questions and answers - CrimeSpace2024-03-29T15:04:46Zhttp://crimespace.ning.com/forum/topics/537324:Topic:148102?commentId=537324%3AComment%3A148984&feed=yes&xn_auth=nohow did I miss this one?!
Abs…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-07-19:537324:Comment:1524902008-07-19T18:16:17.409Zcarole gillhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/PhyllisDietrichson
how did I miss this one?!<br />
Absolutely agree, that the reader should feel unsettled and perhaps apprehensive too at the end.<br />
The world is an unsettling place populated by all sorts of problematic people. Yes, justice can be served--but if it were a movie I'd expect the camera to pan away and show us something unsettling.<br />
it's like the way my favorite horror or suspense films ended.<br />
just as everyone's walking away--suddenly we see the curse isn't over. there's one villain left, or maybe the bad…
how did I miss this one?!<br />
Absolutely agree, that the reader should feel unsettled and perhaps apprehensive too at the end.<br />
The world is an unsettling place populated by all sorts of problematic people. Yes, justice can be served--but if it were a movie I'd expect the camera to pan away and show us something unsettling.<br />
it's like the way my favorite horror or suspense films ended.<br />
just as everyone's walking away--suddenly we see the curse isn't over. there's one villain left, or maybe the bad guy is getting ready to escape from prison or the nut farm.<br />
Perhaps it's negative on my part--but I don't think so.<br />
no gift wrapped ends for me. I prefer the tightrope with the ever present possibility that I can slip off because sometimes the fall is the high (in a book or a film)! I grant you that. I try to mi…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-07-01:537324:Comment:1490872008-07-01T14:48:07.076ZI. J. Parkerhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Ingpark
I grant you that. I try to mix it up, as a rule. But even the upper class murderer may be a victim of circumstances and horrified at his crime, and that is where it gets really interesting.
I grant you that. I try to mix it up, as a rule. But even the upper class murderer may be a victim of circumstances and horrified at his crime, and that is where it gets really interesting. Hey I. J.
In my case, the sto…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-07-01:537324:Comment:1489842008-07-01T01:21:44.481ZJohn Boundyhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/JohnBoundy
Hey I. J.<br />
In my case, the story was inspired by actual events so I had an agenda. But From my life experience as a prosecutor I find poor actors are victims of circumstances usually and do simple/uninspired crimes generally of opportunistic situations (beer bottle over head in bar brawl) verses educated people who because of greed/mental defect (sociopath), etc... create premeditated cold crimes knowing the pain they have unleashed. So at least for me, they are the more vile and interesting to…
Hey I. J.<br />
In my case, the story was inspired by actual events so I had an agenda. But From my life experience as a prosecutor I find poor actors are victims of circumstances usually and do simple/uninspired crimes generally of opportunistic situations (beer bottle over head in bar brawl) verses educated people who because of greed/mental defect (sociopath), etc... create premeditated cold crimes knowing the pain they have unleashed. So at least for me, they are the more vile and interesting to muck around with. That is my plan. :-)tag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-06-29:537324:Comment:1485852008-06-29T14:44:51.443ZJ.D. Rhoadeshttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/JDRhoades
That is my plan. :-)
That is my plan. :-) I'll have to think about this…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-06-28:537324:Comment:1484852008-06-28T21:32:49.265ZBarbara Fisterhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Bfister
I'll have to think about this. What makes me queasy is that so many people don't feel queasy about vigilantism. It's a very popular fantasy, and too many public figures play off those fantasies it to justify things that they should be ashamed of.<br />
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So I'm hoping your book makes a lot of us barf, Dusty (in a metaphorical sense...)
I'll have to think about this. What makes me queasy is that so many people don't feel queasy about vigilantism. It's a very popular fantasy, and too many public figures play off those fantasies it to justify things that they should be ashamed of.<br />
<br />
So I'm hoping your book makes a lot of us barf, Dusty (in a metaphorical sense...) Ah, yes. That's very true. Th…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-06-28:537324:Comment:1484802008-06-28T21:01:26.391ZI. J. Parkerhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Ingpark
Ah, yes. That's very true. The traditional mystery presents a finite group of individuals, all of whom are shown to have motive and opportunity, and make the reader guess. It's a very unlikely scenario. I much prefer mysteries that present us with a crime and then show the detective following a trail, sometimes making mistakes, until persistence leads him to the perpetrator. That's why I like police procedurals. They come closer to real life than most other mysteries.
Ah, yes. That's very true. The traditional mystery presents a finite group of individuals, all of whom are shown to have motive and opportunity, and make the reader guess. It's a very unlikely scenario. I much prefer mysteries that present us with a crime and then show the detective following a trail, sometimes making mistakes, until persistence leads him to the perpetrator. That's why I like police procedurals. They come closer to real life than most other mysteries. I also wonder why we accept s…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-06-28:537324:Comment:1484482008-06-28T18:16:32.001ZJohn McFetridgehttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/JohnMcF
I also wonder why we accept so easily in mystery fiction the idea that "anyone" could be a murderer - everyone's a suspect, and often all have motives. What kind of villages do these people live in?<br />
<br />
Rankin has his Big Ger Cafferty, his villian from the lower classes. Have to decide for yourself if Cafferty is evil or not.<br />
<br />
It's true, a lot of crime novels excuse a lot of criminal behaviour based on class.<br />
<br />
I guess Robin Hood and the Sherrif of Nottingham are still working as archetypes.
I also wonder why we accept so easily in mystery fiction the idea that "anyone" could be a murderer - everyone's a suspect, and often all have motives. What kind of villages do these people live in?<br />
<br />
Rankin has his Big Ger Cafferty, his villian from the lower classes. Have to decide for yourself if Cafferty is evil or not.<br />
<br />
It's true, a lot of crime novels excuse a lot of criminal behaviour based on class.<br />
<br />
I guess Robin Hood and the Sherrif of Nottingham are still working as archetypes. Why is it that it's always th…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-06-28:537324:Comment:1484432008-06-28T17:36:37.889ZI. J. Parkerhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Ingpark
Why is it that it's always the rich who are public enemy # 1 in crime novels? It's extremely rare to encounter a villain who is poor, unemployed, uneducated, or already involved in some sort of criminal activity. True, white-collar crime is more common among the upper classes, but violence is far more frequent among the lower classes. I suppose showing this in a novel is not P.C. I used to get extremely frustrated with Rankin because he would always predictably pin the crimes on the local big…
Why is it that it's always the rich who are public enemy # 1 in crime novels? It's extremely rare to encounter a villain who is poor, unemployed, uneducated, or already involved in some sort of criminal activity. True, white-collar crime is more common among the upper classes, but violence is far more frequent among the lower classes. I suppose showing this in a novel is not P.C. I used to get extremely frustrated with Rankin because he would always predictably pin the crimes on the local big wig. We love to hate those who are better off than we are. Well, I do think that feeling…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-06-28:537324:Comment:1484292008-06-28T16:06:20.522ZJohn McFetridgehttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/JohnMcF
Well, I do think that feeling queasy is a good thing to feel when reading book and I really like the idea of having to question "heroes."
Well, I do think that feeling queasy is a good thing to feel when reading book and I really like the idea of having to question "heroes." My current WIP features a pro…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-06-28:537324:Comment:1483722008-06-28T12:40:49.918ZJ.D. Rhoadeshttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/JDRhoades
My current WIP features a protagonist who kills people because, in his words "some people need killing." This sounds bad at first, but when you think about it, it's a widespread attitude. I was trying for a "hero" you felt a little queasy about pulling for. As another character puts it "He's not a good guy, but he's the guy we need right now."
My current WIP features a protagonist who kills people because, in his words "some people need killing." This sounds bad at first, but when you think about it, it's a widespread attitude. I was trying for a "hero" you felt a little queasy about pulling for. As another character puts it "He's not a good guy, but he's the guy we need right now."