posted
I suggest as a catch phrase, when referencing competing tastes and critiques, the idiom "horses for courses." My source is this blip from UK chick lit author Freya North. (See here. --> http://www.authonomy.com/tips/advice_authors_06.aspx )
"It took 4 long hard years before I had a contract, hideous waiting time only for rejection to follow rejection, and I had to confront much negativity and really tactless comments from people who did not enjoy my work. Just keep thinking horses for courses. [...] One publisher who rejected my first novel, 'Sally', actually wrote to me saying 'You can’t start a book like that...' And yet another publisher obviously thought, oh yes she can! -- because 'Sally' was published to great acclaim!"
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Wiktionary: "From the fact that a racehorse performs best on a racecourse specifically suited to it. ... Widely used in the foreign-language translation industry, where a translator is selected for a job not only according to their fluency in the language pairs, but also by their intimate knowledge of the subject matter."
posted
"Woke up, fell out of bed/Dragged a comb across my head"----Lennon and McCartney
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For example, Pyre and Merlion, take the rule, "Don't start a tale by having somebody waking up in the morning." What's important isn't the rule, per se, but the principle behind the rule, which is to be original. If your piece has an over-riding theme involving one's waking up in the morning, then by all means perhaps one could start a piece in just that manner.
The following is Harold Ramis's second revision of Danny Rubin's screenplay for "Groundhog Day."
[...] As the CREDITS END, we notice a sleeping figure on the small sofa, buried deep under a pile of coats and a stolen airline blanket. GIL HAWLEY, Executive Producer of the Action News, sticks his head in the door. HAWLEY Christ, what a pit. Phil" The sleeping figure rouses himself and looks out at Hawley. It's Phil, the .Channel 9 Action News weatherman. PHIL (sleepy) What? HAWLEY It's February first, Phil. You know what tomorrow is? Phil sits up and.thinks hard.
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So, if someone would have objected to this 1st 13 in Rubin's screenplay by saying, "A well-written screenplay cannot start that way," a retort claiming an exception to this "rule" might be, "Well...horses for courses!"
[This message has been edited by Nathaniel Merrin (edited February 11, 2010).]
[This message has been edited by Nathaniel Merrin (edited February 11, 2010).]
posted
I think stories about waking up is a good exampe to examine the "rules."
An experienced writer knows where his story starts. If the story starts with a character waking up then that is where the story starts.
A new writer, myself included, has a very difficult time determining where his story starts. Many times he starts in the wrong place. A character waking up is an obvious start to a story, so we see this a lot in amateurish stories. And most of the time, there is a much better place to start.
So a story that starts with a character waking up is a possible sign that the writer doesn't know where to begin. It is very possible that the waking up is the right place to start, but it doesn't hurt to play with other possibilities to make sure you are right.
I think the "Horses for courses," is good advice. Not everyone is going to like the stories you write, BUT you need to carefully consider the criticism before you shrug it off. Especailly for those of us who are just starting out.
Isn't the whole point of us being here to learn to be better writers? How can we do that if we are not somewhat flexible?
[This message has been edited by MAP (edited February 11, 2010).]
[This message has been edited by MAP (edited February 11, 2010).]
quote:A new writer, myself included, has a very difficult time determining where his story starts.An experienced writer knows where his story starts
While you have a good point here, neither of those things are a given. You may be inexperienced but still know, more or less, the kind of story you want to write. Likewise, I've been writing for years, but I still ocassionally find myself going back and redoing a begining...the same goes for any other issue or quality in a story.
It also raises the question of, where is the cutoff between "experienced" and "inexperienced?"
I believe most times it has more to do with context. If "breaking a rule" works within, or is necessary for what you're doing then it isn't really breaking anything. Or at the very least you're faced with this choice: Do I go ahead and write my story, or do I abadon it because its "too cliche" or breaks the "rules" of some genres or markets?
For example, modern-setting supernatural horror has a lot of different "rules" and expectations than high fantasy or space opera...some of which break the expectations of the other two.
posted
I think it's important to realize one thing. "Ya gotta start somewhere." Don't spend so much time trying to figure out where to start that you never get around to starting on it.
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posted
I'm currently planning a story that starts with a character falling asleep and not dreaming... defying TWO cliches at once!
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posted
First, I want to thank Nathaniel for introducing this topic/article - it is probably one of the best conciliatory threads I have seen in a while. And I agree with it wholeheartedly.
I believe diversity is what makes us great as writers and as a people, and I am saddened when I see anyone longstanding leave this site due to disagreements.
How we accept criticism and respond to it, whether we agree with it or not, is equally as important. To simply say "I respectfully disagree" or "it is not in my best interest to do such-in-such that way" should be sufficient to avoid unnecessary arguments. Equally, the word "thank you", as is in the prelude to this site, can be quite effective.
This article, as in many examples before it, shows that there are obviously many ways to become published.
I also think that is shows we should be open to others' ideas and consider others' suggestions. To consider and to be considerate.
posted
I don't like being told what to do. My best friend likes telling people what to do. Sometimes when he's doing it to me I just look at him and he realizes what he's doing and catches himself, then he says, "Don't listen to me, just do what you want." (Which of course irritates me to no end, because if I do what I want then I'm doing what he told me and whatever else I do falls under the first half of his phrase.) Anyways I think more writers should get to a point where they do whatever they want because it's right for the story. Advice is good but any of it should be taken with a grain of salt. (Of course I would advise not sending a story that breaks one certain editor's rules to that certain editor.)
Oh and I think we've hit on something here, why so many stories start with someone waking up. It's because they do it all the time in movies. It just doesn't work as well in the written word as it does on screen. Nowadays I think people first learn how to tell stories from tv and movies.
posted
I have some thoughts about the "waking up" in relation to movies/tv versus literature, but I'm not sure this is the thread to address it. Should we or I start another thread?
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"James Herriot, the Yorkshire veterinarian[...and memoirist's] first book had been published in England, and it had sold 1,200 copies. He had been rejected by every American house his work was submitted to -- and there were many. My wife Sandra, the greatest reader I ever knew, was evidently the first person over here to see his worth."
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