Sue Monk Kidd’s first novel, THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES, was spotlighted on the New York Times bestseller list, sold close to 5 million copies, and is now considered a modern classic. Adapted into a movie, THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES, will be released October 17, 2008, starring Dakota Fanning, Jennifer Hudson, Queen Latifah, and Alicia Keys.
Sue Monk Kidd’s second novel, THE MERMAID CHAIR, hit #1 on the NYT bestseller list soon after publication and stayed on the list for nine months. THE MERMAID CHAIR won the QUILL AWARD for General Fiction and was produced as a television movie.
Knowing her first two books were adapted for movies, you’d be correct in guessing that Sue Monk Kidd tells a heck-of-a-story. A story that lives in your heart for years.
But how did this writer capture such a huge readership with her first book – that it skyrocketed to #1 on the NYT bestseller list and stayed on that list for over two years?
You know the answer. Stellar writing.
It takes both powerful story-telling and powerful writing craft to create the fuel for novels to skyrocket. :-)))
My copy of THE MERMAID CHAIR has over a hundred sticky tabs, each identifying a passage that showcases Sue Monk Kidd’s talent. The passage below shows the main character, Jessie, visiting her eccentric mother, whom she hadn’t seen for over a year.
THE MERMAID CHAIR, from pages 63 and 64:
I heard the beginnings of a laugh down in her throat, a rare melting sound I hadn’t heard in so long and for some reason it knocked my little wall of anger flat.
Sliding over so that our shoulders touched, I laid my hand on top of hers, the one still coiled around the spoon, and I thought maybe she would jerk it away, but she didn’t. I felt the tiny stick bones in her hand, the soft lattice of veins. “I’m sorry. For everything,” I said. “I really am.”
She turned and looked at me, and I saw that her eyes were brimming, reflecting like mirrors. She was the daughter, and I was the mother. We had reversed the natural order of things, and I couldn’t fix it, couldn’t reverse it. The thought was like a stab.
I said, “Tell me. Okay? Tell me why you did this to yourself.”
She said, “Joe—your father,” and then her jaw slumped down as if his name bore too much weight for her mouth.
DEEP EDITING ANALYSIS:
Paragraph 1-- The laugh: Fresh writing; Used the laugh as a STIMULUS and provided the Response (it took away her anger)
Paragraph 2-- Showed Jessie using two forms of touch to connect with and comfort her mother, shoulders and hands; Specificity and fresh writing—stick bones in hand, soft lattice veins.
Paragraph 3-- Showed mother’s tears in fresh way; Power Internalizations: mother/daughter role reversal. Took it deeper by adding a viscerally-based simile.
Paragraph 4-- Natural sounding dialogue. No vocal cues. The dialogue is strong on its own. It’s short. Added WHITE SPACE to page. Picked up pace.
Paragraph 5-- Natural sounding dialogue. Fresh facial expression, jaw slumped down; Fresh interpretation of nonverbal by POV character, name too heavy for her mouth
Sue Monk Kidd. Read her books. Analyze her books. Learn from her books. And apply it to your writing. Your books may skyrocket too.
