Comments on: Writing visit and deciphering cyphers http://reesabrown.com/2009/10/27/writing-visit-and-deciphering-cyphers/ the life and writerly times of Reesa Brown Wed, 23 May 2012 10:51:19 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.2 By: Reesa http://reesabrown.com/2009/10/27/writing-visit-and-deciphering-cyphers/#comment-587 Reesa Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:30:44 +0000 http://reesabrown.com/?p=233#comment-587 Or, going back to Greek roots, we could have Athenate and Pygmalionesque as the division names. Or, that could be the much sillier option. Or, going back to Greek roots, we could have Athenate and Pygmalionesque as the division names. Or, that could be the much sillier option.

]]> By: Steven Brust http://reesabrown.com/2009/10/27/writing-visit-and-deciphering-cyphers/#comment-584 Steven Brust Sun, 01 Nov 2009 15:33:27 +0000 http://reesabrown.com/?p=233#comment-584 I half agree with his conclusion. I think there is such a difference, and it is clear to the author, but as a reader, I don't think I've ever noticed it; certainly not reliably. From my perspective, the terms are accurate: when I'm piecing together a character, it really does feel like I'm contriving him, as opposed to other who seem to be created out of some nebulous region of the subconscious. But I think most often I do something in between--I discover the character through writing about him. That is, I need someone in THIS place, and a tiny splash of description will sort of emerge, and I'll decide he needs this and that characteristic, and then he'll start talking, and pretty soon I know him through a process that is half creative and half contrived. I half agree with his conclusion. I think there is such a difference, and it is clear to the author, but as a reader, I don’t think I’ve ever noticed it; certainly not reliably.

From my perspective, the terms are accurate: when I’m piecing together a character, it really does feel like I’m contriving him, as opposed to other who seem to be created out of some nebulous region of the subconscious. But I think most often I do something in between–I discover the character through writing about him. That is, I need someone in THIS place, and a tiny splash of description will sort of emerge, and I’ll decide he needs this and that characteristic, and then he’ll start talking, and pretty soon I know him through a process that is half creative and half contrived.

]]> By: Reesa http://reesabrown.com/2009/10/27/writing-visit-and-deciphering-cyphers/#comment-574 Reesa Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:01:03 +0000 http://reesabrown.com/?p=233#comment-574 Interesting! Do you find that you agree with Stout's conclusion? I would think that the point would be the same as the end result of whether you were divinely inspired by a section or pulled the words out one bloody letter at a time...if you did your job right, the reader can't tell which sections you bled for and which you exulted in. It seems like if the "created" characters were done thoroughly enough, that they should be *end-reader* indistinguishable from the ones that just popped into being and who you had to learn about the hard way. On the other tentacle, logic isn't often holding sway in these areas so I could be missing an angle here. On a side note, I don't like his chosen labels. To me, "contrived" implies a more artificial or strained construct than "created" does and therefore the labels seem like they should be reversed, and I wonder if this is one of those times where the alliterative strain worked against the concept in defining it. What do you think? Interesting! Do you find that you agree with Stout’s conclusion? I would think that the point would be the same as the end result of whether you were divinely inspired by a section or pulled the words out one bloody letter at a time…if you did your job right, the reader can’t tell which sections you bled for and which you exulted in. It seems like if the “created” characters were done thoroughly enough, that they should be *end-reader* indistinguishable from the ones that just popped into being and who you had to learn about the hard way. On the other tentacle, logic isn’t often holding sway in these areas so I could be missing an angle here.

On a side note, I don’t like his chosen labels. To me, “contrived” implies a more artificial or strained construct than “created” does and therefore the labels seem like they should be reversed, and I wonder if this is one of those times where the alliterative strain worked against the concept in defining it. What do you think?

]]> By: Steven Brust http://reesabrown.com/2009/10/27/writing-visit-and-deciphering-cyphers/#comment-573 Steven Brust Tue, 27 Oct 2009 21:40:02 +0000 http://reesabrown.com/?p=233#comment-573 This reminds me of an interview with Rex Stout, author of the Nero Wolfe mysteries. Mr. Stout said that there are two sorts of characters: created and contrived. The former are pieced together by the author, the latter emerge fully-formed like a drop of cliche from the brow of Zeus. He believed the reader could tell the difference, and the latter sort felt more real. Interesting to think about, anyway. This reminds me of an interview with Rex Stout, author of the Nero Wolfe mysteries. Mr. Stout said that there are two sorts of characters: created and contrived. The former are pieced together by the author, the latter emerge fully-formed like a drop of cliche from the brow of Zeus. He believed the reader could tell the difference, and the latter sort felt more real. Interesting to think about, anyway.

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