At the rehersal dinner this past weekend I met a ten year old boy, the son of the preacher who was performing the ceremony, who liked to read a lot of the same stuff I do. We bonded very quickly over favorite books read and I gave several suggestions for future reads. I also got to give to him some audiobooks and advanced reading copies at the reception. Turns out he is writing a book of his own and today I got to read the first 18 pages.
Now lately I've been asked to read works by several new (i.e. unpublished) authors and while it can be fun it can also be scary. What if it is horrible? What do I say? Luckily none of it has been awful. But there have been areas in which I've been able to offer some constructive criticism. The same will happen with this boy. He obviously has worked out a plot and created a world in which these actions are believable. There are some issues where he has a tendency to tell rather than show action. I find this in a lot of new authors. As he practices writing and if he takes any courses at school, he'll learn to let action occur naturally throughout the story. He also needs to work a bit on pacing. But I want to know what happens on page 19.
My brother is another one who has started writing a book. I got to read the prologue . . . enjoyed it . . . and want to know what is going to happen next as well. Hint hint brother of mine, I'm waiting for chapter one!
I don't expect to discover the next J. K. Rowling or John Grisham, but this has been fun for me. Oh, speaking of Rowling and HP, I did really like her way of epiloguing the story. Way to go J. K. I appreciate an author taking ownership of her world!
