|
Post by aearwen on Jun 20, 2011 13:08:08 GMT -6
One of my good friends from a previous fanfic incarnation is a writer and writing teacher. She maintains a blog where she talks about that - and her newest blog I thought was something that some of us might enjoy looking at, if not utilizing in our own works. Enjoy! www.marianallen.com/2011/06/writers-tools-indirection/
|
|
|
Post by elfscribe on Jun 20, 2011 13:13:22 GMT -6
Thanks for that aearwen. I had to go check it out to find out what indirection meant. Good illustration there. *cracks knuckles* ;D One of my good friends from a previous fanfic incarnation is a writer and writing teacher. She maintains a blog where she talks about that - and her newest blog I thought was something that some of us might enjoy looking at, if not utilizing in our own works. Enjoy! www.marianallen.com/2011/06/writers-tools-indirection/
|
|
|
Post by kymahalei on Jun 26, 2011 15:47:38 GMT -6
Thanks, Aearwen. An interesting device. Something to play around with, for sure. Have you tried it out? Who is Marion Allen? Have you read her work? Oh yeah, happy birthday (again!)
|
|
|
Post by aearwen on Jun 26, 2011 22:43:16 GMT -6
Thanks, Aearwen. An interesting device. Something to play around with, for sure. Have you tried it out? I think I have, but I couldn't point you to an example of it. However, it's something to keep in mind to make one's writing fresh and snappy. Back in the Dark Ages when I was writing for another fandom, she was another writer with me in that fandom. She has some original fantasy novels published in e-book format, and I have indeed read her work. She's good. It has been a good one - complete with a home-made, from-scratch angel-food cake, courtesy of my daughter!
|
|
|
Post by kymahalei on Jun 27, 2011 20:08:17 GMT -6
Thanks again for the link, Aearwen. She does seem like quite a good writer, with some very good ideas for writing as well!
|
|
|
Post by shadowbrides on Feb 7, 2012 15:52:11 GMT -6
Thank you for sharing the link! It looks very useful.
|
|
|
Post by oshun on Feb 7, 2012 18:40:52 GMT -6
Never say never! is one of my mottoes. I really, really don't like the use of indirection in fiction--I groan when I see it; it's a taste question. I don't want to find myself groaning, 'Oh, no!' Like I just read a bad pun. I love straight forward writing. Tell it like it is--don't f*ck with my head. I read fiction for relaxation not to puzzle out a problem. I am sure I have used indirection occasionally. (I have been known to read the end of a mystery novel, so I could enjoy the setting and characters without worrying about how it ends. I am not alone either. I did some small scale research on spoilers also. People who do not mind spoilers in most cases and even crave them and spoiler phobics are roughly equal among readers. Not a definitive study, of course. Small sample and likely slanted.) I hate cliffhangers also, but I know I have ended chapters with them before, because there was no way around it. That was where it needed to end. I just tried not to leave those particular chapters sitting for a year. I even found a book, however, called: The Art of Indirection in British Espionage Fiction, which happens to be a genre I like and have read a lot. Never say never. www.amazon.ca/Art-Indirection-British-Espionage-Fiction/dp/0786463791I think that book refers to something a little different than word trickery in a paragraph of a fantasy novel.
|
|
|
Post by erulisse on Feb 8, 2012 4:07:54 GMT -6
Hmmmm. Well, I read the blog post several times, can't say that it bothers me (maybe because I read a lot of books that use that technique) but I never realized that it was a particular technique. Interesting.
Did I miss your birthday! Shame on me. I'll be talking with you later today, but my bad!!!!
No...we were discussing our birthdays last week. I know when yours is, and I'm fine - no misses after all. I feel a great sense of relief.
- Erulisse (one L)
|
|
|
Post by oshun on Feb 8, 2012 7:23:49 GMT -6
It is totally a question of personal taste. Obviously, people like it if she even wants to show people how to do it. Not everyone likes it though. That is my point. One of the things I do not care for about how-to fiction writing instructions. For every little trick that 10 people like; there will be another 10 who find it annoying as all hell. Just saying that.
|
|
|
Post by pandemonium on Feb 8, 2012 7:57:58 GMT -6
Yep. Unfortunately, the technique of indirection is often applied so ham-handedly that it's glaringly obvious that the writer is tossing it in to "mix things up." That said, some writers are able to pull it off with skill so that it doesn't stand out like "I learned this in my creative writing class at the community college! Ain't it cool?" Now indirection as applied to the British espionage novel? That strikes me as a horse of an entirely different color!
|
|
|
Post by oshun on Feb 8, 2012 8:10:48 GMT -6
Yep. Unfortunately, the technique of indirection is often applied so ham-handedly that it's glaringly obvious that the writer is tossing it in to "mix things up." That said, some writers are able to pull it off with skill so that it doesn't stand out like "I learned this in my creative writing class at the community college! Ain't it cool?" Now indirection as applied to the British espionage novel? That strikes me as a horse of an entirely different color! Seriously! I am tempted to order that book. There was no preview. Probably look up a review. Still haven't seen Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. Maybe tonight. Everyone will be home and I could duck out and not be missed. There are things I could squeeze out of creative writing class. It's been 40+ years after all. Elfscribe just took one. I was sort of chuckling at that, trying to imagine that she wouldn't have been better off teaching it. We all have things to learn and always will (i believe in the irreplaceable role of a good editor), but Elfscribe has definitely has mastered the necessary techniques of fiction writing.
|
|
|
Post by pandemonium on Feb 8, 2012 9:40:13 GMT -6
There are things I could squeeze out of creative writing class. It's been 40+ years after all. I'd hazard a guess that one of the best things about a refresher class would be the immediate feedback from other students (as well as the instructor). Writing is not just mechanics and tricks, but as such a subjective endeavor, very much of how readers perceive what you are trying to say. Yep, in 'Scribe's case, I more readily see her in the instructor's postion! That's why I see 'Scribe as a student in a writing class as gilding the lily, but as you aptly note, we all can learn, and again, the in-person critique and analysis in a class would be justification in and of itself to enroll.
|
|