All Discussions Tagged 'the' - CrimeSpace2024-03-29T07:12:31Zhttp://crimespace.ning.com/forum/topic/listForTag?tag=the&feed=yes&xn_auth=noWrestling with the pace of the beast - how do you balance thought versus action?tag:crimespace.ning.com,2011-08-07:537324:Topic:3085862011-08-07T10:35:47.104ZMary McFarlandhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/MaryMcFarland
<p>I finished my latest mystery and felt good that I'd been able to keep it at 90,000 words (my first novel was (until revised) 110,000 words. When I went back to revise my draft I realized I'd started Chapter 1 with my murder vic thinking about a wrong he'd committed against his best friend and, in fact, being alone in a fire tower (where he is murdered by being burned alive), trying to figure out how to make things right. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>I like the beginning (it's only one section - about…</p>
<p>I finished my latest mystery and felt good that I'd been able to keep it at 90,000 words (my first novel was (until revised) 110,000 words. When I went back to revise my draft I realized I'd started Chapter 1 with my murder vic thinking about a wrong he'd committed against his best friend and, in fact, being alone in a fire tower (where he is murdered by being burned alive), trying to figure out how to make things right. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>I like the beginning (it's only one section - about four paragraphs), but I became worried . I'd set up my novel's main conflict in this section, but in this section everything was happening inside my vic's head. No matter how I tried, and oh did I ever try, the story had to shake down with this beginning. </p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Questions</strong>:</p>
<ol>
<li><div>Is beginning the first chapter this way, inside the character's head instead of having my character engaged in action, less exciting for readers? </div>
</li>
<li><div>Specifically, does beginning a novel this way slow pacing?</div>
</li>
<li><div>Do you have/have you had a similar (and quite frustrating) experience? </div>
</li>
</ol> What are the Biggest Trends in Crime Fiction?tag:crimespace.ning.com,2011-05-06:537324:Topic:2877512011-05-06T02:21:07.952ZBenjamin Sobieckhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/BenjaminSobieck
<p>Everyone talks about the vampires and paranormal young adult books and whatnot. That's all fine and dandy, but those are trends outside of our favorite genre here on CrimeSpace.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I want to get back to talking about crime. So what are some of the trends going on right now? Not in marketing or formats, but the actual plot lines? What patterns are you seeing in what's new?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>From my viewpoint, the leads are becoming more and more stereotypical. It's almost like…</p>
<p>Everyone talks about the vampires and paranormal young adult books and whatnot. That's all fine and dandy, but those are trends outside of our favorite genre here on CrimeSpace.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I want to get back to talking about crime. So what are some of the trends going on right now? Not in marketing or formats, but the actual plot lines? What patterns are you seeing in what's new?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>From my viewpoint, the leads are becoming more and more stereotypical. It's almost like casting for "The Real World" on MTV. The faces may change, but you know exactly what expressions they'll make.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Maybe that's because there are so many stereotypes built into crime fiction. But can we at least get beyond "the detective with a boatload of personal problems" thing? Or the black sedans following you in the rear view mirror? Or the hit man who just has to do one last job?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The reaction to this is to make something completely absurd out of the stereotype. Throw in a few funky quirks to stir the stereotype pot. Just look at the boatload of eccentric detectives on TV to get a feel for that.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>None of these observations are necessarily bad. They're just my thoughts. What are yours?</p> WHAT GRABS YOU THE MOST ABOUT TRUE CRIME BOOKS?tag:crimespace.ning.com,2011-02-08:537324:Topic:2691282011-02-08T19:42:55.649ZMorgan St. Jameshttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/MorganStJames119
<p>I am currently reading "Surviving the Mob" by Denny Griffin and Andrew DiDonato. I know both of them and have Spotlighted them in my Examiner columns. However, even though I know the story is true, and I'd heard much of it before, it is still hard for me to put the Andrew I know and like into the mold of a dangerous guy. I've also experienced this feeling with other former gangsters I've interviewed. It really puts a different spin on the story when it is someone you know.</p>
<p>Speaking of…</p>
<p>I am currently reading "Surviving the Mob" by Denny Griffin and Andrew DiDonato. I know both of them and have Spotlighted them in my Examiner columns. However, even though I know the story is true, and I'd heard much of it before, it is still hard for me to put the Andrew I know and like into the mold of a dangerous guy. I've also experienced this feeling with other former gangsters I've interviewed. It really puts a different spin on the story when it is someone you know.</p>
<p>Speaking of that, the true crime book that threw me for a loop as the saying goes, was one written years ago that has now been reissued. "Till Death Us Do Part," by Vincent Bugliosi. What I read on page 40 made my jaw drop. I read on in morbid fascination as I realized the character, Alan Palliko, the fictionalized murderer, was my boyfriend for about six months when I was just out of high school. Ooooh. Chills. One of his assets was that he was such a charming guy. (My name was different then--so was his.)</p>
<p> </p> B&N Takes on the iPad with NOOKcolortag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-10-28:537324:Topic:2544642010-10-28T17:43:57.582ZBenjamin Sobieckhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/BenjaminSobieck
Barnes & Noble's new incarnation of the Nook looks a lot like an iPad. Check it out here: <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/nookcolor/index.asp?cds2Pid=30919">http://www.barnesandnoble.com/nookcolor/index.asp?cds2Pid=30919</a><br></br><br></br>What do you think? I'll reserve my opinion for when I can tell if it has e-ink technology or is an LCD. I don't like LCD screens for extended reading. E-ink, which is basically the same thing an Etcha-Sketch uses, is much easier on the eye. Despite all…
Barnes & Noble's new incarnation of the Nook looks a lot like an iPad. Check it out here: <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/nookcolor/index.asp?cds2Pid=30919">http://www.barnesandnoble.com/nookcolor/index.asp?cds2Pid=30919</a><br/><br/>What do you think? I'll reserve my opinion for when I can tell if it has e-ink technology or is an LCD. I don't like LCD screens for extended reading. E-ink, which is basically the same thing an Etcha-Sketch uses, is much easier on the eye. Despite all the nifty features, I'd still use an e-reader to read books more than anything else.<br/><br/>Some new things it appears they've added:<br/><br/>• Reading is more amazing than ever on our stunning 7-inch VividView™
Color Touchscreen. NOOKcolor uses best-in-class technology to display<br/>
more than 16 million colors and an extra wide viewing angle for personal<br/>
or shared reading.<br/><br/>• NOOKcolor is the first reading device to offer all your newsstand
favorites in rich, full color. From Us Weekly and Elle to The New York<br/>
Times and The Wall Street Journal - NOOKnewsstand delivers your morning<br/>
paper and latest magazines right to your NOOKcolor, ready to read in an<br/>
amazing new way.<br/><br/>• Visit any Barnes & Noble store with your NOOK in hand and enjoy an
array of special offers through our More In Store™ program. Get FREE<br/>
Wi-Fi® while you're there and read entire NOOKbooks for FREE for up to<br/>
one hour per day with our innovative Read In Store™ feature.<br/><br/>• Swapping books with friends has always been a big part of reading and
NOOKcolor makes it even easier and more fun to do. For the first time on<br/>
NOOKcolor, Barnes & Noble's exclusive LendMe™ App lets you lend AND<br/>
borrow favorite books from friends - all with just a few simple<br/>
touches.<br/><br/>• For the first time, enjoy hundreds of kids' picture books with our
state-of-the-art NOOK kids reading experience. Exclusive Alive Touch™<br/>
technology lets your child interact with words and pictures, easily find<br/>
a favorite story, even have it read aloud. Enjoy classic favorites and<br/>
the most popular new releases.<br/><br/>• On-the-go web access is easy with NOOKcolor's built-in Wi-Fi®
connection. Check your email or visit your favorite websites. NOOKcolor<br/>
goes beyond reading and helps you stay connected. What's With All the Ellipses?tag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-08-22:537324:Topic:2472842010-08-22T03:36:56.083ZBenjamin Sobieckhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/BenjaminSobieck
Pick up a novel at the ol' Barney & Friends and check out the blurbs. Most likely they will look like this:<br></br><br></br>"Riveting...a thoughtful look into fear...that everyone has experienced."<br></br><br></br>"Haunting...really a great read."<br></br><br></br>"More than just a book...this is an...experience."<br></br><br></br>One could say these are excerpts from a larger review. But is this much patchwork really necessary to fish out a complementary phrase? Was the review that good in the first place? Is this some…
Pick up a novel at the ol' Barney & Friends and check out the blurbs. Most likely they will look like this:<br/><br/>"Riveting...a thoughtful look into fear...that everyone has experienced."<br/><br/>"Haunting...really a great read."<br/><br/>"More than just a book...this is an...experience."<br/><br/>One could say these are excerpts from a larger review. But is this much patchwork really necessary to fish out a complementary phrase? Was the review that good in the first place? Is this some pseudo-intellectual marketing technique?<br/><br/><br/> Murder and Humor: Oil and Water? The Tone of a Mystery.tag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-06-28:537324:Topic:2398882010-06-28T12:35:34.650ZCaroline Trippehttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/CarolineTrippe
In my first post ever, I took exception to incidents (IMO gratuitous) of cruelty to animals in murder mysteries. During the course of that very lively discussion, someone brought up--inevitably--the moral dilemma of whether or not one is LESS upset by the violence done to humans --whether adult or children---than that occasionally done to animals. Which is, of course, the premise of the murder mystery, so we can't really do without it! <br></br>However, there are all sorts of ways to handle…
In my first post ever, I took exception to incidents (IMO gratuitous) of cruelty to animals in murder mysteries. During the course of that very lively discussion, someone brought up--inevitably--the moral dilemma of whether or not one is LESS upset by the violence done to humans --whether adult or children---than that occasionally done to animals. Which is, of course, the premise of the murder mystery, so we can't really do without it! <br/>However, there are all sorts of ways to handle violent death, different "attitudes." These attitudes, which <span style="font-style: italic;">presumably</span> reflect the author's own, are embodied in the novel by the various protagonists---most strongly by the detectives, of course--but in no small way by other characters as well. <br/><br/> I am talking now about the TONE of the mystery (and therefor also about the author's INTENT in writing the mystery). Is the TONE grimly serious, a social diatribe, a black humor satire in the guise of a mystery, a light-hearted travelogue caper, or post-modern cozy? (Most contemporary mysteries seem to incorporate elements of different types). Is it meant to raise your hackles, or only mildly titillate your suspense receptors? Is it a beach read or a novel that attempts to "transcend the genre?" <br/><br/>Now and then I will enjoy a murder mystery with a whimsical tone--- for instance Jane Langton's series, always delightfully illustrated by the author, ---which are actually quite serious underneath it all---but when I see the word "funny" or "witty" in one of the book-jacket blurbs, I may not take that one home with me. <br/><br/>I think I did say that I read mysteries for "escape" and relaxation---and that's true, up to a point. I love good ambiance, naturalistic dialogue, a complex plot and spine-tingling suspense; but on some level I believe I'm also reading for the experience of "catharsis." (Maybe that's the suspense---release from terror). It sounds sort of pretentious to say so---but there you are. <br/><br/>The bottom line is that TONE is very important. How much humor and wit---black or incidental---can a story take before murder becomes trivialized? Before the suspense is actually diluted ? Before the corpse, once a living breathing human being, becomes a cipher? Becomes compromised---so that we care less about who he or she was, or why this happened to them? <br/><br/>It goes without saying that we accept the death of the first (and often subsequent) victims as the premise of a novel about crime---but are we <span style="font-style: italic;">moved</span> by it? And in what way? How does the writer manipulate OUR attitude? Does a story in which a lot of wit and humor is employed suggest that this victim was expendable? Deserved to die? That we should not care about the person who was murdered, only about how the detective goes about solving the crime?<br/><br/>I'm not suggesting that there is no place in murder mysteries for wit, any more than that there is no place for sex or gustatory pleasures, as a minor diversion, or to flesh out the characters, make them convincing. A serious story can often use a touch of comic relief. But where do you draw the line? <br/><br/>I should add--maybe the TONE of a given mystery is determined by who you see as your main audience? <br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/> Thomas Harristag:crimespace.ning.com,2009-11-03:537324:Topic:2187102009-11-03T18:23:28.042ZSam Wiebehttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/SamWiebe
Red Dragon was a game-changer for me, and probably remains the best serial killer novel of all time. Silence of the Lambs was just as good. Hannibal was definitely not in the same class, and then Hannibal Rising came out. I couldn't get through it. It was hard to imagine this was the same writer who did Red Dragon.<br />
<br />
I'd like to think Harris has some more quality work in him, but I doubt he could do another Hannibal book that's anything but a shadow of the first two.<br />
<br />
Is this just a case of…
Red Dragon was a game-changer for me, and probably remains the best serial killer novel of all time. Silence of the Lambs was just as good. Hannibal was definitely not in the same class, and then Hannibal Rising came out. I couldn't get through it. It was hard to imagine this was the same writer who did Red Dragon.<br />
<br />
I'd like to think Harris has some more quality work in him, but I doubt he could do another Hannibal book that's anything but a shadow of the first two.<br />
<br />
Is this just a case of going to the well too often, or did he hack out the last two books for money, or are these works underrated gems? Best "WTF?" Momenttag:crimespace.ning.com,2009-05-03:537324:Topic:1968892009-05-03T04:05:51.051ZBenjamin Sobieckhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/BenjaminSobieck
They can happen when reading a website, or the back cover of a book, or a deal gone terribly wrong, or a paragraph that begins with "Else." I'm referring to WTF moments. I have to imagine they happen to authors/readers a great deal. What are yours?<br />
<br />
<a href="http://crimespace.ning.com/profiles/blogs/signs-you-should-run-from-a">Click here to see my own example.</a>
They can happen when reading a website, or the back cover of a book, or a deal gone terribly wrong, or a paragraph that begins with "Else." I'm referring to WTF moments. I have to imagine they happen to authors/readers a great deal. What are yours?<br />
<br />
<a href="http://crimespace.ning.com/profiles/blogs/signs-you-should-run-from-a">Click here to see my own example.</a> Off The Radar - Great Books from Small Housestag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-12-29:537324:Topic:1740172008-12-29T18:32:08.988ZPeter Wentworthhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/PeterWentworth
I just read a feature article in the Toledo Blade about a book titled The Armageddon Conspiracy by John Thompson - careful there's a few with the same or similar names. The book gushed over the book - as did the only other review I found by a paper in South Carolina.<br />
<br />
It was about the most difficult book to get my hands on - but discovered the publisher went belly up the same week it was released - and its being reprinted by a new Publisher in February 2009.
I just read a feature article in the Toledo Blade about a book titled The Armageddon Conspiracy by John Thompson - careful there's a few with the same or similar names. The book gushed over the book - as did the only other review I found by a paper in South Carolina.<br />
<br />
It was about the most difficult book to get my hands on - but discovered the publisher went belly up the same week it was released - and its being reprinted by a new Publisher in February 2009. Best five directors and their best work so far ...tag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-11-06:537324:Topic:1654622008-11-06T13:14:57.010ZVincent Farrellhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/VincentFarrell
Steven Spielberg - Schindlers List<br />
Michael Mann - Heat<br />
John Woo - Face Off<br />
Quentin Tarantino - Reservoir Dogs<br />
David Fincher - Se7en
Steven Spielberg - Schindlers List<br />
Michael Mann - Heat<br />
John Woo - Face Off<br />
Quentin Tarantino - Reservoir Dogs<br />
David Fincher - Se7en