Transition

Prologue B: Moscow

The second part of the prologue is online at http://www.WebFeats.com/Transition/b.html.

Originally, there was just one prologue with two sections. As it happens, I used to write long chapters composed of lots of small sections. But at some point I began to like bite-sized chapters, I think they're much easier for readers to digest. In this approach I was heavily influenced by Kurt Vonnegut, whose chapters progressed from "normal" length in his early novels to mere snippets in his later works.

I know that many writers like all (or, at least, most) of their chapters to be of approximately the same length, perhaps to set a regular pace for the reader. But I find myself leaning toward irregular-length chapters that break when the "scene" changes, which means that I end up with a lot of very small chapters. Maybe it's because I suspect that many readers have as short an attention span as I do...

Prologue A: Moscow

The first prologue (of two) is online at http://www.WebFeats.com/Transition/a.html.

I'm introducing a couple of peripheral characters who will come back into the story later on. Just thought that it might be interesting to inject some foreign intrigue into the mix before I launched the main plot.

One sports-related issue: You'll notice that Dimitri Boronov boasts that one of his students has run a 2:04 marathon, which is about a minute better than the current world record. Since I hope to get Transition published some day, I wanted to pick a time that may still be better than the world record even if someone is reading the book a few years from now. Of course, it may be impossible to predict a record that won't be broken. On the other hand, it may all be moot, as I'm probably being wildly optimistic to think that the book will ever be published, much less that anyone will be reading it a few years into the future...

At the bottom of the prologue, you'll notice a drawing by the talented Jennifer Daigle, who was generous enough to create drawings for several of my chapters. I very much like Jennifer's work and appreciate her contributions, her drawings help to relieve the inevitable monotony of paragraph after paragraph of text. And it's interesting to see how her vision of my characters differs from (and coincides with) my own mental images of them.

Feel free to add your comments, I'd love to know your thoughts. Thanks!

What It Is

What is it? Transition is a novel I'm writing, it's about many things (as all novels are), but it's primarily about two young women whose lives become inextricably woven together by the triathlon.

Why the triathlon? I vividly remember that I was amazed when I first heard that it was actually possible for people to run a marathon after swimming more than two miles and then bicycling for more than a hundred miles. It fired my imagination, and the outline of a plot started to gel in my mind. I wish I could say that I was so inspired that I trained for and competed in an Ironman-distance triathlon, but alas, the most I could manage was a couple of sprint-distance triathlons. (I think I came in close to last in my age group in both of them, but they're among my proudest accomplishments just the same.)

Why online? I do hope to get the book published someday, so posting it online might not seem like a smart idea. But frankly, I don't plan to post the entire book online; my insidious plan is to post perhaps half of it online and hopefully to attract a publisher in the process. Don't worry, if you'll post some helpful comments, I'll send you an autographed copy of the book as soon as it's available (free or at cost, depending on the demand) so you'll be able to learn how it all turns out. (I'm dying to find out myself.)

Feedback? One thing I like about blogs (other than the opportunity to spout off, which I adore) is how they promote feedback. If you're a writer, I'd love to know what you think about the book, and I'd appreciate your suggestions about how it might be improved. If you're a triathlete, don't hesitate to let me know if I've written something that strikes you as inauthentic. If you're a publisher, my agent is waiting to hear from you, send her an email (Vicki@Eisenbergs.com), I won't complain if you offer me an embarrassingly large advance.

Where's the book? This blog is a writer's diary, it's not the book itself. You can read Transition at http://www.WebFeats.com/Transition/.

Thanks! I look forward to your comments and suggestions (and most of your criticisms), and I hope you enjoy the book!