The Secret Agents report back on tara_hanks!

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The Secret Agents report back on tara_hanks!

Wicked Baby (Prologue) by Tara Hanks

This is a prologue, and at the moment it is hard to see how it will fit into the narrative, which is based on events surrounding the Profumo affair. - If I had a criticism of this material, it would be that this is brief, and breathy in style and that, given the shortness of the novel (only 26,000
words - which is going to be difficult for any publisher) Tara certainly has room to extend this, and perhaps to make it more thoughtful. Nevertheless,
there is a naivety and simplicity to this which manages to remain unselfconscious, and I liked that a lot.
(Secret Agent 1)

Wicked Baby Chapter 3by Tara Hanks

I liked this. She has a very interesting use of style, and she has chosen a fascinating angle on a famous story. Theres a good use of dialogue in this and an equally good feel for the era. Criticisms? It felt a little disjointed - I realise this was an effect she was going for, but I'm not sure it worked. I felt it should flow more. But overall, an intriguing well written piece of work.
(Secret Agent 4)

tara hanks
Anonymous's picture
Thanks to the secret agents and anyone else who has read and rated my stories. Most publishers/agents we writers send work to don't reply personally, so we tend to assume the worst. That's why this kind of feedback is so valuable. The criticisms were really helpful. I have to agree that maybe the novel as a whole is too short. I am an obsessive rewriter, and this does disrupt the flow making it disjointed at times. It also means I take ages to get anything finished. That said, I was very encouraged by some of the positive comments people have made. So thanks again, and I hope others will benefit from your secret services!
markbrown
Anonymous's picture
Tara, I absolutely love the prologue to 'Wicked Baby', I've been waxing lyrical about it since it went up. If I had any suggestions, I'd kind of like that style interjected into the rest of the book, maybe so we see events from the omniscient narrators point of view and also from Christine's point of view. For some reason the prologue reminds me of sections of Gordon Burns' 'Happy Like Murderers' about Fred and Rosemary West. I'd happily talk 'Wicked Baby' over with you. Anyone else?
Rachel
Anonymous's picture
I also loved the Prologue to Wicked Baby. I thought the way that you get time to move along so seamlessly is especially clever "Dad left early. Mum found another man, and he became my stepdad" particularly. You describe loss of innocence sensitively but bravely and I really felt for this very vulnerable but streetwise little girl. The dispair of the pregnancy and the ending with the death of the baby makes the reader feel as empty as Christine and it's a great way to introduce her surname. The whole Profumo affair is something I'm quite fascinated with so I'd really like to read it when it's done.
d.beswetherick
Anonymous's picture
I think there's plenty of encouragement for Tara here. Given the comments about length, maybe it would be worth expanding some of the incidents in the prologue into scenes - to be inserted as flashbacks into later parts of the narrative, perhaps. I like the objectve feel of the extracts, which makes the reader guess the characters' feelings. Im prefer it that way to having it spelled out. d.beswetherick.
tara hanks
Anonymous's picture
Thanks everyone for your comments! I've been thinking about your suggestions for expanding Wicked Baby. I'm going to write some more first-person sections, in Christine's voice or maybe from the perspective of other characters. I'm surrounded by screaming babies and don't feel at my most creative, but I'll post whatever I come up with! You can read the entire novel in its current state by looking at my Wicked Baby set.
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