tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post8613381856043263679..comments2024-03-28T12:01:31.049-04:00Comments on Writers Who Kill: “Winter Is Coming” and Other Things I Learned from Game of ThronesJim Jacksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15090252530437277145noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-52066038650195981622014-02-24T15:27:49.412-05:002014-02-24T15:27:49.412-05:00Kara, I've barely touched the surface on the c...Kara, I've barely touched the surface on the characters. Martin excels at developing wonderful characters, among many other things.Linda Rodriguezhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11913741596693442469noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-22995925522185707432014-02-24T15:24:22.217-05:002014-02-24T15:24:22.217-05:00Yes, Sarah. I think it's one of the problems w...Yes, Sarah. I think it's one of the problems with the ghettoizing of books by genre in our modern society. There are wonderful writers out there to learn from in so many different genres. I know because I'm what the statisticians call a "promiscuous reader." (Sheesh, stigma much?) That simply means I read in more than just a couple of genres.<br /><br />A literary novel that every mystery writer could learn from is Linda Hogan's Pulitzer-finalist MEAN SPIRIT, plus T.C. Boyle, Kent Haruf, and Joyce Carol Oates. In science fiction and fantasy, Octavia Butler, C.J. Cherryh, Charles de Lint, Neil Gaiman, Ursula K. LeGuin have wonderful lessons for us. There are romance writers who are incredibly skilled at dialogue and rendering emotion and atmosphere, all things we can use in our writing. (I'm not naming names there because I haven't read any in years, so am out of date since their books go out of print faster than almost anyone's.) And as I frequently write on my blog and elsewhere, many fine mystery authors have a lot to teach writers of these other genres.Linda Rodriguezhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11913741596693442469noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-11091541789663378532014-02-24T15:15:54.100-05:002014-02-24T15:15:54.100-05:00I haven't watched Game of Thrones but I've...I haven't watched Game of Thrones but I've heard so many good reviews, I should give it a try. The characters sound fascinating.Kara Cerisehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16484336785514235707noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-21459120656483338582014-02-24T14:32:58.425-05:002014-02-24T14:32:58.425-05:00Linda, you pretty much described every single reas...Linda, you pretty much described every single reason I will forever love those books and the show. George R.R. Martin has FABULOUS lessons for writers of every genre on display in those books. Most certainly.Sarah Henninghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06822639126179367121noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-18063479004305490112014-02-24T11:30:17.733-05:002014-02-24T11:30:17.733-05:00KM and Gloria, I don't watch TV. Didn't ge...KM and Gloria, I don't watch TV. Didn't get the box you had to get when it switched over since we watched so little. We watch mostly PBS and BBC shows on DVDs. We knew when they made GOT, however, that we'd have to get those DVDs.<br /><br />Fantasy is an age-old classical form of literature, and science fiction is the modern form of fantasy. The original forms are fantasy (which most of the great epics are), mystery, romance, history, and poetry. But each of them usually contains elements of the others.Linda Rodriguezhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11913741596693442469noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-69191318714919986212014-02-24T11:25:51.555-05:002014-02-24T11:25:51.555-05:00Shari, you will love it.
I agree that the certain...Shari, you will love it.<br /><br />I agree that the certain gentleman's death on Downton was disappointing, but the actor wanted to leave, and that left the writers in a bind. On GOT, a slightly less important character's actor left, and they just replaced him next season with someone even better. They weren't going to screw the whole thing up because of him.Linda Rodriguezhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11913741596693442469noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-47238058804439916542014-02-24T11:23:09.759-05:002014-02-24T11:23:09.759-05:00Warren, I'd strongly recommend it. I was leery...Warren, I'd strongly recommend it. I was leery when HBO first took on the series. We've all see TV and films that ruin favorite books. However, they've done a remarkable job of casting, have a high budget to do quality settings, and have excellent writers, including Martin himself. they've been remarkably faithful to the books, except for making them sexier and bloodier (something you expect from HBO but that GOT hardly needs). After the last episode we watched, Ben said to us, "That's our problem in America today. We've got a bunch of Littlefingers and Cerseis in power."<br /><br />Martin is a history buff and based the non-magical events of his series on the War of the Roses.Linda Rodriguezhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11913741596693442469noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-77885060986728466382014-02-24T11:18:16.666-05:002014-02-24T11:18:16.666-05:00EB, you're absolutely right. Foreshadowing is ...EB, you're absolutely right. Foreshadowing is a great technique to heighten suspense--if the writer doesn't beat the reader over the head with it.<br /><br />Yes, Cleeves killed off an ongoing character, and that shocked readers. It also upped the stakes in her books considerably because readers now know that any character might die under the right circumstances.<br /><br />One of the difficulties with a series is that you lose suspense with the reader's assumption that your main good characters will survive whatever they encounter. When a writer kills off one of these characters, s/he makes true suspense more possible. But it has to be done right and not just out of the blue to shake things up.Linda Rodriguezhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11913741596693442469noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-92225445915757926292014-02-24T11:05:28.005-05:002014-02-24T11:05:28.005-05:00Like KM, I don't watch much TV and don't h...Like KM, I don't watch much TV and don't have cable so only watch a few shows on PBS. I was upset about the certain character in Downton Abby, too, however I see why it happened. It added to the plot line so the series could continue. <br /><br />I mostly read mysteries, but not exclusively. I'm happy that my two book clubs seldom pick mysteries so I'm reading books I might not hear about otherwise. I read the first several Harry Potter books and always planned to finish the series as well as The Hobbit and the first several books in The Lord of the Ring series. Other than that, I don't read or watch fantasies.Gloria Aldenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13581719606924364447noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-63329502839159928772014-02-24T09:29:07.981-05:002014-02-24T09:29:07.981-05:00I don't watch a lot of TV, so I have never see...I don't watch a lot of TV, so I have never seen this show. However, I do read outside the mystery genre, and often find techniques and ideas that can be applied to my writing.KM Rockwoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03973749764907859829noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-51545727797071895472014-02-24T09:13:13.616-05:002014-02-24T09:13:13.616-05:00I do hate it when a character I like dies, but if ...I do hate it when a character I like dies, but if it makes sense in the context of the story, I (as a reader or a fan) can accept it and even marvel at how in control the author is of his/her story. If the death is senseless (a certain gentleman in Downton Abbey) then it just rankles....With GoT, deaths and violence are part of Martin's incredible world building. I can't wait to binge-watch (and binge read) the whole series!Shari Randallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16425493627354028820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-74063308293000716382014-02-24T08:16:05.413-05:002014-02-24T08:16:05.413-05:00My television package of shows does not include th...My television package of shows does not include this one. It sounds interesting enough that I'm now considering buying the video.Warren Bullhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07789270258599769915noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-82009668957082545662014-02-24T07:51:45.204-05:002014-02-24T07:51:45.204-05:00Foreshadowing is a great technique to inject suspe...Foreshadowing is a great technique to inject suspense in mystery novels. Suspense is usually characterized by the writer giving knowledge to readers that the MC doesn't know. Readers watch the MC walk into dangerous situations or complications. Readers know it's just a matter of time and clues before the MC figures out what they already know. Using foreshadowing in mystery adds that element of suspense without tipping off the reader to the ultimate solution to the mystery.<br /><br />Ann Cleeves kills off a character in her Shetland police series. I found it shocking, but I've come to trust Ann so I've kept reading. When piling trouble on your MC, that's probably the most devastating blow an author can give a MC. As a reader, I had to continue to read to find out how the MC deals with the blow. <br /><br />On one of the email lists, there was a discussion about outlining a series, which I've thought about, but until the first book sells, it's an esoteric exercise. However, I think that planning the character arc for the series is essential and pertinent to this discussion.E. B. Davishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16746747050278597888noreply@blogger.com