tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post3934672474124765628..comments2023-09-29T05:32:04.308-07:00Comments on StrangePegs: "Danger, Will Robinson!" pt. 5: Starting in the MiddleAndrew Leonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13964775673414653644noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-81485970386816909482011-07-22T15:19:02.552-07:002011-07-22T15:19:02.552-07:00Hmm... I really sort of expected this post to gene...Hmm... I really sort of expected this post to generate more feedback. And to generate negative feedback of people telling me I'm off my gourd. Oh, well...<br /><br />Alyssia: I do have to say I'm not in favor of the shift in reading assignments being toward more current novels. Kids will choose to pick those up on their own. If they're readers. The point is teach kids about the things they will avoid all on their own. At least, that's what I thought the point was. It seemed to be the point 20 years ago.<br /><br />I'm glad you liked the post :)<br /><br />Rusty: I'm not trying to say classics are great for the sake of being classics. I can't stand (i.e. utterly hate) Hawthorne. And I tried to like him; really, I did. But there are people, many people, that adore Hawthorne. I'm pretty sure that Hawthorne would have a hard time getting published today.<br /><br />I appreciate the example of fantasy, but, really, most agents won't look at high fantasy at all. They don't believe the market wants it. Even with people like Martin out there.<br /><br />It's not really about writing like a particular time period, it's about being allowed to write. The fact that agents make a judgement on your work based on the first page is just... wrong.<br /><br />Michael: I agree with you. I'm not much of one for following the "rules," I suppose.<br /><br />Alyssia (again :): I'm not for slamming anyone's work for not following the "rules." We don't get anywhere when we just blindly follow the "rules." Why are these "rules" even out there? They're out these because publishers are saying "this is what we want" not because it makes for good writing.Andrew Leonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13964775673414653644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-69766582715140552742011-07-20T03:57:23.151-07:002011-07-20T03:57:23.151-07:00Ooh, Michael--that's a VERY good point. I can&...Ooh, Michael--that's a VERY good point. I can't tell you how many fellow writers say, "Well, I'm taking this online class and reading this book and taking this course at my local community college and next week I'm traveling to Vermont to attend uber_author_01's seminar on characterization and..."<br /><br />Yeah. And then they point fingers at you and others, when they themselves haven't even put a toe into publication. I'm not saying you SHOULDN'T do these things, mind. By all means... network! But don't, as Michael pointed out, beat one another of the head with rule books just because you think your work's better or you're further along in this journey to publication, etc. I think everyone will get a lot further if they refrain from stepping on toes. ;)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16514163880053470414noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-57969168637061598972011-07-19T08:21:37.580-07:002011-07-19T08:21:37.580-07:00I think other writers bludgeon each other over the...I think other writers bludgeon each other over the head with rules because they are trying to understand why they are not getting published and refuse to look at the simple truth: you are not famous.Michael Offutt, Phantom Readerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10557969104886174930noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-28478439716134368502011-07-18T19:41:43.140-07:002011-07-18T19:41:43.140-07:00Hmmm... you rose way to many points here to really...Hmmm... you rose way to many points here to really discuss them all. But I certainly agree that many classics, were they introduced to the world today, would never see publication.<br /><br />I don't have a great issue with that, I tried to read Jonathan Strange and Dr. Morrell when it came out a couple of years ago and just couldn't get through it. 300 pages in and I had no idea what this book was supposed to be about. I thought it was awful. Weird thing though, it's pacing reminded me of The Brother's Karamazov. One of the great novels of all time.<br /><br />So what gives? I don't know. Granted, Dostoyevsky wrote a novel jam packed with ideas about the nature of man, God, and evil. The other was about a wizard... I think.<br /><br />But still, my point isn't to compare what the books were about, but how they were written. <br /><br />I do think some genre's are paced very differently, fantasy seems to be a slower paced style of storytelling than, say, Thrillers, which are breakneck.<br /><br />I read Patrick Rothfuss' books recently and was amazed at how slowly paced the stories were, the same is true of George R.R. Martin, I haven't read any of Brandon Sanderson, but I'm told his books are full of exposition, description, and are slowly paced too. Those are three of the biggest names in fantasy right now and they seem to eschew that rapid fire style altogether. <br /><br />So it isn't all a lost cause. Although, come to think of it, the Rothfuss books are framed stories, with our hero looking back on his life, still, it feels like it could have been written 50 years ago.<br /><br />Okay, I need to stop posting before I go to bed. Take something useful out of that if you can, if not, ignore it. I'm not sure what point I was trying to make now, but I'm too tired to go back and start changing things now.Rusty Carlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09887821877521181811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-7250468003275589762011-07-18T16:56:13.344-07:002011-07-18T16:56:13.344-07:00Andrew, I swear... If I could somehow type out a &...Andrew, I swear... If I could somehow type out a "clap, clap, clap" to convey how wonderfully written and well-said this post is, I certainly would. I was just telling my CP today--I'm supposed to be chopping, like, 30k words from my last completed novel. Just for publication. How far have I gotten in the re-re-re-re-editing process? 80 pages. Why is that? Sure, the list is likely long, full of possibilities. But I'm really beginning to believe it's that writerly voice inside my head saying, "But it's all important. Not a scene exists in this story that doesn't mean something. Something vital. Something, as you said, pertinent to the characters' development."<br /><br />You're right about so much here. The industry, how cutthroat it is, how all anyone cares about anymore is money, and tons of it. What happened to art? What happened to summer book lists featuring titles like Silas Marner, Treasure Island, Robinson Crusoe, and Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea? We had to read at least 3 every summer, and the first day of school, we got tested. The first day! Most of these books the kids have today? Never heard of 'em. I'm not saying some aren't well-written, class-a stories; they are. But the depth isn't there. As you pointed out, almost every book on the market starts in media res, because that's what sells. Or so the industry tells us.<br /><br />This is a great topic.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16514163880053470414noreply@blogger.com