tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post389616031545270958..comments2024-03-28T15:01:21.285-04:00Comments on SleuthSayers: Explosive Theory and the Impact of Romance on MysteryLeigh Lundinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07921276795499571578noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-83830098043382110802021-02-03T04:04:09.659-05:002021-02-03T04:04:09.659-05:00I plot myself using Excel as a baseline. I have fo...I plot myself using Excel as a baseline. I have found with my (3) romance-suspense novels so far, they have a predictable baseline. I got a certain formula that I came up with, and so I adjust after the first draft to get my novels to match up with that 12 point system. So far it has worked out well, my beta readers have all said that they read the novel in three reads because they cannot put them down.<br /><br />That is kind of my point: find whatever plot line works for you, as long as beta readers confirm its working.Quick Novelisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02757911621787957503noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-28430203026395503242014-06-28T03:13:15.363-04:002014-06-28T03:13:15.363-04:00Nothing to be sorry for– I think it's a valuab...Nothing to be sorry for– I think it's a valuable post (nor was I being critical– maybe I got that hoof-in-mouth disease too!)Leigh Lundinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07921276795499571578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-56070599126296257332014-06-27T23:53:47.889-04:002014-06-27T23:53:47.889-04:00I'm afraid, Leigh,that I'm having one of t...I'm afraid, Leigh,that I'm having one of those weeks in which I can't seem to say anything near what I mean. It seems I've caught a case of "foot in mouth disease." Doesn't often happen to me, but on occasion . . . oof!<br /><br />In fact, among other things, earlier this week, when I tried to tell my wife how pretty I thought she looked in her bathing suit, it somehow came out sounding as if I'd accused her of being about ten years older than she is, being fat and ugly (of which, she is neither), and that I thought she didn't look nearly as pretty as a young coed who happened to be lying in a bikini at the other end of the pool at the time. Like I said: Just one of those weeks.<br /><br />And, my blog post, today, is unfortunately no exception. I bludgeoned my way back and forth on it, all week long--between taxiing kids, counseling my son who's upset because his BF suddenly announced he is moving to California this weekend, and other oddities. I found myself constantly frustrated that what I had just written was not what I meant, and that I seemed to be having a bad time making any point at all!<br /><br />In fact, I tried to write a long explanation of what I actually meant (which is nothing like what I wrote in my blog), but I still can't seem to make my words come out right. Sorry, buddy.<br /><br />--Dixon<br /> Dixon Hillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11220791609338404147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-60777263770194193682014-06-27T21:14:41.322-04:002014-06-27T21:14:41.322-04:00Dixon, as a child, the first adult novel I remembe...Dixon, as a child, the first adult novel I remember reading was Fritz Lieber’s 1934 novel Gather Darkness. In it, scientists developed a sort of invisibility that’s being experimented with today: Using light waves to cancel each other out.<br /><br />The grey box with the double waves reminded me of two stories. One is a sweet little story that became the longest running play off Broadway, The Fantasticks. (And I see it reopened in 2006!) Midway, the play reaches a resolution that seems climatic (and is, according to the diagram), but then recommences and fights its way back to the final dénouement.<br /><br />The other story is by that favorite thriller writer, Wilbur Smith, Shout at the Devil, set in WW-I German East Africa. And here I part ways with both the book and the movie and the double-dip diagram. The first half of the story is a light-hearted caper, with the British Roger Moore and American Lee Marving tweaking the noses of the Germans. It’s a fun romp, until halfway through, the story turns ugly, very ugly. To me, it’s almost like two different and almost unrelated stories in tone. Of all Wilbur Smith’s books, it’s the one I didn’t like.<br /><br /><br />You make a pertinent point when you say that too-rigidly graphing plot and character elements would result in a boring story. But technicians have a major advantage of structure, what I think of as architecture, making things hang together. Thus for most novels (non-stream-of-consciousness), the organic portions of a story are sculpted onto a solid foundation and structure.<br /><br />Think Disney World (I seem to be in a Disney mode today.) Under the façade of castles and caves, of haunted mansions and monorails and African adventure, lies structural steel and concrete that holds it all together. That’s the magic in the Magic Kingdom.Leigh Lundinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07921276795499571578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-12418659580590751532014-06-27T21:13:57.757-04:002014-06-27T21:13:57.757-04:00Anon, the main challenge of historical writers (an...Anon, the main challenge of historical writers (and world-crafting sci-fi and fantasy writers) is avoiding overburdening the reader with deadly detail.<br /><br />I came across a novel set in 1800s Boston that I was sure I'd like– it was about Harvard and poets and authors of the era and a murder plot. But the detail was so deep, it was like sludge and I couldn't finish the book.<br /><br />The trick is to paint like an impressionist– strokes that give a reader a feel of the place and era while avoiding minutiae: Show, not tell.Leigh Lundinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07921276795499571578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-67526412271572955652014-06-27T20:56:10.650-04:002014-06-27T20:56:10.650-04:00Claire, I'd say it's about resolving imbal...Claire, I'd say it's about resolving imbalance.<br /><br />As tension increases, things become more and more imbalanced until at last the overburdened hero or heroine put things right: Cinderella's shoe fits and the bullying stops. Snow White wakens to a kiss and the evil queen is destroyed. Pinocchio grows up, completing his character arc. <br /><br />The old tales point the way.Leigh Lundinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07921276795499571578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-55498006519254149102014-06-27T20:12:01.152-04:002014-06-27T20:12:01.152-04:00So...no matter which way you look at it, it's ...So...no matter which way you look at it, it's all about balance? C.S.Poulsenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16543815556918004433noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-35959251794469469922014-06-27T15:29:23.213-04:002014-06-27T15:29:23.213-04:00I'd also like to point out that I did not mean...I'd also like to point out that I did not mean that I thought previous comments "missed the point" -- though when reading my post, this morning, I was disturbed to realize this interpretation was easily possible. <br /><br />Rather, I felt the comments were all excellent, and highlighted important elements a writer needed to incorporate or at least consider when mixing these two genres. <br /><br />My goal was simply to point out an additional idea that might be considered. However, I don't think I did terribly cogent job of explaining what I meant.<br /><br />--DixonDixon Hillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11220791609338404147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-33417298433781338562014-06-27T15:23:19.209-04:002014-06-27T15:23:19.209-04:00Anon, I’m glad this proved useful for you. As for...Anon, I’m glad this proved useful for you. As for worrying that your comment might ramble, I’d say you did a pretty good job—particularly in light of the disjointed, non-focused manner in which I wrote today’s post. I apologize for that; things just got away from me … including time, I’m afraid.<br /><br />Eve, I agree with you. I think romance can be a very useful element in a character-driven mystery. What kicked my mind into this confused ramble, which you see on my post, was the question: “Why does a mystery element sometimes seem to interfere with a mystery’s plotline?” I’m suspecting that the answer has to do with the literary location and timing of significant romance plotline elements, and the way the romance’s arc of rising tension might impact on the mystery plotline’s rising tension. My idea being: In some cases—when the genre mix works—the two arcs of rising tension complement each other, heightening the overall tension. In others, however, I suspect the two arcs of rising tension clash with each other in some manner, reducing overall tension and sometimes even cancelling it out altogether. I apologize that my post does not make this terribly clear.<br /><br />--DixonDixon Hillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11220791609338404147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-51428581007351386432014-06-27T11:49:38.441-04:002014-06-27T11:49:38.441-04:00I think, with mysteries, there's one school of...I think, with mysteries, there's one school of thought that says the puzzle is what matters; another says that there have to be living characters so that the puzzle matters. Romance ups the investment ("The Postman Always Rings Twice" wouldn't be nearly as compelling if HE wasn't besotted with HER), and it is one of the major things people do with their time. And it is unpredictable. Why not use it? Eve Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03015761600962360110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-21847616858381058312014-06-27T10:53:53.431-04:002014-06-27T10:53:53.431-04:00This is not only interesting in an intellectual wa...This is not only interesting in an intellectual way, I think it gives me real insight into a practical way to resolve a problem I've had with a historical novel I'm working on. There are so many characters in it, with so many intense personal things happening in their lives (that really happened and are important to the story), and there are so many complex events happening (that are also historical and important), that I've been at a loss as to how to weave the chaos into something non-chaotic. Previous authors who've written about this period in time have done it by being so over-simplistic as to actually miss the profound levels of humanity that actually exist in the people and events. They've jingoized it, so to speak. So although I knew I needed to find a meaningful way to distill it and focus in, and weave specific threads together in a -- well, a HARMONY I see now -- I couldn't figure out how. It was like being a child with tiny hands and trying to figure out how to grab something out of a sofa-sized treasure chest of golden chains and sparkling jewels all tangled around one another. You know you're going to get only part of it -- so which parts do you grab for, and why? I have the "arcs" for each main person and the events themselves drawn out. Now I see how to use that to let the story resolve its own self into something meaningful that might have actually been perceptible to the people involved. My ramble here might not make sense, but my inner writer is nonetheless jumping up and down with gleaming eyes and a feeling of hope. Thank you!!!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com