tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.comments2023-09-05T12:51:25.656-05:00edittorrentEdittorrenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14295505709568570553noreply@blogger.comBlogger10271125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-21396371767266648832022-06-08T15:08:57.423-05:002022-06-08T15:08:57.423-05:00I know- I think some of these rules are just out o...I know- I think some of these rules are just out of date... because some good writers decided to break them, and it worked!Alicia Rasleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13143623145712619511noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-17906365293403307722022-05-22T14:44:41.470-05:002022-05-22T14:44:41.470-05:00I agree with most of his list, but I know of one b...I agree with most of his list, but I know of one brilliant fantasy/detective series where *of course* magic is part of the story. But Glen Cook introduced all the elements the reader needs for the solution to make sense.Deb Salisbury, Magic Seeker and Mantua-Makerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01513482264195697450noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-66663706219283695012021-12-16T06:24:54.987-06:002021-12-16T06:24:54.987-06:00Wow! Inadequate doesn't begin to describe the ...Wow! Inadequate doesn't begin to describe the feeling! She surely had the knack to keep us up late.Yvonne Osbornehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18212188414972694795noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-41809572026830112232021-12-12T11:37:46.349-06:002021-12-12T11:37:46.349-06:00All my manuscripts start with one character. A nam...All my manuscripts start with one character. A name forms alongside a personality. Physical appearance usually follows. Or vice versa. I started out 100% pantster, but over time I learned to use the 3 act structure, but again, loosely. I know where I'm starting, know what the twist is, and how it ends. <br /><br />I've tried to structure everything in advance, but I lose interest in the story when I do. I like 'telling' myself the story as I work. If I know everything, what's the point? That's my method. Does it mean I sometimes write myself into corners? You betcha. But getting myself out of those corners is a major part of the fun.<br /><br />NancyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-80376832623458228322021-11-17T13:55:58.669-06:002021-11-17T13:55:58.669-06:00I always love your posts! I missed much in my orig...I always love your posts! I missed much in my original reading. (Of course, that was nearly 50 years ago. Sigh.) I need to pull out my Shakespeare again.Deb Salisbury, Magic Seeker and Mantua-Makerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01513482264195697450noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-67675378171391317062021-08-18T23:15:56.749-05:002021-08-18T23:15:56.749-05:00wrong word usage "pendantic"wrong word usage "pendantic"Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-33680119408544540852021-08-07T21:33:40.463-05:002021-08-07T21:33:40.463-05:00I can't remember ever reading Rebecca. Your po...I can't remember ever reading Rebecca. Your post makes me want to go find a copy!Deb Salisbury, Magic Seeker and Mantua-Makerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01513482264195697450noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-43517795103925953992021-05-25T15:38:28.307-05:002021-05-25T15:38:28.307-05:00Sorry, Ellen, I lost your comment.
My thought is-...Sorry, Ellen, I lost your comment.<br /><br />My thought is-- with an audio book, if we hear, "She said" and "Mike said" with every line of dialogue, it will get kind of irritating. <br /><br />You're right to mention radio plays and such-- where the speaker never says, "This is Alice talking"-- just the line of dialogue. Of course, pretty soon we're acquainted with each actor's voice. And with a good audiobook narrator, there'll be some variance in voice for each character, which will help.<br /><br />But it also helps for the writer to figure out some "marker" of this character's speech and use that in the lines where there's no "tag" like John said.<br /><br />Quickly the listener will figure out that John is the one who speaks in short gruff sentence fragments, and Lee is the one who always repeats words, and...<br /><br />I always liked the "visual" aspect of writing and reading, but now that I'm an audio addict, I'm seeing, well, hearing, ways we need to substitute for that aspect.<br />AliciaAlicia Rasleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13143623145712619511noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-54209080631474913072020-10-15T22:29:55.231-05:002020-10-15T22:29:55.231-05:00That's a good approach, Sue.
I think of myse...That's a good approach, Sue. <br /><br />I think of myself as a natural novelist-- you know, the stories are just naturally 400 pages... <br />But weirdly, every short story I've finished, I've sold. No brag-- it puzzles me. I think with each, I actually kind of started with a title, and confined the story to that title. The Gift is about a gift, for example.<br /><br />Yours is a great example-- just one piece of the relationship.<br />I'm noodling around one like that, only the end of the relationship-- he sends a text, and basically the story message is that someone who would break up by text isn't anyone you'd want to keep anyway.Alicia Rasleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13143623145712619511noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-56665522017828721772020-10-15T22:09:09.377-05:002020-10-15T22:09:09.377-05:00I found this helpful way to think about short fict...I found this helpful way to think about short fiction. A full novel has a number of parts: an introduction, a sequence of try and fail attempts, a climax, etc. Well, a short story can be just one of those parts. I just read a short story that was a romantic meet cute, and while clearly the story was not over, the short story tackled the question of whether the narrator would decide to continue the relationship. As a short story, it worked satisfactorally -- but it could have been the opening chapter of a romance novel, too.Sue Burkehttps://sueburke.site/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-20228505423506302092020-08-12T09:53:02.116-05:002020-08-12T09:53:02.116-05:00Dang. I missed this ten years ago. Would have love...Dang. I missed this ten years ago. Would have loved that book! LOL. Now I wish I knew what that comment was...Spindriftdancernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-89047223724241002772019-10-21T19:01:33.677-05:002019-10-21T19:01:33.677-05:00that's a great example from Star Trek! (And it...that's a great example from Star Trek! (And it reminds me of how much the writers loved to torture poor Kirk. :) Disinformation is such a good plot device, and here also there's the thematic element of Kirk using the evidence of his weakness as part of his strength.<br /><br />With Tony, the subtext, I would think, is WHY he's lying. The reader can tell he's lying-- maybe even Lucy can... but why? Lying is generally kind of a bad action, so is he bad? No, because he's doing it for a good reason (the surprise party). And then I as a reader (I'm a romantic) would probably leap to the further conclusion that he has a crush on Lucy.<br /><br />Subtext, at the basic, I think is "under the text"-- so we see what Tony is doing and saying and we don't take that at face value. That's pretty basic subtext, I know, but it does open up the idea that text doesn't have to be all there is, or that it can't be more than it is, that we can write the text in a way that implies or contains far more than what the words would mean if that's all they meant.(I'm getting tangled! But there are layers to text-with-subtext.) The subtext in this case has to be contained, however, in the text.<br /><br />I think there's also subtext that isn't actually in the text, but in the context, requiring external knowledge or cultural understanding to get, like in <i>Casablanca</i>, when the action takes place on December 3-5 (I think), 1941, and nothing is said about it, but the viewer knows this means that Pearl Harbor is just a few days away, and America's neutrality (like Rick's) is soon going to end. We have to know the historical context to know what this means and get the resonance-- Rick as a symbol of America and his decision to join the fight paralleling America's decision.<br />And there's another element-- not sure how this works-- that several of the actors (including the one who played the Nazi major) were refugees who fled the Nazis, so that this story (filmed only a few months after Pearl Harbor) was deeply personal for them. <br /><br />Is there a subtext also in a joke? (Or lie in this case!) When Carl is asked by a customer, "Is this casino honest?" he answers, "As honest as the day is long!" (It's December, when the days aren't long at all.) Layers! The casino is generally honest, but Rick does a good deed just this once (showing how his neutrality is breaking down) to help a young Bulgarian couple trying to escape from the concentration-camp fate. So this once, the casino ISN'T honest, and the day is not long, but it's a good, not a bad, thing.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> Alicia Rasleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13143623145712619511noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-6075699298962747922019-10-21T18:00:05.697-05:002019-10-21T18:00:05.697-05:00Let's call it what it is: lying. People lie,...Let's call it what it is: lying. People lie, especially when they're trying to keep secrets.<br /><br />The reader can be tipped off if they know it's a lie. If, in a previous scene, Tony talks about wanting to see the same show because he's heard so many good things about it, but then he tells Lucy it's bad, then the reader knows he's lying, even if they don't know why. (Is that a sufficient about of "sub" in "subtext"?)<br /><br />If you want Lucy to also pick up on the lie, you can do the same trick. Give her knowledge of Tommy's desire to see the show, perhaps through a mutual friend, and she'll also know he's lying. Lucy and the reader can come up with their own hypotheses.<br /><br />The first example that springs to my mind of letting the audience know a character is lying to further their agenda is from the _Star Trek_ episode "The Deadly Years," written by David P. Harmon.<br /><br />Kirk contracts a disease that causes him to prematurely age, including loss of memory. Kirk forgets that the Romulans have cracked one of the Starfleet encryption codes ("Code Two") and he nearly leaks vital information to them. Later, freshly cured, he demands that obsolete encryption code for an important communication back to Starfleet.<br /><br />SULU: We're surrounded by Romulan vessels. Maximum of ten. Range fifty to a hundred thousand kilometers.<br />KIRK: Engineering, this is the captain. I want full emergency power. I want everything within about two minutes. I want the warp drive engines on full standby. Kirk out. Open up a special channel to Starfleet Command. Code two.<br />UHURA: But, Captain, Code--<br />KIRK: That's an order, Lieutenant. Code two.<br />UHURA: Yes, Captain. Code two.<br /><br />The audience and the crew are left to wonder whether Kirk's memory is still faulty. Will Kirk doom them by transmitting information that will help the Romulans kill them? Then Kirk records this message:<br /><br />KIRK: Message. From Enterprise to Starfleet Command this sector. Have inadvertently encroached upon Romulan Neutral Zone. Surrounded and under heavy Romulan attack. Escape impossible, shields failing. Will implement destruct order using corbomite device recently installed. Since this will result in the destruction of the Enterprise and all matter in a two hundred thousand kilometre diameter and establish a corresponding dead zone, all Federation ships will avoid this area for the next four solar years. Explosion will take place in one minute. Kirk, commanding Enterprise, out.<br /><br />It was earlier established that the Enterprise did not encroach the neutral zone "inadvertently," and the "corbomite device" is a bluff Kirk has famously used in the past. So the reader and the crew know he's lying. By sending it encoded with the obsolete encryption, he's lying to the Romulans.Adriannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-87598555732020974862019-01-07T12:50:25.998-06:002019-01-07T12:50:25.998-06:00This weekend, my wife was binge watching an old si...This weekend, my wife was binge watching an old sitcom whose title sequence originally used a cover of "Lady Madonna" by the Beatles. But on the streaming service, the song has been replaced, presumably because the original licensing terms had a time limit or didn't include streaming services.<br /><br />The funny bit is that, the closed captions still see show the "Lady Madonna" lyrics rather than the lyrics of the replacement song. I wonder if Sony is going to go after the streaming service for distributing copies of the song's lyrics.Adriannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-13174727327295499662019-01-06T12:08:00.480-06:002019-01-06T12:08:00.480-06:00I remember, btw, reading about Leo Tolstoy's a...I remember, btw, reading about Leo Tolstoy's attempt to divest his works of copyright-- only AFTER he died. (The biographer I read made it sound like he was being so altruistic, but the question arises-- why enjoy the fruits of your copyright while you're alive then?) His family was so upset about this prospect of losing a huge potential legacy, they fought him in court. He was finally driven to run away from home! (And he died 10 days later.) <br /><br />I think in that case the issue might be whether the heirs should have the same level of copyright ownership as the actual creator. Limiting the copyright term would help deal with that-- maybe not just to the life of the creator (what about the widow?), but maybe not as long as it is now-- Life + 70 years (which gets down into "great-grandchildren" level).<br /><br />Supposedly "Micky Mouse" (Disney) has played a big role in expanding the copyright term.<br /><br />Alicianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-35223857985762840752019-01-03T12:28:54.863-06:002019-01-03T12:28:54.863-06:00Yeah, if it's a short song, then quoting just ...Yeah, if it's a short song, then quoting just a few lines in a commercial work could weaken your fair use defense. On the other hand, a few lines from a song embedded in a 100,000 word novel leans toward "transformative" and it arguably doesn't adversely affect the market for the song--nobody's going to buy your novel instead of the sheet music or a recording of the piece.<br /><br />Some of Frost's work just entered the public domain, so it might be worth checking to see when the poem you want to use becomes available.<br /><br />Titles aren't subject to copyright, but they occasionally are trademarked, especially for things like a TV or film franchise. Hollywood doesn't like the fact that they can't copyright titles, so they set up an industry "Title Registry" and all the major studios and distributors agree not to name their movies using titles registered by another member of the agreement. This is how some Hollywood gossip starts: the press watches which titles the studios register and guesses what kinds of films are in the pipeline. Of course, studios will speculatively register titles that may never come to fruition. I recall that, upon the success of <i>Honey, I Shrunk the Kids</i> Disney registered a bunch of possible sequel titles like <i>Honey, I Sent the Kids to the Moon</i> that were never made.Adriannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-66723947272780568512019-01-02T22:34:58.075-06:002019-01-02T22:34:58.075-06:00We do tend to throw copyright to the winds (when i...We do tend to throw copyright to the winds (when it's not OUR copyright, that is! We get a lot more scrupulous when someone violates our copyrights, I think :). I agree, most of us might take the risk sometimes-- using a photo or graphic off Pinterest without getting permission, embedding a music video in our blog posts. And generally we'll get away with it. <br /><br />I know a writer who quoted a stanza of a song lyric, however, and got sued, and another who asked for permission of the music company (not the artists, who didn't own the rights any more, interestingly), and was told she would have to pay $1000 upfront, and then a small percentage on each sale. They learned that music publishers are a lot more sue-happy than most copyright holders, and have some kind of additional protection that I didn't quite understand-- after all, there are SO MANY stakeholders with any recorded music, the songwriters, the musicians, the producers, the recording company-- and any one of those might take some exception.<br /><br />Fair use is a lot less useful when it comes to short works. To quote 4 lines from a novel would likely be fair use. To quote 4 lines of a 16-line lyric (that is, 25% of it), might not be considered fair use, as you're not supposed to use a "substantial" segment. Also, commercial (rather than educational) use would complicate-- when we're actually offering this work for sale.<br /><br />I was/am going to write some stories linked to pop songs, and I am going to be pretty careful, not having Penn Jilette's financial resources or legal advisors. I'll maybe quote a line from each song, but no more than that. Titles usually can't be copyrighted, so I might also use the title. And in the ebook, I can probably link to the Youtube of the song-- let Google/Youtube deal with the copyright holder! <br /><br />As you said, there are all sorts of jurisdictions too. I know in the EU, the "moral rights" of the original creators are protected more than here. A big damned mess, yes! I am a cautious risktaker, really. I very much want to use a Frost poem in a story, but I think his work is still under copyright, impossible as that might seem, considering how long ago he wrote that poem. So I'm thinking of asking for permission from the estate, though of course all that does is alert them. :) Oh, well. It's usually possible to write around the problem, though paraphrasing a lyric or poem is really no solution. Alas.Alicianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-83139925665997582542019-01-02T19:02:58.844-06:002019-01-02T19:02:58.844-06:00Those articles seem rather one-sided, are slightly...Those articles seem rather one-sided, are slightly out-of-date, and one of them misses an important point.<br /><br />The media companies don't want there to be fair-use exceptions, so they go out of their way to secure explicit permissions from each other even when fair-use would have been sufficient. They believe this sets precedent that all others should have to follow, but I'm not sure that's actually been tested in court. Sure, if you quote some lyrics in your book, you have technically violated copyright, and the rightsholder could sue you, but whether a fair use defense would hold up is going to depend on a lot of circumstances. Of course, if the rightsholder is a major media company, you probably can't afford to risk an expensive legal battle. I guess, in one sense that means they win.<br /><br />But do you suppose Penn Jillette got permission from every rightsholder whose lyrics he worked into _Sock_? (If you're not familiar with the book, virtually every paragraph quotes a classic rock or pop song from the '70s or '80s.)<br /><br />Now that it's 2019, the Sonny Bono copyright extension act has finally expired, and old works have begun--once again--to enter the public domain in the U.S. Of course, it's not as simple as adding some number of years to the copyright date, so it still can be hard to figure out exactly what's under copyright, and many works under copyright are orphaned (which is evidence the system isn't doing what the Constitution says it was intended to do).<br /><br />And, of course, you have to think about rights in all sorts of jurisdictions, not just the U.S. What's in the public domain in Australia might still be under copyright in the U.S. What's fair use in the U.S. might not be considered fair dealing in Canada or the U.K. It's a big damn mess.Adriannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-66509996780860092882019-01-02T18:36:16.921-06:002019-01-02T18:36:16.921-06:00Thanks for the informative post. Very interesting....Thanks for the informative post. Very interesting. <br />Jolynnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01672383583154988449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-88406413577079026412018-10-16T15:17:30.460-05:002018-10-16T15:17:30.460-05:00I know... what a loss. We still have Tom Waits tho...I know... what a loss. We still have Tom Waits though: <br /><br /><i>The wind is making speeches; <br />And the rain sounds like a round of applause; <br />Napoleon is weeping in the Carnival saloon; <br />His invisible fiance is in the mirror; <br />The band is going home; <br />It's raining hammers, it's raining nails….. <br />and it’s time, time that you love.</i><br /><br />And that song has one of the most beautiful images ever:<br /><br />As the dish outside the window<br />Fills with rain<br /><br />AliciaEdittorrenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14295505709568570553noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-54277082938065815242018-10-16T06:26:08.520-05:002018-10-16T06:26:08.520-05:00I loved moody Leonard Cohen, his deep, raspy voice...I loved moody Leonard Cohen, his deep, raspy voice and heartfelt words that transcended gender, age and race.Yvonne Osbornehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18212188414972694795noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-16787896826699403792018-10-12T12:58:59.588-05:002018-10-12T12:58:59.588-05:00Yes, I think the "subliminal" comes in w...Yes, I think the "subliminal" comes in when the menace is hinted at in details, especially setting-- the drapes are drawn, but there's a bit of weak sunlight coming through the slit that cast weird shadows on the wall....Edittorrenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14295505709568570553noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-39081559904675522162018-10-12T12:48:58.023-05:002018-10-12T12:48:58.023-05:00I don't think so. (MAybe an oldie but goodie!)...I don't think so. (MAybe an oldie but goodie!)<br />I wrote it for a class I'm teaching. <br /><br />I agree that 'working back" is a kind of interesting twist on the technique. I've been seeing that a lot lately too, especially on TV, like The Good Place, where there's something that happens early, and that poses a puzzle that leads the characters BACK. You're right that they start with the 'effect' and move back to the cause, which does make the plot more like a murder mystery without murder.<br /><br />I like that-- I think it can increase reader interest. it could get annoying, of course, if it's not about something important!<br />Alicia<br />Edittorrenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14295505709568570553noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-70663703680761739052018-09-28T12:31:37.294-05:002018-09-28T12:31:37.294-05:00This post seems so familiar. Is it recycled?
Rec...This post seems so familiar. Is it recycled?<br /><br />Recently, I've been noticing how much of television drama starts with the effects and most of the story involves the revelations of the (often surprising) causes of those effects.<br /><br />The easiest example of this is the police procedural. We open with a dead body (the effect), and the story centers on the detective figuring out who killed them and way (the cause of the death). Of course, there's a framing story with a more traditional cause-then-effect structure: The detective finds a clue (cause) which leads to a witness (effect). And the witness provides a bit of information (cause) that leads another clue . Et cetera.<br /><br />But it's not just mysteries that start with effects and work backwards to the causes. I just watched a new ensemble TV drama that started with an inciting incident that caused the rest of the cast to wonder why it happened, which leads them to wondering about their own situations and relationships (effects). Most of the "drama" seemed to come from revelations of backstory (causes) that dribbled out as the characters went about their "normal" lives in the light of that inciting incident. Other recent dramas seem to do the same effects-before-causes things with time hopping or flashback. But when I think of dramas I watched many years ago, I remember only traditional cause-and-effect plots.<br /><br />To be certain, most stories hide something in the cause-and-effect chain to reveal it later as a dramatic twist. Darth Vader convinces the emperor to let him try to turn Luke to the dark side of the Force because he would be a valuable ally. But his actual reason for doing so is that Luke is his son, a bit of motivation that's withheld from the audience (and Luke) for one and half movies. When Luke's parentage _is_ revealed, it causes a profound effect on Luke (though not the one Vader hoped for). So the revelation itself is just another link in the cause-and-effect chain that drives the saga. But in these new TV dramas, the revelations seem to serve no purpose other than to cause the audience to re-evaluate what they've seen so far in light of new information, which, in many cases, the characters themselves already knew.Adriannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-15190710528114959042018-09-22T21:46:40.263-05:002018-09-22T21:46:40.263-05:00I think Casablanca is almost always a great exampl...I think Casablanca is almost always a great example for any plotting strategy!<br />AliciaEdittorrenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14295505709568570553noreply@blogger.com