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Post by raquelaroden on Dec 2, 2010 8:18:26 GMT -5
Oh my goodness! Congratulations! :DDDD *hugs* I'm so happy for you and hope all your interviews turn into job offers. I'm so excited about this news, haha. Are you hoping for a boy or a girl? OH! Nicole! How did this slip past me?! I swear I wasn't ignoring you, I didn't see your comment! Thank you very much for all your well-wishes. This job market is a bear! I'm trying not to hope for either one at this point, lol. I can see the merits of both. My husband once said he thought I'd be easier on a boy than a girl (we already know I'm going to be the bad, mean parent, and my husband will be the fun, permissive parent), but I can't remember why he said that.
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Post by raquelaroden on Dec 2, 2010 8:33:49 GMT -5
So...sometimes I just get so excited about the parts of my story that are yet to be written. I know where things are going, and I know that some things will come as a great surprise to readers and I'm excited about all of it, even the painful parts.
I feel like right now we're in a sort of...lull in the story. It's a very important lull, that is chock full of important information and a lot of set-up for so many of the threads I'm going to have to tie up in the series. This experience is really proving to be an exercise in patience for me...I have to remind myself that my story needs this time--this deceptive lull. It needs time to grow, for the little pieces to sprout, so that when I get to them again, we'll all be amazed at what's there. It needs time for the relationships to be explored and carefully cultivated.
I'm still trying to find a good balance in writing the mystery side of my story. I'm trying not to give too much away, but one theory of how mysteries should be written says that to be really good, the author has to give the reader the opportunity to have figured out the mystery by the end. All the clues that could have let the reader figure it out have to be presented to the reader at some point in the story--it doesn't say you have to play nice here, and put huge neon arrows pointing to it, mind you. In principle, the reader should be given everything necessary to solve the mystery on their own, sprinkled in with enough red herrings and doubt-inspiring occurrences so that they actually don't arrive at the correct conclusion until you want them to, and they're surprised and amazed that they didn't figure it out. Or even if they figured out the guilty party, they are still surprised that they didn't see how it was accomplished. Something still has to be surprising at the end.
I haven't done a good job with this with the previous stories....I've been practicing, trying to drop clues here and there, but sometimes I just have the case solved conclusively by observation, etc.. But I'm trying to get better. Scott's disappearance is my big case--the one in which I'm consciously trying to accomplish that sort of mystery. I don't know if I'll totally succeed, but I'm already having a lot of fun in the attempt.
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Post by celebkiriedhel on Dec 2, 2010 8:55:21 GMT -5
Scott's disappearance definitely feels like that sort of mystery.
And Agatha Christie rarely gave away the clues during the story but she pointed them out at the end. (I'm a big AC fan). So I think you are going about it the right way.
But regardless - I've been enjoying your stories - and they certainly feel like mysteries to me.
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sfe
Junior Member
Posts: 68
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Post by sfe on Dec 2, 2010 12:13:18 GMT -5
So far, Scott's case is very intriguing. You have given enough details to ponder over the possibilities and yet you haven't revealed too much to make the solution obvious. Generally, I agree with this rule you mention, I like it when I'm uncertain about the solution and the creator comes up with something totally unexpected. But on the other hand, it's not always necessary for a story to be like this. For example, in your 2nd story with the vase, you pointed us to the thief almost right away. Yet, the story was very well made, and I enjoyed it very much. It was interesting to see where exactly they would find the vase, how they'd retrieve it, as well as how the relationship between Ed and Sean would evolve - which of course isn't part of the mystery, but I love reading about these two . Though, the specific case might be more of an adventure rather than mystery?... I'm not good at categorizing ;D
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Post by thelunarfox on Dec 2, 2010 12:22:42 GMT -5
So I read your most recent post in this thread this morning and wanted to offer words of encouragement, maybe some helpful opinion on the mystery story rule, but I have none. At first I thought it was because I was just really tired with it being morning and all, but then I realized it's not 'cause of that.
It's because I trust you. I already know you know what you're doing. So trust yourself and ignore your doubt.
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Post by raquelaroden on Dec 2, 2010 13:57:41 GMT -5
Kiri, Sfe, and Lunar: All of you are so nice and sweet. Thank you very much for the words of encouragement. I think part of it really is that it isn't just a mystery series--it's Ed's story, too. And in a way, it's also Sean and Nick's story, though from a very different perspective and with not as much insight into their thoughts. I get really caught up in their stories, and the main mystery and the smaller mysteries aren't just mysteries--they're also vehicles to help me tell those stories as well. It's a crazy balancing act, but I think it will work out in the end.
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Post by raquelaroden on Dec 3, 2010 6:45:25 GMT -5
Illandrya: I couldn't really change it...I like Ed, and I like finding out more about her. Same for Sean and Nick. Their stories are too tempting for me to focus only on the mysteries.
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Post by raquelaroden on Dec 7, 2010 17:24:28 GMT -5
So last night I was really preoccupied with my story. I often sit and think about it while the hubby and I are sitting on the couch and vegging out in front of the television, and last night I was so happy because I finally figured out how to begin to connect these two threads that will be coming in later stories. I had to think of a way for the connection to be discovered, and then while I was thinking about the details of a storyline I thought was unrelated, it finally hit me--there is my connection! Finally! In the back of my mind I've been wondering how I would begin revealing this connection, and it was so exciting to figure it out last night. It was one of those moments that make you wonder why you didn't think of it before--which really makes me feel like it's going to work.
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Post by raquelaroden on Dec 8, 2010 21:06:27 GMT -5
Illandrya, I think it must happen a lot more often for you than it does for me--hell, the plots of each of your stories is probably more complex than the one for my overarching story!
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Post by laura on Dec 9, 2010 16:14:34 GMT -5
Rachel, first, having gotten about half-way up to date (lol!), I thought I'd throw in that I'm also loving the way the story is both Ed's personal story, and the mysteries at the same time too. I actually used to read the Nancy Drew series when I was a kid, and she would always flirt with those Hardy Boys, but nothing ever came of it, not even a kiss as far as I remember. So your story is awesome!!! Because from where I'm at now, it's looking like Ed might actually get some action! It's like fulfilling my childhood fantasy or something, lol! (Yes, I guess I had a dirty mind for an 11 year-old!) But anyway... Yay for epiphanies!!! And Illandrya, I get my brightest moments at 3 am too, lol! I keep my Droid by my bed and just quickly type them up there. Drives the hubby nuts when he sees the phone screen turn on in the dark, lol!
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Post by raquelaroden on Dec 9, 2010 17:53:06 GMT -5
Aww, thanks Laura! I'm so glad you're liking it. And I know exactly what you mean about Nancy Drew. She also had a thing going with Ned Nickerson, but it never really went anywhere. I often wondered why he kept hanging around! ;D
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Post by drew on Dec 9, 2010 20:02:47 GMT -5
God, Nancy Drew. How I was teased in school, (as my last name is Drew) I heard all the jokes. Because of that, I refused to read the books, I read Trixie Belden mysteries instead. Did I just age myself here? And Rachel, I have been by your blog, you are on my TBR list. Which keeps growing. Edith sounds like something I would enjoy immensely.
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Post by raquelaroden on Dec 10, 2010 9:01:53 GMT -5
I read both the Nancy Drew series and the Trixie Belden series! I liked them both quite a bit, though I found Trixie Belden slightly more believable (but only slightly) because she and her brothers actually had chores to do before she could go gallivanting about. I would definitely say that I identified more with Trixie because she was a country kid.
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Post by raquelaroden on Dec 10, 2010 9:04:26 GMT -5
Oh, and Drew, I hope you like it when you get around to reading! I'm glad I made your list for a closer look!
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Post by dbloveshermac on Dec 10, 2010 11:38:48 GMT -5
Adding to the Trixie Belden love here. Those were my favorite kid-level mysteries! My favorite one was where they went to the sheep farm and got caught in the flood. ~happy memories of reading books in the barn loft~
I'm also a big Christie fan, and I do like it when a mystery has all the clues available to the reader, but in a very subtle way. I hate it when a clue is so awkwardly inserted that ir screams out, "I am a clue! Look at me!"
Does anyone remember a mystery series that was briefly available several years ago, that had a point at which it told the reader that all the necessary clues had been given? The rest of the pages were sealed, so the reader could safely ponder the clues before ripping open the ending to read the denouement.
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Post by raquelaroden on Dec 17, 2010 22:41:28 GMT -5
DB: I've been trying to think of that series, but I can't. I remember hearing about it, but I can't remember anything else. So...I've been bitten by the mosaics bug, but I'm restricting myself. I'm only doing a total of three for now. Three will be for the main characters (Ed, Sean, and Nick), but I might do a fourth when an upcoming character is introduced. Here's my first mosaic, for Nick: 1. First Name: Nicholas 2. Favorite Food: shrimp scampi 3. Favorite Color: dark green 4. Favorite Weather: Crisp cool temps, no clouds in the sky 5. Favorite Drink: good Scotch, straight up 6. Dream Vacation: skiing, and sitting by a fireplace at night 7. One of the things I love most in the world: solving a really complex puzzle 8. One of my hobbies: crossword puzzles 9. Currently reading: an anthology of Chesterton's Father Brown mysteries 10. Worst thing that ever happened to me: my father's death 11. One Word That Describes Me: logical 12. Something Else: tires of being the good guy all the time
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Post by celebkiriedhel on Dec 17, 2010 23:13:32 GMT -5
Oh I love Nick's Mosaic!
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Post by dbloveshermac on Dec 18, 2010 2:07:19 GMT -5
Shrimp scampi? Really? Hm. I would have thought prime rib, or maybe linguini in clam sauce. ~reframing my image of Nick~
Very intrigued by the last one.
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somuchsong
Full Member
...certainement disaster
Posts: 197
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Post by somuchsong on Dec 18, 2010 5:12:56 GMT -5
#7 and #8 are just not surprising to me in the slightest! They both really fit Nick to a T.
I love the mosaic but most especially that last picture. Wonderful!
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sfe
Junior Member
Posts: 68
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Post by sfe on Dec 18, 2010 5:43:08 GMT -5
That's so beautiful!! In general, it's how I've pictured Nick, but the last 'good guy' sentence has intrigued me as well! I can't wait to see Sean's mosaic Yaaaay!! An upcoming character!!
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