He ranked transitions first? that's kinda odd. I mean, sure, transitions are important, but you can have a perfectly fine story if you have crappy transitions but an interesting plot and well-drawn characters. Bad transitions will not make or break a novel for me.
Dawn: Is that supposed to scare me? Spike: Little tremble wouldn't hurt.
'The Killer In Me'
We're Literary 2: To Read Makes Our Speaking English Good
There's more to life than watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer! No. Really, there is! Honestly! Here's a place for Buffistas to come and discuss what it is they're reading, their favorite authors and poets. "Geez. Crack a book sometime."
Consuela - Nov 22, 2005 5:24:46 am PST #9569 of 10002
We are Buffistas. This isn't our first apocalypse. -- Pix
Nutty - Nov 22, 2005 5:25:04 am PST #9570 of 10002
"Mister Spock is on his fanny, sir. Reports heavy damage."
I think that the nature of SF as a genre makes it more idea-driven than not.
I'd say there was a time in history when that was true, but that it's not necessarily so any more. A fair amount of SF since the New Wave has been interested in what the characters do, and setting and world-building are just context to create the situation for the characters. For example, Joanna Russ's short story "When It Changed" is all about the patriarchal snottiness of the astronauts who arrive on Whileaway and immediately assume their own dominance. The idea of a female-only society is sketched out in extreme brevity, just enough to make clear that these astronauts are way out of their own depth: the real point is drawing out the female characters' unease and distrust at the stupid patronizing assumptions. (It's also hella depressing.)
The 4 most important things for Tolstoy, in order, were (1) transitions, (2) backdrop/worldbuilding (3) character, and (4) story. Discuss.
I don't put that much stock in transitions, or anyway, I don't run across that many really awkward ones. I would also posit that if worldbuilding is not part of both character and story, there is no reason to be worldbuilding in the first place. Sort of surprised "theme" doesn't even make his list, especially considering we were talking about "how to make a statement without making the story into boring propaganda" just yesterday.
Jessica - Nov 22, 2005 5:28:33 am PST #9571 of 10002
And then Ortus came and said "It's Ortin' time" and they all Orted off into the sunset
What's interesting about it (and why I think Stephen Gaghan was so taken with it) is that it's such a cinematic way of thinking. I mean, it's basically Eisenstein's theory of montage, only about books, and about a half-century earlier. Which is just nifty.
[eta: And also makes me think that Eisenstein had read a lot of Tolstoy. Or maybe Russians just think in more transitiony terms than the rest of us.]
Nutty - Nov 22, 2005 5:32:23 am PST #9572 of 10002
"Mister Spock is on his fanny, sir. Reports heavy damage."
it's basically Eisenstein's theory of montage, only about books,
Actually, that was my first thought, when I read your summary of Tolstoy. "Anybody who watches enough hour-long drama TV shouldn't need help with transitions." I think we as a aprtly-visual culture are so good at them that they have become an invisible skill.
Volans - Nov 22, 2005 8:40:11 am PST #9573 of 10002
move out and draw fire
Transitions are important, but for me the other three are crucial.
I'm just not sure whether it's better to create a world and then find a story in it, or to have a story and create a world for it.
Strega - Nov 22, 2005 8:53:49 am PST #9574 of 10002
I'm not too familiar with Tolstoy, but I suspect that "transitions" aren't just the mechanics of getting from one scene to the next. A character arc is a kind of transition. I could be totally wrong, but if you think of "transitions" as "changes" it makes a bit more sense.
Steph L. - Nov 22, 2005 2:13:30 pm PST #9575 of 10002
Unusually and exceedingly peculiar and altogether quite impossible to describe
In "What I'm Reading" news, as a result of the Fandom Wank-ed kerfluffle about femslash, in which people kept mentioning Libba Bray's A Great and Terrible Beauty, I got it from the library. It's not *quite* Harry Potter's older, darker, sexier, Victorian cousin....but it's somewhere in the family tree. I really like it.
Atropa - Nov 22, 2005 2:16:52 pm PST #9576 of 10002
The artist formerly associated with cupcakes.
It's not *quite* Harry Potter's older, darker, sexier, Victorian cousin....but it's somewhere in the family tree.
Soooo, what you're saying is I really should get around to reading it?
Amy - Nov 22, 2005 2:28:55 pm PST #9577 of 10002
Because books.
Libba Bray's A Great and Terribly Beauty
Ooooh ooooh! I know the author, and she's one of the smartest, funniest, snarkiest people ever. I loved A Great and Terrible Beauty (although I am, of course, biased).
Just started Rebel Angels, the sequel, and am loving it so far, too.
Steph L. - Nov 22, 2005 2:46:50 pm PST #9578 of 10002
Unusually and exceedingly peculiar and altogether quite impossible to describe
It's not *quite* Harry Potter's older, darker, sexier, Victorian cousin....but it's somewhere in the family tree.
Soooo, what you're saying is I really should get around to reading it?
Yes, indeed. The beginning is a little *off,* in terms of it being historical fiction, b/c the protagonist's voice is a little too modern, but then the book really hits its stride and slips into fine Victorian voice.
I'm about halfway finished, and I just requested the sequel from the library, b/c I know I'll have it finished in the next day or so.