The fandom I will never escape
Dec. 28th, 2006 09:42 pmI should really finish this essay, if for no other reason so that I can write for ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
holmesian with a clear conscience. January 5th is a Friday, thank God. I have two scenarios in mind but I'll probably just write the easy one.
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worldserpent asked if you have to be smart to write a character who is smart, or a poet to write a character who is a great poet. No more than you have to be a detective to write a character who is a great detective, I think. In the case of holmesian I am starting with the Key -- the one (semi-obscure) fact the detective will use to solve the crime -- and building a mystery around it. I'm not as smart as the detective, but because I'm working in reverse, I can fake it. Probably.
As an author, you have a huge advantage over the characters, because you get to dictate the circumstances of the story -- create a world in which the actions of other characters reinforce the gennnnnius of a resident artist, or the set-up itself does, or where the focus is elsewhere and you can cheat or shortcut your way around showing anything explicitly. It's the Bill and Ted effect. XD Bill and Ted are the ones with the Time Machine, so they're the ones who can, after everything is over, go back in time one week ago to rig the metal cage that will fall from the rafters to trap the bad guy.
The other main factor to this is how smart -- or poetry-enabled -- your readers are. I think it's safe to say that an author can generally fool readers who are at the same "level" or lower, plus as many other readers as don't mind being fooled. After all there are plenty of people, even critical people, who are willing to play along.
This is old news but ties in so neatly that I can't resist linking: Ohba/Obata dialogue from Death Note 13. Note, spoilers!
( Comments, mostly running to OHBA IS A FREAK OH MY GOD )
I also caught the first 10 episodes of the Death Note anime. It's really good. ^^; The anime is almost exactly the same as the manga -- I even recognize specific panels -- but tighter, somehow. The author had a vision for the manga but didn't always succeed with it, whereas the people making the anime know where the story is headed, and have more experience and more time, and they're fixing it up. I think? Anyway, the production values are really high, and the fan translators doing the subs are better than the fan translators who did the scanlations.
( More )
Annnnd this entry is long enough. Next time: Earthsea, Island, The Good Shepard, Kazuo Ishiguro and other holiday book and movie purchases.
holmesian with a clear conscience. January 5th is a Friday, thank God. I have two scenarios in mind but I'll probably just write the easy one. worldserpent asked if you have to be smart to write a character who is smart, or a poet to write a character who is a great poet. No more than you have to be a detective to write a character who is a great detective, I think. In the case of holmesian I am starting with the Key -- the one (semi-obscure) fact the detective will use to solve the crime -- and building a mystery around it. I'm not as smart as the detective, but because I'm working in reverse, I can fake it. Probably. As an author, you have a huge advantage over the characters, because you get to dictate the circumstances of the story -- create a world in which the actions of other characters reinforce the gennnnnius of a resident artist, or the set-up itself does, or where the focus is elsewhere and you can cheat or shortcut your way around showing anything explicitly. It's the Bill and Ted effect. XD Bill and Ted are the ones with the Time Machine, so they're the ones who can, after everything is over, go back in time one week ago to rig the metal cage that will fall from the rafters to trap the bad guy.
The other main factor to this is how smart -- or poetry-enabled -- your readers are. I think it's safe to say that an author can generally fool readers who are at the same "level" or lower, plus as many other readers as don't mind being fooled. After all there are plenty of people, even critical people, who are willing to play along.
This is old news but ties in so neatly that I can't resist linking: Ohba/Obata dialogue from Death Note 13. Note, spoilers!
( Comments, mostly running to OHBA IS A FREAK OH MY GOD )
I also caught the first 10 episodes of the Death Note anime. It's really good. ^^; The anime is almost exactly the same as the manga -- I even recognize specific panels -- but tighter, somehow. The author had a vision for the manga but didn't always succeed with it, whereas the people making the anime know where the story is headed, and have more experience and more time, and they're fixing it up. I think? Anyway, the production values are really high, and the fan translators doing the subs are better than the fan translators who did the scanlations.
( More )
Annnnd this entry is long enough. Next time: Earthsea, Island, The Good Shepard, Kazuo Ishiguro and other holiday book and movie purchases.