tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post4372971681884073667..comments2023-09-05T12:51:25.656-05:00Comments on edittorrent: Exploiting OrphansEdittorrenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14295505709568570553noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-18115137857523574452011-09-01T10:22:13.283-05:002011-09-01T10:22:13.283-05:00Sherri, I love amnesia stories. We all have our bu...Sherri, I love amnesia stories. We all have our buzzes! Our "kinks" that usually aren't actually very kinky!<br /><br />AliciaEdittorrenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14295505709568570553noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-63277505552945503442011-08-29T10:43:47.577-05:002011-08-29T10:43:47.577-05:00I can't help it. I love orphan stories. It'...I can't help it. I love orphan stories. It's a sickness. Even if it's forced, and you throw in an orphan just for ambiance, I'm hooked. It's a dark secret, I know. <br /><br />I do like the story about the hero/baby/cat. Excellent example.Sherri Shackelfordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03190787952821357207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-78339173636373683252011-08-28T13:45:03.524-05:002011-08-28T13:45:03.524-05:00GK, yeah, someone said to me recently that somethi...GK, yeah, someone said to me recently that something happening in her book (unrelated, I thought, to the actual plot) "is a save-the-cat moment." Oh! Now I realize what you said-- why that didn't work for me. What does saving a cat (and I love cats) have to do with the story?<br /><br />I'm remembering a beloved book, the Dedicated Villain, where the hero, seeking to ingratiate himself with the heroine so he can steal her gold (not THAT's a motivation I can sympathize with!) sees her cat fall into the river in a flood. Only he thinks it's her baby (it's dark), and he jumps in, all the while thinking, gee, if I save her baby, she will be grateful and let me know where he gold is. And he grabs this unexpectedly hairy baby with claws, but what does he know-- he's never held a baby, so maybe they have claws-- and shoves it up to her, and she puts it in a towel and coos over it, but sternly tells him he's a fool to risk his life like that. And he's wondering what kind of evil mother would think that saving her own baby isn't worthy of risk to life, and then she opens the towel and it's a cat, and he realizes that indeed he just risked his life to save a cat. <br /><br />And he thinks about how he should grab it and throw it back in the river.<br /><br />Sigh. Now that's a hero I could love.<br /><br />AliciaEdittorrenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14295505709568570553noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-70074478283940384722011-08-28T12:22:37.360-05:002011-08-28T12:22:37.360-05:00I've heard it referred to as Save The Cat, and...I've heard it referred to as Save The Cat, and I resent it - showing a total jerk being nice to pets so the reader knows he's not a complete jerk. Err, no. Blofeld had a cat - just because someone is nice to the powerless (like pets, small children, or people in dire need) doesn't mean they'll be a suitable partner for anyone, or even that they have 'a softer side'. <br /><br />The reader is told to disregard the evidence they see about the character's character beause the writer _decrees_ that this is A Decent Person. Err, no. If someone turns up on the heroine's porch after nightfall and refuses to leave, I don't think 'potential love interest' I think 'jerk'. Or, quite possibly, 'dangerous, GET OUT'. <br /><br />If you want me to like a character, they have to be likeable. That doesn't mean they have no shortcomings, but that they need to be decent people.green_knighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16499896006012152260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-51821301580738359282011-08-28T06:28:36.457-05:002011-08-28T06:28:36.457-05:00Annette, I like that distinction, and that is what...Annette, I like that distinction, and that is what they're doing-- telling us to like a character.<br /><br />And I just don't know what is meant by "Sympathy"-- I'm not sure why it's what we're supposed to want above all from readers. Identification, involvement?<br />AEdittorrenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14295505709568570553noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-23804122590661062642011-08-27T17:44:07.389-05:002011-08-27T17:44:07.389-05:00I think you're absolutely right. One thing I&...I think you're absolutely right. One thing I've learned in my reading of romance novels is that I don't want to be told to like a character, I want my like to grow organically out of my reading. I will automatically resist if it is forced upon me, and this 'helping orphans' thing is definitely something that I'd read as forced. And yes, for a character to move towards a behavior that causes internal conflict but is the "right" thing to do is so much more realistic anyway, and so much more interesting if the character <i>grows</i>. If he's already helping orphans anyway, where's the growth?<br /><br />I have a different read on the term 'sympathetic' when used in this context. Perhaps I'm wrong, but I was under the impression it meant we can relate to/understand and therefore root for the character. Not the same sort of sympathy as if something terrible happened to a friend and you felt sympathy for them. is that totally off base?Annettenoreply@blogger.com