Funksie van ’n boekhoek
Die funksie van ‘n boekhoek is om die leser se aandag te gryp en te hou. Moet nooit die belangrikheid van die inleidende sin(ne) in jou eerste hoofstuk (of proloog, indien van toepassing) onderskat nie.
Funksie van ’n boekhoek: hoe skryf jy ‘n goeie boekhoek? Enkele voorbeelde:
- Gebruik dit om dringendheid te skep.
- Beskryf ‘n aksie wat aan ‘n tydlimiet verbonde is. Hier dink ek dadelik aan Deon Meyer se boek, 13 Uur. Bennie Griessel het slegs dertien uur om die vermiste meisie, sowel as sy loopbaan, te red.
- Aksie met hoë risiko. 13 Uur is ook ‘n voorbeeld hiervan. Daar is nie slegs ‘n lewe op die spel nie, maar ook Bennie se loopbaan. Nog voorbeelde is Sweepslag, Annerle Barnard, sowel as Sindikaat en Spel, Annerle Barnard.
- In Sweepslag beplan Paul om te ontsnap, maar hy’s gewaarsku: vir elke keer wat hy probeer ontsnap, word een van die meisies vermoor.
- Paul Rudman in Sindikaat het per ongeluk in ‘n sindikaat se slaai gekrap. Hulle is kort op sy spoor. Gaan hy lewendig anderkant uitkom?
- Lukas in Spel word deur ‘n wrede transterraan gesoek. Hy probeer dus die transterrane vermy, maar ten einde hom uit sy skuilplek te lok, word sy broer ontvoer. Hy’t geen keuse meer as om sy broer te gaan soek nie.
- Skep ‘n situasie wat dringende ondersoek verlang.
- Kry jou leser aan die raai.
- “Where does someone even get a bright green casket like that?” — Not our Summer, Cozie Bazay
- “Die vraag is: Sal hy hom kan doodmaak?” — Sweepslag, Annerle Barnard
- “Is jy gesuip, Bossie? No flippen way!” — Sindikaat, Annerle Barnard
- Lei die leser om dringende vrae te vra.
- Hierdie word veral in literêre fiksie gebruik. Ek dink onmiddellik aan George Orwell se briljante roman, 1984, wat begin met: “It was a bright day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.” Dit dwing ‘n mens om vrae te vra, want geen horlosie het dertien ure op nie.
- Begin met aksie
- “Skiet!” Lukas weet dit gaan nie werk nie, maar hoop vir ‘n wonderwerk. — Spel, Annerle Barnard
- Stel ‘n treffende stem aan die woord en skep intrige of ‘n onheilspellende toonaard.
- “If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you’ll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don’t feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth.” — The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger
- “I know I’m not an ordinary ten-year-old kid. I mean, sure I do ordinary things. I eat ice cream. I ride my bike. I play ball. I have an Xbox. Stuff like that makes me ordinary, I guess. And I feel ordinary. Inside. But I know ordinary kids don’t make other ordinary kids run away screaming in playgrounds. I know ordinary kids don’t get stared at wherever they go.” — Wonder, R.J. Palacio
- “They took me in my nightgown.” — Between Shades of Gray, Ruta Sepetys
- Skep ‘n emosionele verbintenis.
- “The best time to cry is at night, when the lights are out and someone is being beaten up and screaming for help. That way even if you sniffle a little they won’t hear you. If anybody knows that you are crying, they’ll start talking about it and soon it’ll be your turn to get beat up when the lights go out. “ — Monster, Walter Dean Myers.
Funksie van ’n boekhoek: hoe skryf jy ‘n goeie boekhoek? Nog voorbeelde:
- Lê ‘n ander wêreld bloot.
- “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.” — A Tale of two Cities, Charles Dickens
- Ook dink ek aan Delia Owens se Where the Crawdads Sing. Die eerste sin dui reeds op die trauma van verlatenheid.
- Begin met ‘n lewensveranderende oomblik.
- “As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect.” — Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka
- Gebruik dit om op verlede en toekomstige konflik te sinspeel.
- All the Light we cannot See deur Anthony Doerr begin met ‘n bevel (via pamflette wat deur vliegtuie afgegooi word) om die omgewing te verlaat. Die datum dui op WWII.
“At dusk they pour from the sky. They blow across the ramparts, turn cartwheels over rooftops, flutter into the ravines between houses. Entire streets swirl with them, flashing white against the cobbles. Urgent message to the inhabitants of this town, they say. Depart immediately to open country.” — All the light we cannot see, Anthony Doerr
- Bou spanning in die narratief.
- “124 was spiteful. Full of Baby’s venom.” — Beloved, Toni Morrison
- “It was a queer, sultry summer, the summer they electrocuted the Rosenbergs, and I didn’t know what I was doing in New York.” — The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath
Voorstelle:
- Beskryf ‘n gebeurtenis met hoë risiko.
- Suggereer ‘n onmiddellike stryd of hindernis.
- Verwys na ‘n situasie waarvan die uitkoms enige rigting kan inslaan.
- Deel ‘n relevante agtergrondstorie.
- “You better not never tell nobody but God. It’d kill your mammy.” — The Color Purple, Alice Walker.
- Stel die toonaard van die storie bekend en gebruik ‘n sterk stem.
- “Mother died today. Or maybe, yesterday; I can’t be sure.” — The Outsider, Albert Camus
- “When it comes to the streets, there’s rules. They ain’t written down, and you won’t find them in a book. It’s natural stuff you know the moment your momma let you out the house. Kinda like how you know how to breathe without somebody telling you.” — Concrete Rose, Angie Thomas
Funksie van ’n boekhoek: wat om te vermy?
Vervelige beskrywings. ‘n Bekende skrywer het gesê die eerste vyf bladsye moet die leser haak, anders verloor ‘n mens hom/haar. Dis waar, maar vir my persoonlik is dit die eerste paragraaf. Ek kyk altyd na die inleidende sinne van romans en kortverhale. (Ook kyk ek hoe ‘n film begin.) Indien dit vervelig is, maak ek die boek maklik toe en kyk nie weer daarna nie.
Funksie van ’n boekhoek
Onthou, wanneer jy die leser eers gehaak het, moet jy sy/haar aandag hou.
Funksie van ’n boekhoek
Lekker skryf. Laat weet asb. waaroor jy sou wou hê ek moet blog.
