tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post2893344020435428276..comments2024-03-10T04:29:20.044-04:00Comments on Mad Genius Club: Sunday Linkage and Other ThingsSarah A. Hoythttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17478124095732219352noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-50764104193958782652009-06-17T19:52:50.257-04:002009-06-17T19:52:50.257-04:00Chris,
Story was recommended to me by a friend in...Chris,<br /><br />Story was recommended to me by a friend in my original writers' group and I bought it... and it did NOTHING for me. Possibly less than nothing, as I read it and it's completely gone from my mind.<br /><br />So... other than Techniques of the Selling Writer, what has helped... Mostly Zucherman's "Writing the Blockbuster Novel" (I think.) Just so I KNEW what editors were looking for. The markers of the lbockbuster, as it were. Also I tend to find my advice where you wouldn't expect it. Poetry. Books on how to write erotica, etc.Sarah A. Hoythttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17478124095732219352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-11005607570977649822009-06-15T07:39:02.842-04:002009-06-15T07:39:02.842-04:00Chris, McKee sounds like some of the professors I ...Chris, McKee sounds like some of the professors I had, especially in law school. I don't like his attitude, but then the guy who came bumbling in needed to catch a clue, too.<br /><br />As for the emphasis on structure, I think we need to understand and be able to follow the rules of structure -- and be able to break them when needed -- to be successful as writers. This sort of follows what you and some of the others blogged about earlier. We need to know the rules of writing, understand them and then be able to use, or not, the rules in order to make the most of our stories.<br /><br />As for plot, it is just a series of events. However, that series of events have to make sense in the world you create. It has to be logical according to the rules of the world. And, imo, you can't cheat your reader by waving your had at the end of the book and canceling out most of what you've done to that point -- in other words, the surprise ending that makes no sense or the bad guy turning out to be someone who was introduced in the last 10 pages of the book. Nor can you, as happened in the book I read last night, spend 300 or more pages building to a crescendo only to realize you've reached your word count. So you wrap up the book in 3 pages instead of the 20-50 pages it should have taken had you followed the structure you'd set for the rest of the book.<br /><br />Sorry, it is soooo easy to climb onto that soapbox early in the morning. Especially after reading a book that is a disappointment on so many levels.Amanda Greenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02927312739323222344noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-69611399067424590262009-06-15T02:47:10.900-04:002009-06-15T02:47:10.900-04:00Ditto on: On Writing - SK (also preferred the firs...Ditto on: On Writing - SK (also preferred the first half Amanda)<br /><br />I went to Robert McKee's Story seminar in Brisbane a few years ago and I was really impressed. I also brought the book, which follows pretty much the same lines. <br /><br />I found the Story seminar pretty inspriational, although the guy is a little hard case (and dogmatic).<br />I arrived late and crept carefully into the back, only because it was polite. The next guy blundered into the doors down dear the stage - Wow! Didn't McKee go completely off his head! He threatened to walk out of the semiar if the guy did not give him a fine of $10, which the poor guy (faced with ruining the whole seminar for everyone) coughed up. He said to McKee - 'Donate it to Charity.' <br />McKee smacked his lips and said (smoothing the note on his podium top) - 'Think I'm gonna get me one of those nice Australian beers.'<br /><br />Moral of the story is go, but don't go late!<br /><br />McKee is really into structure, though. So if that's a turnoff then maybe its not for you.<br /><br />I had just read the Stephen King book when I went & stood up to ask a question. In 'On Writing' SK emphasises Narrative over Plot.<br />I stood up and asked McKee what he though was most important.<br /><br />MK -'Who wrote this book?'<br />Me - 'Stephen King.'<br />MK - 'Who?'<br />Me - 'Stephen King.'<br />MK - 'Never heard of him. What's the question.'<br /><br />He never actually answered the question. Merely saying that a Plot is a series of events and that he did not understand what I (or SK) meant by Narrative.<br /><br />As I sat down I realised he was right. A plot IS a series of events in a story, nothing more. No matter what way a writer approaches a story -- whether they start with a tight plot or follow the character like SK, they will (over a series of multiple revisions and reinventions) end up with a story that has a series of events. Sounds like a no-brainer, I know. It just made me realise no matter what your starting point, we are all aiming for the same thing.<br />I have been dying for a good space to read the Michael J Stracynski book on screenwriting. It looks excellent.Chris McMahonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17883058490702361466noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-49896318359417539402009-06-14T22:46:45.400-04:002009-06-14T22:46:45.400-04:00Rowena, I haven't looked at the Le Guin in yea...Rowena, I haven't looked at the Le Guin in years. I'll have to find a copy and look at it again. Thanks for the recommendation.<br /><br />Any one else have any books/articles or links you keep going back to?Amanda Greenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02927312739323222344noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-68174882436187256572009-06-14T22:31:28.603-04:002009-06-14T22:31:28.603-04:00I enjoyed Ursula Le Guin's 'Steering the C...I enjoyed Ursula Le Guin's 'Steering the Craft of Writing'. It's written in an accessible way so that you feel like you've sat down and had an in depth chat with her. Plus her chapter on Point of View is excellent. She uses the example of one the scene told from all these levels of POV that make it really easy to understand.Rowena Cory Daniellshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08995983965583233914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-59199370244570182112009-06-14T22:16:11.861-04:002009-06-14T22:16:11.861-04:00KylieQ, I agree with you about King's On Writi...KylieQ, I agree with you about King's On Writing, with the caveat that I prefer the first half to the second. But that is just personal taste.Amanda Greenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02927312739323222344noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-32991913133945529612009-06-14T22:00:52.828-04:002009-06-14T22:00:52.828-04:00Steven King's On Writing. Particularly when I...Steven King's On Writing. Particularly when I am down about how long the path to being a published author is...KylieQnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-10411045787577631742009-06-14T21:42:35.542-04:002009-06-14T21:42:35.542-04:00Thanks, Rowena.
So, are there any books on writin...Thanks, Rowena.<br /><br />So, are there any books on writing that you would recommend? How about writing related links you follow?Amanda Greenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02927312739323222344noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-32190347869468315282009-06-14T21:28:34.901-04:002009-06-14T21:28:34.901-04:00Great links, Amanda. I had fun surfing around look...Great links, Amanda. I had fun surfing around looking up things.Rowena Cory Daniellshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08995983965583233914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-26574927344210975532009-06-14T12:30:50.179-04:002009-06-14T12:30:50.179-04:00Absolutely, Amanda. That book is excellent.
Anot...Absolutely, Amanda. That book is excellent. <br /><br />Another must-have for me is the itty-bitty book The Elements of Style, by Strunk and White. For writers who want their prose to help the story rather than get in the way of it, it's an excellent guide.<br /><br />Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynn Truss is a more humorous guide to the same general topic, and another favorite of mine.Kate Paulkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02034983693134240754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-38335992868572154682009-06-14T07:31:09.606-04:002009-06-14T07:31:09.606-04:00I'll start the list off with a book Sarah reco...I'll start the list off with a book Sarah recommended to me and one I've since recommended to others -- Techniques of the Selling Writer by Dwight Swain. If you want to write fiction that sells, and I'm not talking "literary", this is the book for you, imo.Amanda Greenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02927312739323222344noreply@blogger.com