tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1061937348591302555.post6042605377403213737..comments2024-03-28T12:40:14.627+00:00Comments on MOODY WRITING: Dramatic Action Is More Than Doing Stuffmooderinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01523337588830695638noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1061937348591302555.post-20462017148542678382012-12-06T18:01:30.788+00:002012-12-06T18:01:30.788+00:00Reminds me to check what's going on with micro...Reminds me to check what's going on with microtension on every page. Margo Berendsenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03476308235642890474noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1061937348591302555.post-53059298802295156002012-12-06T10:08:02.102+00:002012-12-06T10:08:02.102+00:00@Golden - there are some stories where predictable...@Golden - there are some stories where predictable things happen and that's what the reader wants. Wish fulfillment seems to be a big seller these days.<br /><br />@Poetry Pagan - practice makes perfect!mooderinohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01523337588830695638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1061937348591302555.post-82717216350369749332012-12-06T10:02:25.015+00:002012-12-06T10:02:25.015+00:00@Michael - there are some people who don't lik...@Michael - there are some people who don't like chocolate and no matter how great the dessert it won't work for them if it contains that ingredient. At the same time, some people love chocolate so much it doesn't matter how bad a recipe it's in, they love it. That's always going to be the case, but most people aren't at those extremes. If it's a good chocolate cake they like it, if it's a bad one they don't.<br /><br />When it comes to book bloggers, most are just expressing a personal taste, and usually not very coherently. I don't really think it's the people at opposite poles (those who unconditionally hate it or love it) that are worth listening to, although they seem to speak the loudest on the internet.<br /><br />It's not easy analysing a story in a way that's both accessible and informative, so mostly I think it's about getting people to try it for themselves. Now, if I could just figure out how...mooderinohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01523337588830695638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1061937348591302555.post-28150510564961017222012-12-06T03:16:17.304+00:002012-12-06T03:16:17.304+00:00I'm terrible at this. My scenes have a lot of ...I'm terrible at this. My scenes have a lot of drama while I'm writing them, but are completely boring to readers. Mx.Mikahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09210632782966434724noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1061937348591302555.post-5928325532482598642012-12-06T02:12:59.744+00:002012-12-06T02:12:59.744+00:00Interesting post! I agree there should be complexi...Interesting post! I agree there should be complexity--if a character's actions are already clear-cut, there's not much point to the scene.Golden Eaglehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08721520451194318436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1061937348591302555.post-14354573988235582482012-12-05T17:35:14.491+00:002012-12-05T17:35:14.491+00:00I think this is one of those areas where it depend...I think this is one of those areas where it depends on the reader's taste. For example: some people have said they find the hockey segments in some of my stories (and they are only a few pages but some people exaggerate for effect and say they take up 90% of the book which is complete bullshit)to be boring. Well, the segments are crucial to the plot, and it's also the character (which is surprise surprise--from the very beginning--a hockey player).<br /><br />Here's why I think I got dinged in reviews for this tactic: it's because I went to a fucking book blogger and said "WILL YOU PLEASE READ MY BOOK?"<br /><br />Oh boy...there's the rub. You force some person to read fiction that they would otherwise not ever read.<br /><br />I'm not ever going to solicit book bloggers again. People need to "find/discover" your work on your own.<br /><br />The people that have done this for me, have liked what I wrote. Anyone who I have forced my story upon, has usually come back with a moderate to low book rating.<br /><br />Gee...I wonder why? Well it's obvious to me now. They wouldn't have read my book had I not solicited them to do so and given them a free copy.<br /><br />That's just my opinion. Take it how you will.Michael Offutt, Phantom Readerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10557969104886174930noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1061937348591302555.post-35028610602118272332012-12-04T10:57:47.842+00:002012-12-04T10:57:47.842+00:00@PBuff - the examples i use are just to make my po...@PBuff - the examples i use are just to make my point as clear as possible and the knife wielding maniac was just to show how a static scene (at the door) can be filled with tension. <br /><br />Any scene can be dramatic if what people are doing matters and isn't too easy. But even in the knife scene I used, if the guy got rid of the neighbour easily that would undercut the drama. <br /><br />If the action is straightforward, even if it's accurately observed with deep pov etc it will feel undramatic. <br /><br />If the neighbour is coming round to find out something, then how she goes about it requires her (and the writer) to be inventive and interesting in the method used. Motivation alone isn't enough.mooderinohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01523337588830695638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1061937348591302555.post-76074329778885929122012-12-04T08:09:57.151+00:002012-12-04T08:09:57.151+00:00I agree with what you've said here for the mos...I agree with what you've said here for the most part, but I'm going to take the devil advocate because sometimes that just needs to be done. :-)<br /><br />Not every scene needs to have a knife-wielding criminal hiding in the background to be dramatic. A book with only physical danger gets repetitive and boring. Using your scene with the neighbor borrowing sugar, it can become dramatic if the author shows the relevant conflict between the two neighbors. Perhaps the sugar loaner thinks the neighbor is having an affair with her teenage son, or the sugar borrower wants the sugar to put into the gas tank of her ex-husband and thinks the neighbor suspects. Through deep pov, body language and great dialogue (including clues about what is not being said) the above scene can be a full of drama. But it must be relevant drama - if the ex-husband or teenage son don't play a part in the book, then they have no business being there. <br />The hardest part of writing is making sure that in every scene, the readers either learn something important or we move towards the resolution at the end. PattiBuffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07498161550187573134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1061937348591302555.post-63820672991683176822012-12-03T22:16:33.025+00:002012-12-03T22:16:33.025+00:00@Sarah Anne - the tricky part is once you've m...@Sarah Anne - the tricky part is once you've made life difficult, finding an interesting and convincing way out.<br /><br />@Jay - cheers.mooderinohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01523337588830695638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1061937348591302555.post-70960892365013448412012-12-03T21:31:19.944+00:002012-12-03T21:31:19.944+00:00I love this. I've read so many books where cha...I love this. I've read so many books where characters are just doing stuff, and there's just not enough dramatic tension. It ends up just being filler.Jay Noelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04757777693161610861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1061937348591302555.post-90968750932849417092012-12-03T21:15:25.695+00:002012-12-03T21:15:25.695+00:00Great post. I'm having this exact sort of prob...Great post. I'm having this exact sort of problem right now and this has really got me thinking. I think I'm making it too easy for my characters (at least at the current part I'm writing), and maybe even something as simple as making it more difficult for a character to get what he wants would make it more interesting. Sarah Fosterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09481750127533816819noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1061937348591302555.post-52082892625939626242012-12-03T19:08:29.567+00:002012-12-03T19:08:29.567+00:00@Alex - Yes, unsmooth. That's a word, right?@Alex - Yes, unsmooth. That's a word, right?mooderinohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01523337588830695638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1061937348591302555.post-29411221600972032192012-12-03T18:05:38.075+00:002012-12-03T18:05:38.075+00:00Make it difficult not smooth - check!Make it difficult not smooth - check!Alex J. Cavanaughhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09770065693345181702noreply@blogger.com