Zero Angel
Auror
Hi guys,
Edit: Originally, I was going to post a question I'd like to get some feedback on, but through the course of writing the original post, I ended up working out what I wanted and it devolved a little more into being about my style of writing (specifically one technique that I regularly employ). So I've adjusted my question to talk about the technique that I was employing originally and asking about.
In my writing, I tend to like specific lines to stand out and be one-line paragraphs with extra emphasis.
In my WIP, the first line (and paragraph) currently is, "The pain never got any easier" and is told from the main character's POV, who happens to be a 20000+ year old goddess known as the Warrior. Hope (the Warrior's real name) is thinking of this idea that no matter how old or how strong she became, the pain she has to deal with from her injuries (and especially from the Culling, which is a type of cancer that is killing her) never hurts any less. No matter what wound it is, she still has to deal with the pain.
I end the novella with the one liner, "If you are strong."
(Note: I'm not particularly sold on, "The pain never got any easier" YET, but I hope that I will be able to work it out in the rewriting stages of the novella.)
Dealing, whether it is with the pain or her cancer or the limitations of her abilities and powers, missed opportunities in love and family, or whatever, is one of the themes of the story, which is titled "The Warrior's Way". The eponymous way is this idea of being strong enough to take the road less traveled in order to help others travel it that would not be strong enough without you. (or as Spidey would say, "With great power comes great responsibility").
It's a bit of a cheap technique (in that I find it very easy to do and feel it is reasonably effective), but I like to incorporate these one-line emphasis paragraphs throughout my works (be they short, novella, or novel-length) in order to (subconsciously or not) provide a type of call-back, thread a theme through the story, or just to really call attention to what is going on.
In my first novel, I opened Chapter 1 with "Valistair was not comfortable" (yes, I am aware that it is passive), and then went on to use it (I think) three more times. Once more with Val, once with his best friend, Uriel, and once with his little sister, Kitialyn.
It is my hope that this calls up the idea of these other scenes in the heads of the reader, while simultaneously setting the line apart and drawing their attention and focus to it.
Do you think the first line of the novella "The Warrior's Way" is appropriate, needs tweaked, anything else? What do you think of this technique? Do you use it in your own writing or are aware of it elsewhere? Are there good or bad examples of it you can think of? What made them good or bad? Thoughts? Criticisms? Questions? Tangents?
Edit: Originally, I was going to post a question I'd like to get some feedback on, but through the course of writing the original post, I ended up working out what I wanted and it devolved a little more into being about my style of writing (specifically one technique that I regularly employ). So I've adjusted my question to talk about the technique that I was employing originally and asking about.
In my writing, I tend to like specific lines to stand out and be one-line paragraphs with extra emphasis.
In my WIP, the first line (and paragraph) currently is, "The pain never got any easier" and is told from the main character's POV, who happens to be a 20000+ year old goddess known as the Warrior. Hope (the Warrior's real name) is thinking of this idea that no matter how old or how strong she became, the pain she has to deal with from her injuries (and especially from the Culling, which is a type of cancer that is killing her) never hurts any less. No matter what wound it is, she still has to deal with the pain.
I end the novella with the one liner, "If you are strong."
(Note: I'm not particularly sold on, "The pain never got any easier" YET, but I hope that I will be able to work it out in the rewriting stages of the novella.)
Dealing, whether it is with the pain or her cancer or the limitations of her abilities and powers, missed opportunities in love and family, or whatever, is one of the themes of the story, which is titled "The Warrior's Way". The eponymous way is this idea of being strong enough to take the road less traveled in order to help others travel it that would not be strong enough without you. (or as Spidey would say, "With great power comes great responsibility").
It's a bit of a cheap technique (in that I find it very easy to do and feel it is reasonably effective), but I like to incorporate these one-line emphasis paragraphs throughout my works (be they short, novella, or novel-length) in order to (subconsciously or not) provide a type of call-back, thread a theme through the story, or just to really call attention to what is going on.
In my first novel, I opened Chapter 1 with "Valistair was not comfortable" (yes, I am aware that it is passive), and then went on to use it (I think) three more times. Once more with Val, once with his best friend, Uriel, and once with his little sister, Kitialyn.
It is my hope that this calls up the idea of these other scenes in the heads of the reader, while simultaneously setting the line apart and drawing their attention and focus to it.
Do you think the first line of the novella "The Warrior's Way" is appropriate, needs tweaked, anything else? What do you think of this technique? Do you use it in your own writing or are aware of it elsewhere? Are there good or bad examples of it you can think of? What made them good or bad? Thoughts? Criticisms? Questions? Tangents?