tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337042377966398742.post1215597030741981392..comments2024-02-22T07:47:22.661-05:00Comments on The Bathroom Monologues: 10 Elements of Reality Not Allowed in FictionJohn Wiswellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07416044628686736927noreply@blogger.comBlogger60125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337042377966398742.post-42635871708614797132013-02-14T22:05:40.159-05:002013-02-14T22:05:40.159-05:00If the police come to interview a character with r...If the police come to interview a character with regards to even the most heinous crime, he/she must answer questions while continuing to do what they were doing without missing a beat, and act a little bit miffed that the fuzz is wasting your time.(This is generally more a TV or movie screenplay rule, I guess).Bernardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13194421719317300410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337042377966398742.post-2027420338722103992013-01-18T13:35:47.668-05:002013-01-18T13:35:47.668-05:00I thought Scream handled this well with its sequel...I thought Scream handled this well with its sequel (I've only seen Scream 2 in addition to the first). You had all the original character dealing with the problems of the first film. When they realized there was another killer, everyone thought they were just reliving traumatic experiences.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08707535652975591239noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337042377966398742.post-5259491844699725272013-01-18T04:06:34.330-05:002013-01-18T04:06:34.330-05:00I'm writing a vampire novel and they actually ...I'm writing a vampire novel and they actually mention that some of the information in the movies and books are true, and how far off they are on other points. I tried to make it sound as if the people who write vampire books and movies did so with intimate knowledge of them. Like they are servants or something.Karen Hayes-Mitchellnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337042377966398742.post-85089360048136529782013-01-17T12:44:30.232-05:002013-01-17T12:44:30.232-05:00Talk to any professional in field X about the acto...Talk to any professional in field X about the actors portraying their field in a film or TV show. See how fast they get some rage going. Because writers write; they rarely live in the world of field X. (Computers, medicine, military, etc.) Plus, it's so much easier to say "guy knows computers. Therefore he can do ANYTHING with computers in 10 seconds flat." than "guy knows Windows. He can, eventually, with enough time and Google, solve some things in Windows with a hairline overlap into other IT fields."<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337042377966398742.post-48933454189875425452013-01-17T12:40:38.610-05:002013-01-17T12:40:38.610-05:00Can you imagine how much therapy would be required...Can you imagine how much therapy would be required after basically any action or horror movie ever?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337042377966398742.post-71354318538438842282013-01-17T12:39:28.437-05:002013-01-17T12:39:28.437-05:00And I swear I get so sick of rainy funerals. Somet...And I swear I get so sick of rainy funerals. Sometimes funerals are sunny and bright. Or cold and cloudy. Rarely are they rainy.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337042377966398742.post-19436387365931423452012-12-22T06:09:15.418-05:002012-12-22T06:09:15.418-05:00Sounds good! I'd be sure to check them, John t...Sounds good! I'd be sure to check them, John thank you! Cindy Vaskovahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06747628778627025130noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337042377966398742.post-17030229576138156162012-12-22T00:00:51.814-05:002012-12-22T00:00:51.814-05:00It's ridiculous at this point, I agree. I like...It's ridiculous at this point, I agree. I liked that Zoey in Left 4 Dead survived because she'd seen Horror movies before. You might like Justin Cronin's The Passage or Mira Grant's Deadline - both have their survivors consciously studying media (one about vamps, one about zombies) to foster the right attitudes.John Wiswellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07416044628686736927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337042377966398742.post-84407312749302722962012-12-21T23:55:46.175-05:002012-12-21T23:55:46.175-05:00Could be going way off topic, but its been bugging...Could be going way off topic, but its been bugging me...How come people in most zombie films act like they've never seen a zombie film? Does Romero not exist, or in those universes Hollywood has decided to keep it less bloody and scary? It seem awkward to exclude that people know these monsters, but that could be taking the fun out of the first emotions during the outbreak. Still it's weird.Cindy Vaskovahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06747628778627025130noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337042377966398742.post-9477127442380052152012-12-21T09:06:28.789-05:002012-12-21T09:06:28.789-05:00I disagree. Catcher in the Rye is exactly what yo...I disagree. Catcher in the Rye is exactly what you just described. (I'm biased, as I think it's a horrible book)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337042377966398742.post-61802543530860186332012-12-21T00:56:22.085-05:002012-12-21T00:56:22.085-05:00I've had some hilarious conversations with sof...I've had some hilarious conversations with software developers I work with about stuff like #2 -- one guy had a whole list of them. Hrm, I think I know what my Friday Flash will be drawn from two weeks from now :-)Katherine Hajerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08270232675026751342noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337042377966398742.post-14106254736766899592012-12-20T01:57:33.128-05:002012-12-20T01:57:33.128-05:00No-one ever has a truly boring day, or meets a tru...No-one ever has a truly boring day, or meets a truly boring character. And yes, I think either of these could be the catalyst for change so they COULD advance the plot.<br />Elephant's Childhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06650565833097914052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337042377966398742.post-73376406793105046002012-12-20T01:37:15.022-05:002012-12-20T01:37:15.022-05:00Speaking of puke, I've noticed that 99% of the...Speaking of puke, I've noticed that 99% of the time if a woman throws up, it means she's pregnant because women apparently never get sick. Stephen L. Thompsonhttp://www.amazon.com/Stephen-L.-Thompson/e/B0070WXY36noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337042377966398742.post-64491956321018839952012-12-19T22:45:17.611-05:002012-12-19T22:45:17.611-05:00Before I was married I was Katherine Miller. When ...Before I was married I was Katherine Miller. When I went to pick up my college loan checks (eons ago before direct deposit), the lady that handled the LMNOs always commented that she had a niece with the same name, and we looked a little alike. I also lived a couple of apartments away from a Katy Miller. Even after I moved I kept getting some of her mail.<br /><br />Now, I'm a Nabity. All Nabitys are related. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337042377966398742.post-51061737885791192532012-12-19T21:03:13.920-05:002012-12-19T21:03:13.920-05:00Yeah. But I don't know that the fact the Cold ...Yeah. But I don't know that the fact the Cold War turns into a Hot War makes it less of a "cold war." Unless you want to make the distinction that our particular Cold War was a unique, one of a kind style experience. <br /><br />But I think with the Wraiths, there is an espionage element, and Mordor was sending out spies all the time. The ring stuff isn't entirely unlike an arm's race, and we have a few other objects of power people are trying to find, control, remake. These guys have the weapon we want, we need to go into their world to take it. You could argue that sending the Fellowship was, in and of itself, an attempt to prevent an all-out war.<br /><br />Then you have all the little squabbles, the long war on the border, you have battles with more intricate, region specific politics [Isengard] that are being sort of influenced by a power outside of that area. And even though it's a little bit of third grade simplicity, an embargo and a siege aren't that different.<br /><br />There's an argument to made here, at least in a not-awful Freshman Thesis kind of way.Randall Nicholshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06252840359471581378noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337042377966398742.post-2394285883425086122012-12-19T20:57:22.040-05:002012-12-19T20:57:22.040-05:00Characters who change from minute to minute, or ev...Characters who change from minute to minute, or everyday mood and attitude changes, can be really tricky. Even my instinct is to narrowly define the characters I encounter because their existence is limited and I want to understand them in the systems of a fiction. Being able to pull it off is usually the mark of a master craftsman.John Wiswellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07416044628686736927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337042377966398742.post-67028901256268695922012-12-19T20:55:49.026-05:002012-12-19T20:55:49.026-05:00That's so incredibly depressing and funny. One...That's so incredibly depressing and funny. One of those things even a good author would have to jump through hoops to pull off in anything but a Comedy.John Wiswellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07416044628686736927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337042377966398742.post-29463272986119425362012-12-19T20:54:33.094-05:002012-12-19T20:54:33.094-05:00Haha, that's great! Would you please link me h...Haha, that's great! Would you please link me here or on Twitter when it comes out? Love to know what survives to the last draft.John Wiswellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07416044628686736927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337042377966398742.post-15395145934051726532012-12-19T20:54:04.996-05:002012-12-19T20:54:04.996-05:00I can see that, but in my readers it's all rea...I can see that, but in my readers it's all really the lead-up to a Hot War, and certainly belongs it an inevitable Hot War. Even its Cuban Missile Crisis analog exists to explicitly nuke the evil Eye-landers, you know? <br /><br />Do you see the Ring Wraiths as being on espionage?John Wiswellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07416044628686736927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337042377966398742.post-51043826708522697042012-12-19T20:52:25.753-05:002012-12-19T20:52:25.753-05:00In an unpublished draft of one Fantasy story I did...In an unpublished draft of one Fantasy story I did have a guy slit both his own wrists trying to dual wield. Need to bring that gag back in a later story.John Wiswellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07416044628686736927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337042377966398742.post-74871205866759758042012-12-19T19:28:04.576-05:002012-12-19T19:28:04.576-05:00I'm on re-write twenty of my first go at a gra...I'm on re-write twenty of my first go at a graphic novella and I'm going to really try to include as many of these points as the story allows. Thoroughly enjoyed this post.Cheeborghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10550675079000988807noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337042377966398742.post-81367476447028192712012-12-19T18:33:24.894-05:002012-12-19T18:33:24.894-05:00I always think about the "two character's...I always think about the "two character's with the same first letter of their names" as a screenwriting thing - when you figure how many people that gets handed to, distilled through, removing unnecessary confusion at all possible corners is a pretty good idea.<br /><br />I'm always a little surprised when I don't see more people with the same last names that aren't related, though I don't encounter it in my day to day as often as I come into contact with folks with the same first name.Randall Nicholshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06252840359471581378noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337042377966398742.post-8889394525811885342012-12-19T17:46:33.958-05:002012-12-19T17:46:33.958-05:00I always thought the earlier parts of the Lord of ...I always thought the earlier parts of the Lord of the Rings was very Cold War-like.Randall Nicholshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06252840359471581378noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337042377966398742.post-3849716141098618522012-12-19T17:43:54.398-05:002012-12-19T17:43:54.398-05:00Always dug the toilet/sink slide-away combo in Fir...Always dug the toilet/sink slide-away combo in Firefly. I believe there's even a really strange scene in Serenity of Mal using it.Randall Nicholshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06252840359471581378noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337042377966398742.post-28513323965149755972012-12-19T16:31:22.128-05:002012-12-19T16:31:22.128-05:00In my manuscript I got called out because the read...In my manuscript I got called out because the reader said one minute the guy was an ass and the next he was nice and she wanted me to write which it was... my point is people aren't just mean or nice, they're complicated, but in fiction, too much complicated is apparently too confusing.<br /><br />The other thing I got called out on is all the references to icky bodily functions (my heroine gets the stomach flu at an inopportune time.) They said they like the character less because she was so "gross." Wot, and she's never puked? Puhleese...Cathy Olliffe-Websterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12729578896443750402noreply@blogger.com