ILLUMINATION Book Chapters Extravaganza 1
ILLUMINATION Book Chapters welcomes book chapters, reviews of books, and testimonials about your books or other people’s.
Dr Mehmet Yildiz couldn’t make it any easier for us to find book chapter stories we can read on the go, sitting at home with our feet up or in a coffee shop — when they reopen.
So that you and I don’t miss any new chapters the ever-thoughtful Dr has furnished us with a super handy index.
It’s what I’m going to refer to for my Weekly Wisdom selection.
What do I look for?
I go for what jumps out at me.
- the header title and or image
- assorted read times,
- do I know and love the author’s work already?
- is this an amazing new writer?
I’ve got to be in the mood for a 12-minute read, don’t you? This WW takes a new shape, based on the different types of reading time I have available at varying times of the day.
Short reads 3–8 minutes
In true book form, Keri Mangis commences with a 7-minute prologue to Embodying Soul: A Return to Wholeness.
Anxiety, sarcasm, and a therapist feature. The protagonist suffers control anxiety and uses silent sarcasm when she doubts the therapist knows what she is doing.
I had revealed that nevertheless most people never suspected my inner turmoil, because I hid my true feelings under layers of self-discipline.
“Let’s begin today by going back to your childhood. What would you say were your family’s core values?” asked my rosy-cheeked, spiky-haired, middle-aged therapist while holding a ballpoint pen an inch away from her yellow legal pad, ready to scribble my family wisdom.
Did I want to continue reading?
Yes, I did.
This is the first book chapter I read on ILLUMINATION Book Chapters. It was also the very first book chapter to be published!
The fact that my friend, Alison Tennent or The Garrulous Glaswegian, as she is also known as and loved, wrote it made doubly sure I read it.
True to her form, I was not disappointed. A 3-minute cavort of a read.
Spiritual versus religious is a common theme. When I was 20, I was neither. However, the decidedly immoral practices of a so-called Christian cult may have opened the door of spirituality to me.
Did I want to continue reading?
Yes, I did. And I did, three more chapters a week or so ago! I’m saving chapter 5 for later.
Put your feet up or coffee shop reads 8–15 minutes
I want to take my laptop to a coffee shop and read and write for two focused hours. Instead, I have set up a desk in my living room. It feels like a different world. Nah, I’m joking. It feels like a work desk in my living room.
My creative writing tutor told me to start with the most exciting moment in the story. I don’t recall if that was for every story or just the one she was speaking about at the time. Regardless, the tip stuck with me.
When I read Øivind H. Solheim’s 9-minute first chapter, I thought I needed something exciting to happen from the get-go. However, the placid first few minutes built up the tension until I reached this paragraph which set the excitement metre ticking. Delayed gratification is perfectly fine by me.
A woman a few years ago, she had just disappeared. Had been observed walking along the lake. She was never found later. Not. found, either in the river or in the sea. And right after the war, a girl had gone into the river. People had seen her from a distance, but no one could stop her.
Medium curated this chapter — something they rarely did in the past. Maybe there is hope for those of us with books crying out to reach audiences.
Did I want to continue reading?
Yes, I did.
Bedtime reads 16+ minutes
This first chapter by Simon Dillon is 20 minutes long. If I weren’t reading and reviewing or in bed, I wouldn’t be reading it. However, the subtitle; Gripping. Romantic. Satirical. Disturbing., grabbed me by the eyeballs and overrode the desperate need to find a shorter book chapter.
Simon you might want to break this chapter into Chapter 1a, 1b, 1c, as suggested by the Dr here, to hold on to those eyeballs. As long as you leave a link at the bottom of the page to each part, your readers are going to click on it.
My incongruity bone (like a funny bone but one that works when words or visuals are conflicting) trigger formed giggles at the first line. I adore satire.
The morality inspectors are late.
Typically a morality inspection of a premises the size of my apartment takes a good twenty minutes, not allowing for nervous small talk, or, if you know the inspectors well, salacious tales of impounded illegal political materials, banned books, films, drugs, alcohol, pornography, and so forth.
Did I want to continue reading?
Yes, I did. However, I stopped at a convenient point which could easily have marked the start of Chapter 1b. For the purposes of my review, the focus is the author’s first chapter.
Simon, I’m not saying you have to change anything, I love your first chapter. I’m offering a suggestion here which would work for me and maybe other readers. Also based on the optimum attention span or popular read times of 3–7 or 4–8 minutes per story.
From issue 2 of this review, I’m afraid there will be no more 16+ minute reads.
Reading time facts and figures
This Medium article explains their take on the matter. It was published in 2013, I’m not sure whether it’s still relevant. They say 3–7 minutes.
This Writing Cooperative article goes with 4–8 minutes.
Both posts stand firm on ‘the story will be the length it wants to be, but a writer must ensure it is as short as one can be with good editing’.
Copyright
One last important mention is this from the Dr.
You need to own copyright of the book chapters that you publish in this publication. A clear copyright ownership statement must be provided.
I am guilty of not doing this. I will be remedying the situation ASAP.
The simplest as provided by Kindlepreneur is:
© 2018 Karen Madej. All rights reserved.
Thank you for reading. See you soon.
Here are all my editorial bulletins for your delight. A quick way to discover new and upcoming writers on: