Finished Private LA, by James Patterson and Mark Sullivan.
I approached it with a huge reserve of cynicism - Patterson is labelled as the biggest-selling novelist in America. However, I've read that he effectively outlines the scenes, then gets someone else to expand that into actual chapters.
I presume he goes back and rewrites/edits as appropriate. Even still, it sounds like an industrial level of production that doesn't seem conducive to creativity - I count 90 adult fiction books released over the past 17 years with his name on them.
Surely they can't be any good?
And yet, I found myself blown away by the structure.
The protagonist chapters are all written in first person. Other POV character, not least the female lead and antagonist, are all written in close third.
And everything is about pace. The chapters are incredibly short and tight - 2-3 pages seemed the norm. If ever there threatens to be a pause in the narrative, the chapter finishes and the narrative continues in a new one.
Sure, I've seen this done elsewhere. But Patterson takes it to a completely new level. It's as though any kind of pause or slowing of pace is treated as a threat - the prose is immediately shut down or cut off.
The prose itself - namely the first person perspective - is full of American slang. There are a load of brand references - one of the kids doesn't have a cell phone, he has an iPhone 4S.This continues throughout. Presumably this is character voice in action.
There is also almost no description. A little for each character when you meet them, then the prose rushes on. And there are quite a lot of characters before the prose rushes on.
There's even less in each scene - a line if you're lucky. Even if the setting is completely different. There are no wistful paragraphs describing the different landscapes of American,as I'm used to in Lee Child's novels. In this book, we're in California, and if you don't know it - tough - fill in the blanks yourself.
There's a ton going on with Morgan, the protagonist, and his conflict is ongoing from all sides - a murder investigation, a kidnapping, concern for his workmates, his broken love life, his treacherous brother and trouble with mobsters. The PTSD that still haunts him from Afghanistan.
And that's before the plot even kicks in proper!
Pace, pace, pace. That's what this book is all about in the most extreme way I've ever seen. And driven not just by external events but also internal conflict.
That's what Patteron does well. He tries to grab your attention and hold onto it. He is the MTV of modern novels. Some people won't like that - personally I thought it worked well.
Enough that I'm sold on reading more - not least, starting the series from scratch.
I wasn't keen to pick up Private LA, but I'm glad I did. If nothing else, it's been an eye-opening experience on how to structure a novel for maximum pace.
In the meantime, here's an interesting piece from Mark Sullivan on the writing experience with Patterson: What I Learned from James Patterson
I approached it with a huge reserve of cynicism - Patterson is labelled as the biggest-selling novelist in America. However, I've read that he effectively outlines the scenes, then gets someone else to expand that into actual chapters.
I presume he goes back and rewrites/edits as appropriate. Even still, it sounds like an industrial level of production that doesn't seem conducive to creativity - I count 90 adult fiction books released over the past 17 years with his name on them.
Surely they can't be any good?
And yet, I found myself blown away by the structure.
The protagonist chapters are all written in first person. Other POV character, not least the female lead and antagonist, are all written in close third.
And everything is about pace. The chapters are incredibly short and tight - 2-3 pages seemed the norm. If ever there threatens to be a pause in the narrative, the chapter finishes and the narrative continues in a new one.
Sure, I've seen this done elsewhere. But Patterson takes it to a completely new level. It's as though any kind of pause or slowing of pace is treated as a threat - the prose is immediately shut down or cut off.
The prose itself - namely the first person perspective - is full of American slang. There are a load of brand references - one of the kids doesn't have a cell phone, he has an iPhone 4S.This continues throughout. Presumably this is character voice in action.
There is also almost no description. A little for each character when you meet them, then the prose rushes on. And there are quite a lot of characters before the prose rushes on.
There's even less in each scene - a line if you're lucky. Even if the setting is completely different. There are no wistful paragraphs describing the different landscapes of American,as I'm used to in Lee Child's novels. In this book, we're in California, and if you don't know it - tough - fill in the blanks yourself.
There's a ton going on with Morgan, the protagonist, and his conflict is ongoing from all sides - a murder investigation, a kidnapping, concern for his workmates, his broken love life, his treacherous brother and trouble with mobsters. The PTSD that still haunts him from Afghanistan.
And that's before the plot even kicks in proper!
Pace, pace, pace. That's what this book is all about in the most extreme way I've ever seen. And driven not just by external events but also internal conflict.
That's what Patteron does well. He tries to grab your attention and hold onto it. He is the MTV of modern novels. Some people won't like that - personally I thought it worked well.
Enough that I'm sold on reading more - not least, starting the series from scratch.
I wasn't keen to pick up Private LA, but I'm glad I did. If nothing else, it's been an eye-opening experience on how to structure a novel for maximum pace.
In the meantime, here's an interesting piece from Mark Sullivan on the writing experience with Patterson: What I Learned from James Patterson
