Random thoughts

[Heliotrope]

Oh, and another example I read was lately in a book on crafting monsters, about Jaws.

So in Jaws, obviously the problem is the shark. The tension though comes from the different ways the three men want to deal with the shark.

Police Chief Brody wants to close the beach. He has young kids, it isn't safe. He is the family man who wants to protect everyone.

Mayor Vaughn wants to capitalize on the summer tourists, and refuses to close the beach. He has to keep his town alive and because it is a summer town closing the beach means no income.

Quint, the shark hunter says he will destroy the shark if they pay him… but later in the story we realize that he saw all his comrades destroyed by sharks off the coast of Japan during the war and he will stop at nothing to kill the shark, even if that means sabotaging the boat that he, Brody, Vaughn and Hooper are on just so that he can get close to the animal.

Whereas Hooper, an Oceanographer, just wants to study the shark and is skeptical about causing it harm.

Tons of inherent tension. The shark attacks and floating heads of fishermen are just bonus.

 

[FifthView]

24 is really excellent in S1. I think that one general take-away, for translation into written fiction, would be to not use too many overt "tricks" in quick succession. Each episode considered alone is fine, and with a week between airings, the overall approach works great. But watching 4-5 episodes in a row in marathon sessions, and the whole season in a short time frame, you begin to see too clearly the many tricks. It's still an excellent show and rather amazing, and I'm a little forgiving because the general scheme (each episode covering 1 hour, a season covering 24 hours) puts this constraint on the delivery. I.e., can't solve things too quickly, must draw it out, out, out, out...

One of the "inherent tension" examples from S1 of 24 would be the fact that it's revealed in the very first episode that elements within the anti-terrorism unit headed up by Jack Bauer may in fact be in league with his opponents, who are also somewhat vague in the first half or so of the season. So there are red herrings for the viewer, and the MCs themselves are constrained in who they can trust and what actions they can take.

I've never watched any of the Ocean movies, although I've always planned to.

 

[Heliotrope]

Cool. I haven't watch 24 so maybe I will have a look at it

 

[Brian Scott Allen]

Going to start a class with Brandon Sanderson in a while. I'm a little excited.

[video=youtube_share;SvmluRCGv_s]http://youtu.be/SvmluRCGv_s[/video]

 

[BronzeOracle]

Going to start a class with Brandon Sanderson in a while. I'm a little excited.

I'd like to hear your thoughts on the class. I was very impressed by The Way of Kings and his classes on youtube - doing a class with him would be a dream come true.

I like his thoughts on writing success - its not about having a great idea, talent or luck (although these all help) - its all about developing one's craft.

 

[FifthView]

Going to start a class with Brandon Sanderson in a while. I'm a little excited.

Very cool! I've only read the Mistborn novels—stormed through them one summer, mostly while lounging in a pool—but have become a huge fan because of the podcasts. He's extremely good at teaching/discussing principles of writing.

 

[MineOwnKing]

Success in most fields typically hinges on timing.

I would love to have his success.

Good luck with the class.

 

[Brian Scott Allen]

I'd like to hear your thoughts on the class. I was very impressed by The Way of Kings and his classes on youtube - doing a class with him would be a dream come true.

I like his thoughts on writing success - its not about having a great idea, talent or luck (although these all help) - its all about developing one's craft.

I think that the best part about his class is just how empowering it is. He mentioned how when he took this class back in the day 5 of the 22 students got published and are working as professionals. He says that it takes about 10 years while working for 6 hours a week.

 

[Ireth]

Thinking of making a Twitter account for future use promoting my novel(s). Might participate in PitMad or things like that once Winter's Queen is ready to send out. Any suggestion on how to get started? I looked for a Twitter-related thread on here but couldn't find one.

 

[Lunaairis]

Thinking of making a Twitter account for future use promoting my novel(s). Might participate in PitMad or things like that once Winter's Queen is ready to send out. Any suggestion on how to get started? I looked for a Twitter-related thread on here but couldn't find one.

make a twitter account(takes 5 seconds. I am not kidding) follow all the publishers/writers you can. post tweets contaning your favourite lines or short blips you have written. Make sure there is room left to give it the hashtag ( # ) New book, or something similar. Then wait. Don't forget you should do this at least once a day. Usually your first tweets will be retweeted by some twitter account who's job it is to spread news like this. An example being -> New Fantasy Books (@NuFantasyBooks) | Twitter

after a few days you may start to get actual people who are interested in what you are writing.

Posting pictures that have the same feel of your book also helps. Pictures are internet candy.

 

[Ireth]

make a twitter account(takes 5 seconds. I am not kidding)

Five seconds... plus the time it takes to decide on a username. XD Not sure whether to go with some version of "Ireth" (or the full name, "Ireth Telrunya") or not.

 

[Lunaairis]

Five seconds... plus the time it takes to decide on a username. XD Not sure whether to go with some version of "Ireth" (or the full name, "Ireth Telrunya") or not.

if you are writing under a pen name use the pen name. But i'd suggest using the same name that you are publishing your book under. when people go to the book store and are trying to find your book. (or checking an online catalog) being able to go to twitter and see the authors name by a post about the book you want is very helpful.

 

[Ireth]

if you are writing under a pen name use the pen name. But i'd suggest using the same name that you are publishing your book under. when people go to the book store and are trying to find your book. (or checking an online catalog) being able to go to twitter and see the authors name by a post about the book you want is very helpful.

Good point. Is punctuation allowed in a Twitter handle? I'm thinking of publishing under my first and middle initials plus my last name.

 

[FifthView]

Good point. Is punctuation allowed in a Twitter handle? I'm thinking of publishing under my first and middle initials plus my last name.

There are two separate "names" involved. One is the username which will be used for your twitter address, and the other is changed under profile. So for the author I.M. Author, the username could be "imauthor" and messages will go to "@iamauthor," and the profile name (display name) could be "I.M. Author." You are allowed special characters in the profile/display name.

Twitter searches both fields when doing a search. So for instance you can go to Justin Bieber (@badlandsbiebs) | Twitter and you'll see where the username is "@badlandsbiebs" but on the profile it says "Justin Bieber" even though that's not Bieber's account. I'd imagine you'll find a lot of accounts that use "Justin Bieber" as the display name.

 

[FifthView]

Another example: J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) | Twitter

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Someday, I'll figure out what I'm supposed to do with Twitter. I have a Twitter account, but haven't actually used it.

 

[Brian Scott Allen]

There's a new musical about Alexander Hamilton, man is it good. The music is hip-hop, which I am not usually a fan of, but damn is this a good musical. You should listen to it. Right. Now.

 

[Gryphos]

No joke, I actually struggled to get through the rewrite of the last chapter of one of my WIPs because I was crying so much. I guess that's a good sign, right?

 

[Velka]

I just found the Netflix ID Bible and I am very afraid of what is about to happen to my productivity, hygiene, and general attachment to reality.

 

[MineOwnKing]

There's a new musical about Alexander Hamilton, man is it good. The music is hip-hop, which I am not usually a fan of, but damn is this a good musical. You should listen to it. Right. Now.

The founding father?

That sounds strange.

I guess we know how it ends.