Writing lessons learned from WHERE IT BEGAN

"Where it Began," by Ann Redisch Stampler is a cool, cleverly written book. Stampler can turn a phrase and make fun comparisons like no other author I've read. Here's the blurb from Amazon:

Gabby Gardiner wakes up in a hospital bed looking like a cautionary ad for drunk driving--and without a single memory of the accident that landed her there. But what she can recall, in frank and sardonic detail, is the year leading up to the crash.

As Gabby describes her transformation from Invisible Girl to Trendy Girl Who Dates Billy Nash (aka Most Desirable Boy Ever), she is left wondering: Why is Billy suddenly distancing himself from her? What do her classmates know that Gabby does not? Who exactly was in the car that night? And why has Gabby been left to take the fall?

As she peels back the layers of her life, Gabby begins to realize that her climb up the status ladder has been as intoxicating as it has been morally complex...and that nothing about her life is what she has imaged it to be.

There were several writing lessons to choose from, but here are my faves:

• Open with a slew of unanswered questions: Gabby, the main character, has been in an accident. She's in the hospital. She remembers Billy Nash, and something about a crashed Beemer, but not much else. I was interested in figuring it all out with her.
• Organize flashbacks using clever tags: this story required several flashbacks, but they were entertaining and important. And the author let us know we were entering a flashback by writing tags like "Look:" Gabby entered some flashbacks by saying "Gabriella Gardiner Presents Scenes from Teen Life in the Three B's." 
• Sneak in another layer: Gabby's accident happens after a night of drinking, and I figured she drank with the cool kids for fun. But her father also drank too much. As the story unfolded, I realized Gabby's drinking might be more than just a result of peer pressure. This connection to her father's drinking was a subtle but effective layer.
• Hold secrets about The Main Event: the party night, when the accident occurred, is a mystery to Gabby. I knew big things happened during that time, and these missing details kept the story interesting. The author did a great job of dripping in answers without divulging too much too soon.
• Clueless character: because of her injuries, Gabby is clueless about many story details. Throughout the book, I kept thinking Gabby was the only person not in on something. Others knew more than her, and that upped the tension. The author did a great job of allowing the reader to learn what Gabby learns when she learns it.
• Friends with tools: one of Gabby's friends is a photographer, and this character detail is established early. His hobby of taking photos of unsuspecting people is what helps Gabby piece it all together.

Have you read "Where it Began?" If so, what was your impression? And what are your thoughts about these writing lessons? Have you seen them in other books, or have you used them before?

One more thing...I goest posted over at PW Creighton's blog, chatting about how research shapes our fiction. Come on by and say hi!

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