Psst- Wanna Come to a Party?
Common Wisdom On Crowding
What makes a book compelling? Join me in developing our “Eyes and Ears” for finding compelling stories.
Wanna come along to a party? I don’t know about you, but I like a good party. Did you hear what so-and-so did? Noooo, you can’t be serious.
Especially one that expands my understanding of what makes a story compelling, or not.
Don’t worry about not knowing anyone, that’ll soon change.
After reading the following invitation, please RSVP:
The christening party took a turn when Albert Cousins arrived with gin. Fix was smiling when he opened the door and he kept smiling as he struggled to make the connection: it was Albert Cousins from the district attorney’s office standing on the cement slab of his front porch. He’d opened the door twenty times in the last half hour—to neighbors and friends and people from the church and Beverly’s sister and all his brothers and their parents and practically an entire precinct worth of cops—but Cousins was the only surprise. Fix had asked his wife two weeks ago why she thought they had to invite every single person they knew in the world to a christening party and she’d asked him if he wanted to look over the guest list and tell her who to cut. He hadn’t looked at the list, but if she were standing at the door now he would have pointed straight ahead and said, Him.
Want to keep reading? The passage is the opening segment of Ann Patchett’s Commonwealth. Patchett throws a party and in her first paragraph, invites everyone, including you. But maybe not Him.
The common rule in opening a story is don’t hit the reader with too many characters. Readers don’t want to struggle to keep up with all the strangers and at the same time figure where the story is headed.
Patchett not only flouts the rule, she floods the opening with minor characters, many who don’t reappear: Dick Spencer who attended night law school; little Caroline playing a game on the floor; Beverly’s best friend Wallis; Fix’s brother Tom and his wife Betty to name a few. The point of view even shifts to Father Mike, the priest who performed the christening.
I reread the first chapter after wondering if my own novel has too many characters in its opening scene. Was I remembering the story correctly, was I pulled into the scene? Or did I get lost among the masses?
Invitation made, time to RSVP. Take a few minutes and read the first pages of the book. You can read the sample from Amazon, or if you prefer, read the sample from your library ebook (Libby seems to be an app of choice for library ebooks). Then, tell us in the comments why you want to stay or why you left at the first opportunity, without so much as a good-bye.
Thanks to S.G. George at Ladybird Editing for inspiring the writing of this post. S.G. possesses a keen eye for story and grammar.
I’ve added my own comments in the Spoilers section below. As you can see from the picture above, I’ve brought the ice. Hope to see you.
Spoilers
I think the party scene is brilliantly written. Patchett doesn’t just invite us to the party, we’re a fly on the wall amidst family intrigue. The scene, even though well-populated with lots of characters, drew me in and stayed focus on the three mains, Fix, his hostess wife Beverly, and the party crasher Cousins, who upends things. The minor characters added richness to the scene with their brief introductions and their relevance to the main characters.
The priest initially struck me as too much. Let’s get on with the story. But I think he’s there to do what clergy do, remind us of our foibles and sensitize us to the coming infidelity.
The tension ratchets, with Fix reluctantly letting Cousins crash the party, then leaves to get ice, then Cousins thinking he’s there to escape a boring home life, and the priest’s bit.
I found the fact the party is a christening ironic in the face of infidelity with the kiss. It added another layer of richness.
As for my novel and the reason I reread the chapter in the first place, my opening chapter doesn’t feature a party, but a number of people involved in a common purpose. I’m now confident it doesn’t have too many characters. After the study I’ve made some edits to sharpen the focus of my story.
All the Best,
Geoff
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It’s a useful post on a topic we should all be thinking about as we write our novels. There was a lot going on in Patchett’s story, but a party is a party. I think she did a good job letting us know who was who and how these people knew each other. Relationships are the crux of an interesting tale.
Immediately, Patchett made me wonder why Fix didn’t like Al. I kept reading to find out why. The setting seemed real. Ann Pratchett understands human nature, including what makes people tick.
At times, I thought the introspection was overkill, but I gave the author the benefit of the doubt that she was setting things up for the reader. I didn’t like the head hopping. The sample had more than just Fix’s and the priest’s point-of-view as I read on. But that’s not what your post is about.
It’s the first time I’ve read anything from Patchett. If someone is going to populate a novel, this is the way to do it without losing the reader. Patchett was able to weave in details and create open loops that kept me reading.
Thank you for posting.
Hey, Geoff, you found Ann Patchett. So excited for you and anyone else making a similar discovery. She is one of my all time favorites. A master storyteller, voted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters. The academy was started by Samuel Clemens and another guy (forget name). An existing member must pass away and the remainder of the 250-strong group vote in another artist. We all need to know about her. If you liked this one, read her most recent, 'Tom Lake.' Her skills are growing.
As for the opening of 'Commonwealth' I agree with Ellen. Here we can see a very accomplished author break the rules. We feel her pull questions from us, the readers. Compel us to turn the page. We know we are being set up and we don't care. We want to know why. Who are these people to each other? Patchett is a weaver of relationships and I am with her to the last.
Curious how you decided to read 'Commonwealth?' Was it a recommendation?