tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3379518858474986857.post667159209797509718..comments2024-01-27T00:42:48.097-08:00Comments on Renaissance Oaf: Inkblot Panorama 5, Plus Some Writing ThoughtsSean Cravenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13763869499494698057noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3379518858474986857.post-13665573818577450022009-04-04T10:56:00.000-07:002009-04-04T10:56:00.000-07:00Oh -- and you're dead right about the way the grou...Oh -- and you're dead right about the way the group is working right now. It's gonna take Warren a little while to get his confidence up to speed, but I think we've got a functional unit here. I just hope we can keep things going once I've got music again -- which won't be happening for a few months, damnit.Sean Cravenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13763869499494698057noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3379518858474986857.post-66721373298822386242009-04-04T10:54:00.000-07:002009-04-04T10:54:00.000-07:00Heh, heh. I don't think it's so much a matter of b...Heh, heh. I don't think it's so much a matter of being mean to the character -- you commented on what a miserable time he was having in this volume and the end of volume two is one of the most emotionally brutal things I've done thus far.<BR/><BR/>It's more a matter of being mean to the reader. What's held me back is my feeling that mental illness is a really painful subject and I've been concerned about putting the reader off. I'm just starting to realize that I've already done plenty for the reader by giving them a nice slam-bang adventure story and now it's time to try and fuck them up.<BR/><BR/>I'm also thinking that some clinical detail is important. When I tried to incorporate the (disastrous) therapeutic experience in early drafts, it sucked. I'm considering shifting that to backstory -- Matt underwent counseling at school before he dropped out, so he can bring in the clinical shit as memory.<BR/><BR/>At least this is all just a matter of adding material rather than gutting the book and starting from scratch...Sean Cravenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13763869499494698057noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3379518858474986857.post-46687904983481682142009-04-03T21:50:00.000-07:002009-04-03T21:50:00.000-07:00As many times as I've read God's Tourists, it took...As many times as I've read God's Tourists, it took sitting in a group with ideas bouncing around before I made the suggestion you're crediting me for. It's an ideal environment for ideas to build from dialogue; we all like each other and have no problem with criticism (giving or getting), and our writing is on similar enough levels that we critique each other well.<BR/><BR/>When I was first in the Monday Night writers group, which was a great group through various incarnations, my ego sometimes took a hit when something I thought was great got smacked around. I think the differences in this group start with the amount of confidence each of us has in not only his or her own writing, but in the ability of the other people in the group to critique in an effort to make the writing better. When you know what you want from your writing and don't care what anyone says about it so long as it helps you get there you're free to expose yourself, take all the kicks to the head and groin, get up and fix the damn thing.<BR/><BR/>Now it appears that something you don't do in the writers' group - protect yourself - you have done for your alter ego protagonist in your novel. Shit, Sean, you don't have to protect yourself on the page, just treat the fictionalized you like you treat all your other protagonists: fuck him with a spike and twist it. <I>That's</I> the self-torture that will make your novel what you want it to be.robphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12139515613226908345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3379518858474986857.post-43955167626359096122009-04-03T17:04:00.000-07:002009-04-03T17:04:00.000-07:00Thank you, Allison. I'm going to try a two-pronged...Thank you, Allison. I'm going to try a two-pronged attack. First, I'm going to go through the manuscript and flag all the places where I make a subtle reference to my condition and then go back and de-subtle them.<BR/><BR/>I'm also going to figure out exactly what it is I want to say on this subject in this book and see how much of that I can fit into the places where it already makes an appearance.<BR/><BR/>Man, this shit is HARD. I really feel like the novel is my favorite form but that might be just because I'm such an enthusiastic fan of self-torture.Sean Cravenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13763869499494698057noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3379518858474986857.post-5230934474697042472009-04-03T12:45:00.000-07:002009-04-03T12:45:00.000-07:00Wow, dude, thanks. It meant so much to me to hear ...Wow, dude, thanks. It meant so much to me to hear you speak of my work this way, and then to read this today.<BR/><BR/>It's a honor working with you, m'friend. And as to the question of whether you can pull it off -- I think you damn well know where I stand on that one.Allison Landahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17495894702405839968noreply@blogger.com