tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post6588882949185561170..comments2024-03-18T19:46:10.130+05:30Comments on Jabberwock: "That’s why they call it an Intro” (things you learn at a Book Fair, contd)Jabberwockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-1225922708401556672015-03-20T08:31:50.612+05:302015-03-20T08:31:50.612+05:30Thanks, Lalsub. Having consulted with my editor, I...Thanks, Lalsub. Having consulted with my editor, I have decided that the best thing for the new book is to call the opening "Prologue" (followed by a subhead) and make sure to number it with the Arabian rather than the Roman system, to emphasise that it is part of the text.Jabberwockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-40519377139799144312015-03-18T16:02:52.588+05:302015-03-18T16:02:52.588+05:30Loved your write up. I have not checked your site ...Loved your write up. I have not checked your site for a while, so am a bit late. But I would like to inform you that for many serious dedicated readers, the intro is important and in fact gives a foretaste of the book.So please, go ahead, write the intro, and try steer your readers towards the intro, whatever way you can. Non-fiction books are best attempted after a run through the intro. I love films and film-literature ( used to get access to some wonderful film books while I was a member of the British Council library 15-20 years back; ended up reading some amazingly entertaining and informative books about Michael Caine, Audrey Hepburn, Billy Wilder.... very little of good literature on Indian cinema. Do possess a couple of decent Indian books and a two volumes of an old Hollywoodian's autobio) . <br /><br />With regard to your JBDY book -- have not read it,but I have read your long article written for a magazine ( maybe Mans World if I am not mistaken) on the occasion of the film's 25th anniversary( 1983+ 25 yrs, would make it-- 2008). Very good. lalsubhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17644970512067728345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-31684295325017218842015-03-02T17:04:48.592+05:302015-03-02T17:04:48.592+05:30Aandthirtyeights: Yes, I actually saw that Badlapu...Aandthirtyeights: Yes, I actually saw that <i>Badlapur</i> warning as being (at least in part) a tongue-in-cheek reference to the famous publicity that accompanied Psycho's release. Because Raghavan does have a habit of making many film references and paying such tributes.Jabberwockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-50361494537229877412015-03-02T17:03:04.530+05:302015-03-02T17:03:04.530+05:30Jyoti, Pessimist Fool, Aandthirtyeights: have alre...Jyoti, Pessimist Fool, Aandthirtyeights: have already had an extensive discussion about this on Facebook,but to quickly summarise some of it - <br /><br />1) I am talking specifically about Intros written by the author and intended as a context-providing buildup to the rest of the book; for all practical purposes, a "Chapter 1", except that for whatever reason it makes sense to set it aside from the rest of the book structurally,<br />2) I realised after the FB exchanges that there is a clear difference in this regard between fiction and non-fiction. With most novels, obviously an "Introduction" will not be part of the narrative flow of the book - it is more likely to be the author spelling things out about the novel, possibly providing what some readers would consider spoilers, and so on. But with many non-fiction books, an Intro serves a very different function (as outlined above).<br />3) For my own next book, I have come around to the idea that "Prologue" is a better option than "Introduction". And either way, this bit should definitely begin with Arabic numbering (Page 1, 2, etc) rather than being delineated from the rest of the text by the Roman-numeral system. Jabberwockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-21148745306968038422015-03-02T16:46:41.144+05:302015-03-02T16:46:41.144+05:30I used to read Introduction and Preface first. But...I used to read Introduction and Preface first. But don't do it now because I fear the suspense of the book getting spoiled by the intro. It happened to me when I read Villette by Charlotte Bronte. The introduction made it clear that the book was a sad one and that the hero dies in it. Result? I set it aside for many months and didn't pick it up till I had quite forgotten the names and other information that I had learnt from the introduction. Jyoti Arorahttp://www.jyotiarora.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-23455563260115967242015-03-02T15:29:46.211+05:302015-03-02T15:29:46.211+05:30On a related note, Sriram Raghavan's Badlapur ...On a related note, Sriram Raghavan's <i>Badlapur</i> has the sub-title, "Don't miss the beginning". And, of course, in <i>Annie Hall</i>, Woody Allen refuses to enter a the theatre because the film has already started. <br /><br />(Btw, I read the intro to your JBDY book first!)aandthirtyeightshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00644980602293705853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-58790247192245248802015-03-02T14:21:52.023+05:302015-03-02T14:21:52.023+05:30Ha ha ha, this is funny, Jai. When I read introduc...Ha ha ha, this is funny, Jai. When I read introductions, I seldom go beyond them. This being the reason I directly jump to the main story. I guess one reason is mostly introductions (or the ones I have read) are written by people who have researched that work and/or other works of the same author, which results in them sounding more like a research paper. Pessimist Foolhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06057153008708242962noreply@blogger.com