Expanding and contracting pov elements
Mood:
Contemplative
Read/Post Comments (1)
May 6, 2005
I've got a lot of fiction writing to do these days--touch-ups on Bad Intentions before Irene & Ashley market it, and once the contracts for Pitchfork & Serpent are signed I've got deadlines to meet in terms of getting the manuscripts ready--tentatively the end of June and September 1, respectively, so I will probably have to back-burner Angels, the current novel in progress and follow-up to Serpent. I don't want to put it aside completely because it's tough to get back into things later if you do that, so I'll need to keep it in my thoughts, which is what I'm doing at the moment.
As mentioned earlier, I think it's expanding. Originally conceived as a claustrophobic (did I spell that right?) thriller like Die Hard, I already expanded the vision outside the resort to include the Fed government. Now I'm thinking that these terrorists are very crafty, and G8 Summits are better known for their protestors--see history of G8 in Seattle, for instance--than what the Summit itself accomplishes. So maybe I can do something with the protesters to tangle up security. It makes the novel more expansive and creates some potential control problems, but it gives it an even "bigger" feel, which can be a positive thing, ultimately.
Which makes me think of the movie The Shining, the original one, directed by Stanley Kubrick. I know Stephen King never liked it, but it's a work of art. My college creative writing instructor commented on the movie's expanding and shrinking point of view structure. First shot, a little car on a mountain road. Next shot--inside the car. Next shot, the resort. Next shot, inside the resort. The entire movie expands and contracts until it's all about what is and is not inside Jack Nicholson's head. That might be the way to approach Angels, too. By the end, it's going to be primarily the story about the conflict between the hero, Derek Stillwater, and the bad guy. But before we get there, there's going to be some perspective on the building, all the forces swirling around them, and as the novel goes along and intensifies, it focuses more and more on just the two of them.
Well, thoughts, anyway.
Best,
Mark Terry
I've got a lot of fiction writing to do these days--touch-ups on Bad Intentions before Irene & Ashley market it, and once the contracts for Pitchfork & Serpent are signed I've got deadlines to meet in terms of getting the manuscripts ready--tentatively the end of June and September 1, respectively, so I will probably have to back-burner Angels, the current novel in progress and follow-up to Serpent. I don't want to put it aside completely because it's tough to get back into things later if you do that, so I'll need to keep it in my thoughts, which is what I'm doing at the moment.
As mentioned earlier, I think it's expanding. Originally conceived as a claustrophobic (did I spell that right?) thriller like Die Hard, I already expanded the vision outside the resort to include the Fed government. Now I'm thinking that these terrorists are very crafty, and G8 Summits are better known for their protestors--see history of G8 in Seattle, for instance--than what the Summit itself accomplishes. So maybe I can do something with the protesters to tangle up security. It makes the novel more expansive and creates some potential control problems, but it gives it an even "bigger" feel, which can be a positive thing, ultimately.
Which makes me think of the movie The Shining, the original one, directed by Stanley Kubrick. I know Stephen King never liked it, but it's a work of art. My college creative writing instructor commented on the movie's expanding and shrinking point of view structure. First shot, a little car on a mountain road. Next shot--inside the car. Next shot, the resort. Next shot, inside the resort. The entire movie expands and contracts until it's all about what is and is not inside Jack Nicholson's head. That might be the way to approach Angels, too. By the end, it's going to be primarily the story about the conflict between the hero, Derek Stillwater, and the bad guy. But before we get there, there's going to be some perspective on the building, all the forces swirling around them, and as the novel goes along and intensifies, it focuses more and more on just the two of them.
Well, thoughts, anyway.
Best,
Mark Terry
Read/Post Comments (1)
Previous Entry :: Next Entry
Back to Top
