Part of what I liked about that book was the overwhelming tone of "When this is published, I'm so out of here!" that pervaded it. But I may be projecting... I do that, sometimes, being as how a good paragraph can be an occasion of sin sometimes and give me wicked crushes. And this really is "Pelecanos likes carrots." now. I should shut up.
Oh! I know this one! 'Slaying entails certain sacrifices, blah blah blahbity blah, I'm so stuffy, gimme a scone.'
Buffy ,'Help'
The Great Write Way, Chapter Two: Twice upon a time...
A place for Buffistas to discuss, beta and otherwise deal and dish on their non-fan fiction projects.
erikaj - Jul 07, 2005 10:52:51 am PDT #3070 of 10001
Always Anti-fascist!
SailAweigh - Jul 07, 2005 1:09:31 pm PDT #3071 of 10001
Nana korobi, ya oki. (Fall down seven times, stand up eight.) ~Yuzuru Hanyu/Japanese proverb
Definitely liking the drabbles that this topic prompted. When I first saw it I kinda said, "huh." And then I wrote two. Huh.
ETA: Susan, good job! I hit post before I remembered to say that. Oops.
erikaj - Jul 08, 2005 11:36:06 am PDT #3072 of 10001
Always Anti-fascist!
Which is the better story?
My retired detective and his disabled operative find out that their partner/father did not really commit suicide. but was murdered for some reason I'll have to determine.
Or
He did, but they find out something pivotal about some last case that might have been nagging at him at the time of his death?
Anne W. - Jul 08, 2005 11:44:07 am PDT #3073 of 10001
The lost sheep grow teeth, forsake their lambs, and lie with the lions.
erika, I like the second option better, esp. if your detectives were hoping to find out that the suicide was a murder but find the pivotal information instead.
Scrappy - Jul 08, 2005 11:45:04 am PDT #3074 of 10001
Life moves pretty fast. You don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.
How about they THINK it's suicide (and each feel guilty for their own reasons) for the first chunk of the book and so look into the nagging case--and then find out it was murder?
sj - Jul 08, 2005 11:53:23 am PDT #3075 of 10001
"There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea."
Erika, I like the second scenario better, but I think you should leave the question of whether or not he committed suicide unanswered until everything comes together at the end.
deborah grabien - Jul 08, 2005 11:58:09 am PDT #3076 of 10001
It really doesn't matter. It's just an opinion. Don't worry about it. Not worth the hassle.
Suicide with secret. Always more plausible, and in any case, far more adaptable to the concept of illuminating human frailty. That's what keeps things fresh, because human frailty has no known boundaries - it becomes a question of how far and deep you're willing to explore them.
erikaj - Jul 08, 2005 12:03:53 pm PDT #3077 of 10001
Always Anti-fascist!
Insofar as my life could ever have a Mission Statement, Deb, that could be it. What if I'm trying to create something I've not got the ability for? Speaking of frailty...
Lyra Jane - Jul 08, 2005 12:03:57 pm PDT #3078 of 10001
Up with the sun
I like Anne's suggested scenario.
deborah grabien - Jul 08, 2005 2:07:06 pm PDT #3079 of 10001
It really doesn't matter. It's just an opinion. Don't worry about it. Not worth the hassle.
Yep - Anne's is a good one. So is the idea of not revealing whether it was suicide or murder until the end, if at all. I like leaving my readers with some ambiguity, but I like leaving the characters with it even more: did he fall or was he pushed, let the reader decide, don't let the characters know for sure.