My cousin's writing 2
Okay, so I was looking forward to something sinister and cool coming out of the boxes that Mort got from the lawyer. As of page 175, nothing coming out of the boxes. I asked my cousin about this and he said there will be nothing coming out of the boxes. I told him about Chekov's philosophy that if you put a gun on stage in act one, you must have a character fire it by the end of the play. I don't know that my cousin is going to change this problem in his book, but he needs to. Sometimes he tries to ignore certain conventions of writing and story telling. I have mixed feelings about that, really. On the one hand, I think we should all be able to challenge conventions and see if they are necessary, see if they can be pushed. But on the other hand, millions of people have come before us and the conventions were put in place by all of these minds after all of their experience. I think there's something to say for some conventions. There's something to say for following the rules in mostly every case, writing-wise.
He has great instincts. I think that's why I'm so pissed at him that he doesn't follow the rules. I think if he could incorporate his instincts with knowledge of writing, he'd be great. He often discusses movies, books, and TV with my wife and me. His opinions aren't always in agreement with mine or ours, but he always has thought through his reasons for why he thinks what he does. And he has such a grat basis of fiction knowledge.
I just believe that until her follows more of the rules, he can never be the writer he's meant to be. I was hoping this book I'm reading now would show even more growth, but it seems at about the same level as the last one.
posted by MC @ 1:07 PM
2 Comments
2 Comments:
So Mort's box is apparently Scott's "Godot" or "Guffman"? I can see how that would somewhat disappointing/frustrating.
You know, Alfred Hitchcock often used a plot device he called a "MacGuffin" in his movies. According to Hitchcock, the MacGuffin was what got the story in motion, but ultimately proved to be meaningless. The best example is the money Janet Leigh steals in "Psycho". She steals the money, goes on the run, and ends up at the motel. The money is never really mentioned again (at least, not in an important way that it was in the beginning).
Not having read your cousin's book, I can only suggest that perhaps Mort's box is a MacGuffin?
BTW, whenever asked in interviews what a MacGuffin was, Hitchcock would always say this:
H: A MacGuffin is a device for trapping lions on the Scottish moors.
Interviewer: There aren't any lions in Scotland.
H: Oh. Well, it's not a MacGuffin then.
And in mystery stories, that's called a RED HERRING, as you probably know. I wonder how many other words can be used for such a device. (Hint: this is an assignment for Jeopardy Boy!)
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