Desperately Seeking Conflict

[raefinlay]

*sigh* I have a problem.

I lurve to develop stuff. Building characters, creating setting, gradually revealing motivation and plot... I lurve it. I lurve it with passionate hotmonkey lurve.



Alas, no one wants to read such painstaking development. Readers want ACTION. They want to know what the story is about right up front, so they know whether to invest the time. This frolicking about with the reader, teasing him with veiled hints, sprinkling character insights... it's soooo last century.

This is the X-box society. We can drive a stick shift and talk on the cell phone and suck a mocha all at once. How does one write for such a culture? Well, not the way I've been writing, that's for sure.

I'm gonna have to think about this for a while.

On a somewhat related note, I finally got the dreaded anticipated EC review for Elisa 1. It was slightly less devastating than expected. As well as helpful, dead-on, and all that stuff. Funny, Ms. Smith-Gaynor said exactly the same thing everyonesakitty told me right after I posted it. Holly is Teh Smart.



And now, I must watch Angel. Because it's Friday night and Friday nights are Whedon nights.

Comments

[raecarson.livejournal.com]

Thx, Aaron. Yep, I totally agreed with the EC review. On every single point. I do need an extra layer of conflict in there exactly for the reasons you pointed out.

I remember your EC chapter well. Lots of action, motivation was very clear...I can see why a reader would get sucked in. (And it wasn't just action for action's sake.)

Speaking of which...how is chapter 2 coming along??? *waits, but not patiently*