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Post by James on Jul 13, 2015 19:20:10 GMT -5
I'm not sure that I'll read Go Set a Watchtower, but I'm fascinated by the idea people are pointing out that an editor spotted To Kill a Mockingbird from these occasional small references in a different novel.
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Post by ASGetty ((Zovo)) on Jul 13, 2015 19:22:53 GMT -5
I'm not sure that I'll read Go Set a Watchtower, but I'm fascinated by the idea people are pointing out that an editor spotted To Kill a Mockingbird from these occasional small references in a different novel. wut |
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Post by James on Jul 13, 2015 20:10:36 GMT -5
There are occasional flashbacks to Scout's childhood in Go Set a Watchtower. Reviewers have noted that you kind have to sit there and be in awe of the person who read Watchtower, sat back, and decided "this doesn't work, but you know those odd things you have throughout? Yeah, write that and you might have a winner." It just makes you think more about the throwaway moments in stories that perhaps are worth more than the actual story itself.
My sentence was horribly worded because, you know, I didn't spot that piece of publishing genius. The reviewers of Watchtower did. Law school made me really cagey about plagiarism, apparently.
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Inkdrinker
Scribe
Sepulcher: a stage enlived by ghosts.
Posts: 908
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Post by Inkdrinker on Jul 13, 2015 20:28:49 GMT -5
Isn't it Go Set a Watchman?
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Post by James on Jul 13, 2015 20:51:25 GMT -5
It so is and I'm an idiot. Good spot.
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Post by ASGetty ((Zovo)) on Jul 13, 2015 20:53:11 GMT -5
I still have no idea what you're talking about.
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Post by James on Jul 13, 2015 20:56:30 GMT -5
I still have no idea what you're talking about. ... do you think I'm planning on killing a bird? |
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Post by James on Jul 13, 2015 21:00:40 GMT -5
I mean, basically:
- Harper Lee writes Go Set a Watchman.
- Some editor/publisher reads it and tells her it's not publishable. However, he's interested about the occasional flashback to the main character's youth. It's suggested she writes a novel based entirely on that.
- It becomes To Kill a Mockingbird.
- Decades later, Go Set a Watchman is published.
- People are impressed with this editor/publisher who made one of the biggest literary calls of the 20th century.
- I'm less impressed with the publisher (hey Lee still had to write it), but more interested in just the idea of recycled works, evolving writers and so on. I think if you could get yourself in a position as a writer to be able to look at a broad plot and go "hang on, this thread, this is the one" then you're in a strong place.
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Post by ASGetty ((Zovo)) on Jul 13, 2015 21:27:01 GMT -5
Ok, yeah, now I see.
I feel like I do that with everything I read. Maybe I should be a publisher...
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Post by James on Jul 13, 2015 21:36:36 GMT -5
Ok, yeah, now I see. I feel like I do that with everything I read. Maybe I should be a publisher... AWR Anthology. |
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Post by Kaez on Jul 13, 2015 21:45:12 GMT -5
Ok, yeah, now I see. I feel like I do that with everything I read. Maybe I should be a publisher... Yeah, no, I mean, I do it pretty often too. And I'm doing it more often as I get better at writing and reading. I think it's just kind of, "This guy did it so right that the end result was one of the most iconic novels of the past century." But, as James said, Harper's still the one who actually wrote it, so the credit isn't all his. |
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Post by James on Jul 13, 2015 21:59:00 GMT -5
I'm also finding it kind of amusing that people hearing Finch was racist in Go Set a Watchman is destroying their world. From what I read, it certainly seems like the Finch in Watchman isn't necessarily the same character who's in Mockingbird.
It's mentioned in passing that Tom Robinson was acquitted in Watchman, after all. I think it was just Lee trying to fiddle around with a character she was unsure about. It sort of comes back to what Pete and I were discussing after Inklings and finding out exactly who your character is and how he acts. Maybe when going back to write a second time, Lee decided that Atticus needed to be disconnected in attitude from the rest of the town.
Also, if Finch was a conservative and against ending segregation, but also deeply protective about the rule of law, that actually makes him way more interesting (though less of a role model). Because acting as the law commands you, and putting aside your own beliefs, is one of the most interesting human element I found going through law school.
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Post by Kaez on Jul 13, 2015 22:26:53 GMT -5
I'm also finding it kind of amusing that people hearing Finch was racist in Go Set a Watchman is destroying their world. From what I read, it certainly seems like the Finch in Watchman isn't necessarily the same character who's in Mockingbird. It's mentioned in passing that Tom Robinson was acquitted in Watchman, after all. I think it was just Lee trying to fiddle around with a character she was unsure about. It sort of comes back to what Pete and I were discussing after Inklings and finding out exactly who your character is and how he acts. Maybe when going back to write a second time, Lee decided that Atticus needed to be disconnected in attitude from the rest of the town. Also, if Finch was a conservative and against ending segregation, but also deeply protective about the rule of law, that actually makes him way more interesting (though less of a role model). Because acting as the law commands you, and putting aside your own beliefs, is one of the most interesting human element I found going through law school. Finch always seemed to be straddling the border between Lawful Good and Lawful Neutral to me. I didn't see him as some anti-segregation activist at heart or anything. |
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Post by Kaez on Jul 14, 2015 9:24:27 GMT -5
This is a talk given by a game designer, Jonathan Blow, who designed "Braid", which is one of, if not the most acclaimed indie game ever made.
It's intended as a talk about how to successfully invest yourself in a long-term game development project, how to create and implement interesting ideas, and most of all how to generate depth and complexity. But it's applicable to any creative endeavor that requires months+ of time and I, personally, found it really applicable to my interests in long-term worldbuilding and novel writing.
It's just generally really good advice for being successfully creative and I'd recommend it to anyone here interested in developing a big writing project. His advice ranges from really pragmatic stuff like making the -basics- of the project below your skill level because only then will you have the ability to create depth and try interesting things, to some fairly abstract stuff like recommending meditation and believing in muses, but I think anyone would take away at least something useful or be motivated by it to continue their work.
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Post by The Counter Cultist(Sawyer) on Jul 18, 2015 20:42:14 GMT -5
Also, Roseluck is a terrible name. It is my unfortunate duty to inform you that, after much deliberation, I have decided to keep the name. Mostly because I had actually drafted a serious moment of character development that no longer works if I change her name. Well it could, but its easier for me to leave it as. Work smarter, not harder as my old boss liked to say. |
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