tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post6277655318073547675..comments2024-03-27T23:53:59.771-04:00Comments on SleuthSayers: Best QuestionLeigh Lundinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07921276795499571578noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-2713013977040078052014-03-12T18:18:43.000-04:002014-03-12T18:18:43.000-04:00As you described that early Mike Shayne magazine s...As you described that early Mike Shayne magazine story, Robert, it seems to me nobody needed to ask "what next?"; you'd told them.<br /><br />In any case, congrats on the more recent sales.John C. Bolandhttp://www.johncboland.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-74509120485160173792014-02-21T08:37:55.913-05:002014-02-21T08:37:55.913-05:00That's the question that keeps me writing, eve...That's the question that keeps me writing, even at my snail's pace. It's the one I hope I leave people with, even though I don't write anything approaching cliffhangers.Sara Hoskinson Frommerhttp://www.sff.net/people/SaraHoskinsonFrommernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-91192232126723657412014-02-21T00:45:43.592-05:002014-02-21T00:45:43.592-05:00Yeah, I miss Stodgill, whom I never met. His blog...Yeah, I miss Stodgill, whom I never met. His blog is still worth reading. Pick a piece at random: http://stodg.blogspot.com/<br /><br />Eve, sequels can definitely be disappointing. When ROddy DOyle wrote PAULA SPENCER I let it sit for months, afraid it couldn't be as good as THE WOMAN WHO WALKED INTO DOORS. It came close enough.<br /><br />Jacqueline, yes, sometimes when an author dies I find myself wondering if the characters are still out there, with no one to record their stories...<br />Lida, I hadn't thought about bringing up cliffhangers per se. Thanks for pointing to them.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Robert Loprestihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08844889305615182897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-69031843213164415182014-02-20T11:50:29.864-05:002014-02-20T11:50:29.864-05:00The classic "What Happened Next" story i...The classic "What Happened Next" story is "The Lady or the Tiger" by Frank R. Stockton. A close second is "The Monkey's Paw" by W.W. Jacobs. These stories owe their appeal and longevity (IMHO)to the very ambiguity of the endings, as well as being brilliantly constructed. They make you think and ponder, and therefore stay in the mind long after being read. <br /> Lida Bushlopernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-63705530064548088642014-02-20T08:14:44.985-05:002014-02-20T08:14:44.985-05:00"What happened next?" That is definitely..."What happened next?" That is definitely the best question an author can be asked by a reader! I can't top that. Fun post, Rob.Catherine Diltshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05772088568954159017noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-12681890887710929102014-02-20T05:50:08.763-05:002014-02-20T05:50:08.763-05:00You point out why writers like to work with a seri...You point out why writers like to work with a series. Once you have interesting characters, readers do want to know what will happen next to them. I find my Kim Reynolds mysteries are much more popular than my stand alone mystery novels. The same can be said for mystery short stories.Jacqueline Seewaldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09177500620940251009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-32269230002962354952014-02-19T23:46:29.944-05:002014-02-19T23:46:29.944-05:00Great column, Rob!
Dick Stodghill--good memories ...Great column, Rob!<br /><br />Dick Stodghill--good memories indeed.John Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001712728130488485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-71688691072158006782014-02-19T22:52:05.001-05:002014-02-19T22:52:05.001-05:00I notice Dick Stodghill leads on the cover of Mike...I notice Dick Stodghill leads on the cover of Mike Shayne! There’s a good memory!Leigh Lundinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07921276795499571578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-5436047229397910432014-02-19T14:28:49.734-05:002014-02-19T14:28:49.734-05:00If that's to me, Janice, no boy involved. The ...If that's to me, Janice, no boy involved. The protagonist of the works in question is the nice Jewish girl who's also a country music star and a shapeshifter. The only boys in my stories are Diego in "The Green Cross," and what happens next is the novel, <i>Voyage of Strangers,</i> and the protagonist of the standalone story that's just been accepted by AHMM and will probably not appear for ages. I have backstory (or would you call it frontstory?) for a sequel to <i>Voyage of Strangers</i>: they think they're going to live in Firenze under Lorenzo de Medici, but they end up in Turkey, which is exactly what would have happened in real life. But I might not ever write it.Elizabeth Zelvinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13944424094949207841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-62912231247862837582014-02-19T09:39:24.484-05:002014-02-19T09:39:24.484-05:00I always want to know what happened next, but when...I always want to know what happened next, but when I think about it, I rarely like what the AUTHOR says happened next, beginning with the Little Women series: I disagreed with almost every plot point in "Little Men" and "Jo's Boys". I hated what Lynn Johnston did to the kids' characters the last year of "For Better or Worse". And I am as one with all those who took to the streets to demand Holmes' return from the Reichenbach Falls. That being said, can hardly wait to read the sequel! :)Eve Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03015761600962360110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-66708305520295252472014-02-19T08:23:26.972-05:002014-02-19T08:23:26.972-05:00I hope one does answer the question, What happened...I hope one does answer the question, What happened to the boy in the earliest story!Janice Lawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-34469015034615584502014-02-19T08:19:40.205-05:002014-02-19T08:19:40.205-05:00Coincidentally, I've just had a "What hap...Coincidentally, I've just had a "What happened next?" experience. I've been toying with the idea of bringing back the protagonist of a certain novella in a novel starting a year after the events of the novella. Last week I got an idea for a story to submit on a particular set theme for an anthology, using the same protagonist and starting immediately after the events of the novella. Only after I'd written and polished the story and sent it in did I realize that it put my protagonist in exactly the same position, with exactly the same justification, as that of someone she's furious at because of what happened in the novella. Should I conclude "Oops!" "Hmm...," or "Wow!"?Elizabeth Zelvinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13944424094949207841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-65844577975523234412014-02-19T05:17:49.858-05:002014-02-19T05:17:49.858-05:00Congrats on the sales. Who knows how far the &quo...Congrats on the sales. Who knows how far the "What happened next?" can take you in stories? Just shows that your characters are real to your readers.Fran Rizerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08655783035179620991noreply@blogger.com