Pet Peeve Alert
I cannot count the number of books and articles on how to write fiction use movies as their examples. I've got to the point where I simply put such works aside. Movies are different from books. They have different demands, limitations, strengths.
Currently I'm reading a book on the heyday of radio, and it has a whole chapter on writing for radio--the limitations, virtues, demands. It got me to thinking (doesn't take much, as thinking is far easier than writing!): there are several other forms of writing, and none of these writing advice books--not a one of them--brings up, say, writing for theater as a model for writing novels. I'm pretty sure the movie connection is done because the author presumes more people have watched Winter Soldier than have seen an off-Broadway play. It's not really about giving good advice, it's about making analogies that people will get, or at least will believe they get.
Still and all, it strikes me that there are several forms of writing for various media, and that it might be interesting if not downright useful to learn a bit about them. Now, writing novels is still sui generis (its own genre), but we humans do have a knack for learning lessons by analogy. Writing for radio was interesting to me because the words had to carry so much of the load--there's no stage scenery, no camera work, not even costuming. The actors did much with their voices, and sound effects played a huge role, but the writing itself was still vital. It was akin to play writing, more distantly related to screenwriting, and had some of the constraints of the short story. At the same time, certain elements are familiar: the need for a hook, setting up and closing out a scene, making sure the audience knows the stakes, and so on.
My ideal book on writing would be one that took into account all the different ways stories get told (including oral storytelling), then cooked it all up especially for the novelist.
Go write that, will ya?
I cannot count the number of books and articles on how to write fiction use movies as their examples. I've got to the point where I simply put such works aside. Movies are different from books. They have different demands, limitations, strengths.
Currently I'm reading a book on the heyday of radio, and it has a whole chapter on writing for radio--the limitations, virtues, demands. It got me to thinking (doesn't take much, as thinking is far easier than writing!): there are several other forms of writing, and none of these writing advice books--not a one of them--brings up, say, writing for theater as a model for writing novels. I'm pretty sure the movie connection is done because the author presumes more people have watched Winter Soldier than have seen an off-Broadway play. It's not really about giving good advice, it's about making analogies that people will get, or at least will believe they get.
Still and all, it strikes me that there are several forms of writing for various media, and that it might be interesting if not downright useful to learn a bit about them. Now, writing novels is still sui generis (its own genre), but we humans do have a knack for learning lessons by analogy. Writing for radio was interesting to me because the words had to carry so much of the load--there's no stage scenery, no camera work, not even costuming. The actors did much with their voices, and sound effects played a huge role, but the writing itself was still vital. It was akin to play writing, more distantly related to screenwriting, and had some of the constraints of the short story. At the same time, certain elements are familiar: the need for a hook, setting up and closing out a scene, making sure the audience knows the stakes, and so on.
My ideal book on writing would be one that took into account all the different ways stories get told (including oral storytelling), then cooked it all up especially for the novelist.
Go write that, will ya?