tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post2123888239728392725..comments2024-03-18T19:00:03.047-04:00Comments on SleuthSayers: Professional Tips– S S Van DineLeigh Lundinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07921276795499571578noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-42717691602156042932016-05-09T11:05:00.096-04:002016-05-09T11:05:00.096-04:00Gee. And here I was going to copy the blog post an...Gee. And here I was going to copy the blog post and put it in my writing folder. All those people who tell you "never read the comments" nearly cooked my goose.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-58235875300559029362016-05-08T20:57:29.368-04:002016-05-08T20:57:29.368-04:00ABA, one of the best clues in the best contest wit...ABA, one of the best clues in the best contest with the best winner ever!Leigh Lundinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07921276795499571578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-31867331909459196122016-05-08T18:25:11.809-04:002016-05-08T18:25:11.809-04:00P.S.
And rule 20e? Ach! There would go one of the ...P.S.<br /><i>And rule 20e? Ach! There would go one of the best Sherlock Holmes stories ever.</i><br /><br />...and one of the best clues in the <i>Criminal Brief</i> <a href="http://criminalbrief.com/?p=10052" rel="nofollow">Christmas Contest</a><br /><br /><br />A Broad Abroadnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-82307782804823294092016-05-08T18:10:05.974-04:002016-05-08T18:10:05.974-04:00I'm with Janice. In my world, "Please don...I'm with Janice. In my world, "Please don't walk on the grass" is asking for trouble.<br /><br />Am sure any number of successful novels could be named in which SSVD's rules have been broken. I think some of these 'rules' came about over time, in this instance, after certain detective story-telling formulae were considered hackneyed or clichéd.A Broad Abroadnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-30965691169727240802016-05-08T17:44:46.872-04:002016-05-08T17:44:46.872-04:00Good point, Eve! Thank you!Good point, Eve! Thank you!Leigh Lundinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07921276795499571578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-42594681222573884452016-05-08T17:44:20.800-04:002016-05-08T17:44:20.800-04:00Elizabeth, as you say, if Agatha Christie applied ...Elizabeth, as you say, if Agatha Christie applied rule 4, she wouldn’t have written that wonderful play, which I won’t name in case someone hasn’t seen it. Likewise, if everyone applied rule 3, we wouldn’t have seen Tommy and Tuppence, Nick and Nora, Simon and Patricia, or the many mystery genre couples and romances. While rule 16 is reasonable, taken too far, it would eliminate much of the elegant writing we’ve seen in the past century and a half. And rule 20e? Ach! There would go one of the best Sherlock Holmes stories ever.<br /><br />Van Dine was both a pedantic and prig (and Vance could be pompous as hell), but also a crypto-technician, no matter how much he tried to hide it. By that, I mean he cloaked technical details. For example, I noticed all of the Philo Vance titles, save one that is arguable), have exactly the same number of words and characters. (The one that became the exception originally had the same pattern too.) As popular as his works were at the time, this suggest to me that he could bog down with the useless detail that he argues against.<br />Leigh Lundinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07921276795499571578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-47308846654910494042016-05-08T17:35:17.084-04:002016-05-08T17:35:17.084-04:00It seems that S.S. Van Dine expounded on the 10 ru...It seems that S.S. Van Dine expounded on the 10 rules of Detection from the Detection Club - see here http://www.the-line-up.com/the-detection-club-rules/ - or vice-versa, from the 1930s. But that was then, this is now. And even then wasn't totally then: 1939's "The Big Sleep" is notorious for the fact that NOBODY knows (including Chandler) who killed the chauffeur. :)Eve Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03015761600962360110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-78107114840375720852016-05-08T13:35:23.788-04:002016-05-08T13:35:23.788-04:00Times have changed. I disagree with almost all of ...Times have changed. I disagree with almost all of his rules & can think of many famous examples where they weren't followed ... <i>The Murder of Roger Ackroyd</i> & the Sherlock Holmes stories come to mind, as well as all the CSI stuff on TV.Elizabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00239163766419735693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-67350565587835044032016-05-08T11:03:52.324-04:002016-05-08T11:03:52.324-04:00Janice, I agree. While some of Van Dine's are ...Janice, I agree. While some of Van Dine's are worth following, others could be confining.Leigh Lundinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07921276795499571578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-66267814097848397042016-05-08T08:04:38.919-04:002016-05-08T08:04:38.919-04:00I think such rules are made to be broken!I think such rules are made to be broken!janice Lawnoreply@blogger.com