tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post4214318798972333840..comments2024-03-28T12:01:31.049-04:00Comments on Writers Who Kill: Characterization and Structure, 'True Detective' StyleJim Jacksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15090252530437277145noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-40167263217826141842014-03-02T13:38:16.474-05:002014-03-02T13:38:16.474-05:00I don't watch a lot of TV. Every once in a whi...I don't watch a lot of TV. Every once in a while I will catch a "reality show" like Cops, and I was on a tour with an editor for 48 Hours. After she described a lot of the things tha went into making the show, it seemed a lot more interesting, so I catch that if I notice it's gong to be on (which doesn't happen much since I don't watch much TV.)<br /><br />I probably should branch out a bit more, but I do worry about presenting inaccuracies in my writing because "that's the way they do it on TV."<br /><br />KM Rockwoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03973749764907859829noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-63060481377055700332014-03-02T12:33:20.732-05:002014-03-02T12:33:20.732-05:00All forms of story telling can provide lessons abo...All forms of story telling can provide lessons about writing. I have heard wonderful things about True Detective. Warren Bullhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07789270258599769915noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-54509066702127079382014-03-02T12:22:09.277-05:002014-03-02T12:22:09.277-05:00I don't have cable TV, because I watch so litt...I don't have cable TV, because I watch so little TV. I still have an old antenna which works quite well for my local PBS station. The shows I do watch on PBS are almost all mysteries, except for Downton Abby. Thursday nights on my local PBS has a marathon of mysteries right now - three in a row, and I'm really enjoying them. I love mysteries where I can figure out the murderer before he/she is actually caught. I just found out and was saddened by the fact that DI Richard Poole will be murdered in the first episode of Death in Paradise when it returns later this month in season three. However, the description of the new DI sounds like he will be a good character, too. Gloria Aldenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13581719606924364447noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-47797213116999497802014-03-02T11:55:49.331-05:002014-03-02T11:55:49.331-05:00Jim makes a good point about how quickly today'...Jim makes a good point about how quickly today's programs move. A few months ago, I watched an episode from a 1970s show. The opening took about three minutes with the lead character just walking through an area, setting up the location and rolling the credits. People expect action almost immediately now. It's a good lesson for short story writers in how to use description. Both Law and Order SVU and Criminal Minds have taught me a great deal about developing continuing characters and building an ensemble.Paula Gail Bensonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08843350597811462936noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-75484823473210076672014-03-02T09:56:19.777-05:002014-03-02T09:56:19.777-05:00Oh, no, I feel a tv show addiction coming on. True...Oh, no, I feel a tv show addiction coming on. True Detective sounds sooo good! Very Twin Peaks.<br />I don't watch too much television - my schedule is too erratic, so I tend more to movies.<br />I am a huge fan of nonlinear narrative structure (Pulp Fiction) and a slow burn buildup of suspense. The first Alien movie was so much more terrifying than the ones that followed. Story tellers who let us construct our own nightmares from their cunningly revealed clues are a lot more powerful than the ones that hit us over the head with their own fully rendered CGI monsters.<br />And, hey, no talking smack about Jessica Fletcher. She and I go way back!Shari Randallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16425493627354028820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-42065944355883456842014-03-02T08:06:51.350-05:002014-03-02T08:06:51.350-05:00I haven't had time to watch TV since Magnum PI...I haven't had time to watch TV since Magnum PI and the Rockford Files, but in each of those series, the main characters had side kicks who provided comedic moments that greased the plot, entertained, and enhanced the main characters, bringing out their strong and weak traits. That is a valuable lesson.E. B. Davishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16746747050278597888noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-62287126907176647972014-03-02T06:36:06.294-05:002014-03-02T06:36:06.294-05:00Law and Order provided an advanced degree in scene...Law and Order provided an advanced degree in scene changes: in seconds they defined the scene, who the players were, and where we were in the storyline (i.e. what was skipped).<br /><br />~ Jim<br />Jim Jacksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15090252530437277145noreply@blogger.com