LIVE! #4
7 November 2018
Agenda
- Why We're Here
- Literary Forensics
- - What do I bring?
- - What do I feel?
- - What do I notice?
- - What do I study?
- Next Month's Reading & Study
Why We're Here
We Writers want to improve our craft
by Reading like a Writer
through Literary Forensics training
we learn from each other
Roundtable Rules
Always refer back to the book
We practice active listening & serendipity
Every feeling and observation is valid...
but not every conclusion
Always refer back to the book
What do I 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 I notice?
- • Language and Grammar
- • Context
- • Point of view
- • Character & character development
- • Pacing
- • Horizontal structure
- • Layering of themes
- • Overall effect
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
Writers Who Read: Coming Up
December 5: Asymmetry - Lisa Halliday (USA, 2018)