Comments on: Are you enjoying the journey?

By: Katherine Moore

Katherine Moore — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 00:13:36 +0000

Goodbye everyone, I have enjoyed our discussions. I am moving to Ireland and getting married there to an Irishman. My lifetime dream!!!!!

God bless us all!

By: Katherine Mooore

Katherine Mooore — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 20:27:37 +0000

Elias: LOL on being married. I was pleased to find your posts as they are always humorous and timely.

By: Elias McClellan

Elias McClellan — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:58:54 +0000

@11, Thank you and I’m used to women laughing at me, I’m married

I do agree with 11 & 12. Bitter, bitter ashes. Same with the wrap up on Battlestar Galactica. I watched season one and I was waiting for the box set to watch all of the rest without interuption. Once I read about the ending, I was so glad I did not invest the time into the series. I would have been SOOOO p!ssed.

By: Megs - Scattered Bits

Megs - Scattered Bits — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 18:54:02 +0000

I hated the ending to Elfstones of Shannarra so badly (loved that girl!) I could never read the rest of his stuff.

But I agree with this post.

Form isn’t the key behind whether a book is good or not. It’s what the writer does with it (or doesn’t).

By: Clare K. R. Miller

Clare K. R. Miller — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:52:00 +0000

LOL @Elias! OK, I’ll tell you that the author is Terry Brooks. If you’ve read the Shannara series, I’m sure you’ll know which book I’m talking about.

By: Peter Frauenglass

Peter Frauenglass — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 01:08:34 +0000

Mary: I have to disagree, actually. I’ve never read that type of book myself (laying out the character types), but as I look back on my reading experience, that characters that stand out most strongly and interestingly are those that conform quite closely to certain archetypes. Personalities become archetypal because they’re interesting and memorable.

Three dimensional characters are not the same thing as “unique” ones. I like to think of character types as lamps of focus, around which the world resolves itself into comprehensibility. You don’t want to be exactly on them, because in such intense light people loose their identity and depth. Those that stray too far away, on the other hand, tend to loose cohesion and focus. The story spends too much time trying to point out how all the separate specks of personality come together into an interesting and coherent person.

I’ve probably strayed too far in the first direction, archtypical and predictable characters, in my current writing effort (http://threewestwinds.com/book/introduction) but it’s more of an attempt to keep me writing daily than it is to create something actually workable.

By: Elias McClellan

Elias McClellan — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 23:55:26 +0000

@8 Ms. Miller, now that’s just cruel. Won’t be able to sleep until I figure out which book/series you’re referring to. Actually, I’ll have to pester enough people (smarter than me) to figure out your challenge.

As I stated initially, I’ve been taken to task for typing my mind about some of the monkeys out there. So I can dig your relunctance. Maybe just a hint? Be your best friend…

By: Clare K. R. Miller

Clare K. R. Miller — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 05:22:02 +0000

Elias: Oddly enough, I’m currently rereading a book that was my favorite through middle and high school. The prose has mostly held up well, as have the characters, but the plot… not as much. I’m actually quite glad that I was as young as I was when I first read it, because if I’d known more about the story of Jesus, I would have recognized it very quickly and then I would have known the plot, pretty much–in particular, I would have known the Jesus character was going to die and it wouldn’t have been as shocking. (Not Narnia–I still love those books. I don’t know if I should reveal the book I’m talking about, but it’s part of a popular fantasy series.)

It did start my love for assassins/serial killers, though, which has not diminished.

By: Mary

Mary — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 01:28:13 +0000

Books that prescribe n many plots — or n many character types — are the only how-to-write books that I’ve never found useful.

Indeed, I’ve only heard from one writer who found either of useful, and that was the character types — she would compare her characters to them and see if she could recognize the type, and if so, knew they needed more development.

By: Elias McClellan

Elias McClellan — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 20:50:45 +0000

Yeah, ditto on Narnia. Don’t even get me started on LOTR. I also had great, warm and fuzzy feelings for Heinlein but his work has not held up as well as my memories of it. Truthfully this could be the work or the reader.

Currently I’m rereading the “Parable,” series with my wife and I still find a lot to appreciate in it.