threads his fingers through my tangled blond strands, as if he's replacing the memory with something new. Something good... Dram pulls me closer... 'I won't leave you. I won't let anything steal you away'" (91). Although the advancement of their relationship was predictable, it worked. There was substance to provide any reason for them to be the way they are, and that should be the case with all characters.