LIVE! #4
7 November 2018
Agenda
- Why We're Here / Roundtable Rules
- Introduction to Literary Forensics
- Group Discussion
- Further Study
Why We're Here
We writers want to improve our craft
by reading like a writer
We learn from each other
using Literary Forensics
Roundtable Rules
Always refer back to the book
Practice active listening & serendipity
Every feeling and observation is valid...
but not every conclusion
Always refer back to the book
Reading Teaches Writing
What do you feel?
What in the book elicited that feeling?
Every feeling and observation is valid...
but every conclusion should be questioned
We practice serendipity
- nothing is too crazy
Always refer back to the book
What do you notice?
Origin - Stats
- Marketing: Suspense, Technothrillers
- Genre: Realistic Present-Day, Archplot, Long-Form
- Print Pages: 463; Word count: 145,068
- Reading Grade: 10th; Avg. wds/sent.: 13.45
- Lexical Density: 53.31; Flesch Reading Ease: 59.12
- POV: Everybody; Person: 3rd-person Omniscient; Tense: Past
- Publish date: October 3, 2017
- Publisher: Anchor
- Seller: Random House
- First Printing: 2,000,000
- 7 possible Plot Types:
- Overcoming the Monster
- Rags to Riches
- The Quest
- Voyage and Return
- Comedy
- Tragedy
- Rebirth
- 4 possible Story Types:
- Milieu
- Idea
- Character
- Event
Techniques that seem to Work
Flatter Your Readers
- Here Be TRUTH
- NAME DROP like crazy
- Only the Bestest
- Aclaimed, Renowned
Make it Easy for Them
- Quick characterization sketches
- Simple motivations, unevolved
- No job deviation, no outside lives
- Clear STATUS between characters
- Deference to KNOWLEDGE
- Politeness, civility
- Adjectives on EVERYTHING
- WIKIPEDIA every reference
- REPEAT TROPES often
Quick-cut excitement
- Very short chapters
- Many, many, many POVs
- EVERYTHING shocks, amazes
- Lockstep Cause-Effect
- LOTS of foreshadowing
- Clifhanger chapter endings
Some Dan Brown Clunkiness
Plot gears always visible
- Every action lands as planned
- Reactions like billiard balls
- Wikipedia-like knowledge
- Claravoyance -- oops!
Poor scene choreography
- (top 100!) 'blank stares'
- EVERY Emotion dialed to 11
- Awkward physical movement
- Contradictions
Groan-inducing situations
- Corny geek jokes
- Children's logic (X = IX+I)
- That stupid watch
- Creepy Langdon-Ambra moments
Poor form
- Heavy-handed axe-grinding
- Too much backstory vs. action
- POV often missing [Ch 22, 92]
- Climax too early - 72%
- The Dan Brown NERC: Name, Explain, Reaffirm, Congratulate
. . . and finally . . .
The PowerPoint Presentation that Captivated the WORLD . . . Really?
POV
Word Cloud
