Blog Flog

[d3athw1sh.livejournal.com]

Link: sorry, the direct linking to specific entries is still messed up
Date: Tuesday, June 28, 2005
Title: The scene is done

LKH's words in italics, mine not.

The scene is done, yea! There is always a scene that will not die. And I'm always happy when it's behind me. I'm either half way or a little more than half way done with DANSE MACABRE. Yea!

But is there a plot yet?

I would have said I was a third of the way done, but Edward hasn't come on stage and I know that until he hits the page I won't really know how long the book is going to be.

I'll take that as a no.

But we are still chapters away from Edward's appearance, and that scares me about the length of the book.

Yeah, me too.

Enough of this, I can only write the pages for this day. I have to let the pages for later wait for later.

So you write your entire book straight through, no stops to actually write down ideas for later in the book that are stuck in your head? That is how alot of people mess up, in my opinion. If I did that, I'd never finish a story. If an idea for the story comes to me, I write it and make the story lead to it, even if it takes a while. But then, what do I know, I'm not a published author.

I did thirteen pages today, which is more than I've done since before I left for Chicago. I hope I'm getting back into the groove. We'll see.

If we are lucky, you will have gotten back to actually writing a decent book, too!

Comments

[demoncougar.livejournal.com]

Being that Edward is by far my favourite character, I'm now terrified. What's she gonna do to him?!?

Side note. Obsidian Butterfly NEVER HAPPENED. IT NEVER HAPPENED. If I say it often enough maybe it'll be true. IT NEVER HAPPENED.

[d3athw1sh.livejournal.com]

I am quite scared myself as to what Ms. Hamilton has planned for our favorite sociopath. If she turns him into another one of Anita's slaves, then I will be more than pissed.

Why do you say that about Obsidian Butterfly?

[demoncougar.livejournal.com]

It's a simple matter of what I loosely call character rape. For umpteen million books, Edward was presented as a true sociopath, and We The Readers were shown a supprisingly consistent character. In Obsidian Butterfly...piff, character consistency gone, sociopath becomes Mr. Right for Donna. At that point in the series, Edward was the ONLY character who had not become totally inconsistent, and I hated how she effectively changed him.

I feel it was detrimental to the character, and totally unneccessary.

[d3athw1sh.livejournal.com]

Ah, I see.

I never really looked at the book that way. Maybe I should re-read it for the 5th time.

[saadiira.livejournal.com]

Actually, he wasn't Mr. Right for Donna, but for the cheeeldren. Of course, it's one saving grace was that he was going to turn at least the boy into an Edward clone...

Very scary thought.

But yes, she did get way too close to turning him into something other than a complete cold blooded killer, and it did border on character rape, and made my eyes bleed. But then, I've also always suspected that he might just care for Anita a bit too much to be a true sociopath, too.

Maybe she's just called what a sociopath really is wrong, and he's just one cold blooded spook SOB...

Whatever, if Anita sleeps with him, it will make the baby jebus cry...

-Dira-

[demoncougar.livejournal.com]

I think if he and Anita have sex I shall weep as well.

[saadiira.livejournal.com]

Terribly. It would just break my heart were the all shtupping slut monster of doom to consume Edward as well with her awful sexfu powers.

-Dira-

[demoncougar.livejournal.com]

Irregardless, I got a laugh out of that. Sexfu powers? XD

Character assasination

[dragonfanguk.livejournal.com]

She's done the same with Ronnie... that once proud and moral woman is now just jealous of all the men Anita has and is oh so sorry for kicking up a fuss, for wanting Nathaniel and all that jazz.

[dominanefret.livejournal.com]

I still think it's the best of the books.

[demoncougar.livejournal.com]

Oh, it was pretty good in my oppinion...except for everything pertaining to Edward + Donna/kids.

[oohasparklie.livejournal.com]

I bet he comes to town and is so awed by Anita's hobag-osity that he just has to fuck her. A lot.

[demoncougar.livejournal.com]

Sadly, I fear you may be right.

[random]Now, I love long haired guys. I refuse to let my husband cut his hair, 'cause I love it long. But...for pity's sake, it seems like every male on the planet has long hair now, in the Anitaverse. If Edward shows up with a ponytail I will be very angry.[/random]

[oohasparklie.livejournal.com]

Well, there's the long hair, and then there's Dolph who, everytime he appears in her books, I think, "Ooooooh, I bet his hair is cut so short on the sides that it leaves his ears stranded!"

[demoncougar.livejournal.com]

okay, the day that anita fucks dolph I will officially stop reading the series. That just gave me the nastiest mental image ever. But you know what? your probably right. Sad as that is to admit.

[oohasparklie.livejournal.com]

At the risk of offending people, it really bugs me when an author acts like their characters control them. It's all out of her brain. It's not like Edward is actually walking around trying to cause trouble. *bangs head on desk* It's all so...pretentious. Like, "I'm such an unbelievably talented author that my characters actually come to life and torment me!" *Rolls eyes* No, you're tormenting yourself. Own up.

[pith]

I write a lot and while I do talk about my characters as if they exist in some way, I know that I have the final say. LKH's blathering has made it difficult for sane authors to talk about their characters without sounding wanky.

[demoncougar.livejournal.com]

Amen. :P

[dwg.livejournal.com]

I hate that! I like to sit there and write out what's going on with a character, how they're developing - what they want, what I want from them - and I almost sound like a twat for doing it. But it helps me deal with unexpected developments and tangents and what this all means for the long-term.

I hate sounding like a twat, and a pretentious one at that.

[harpergrey.livejournal.com]

Nah, I don't think you sound twat-like. ;)

I'd agree that that sort of thing helps solidfy who a character is as a person as well as defining their role in the story -- because let's face it, the only way a character survives (i.e. doesn't die/fade into the background of non-existance) is by playing a role in the story.

I might be willing to concede that I occasionally have to negotiate with my characters to determine said role, but I would certainly never go so far as to say that they control what I want to happen in the story.

And if I have two characters who seem determined to fight (as LKH was whinging about for like three blog posts -- sorry, that put my bitch-o-meter way up), I'm far more inclined to try to figure out why they're in combative mode and then try to make it further the plot rather than attempting to force it not to happen because [sarcasm] ooh, how could they possibly want to fight -- don't they know conflict is baaad? Why don't they just make up and have some skanky, poorly-described sex? [/sarcasm].

Feh. She's like a cautionary example of how a writer shouldn't behave.

[dwg.livejournal.com]

Trying to figure out why something happened, or isn't happening, is a large part of my development rants. Usually it's a case of my brain being smarter than I am and plotting things out in advance to get me exactly where I need to go. It's just not in the direction I thought it would be.

Seriously, if nothing's happening, take a break, work on something else and come back to it later.

Woe, that won't happen, because of the precious, precious deadline. The deadline must be obeyed at any and all costs!

[harpergrey.livejournal.com]

I'm totally with you on that. Oftentimes I think I've got it all worked out, but when it comes to actually making the damn thing happen it goes flouncing off in an entirely different direction than I'd planned. Something about not forcing the story, I guess. Which is still not the same thing as letting the characters run the story. *g* I guess the balance is figuring out the difference between the two. (Did that make any sense at all, or am I just wanking here?) ;)

[dwg.livejournal.com]

in a writerly way, it makes perfect sense.

[dragonfanguk.livejournal.com]

Its the same over hear. Three years ago I started writing a novel, and the characters I originally had have grown and developed so that I find myself asking what they would do in a situation if (IF) they were real people. I, however, know that they aren't and so don't quite feel such a dork when I run through the conversations I want them to have in my head.

No pretentiousness involved, I promise.

[demoncougar.livejournal.com]

I think the only people who would be offended by your comment are the authors who DO act like their characters control them. I feel like writing a nice little letter to LKH, something along the lines of,

Ms. Hamilton-

Your characters do NOT control you. They are NOT real. If you want proof, go to a library or bookstore, and you will find your books under the FICTION section. You are GOD in the universe you have created, please step up and take control.

-sincerely, a very disgruntled Edward fan.

...however, if I did send her a letter, ten to one it would be ignored because OMG I'm so mean!!!!!111eleventyone!

[saadiira.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I know. Though it may sometimes seem, when you're doing a great job, as if they are almost real, c'mon. They are NOT. (Nor is she doing that great a job. Screwscrewscrewtalkaboutscrewingscrewsomemore) How much characterization is really going into that? And what the hell is making them all so damned horny? Oh yeah, Anita. NO, no...get back to reality, woman! And then, a plot. You make up the plot. (Just like you made up your bigselfinsert mary sue, that everyone wants to boff, because you made that up, too. Now fess up to it!)

The characters are NOT in control. We, the writers are in control. When it comes to be otherwise, it's time for a bloody vacation, and a long one, to boot. Or maybe anti-psychotics.

-Dira-

[freyalorelei.livejournal.com]

So you write your entire book straight through, no stops to actually write down ideas for later in the book that are stuck in your head?

I've wondered about that, too. I mean, she claims her plotlines are sketched out before the story's written, and has even evidence of this online (photographs of rooms full of Post-It notes on the walls, for example). But there's nothing to indicate such in the books. It's like she's writing for NaNoWriMo, and her only concern is to squeeze out X number of pages in Y amount of time.

Besides which, how does she KNOW Edward's really going to be in this book? Has he TOLD her that? I mean, the characters dictate the author, so maybe he won't show up at ALL.

"Still chapters away..." And she knows this how? I'm assuming "chapters" means plural, so presumably Edward won't show up for (I'll be generous) at least ten pages. If she knows how many chapters it takes for him to enter the picture, how can she not know the planned length of the book? Will it be 400, 500, 900 pages long, what?

Dear LKH,

You are not writing War and Peace. You are writing cheesy vampire porn. Please restrict the content to 400 pages or less. No, we don't care if you have to cut a few blow-job scenes. Frankly we-the-readership would prefer it. Yours is not great literature of the ages, and book thickness does not equal importance or intellectual value (although admittedly they make handy paperweights and doorstops, in a pinch), and just because you are now released in hardcover does not give you Literary Merit OMG. That the covers of your last two books prominently featured heaving bosoms should have tipped you off. Because heaving bosoms, while of course fine in their proper place and time, do not, generally speaking, grace the covers of capital-L Literature. And if you believe otherwise, we have a clue-by-four to sell you.

Sincerely,
Your Readers.

[frabjously.livejournal.com]

Besides which, how does she KNOW Edward's really going to be in this book? Has he TOLD her that? I mean, the characters dictate the author, so maybe he won't show up at ALL.

Well considering that she had originally meant for Edward to be in the LAST book and had to cut him out because it got too "complicated", I'd say that LKH probably plans, then throws said plans out the window because "Anita didn't like them".

[dragonfanguk.livejournal.com]

Brilliance! I'll sign that letter if you ever decide to send it!