Writers Blox.

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Are you sober, JBJ?

Mood is climate, emotions are weather.

I dont drink. I dont oppose alcohol but its fattening. Love Sangria and Southern Comfort.

Your analogy is too broad. Youre closer to the mark with 'seasons'.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

"Authors Hangout - A place for writers and readers to socialize and discuss the craft of writing."

It seems to me that this is precisely what JBJ is doing and whilst I consider many of his contentions absurd, maybe we would do better to argue with his point of view rather than attack his legitimacy to make a comment?

Alternatively one could ignore him.

My own view is that many of JBJ's views are nonsense, but anyone who likes Truman Capote cannot be completely bad.

PILOT fears I'm the real deal.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

"Authors Hangout - A place for writers and readers to socialize and discuss the craft of writing."

It seems to me that this is precisely what JBJ is doing and whilst I consider many of his contentions absurd, maybe we would do better to argue with his point of view rather than attack his legitimacy to make a comment?

Alternatively one could ignore him.

My own view is that many of JBJ's views are nonsense, but anyone who likes Truman Capote cannot be completely bad.

Capote is really good reading! I recently sampled Cormac McCarthy, and his wares are almost Capote quality. Just discovered a guy named Rory Miller, he has a book out about how to write plausible violence; his thang is street/prison violence.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Alright, explain some more? I don't get it. How is this:

different than, this?

In another post I suggested that moods are comparable to seasons. And seasons are recognizable inspite of weather; for example, in Winter days are shorter, hardwood trees drop their leaves, citrus flowers, Winter constellations appear, the Sun is low in the sky.

Excess is the hallmark of moods (except for euthymic). You dont need to report that your character is depressed, you casually organize her actions around too much sleep, too much eating, too much drinking, too much quarreling, too little of this, too much of that. Ditto for manic (euphoric) and labile moods.

 

[sr71plt]

"Authors Hangout - A place for writers and readers to socialize and discuss the craft of writing."

It seems to me that this is precisely what JBJ is doing and whilst I consider many of his contentions absurd, maybe we would do better to argue with his point of view rather than attack his legitimacy to make a comment?

Alternatively one could ignore him.

My own view is that many of JBJ's views are nonsense, but anyone who likes Truman Capote cannot be completely bad.

Naw, he's trying to leave the impression that he does what he doesn't do.

And I did respond to the substance he gave (and he didn't respond to that with substantive discussion).

 

[lance gt]

Emotions to me, are the catalyst for feelings to begin. I create my characters based on their personalities and how they react to situations. Understanding how this interaction works makes characters 'real'. No one reaction fits every person, as everyone responds differently, so describing feelings, gives an identity that readers can relate to and gives an individualness to them.

 

[Safe_Bet]

"Authors Hangout - A place for writers and readers to socialize and discuss the craft of writing."

It seems to me that this is precisely what JBJ is doing and whilst I consider many of his contentions absurd, maybe we would do better to argue with his point of view rather than attack his legitimacy to make a comment?

Alternatively one could ignore him.

My own view is that many of JBJ's views are nonsense, but anyone who likes Truman Capote cannot be completely bad.

Heartily agree! (though I'm not a big fan of Capote)

Bottom line is, contrary to some people's egotistical beliefs, people who aren't writers actually DO get to discussing writing, post & comment in this forum.

The only person who can prevent/change that is Kitty Mama, not a bunch of people who want to make this some kind of private club.

 

[sr71plt]

My response was to the pattern of this particular poster--not to writing topic discussants in general. And, as noted, I did respond to the substance of his discussion, and he didn't show any interest really in discussing his own topic until pressed to do so.

His pattern is not a unique one on this thread, of course.

 

[damppanties]

In another post I suggested that moods are comparable to seasons. And seasons are recognizable inspite of weather; for example, in Winter days are shorter, hardwood trees drop their leaves, citrus flowers, Winter constellations appear, the Sun is low in the sky.

Excess is the hallmark of moods (except for euthymic). You dont need to report that your character is depressed, you casually organize her actions around too much sleep, too much eating, too much drinking, too much quarreling, too little of this, too much of that. Ditto for manic (euphoric) and labile moods.

Interesting. I wouldn't use the word 'excess' though. I would probably say 'long-term' or 'consistent' I think. To go with your example, depression, in terms of emotion involved over the time, might just be a blah feeling rather than someone crying their eyes out in gut-wrenching grief. Excess can be also be used in terms of emotions for the strength of emotion involved.

 

[dr_mabeuse]

I don't understand all the piling on that happens when someone tries to start what could be a useful little discussion. What an intellectual dump this place has become!

For one thing, I wouldn't be surprised if JBJ has a different conception of mood because he's coming from a background in clinical psych, where "mood" has a very different meaning than what most lay people imagine.

But mood means something different to me too. I tend to think of it as it applies in art or writing, where settings have mood, places have mood, scenes have mood, everything had mood, the moods these things convey are a lot more subtle and ambiguous than what we usually mean by emotion. A moonlit sea or a deserted street both evoke moods and do so pretty powerfully, but I doubt the moods evoked are exactly the same for any of us. I suppose that in this sense, mood could be described as all the non-verbal information we associate with something.

One of the most striking failures of so many Lit stories is the absence of mood. Ignoring the moody background of place and time of day and weather and all makes the stories seem very flat and cartoonish and lacking in context. They don't feel at all real because mood is entirely absent.

 

[Stella_Omega]

I don't understand all the piling on that happens when someone tries to start what could be a useful little discussion. What an intellectual dump this place has become!

It depends on which someone it is, of course. Few people will willingly put their hand in the mouth of a biting dog. And there's an impulse to warn people that the dog bites.

*shrug*

 

[sr71plt]

I don't understand all the piling on that happens when someone tries to start what could be a useful little discussion.

Is this a trick question?

It happens because of what JBJ posts when others are trying to conduct a useful little discussion. (duh)

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

I don't understand all the piling on that happens when someone tries to start what could be a useful little discussion. What an intellectual dump this place has become!

For one thing, I wouldn't be surprised if JBJ has a different conception of mood because he's coming from a background in clinical psych, where "mood" has a very different meaning than what most lay people imagine.

But mood means something different to me too. I tend to think of it as it applies in art or writing, where settings have mood, places have mood, scenes have mood, everything had mood, the moods these things convey are a lot more subtle and ambiguous than what we usually mean by emotion. A moonlit sea or a deserted street both evoke moods and do so pretty powerfully, but I doubt the moods evoked are exactly the same for any of us. I suppose that in this sense, mood could be described as all the non-verbal information we associate with something.

One of the most striking failures of so many Lit stories is the absence of mood. Ignoring the moody background of place and time of day and weather and all makes the stories seem very flat and cartoonish and lacking in context. They don't feel at all real because mood is entirely absent.

Regardless of what we think mood is all moods have specific, rigid characteristics most people recognize without doing the math and examining tea leaves. I'm not recommending that writers do autopsies and display mood in pans, I suggest they showcase mood in description or action using mood's static features.

 

[jomar]

...Cormac McCarthy...

An aside...No Blood... was excellent and the movie was true to the book. Chilling.

I didn't see how "The Road" warranted a Pulitzer...figured he blew someone or got a collective works gimme.

Anyway, I"ll check out Rory Miller.

You might enjoy Adrian Mckinty.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

An aside...No Blood... was excellent and the movie was true to the book. Chilling.

I didn't see how "The Road" warranted a Pulitzer...figured he blew someone or got a collective works gimme.

Anyway, I"ll check out Rory Miller.

You might enjoy Adrian Mckinty.

Harold Bloome didnt care for THE ROAD, nor do I. Bloome says BLOOD prolly cant be topped for insane violence, and I agree. I like BLOOD MERIDIAN cuz its an excellent example of showing vs telling, and the description is sublime.

The Rory Miller book about writing violence is powerful stuff. He includes IRLs of graphic violence captured on security cameras to illustrate his points.

Thanks for the AM recommendation.

 

[jomar]

Oops. Meant "No Country..."

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Oops. Meant "No Country..."

NO COUNTRY is good, too. But BLOOD MERIDIAN takes the prize for graphic violence.

Bloome sez he made 3 stabs at reading the book before he manned up enough to read it all. Its insane! But well written!

 

[jomar]

NO COUNTRY is good, too. But BLOOD MERIDIAN takes the prize for graphic violence.

Bloome sez he made 3 stabs at reading the book before he manned up enough to read it all. Its insane! But well written!

I'll check it out.

Bernard Cornwell's books probably don't hit that level, but they're not a Sunday drive, either. The Sharpe series is a good read, so is the Saxon series.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Here's the original by Vivaldi.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfOQwzmwvOE&feature=related


And here's Bach's treatment of it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uM4GrN5D374&feature=related


And Bach isnt done with it!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFASOpQ_800&feature=related

How far do you gotta go with changes before your name goes on the paper?

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

BLOOD MERIDIAN by Cormac McCarthy

Depicting mood and affect without saying it. McCarthy lays out his wares and the reader furnishes the feelings.

'The kid's encounter with the penitants he finds butchered in a canyon and his attempts to speak with one of them, Chapter 22, Page 315.

The kid rose and looked about at this desolate scene and then he saw alone and upright in a small niche in the rocks an old woman kneeling in faded rebozo with eyes cast down.

He made his way among the corpses and stood before her ... She did not look up ... He spoke to her in a low voice. He told her that he was an American and that he was a long way from the country of his birth and that he had no family and that he had traveled much and seen many things and had been at war and endured hardships. He told her that he would convey her to a safe place, some party of her countrypeople who would welcome her and that she should join them for he could not leave her in the place or she would surely die.

He knelt on one knee, resting the rifle before him like a staff. Abuelita, he said. No puedes eschucharme? (Little grandmother, can you not hear me?)

He reached into the little cove and touched her arm. She moved slightly, her whole body, light and rigid. She weighed nothing. She was just a dried shell, and she had been dead in that place for years.'

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Another example of how McCarthy handles feelings.

Blood Meridian
Attacked by the Comanches, Chapter 4, Page 52.

Already you could see through the dust on the ponies' hides the painted chevrons and the hands and rising suns and birds and fish of every device like the shade of old work through sizing on a canvas and now too you could hear above the pounding of the unshod hooves the piping of the quena, flutes made from human bones, and some among the company had begun to saw back on their mounts and some to mill in confusion when up from the offside of those ponies there rose a fabled horde of mounted lancers and archers bearing shields bedight with bits of broken mirrorglass that cast a thousand unpieced suns against the eyes of their enemies. A legion of horribles, hundreds in number, half naked or clad in costumes attic or biblical or wardrobed out of a fevered dream with the skins of animals and silk finery and pieces of uniform still tracked with the blood of prior owners, coats of slain dragoons, frogged and braided cavalry jackets, one in a stovepipe hat and one with an umbrella and one in white stockings and a bloodstained wedding-veil and some in headgear of cranefeathers or rawhide helmets that bore the horns of bull or buffalo and one in a pigeontailed coat worn backwards and otherwise naked and one in the armor of a spanish conquistador, the breastplate and pauldrons deeply dented with the old blows of mace or sabre done in another country by men whose very bones were dust and many with their braids spliced up with the hair of other beasts until they trailed upon the ground and their horses' ears and tails worked with bits of brightly colored cloth and one whose horse's whole head was painted crimson red and all the horsemen's faces gaudy and grotesque with daubings like a company of mounted clowns, death hillarious, all howling in a barbarous tongue and riding down upon them like a horde from a hell more horrible yet that the brimstone land of christian reckoning, screeching and yammering and clothed in smoke like those vaporous beings in regions beyond right knowing where the eye wanders and the lip jerks and drools.

 

[lance gt]

Here's a scene I like.

Grayson turned back and entered the keep, climbing the stairs to Arabella's chamber. Quietly entering, he watched as Arabella dabbed a cool cloth over Garreth's forehead. His colour had started to return, but a fever had accompanied it. His moans gave hope he was pulling through, but the fever added to their worries it would kill him, if the loss of blood didn't.
Grayson bent down and looked closely at his life-long friend, his heart struggling with the thought of losing him. He gently placed his hand on his friend's shoulder, a hint of tears coming to his eyes, as he silently wished his friend well.
Grayson turned to his sister, and looked at her, his hopes that she would help him and make him well again. She took his hand and held it tightly, looking back into his eyes with the same hopes.
"I'll do everything I can, Grayson, but it's God's hand that'll bring him out of this. Go, take Lady Anne and Heather back tae Donan. See tae their needs and make sure they're safe. I'll stay wi' Garreth and send word of any change. Grayson, be strong, dear brother, as much as there is a calm, a storm awaits us on the horizon."
"Aye Bella, that there is. We're preparing everyone the now and ha'e most trained and armed. When they MacRae's come, we'll be ready. I'll go now and take care of Lady Anne and see tae their protection, as well."
"Grayson." Arabella looked at him, with more of a smile crossing her face. "I hope things come about fer ye and Heather. Ye make a good match, so ye do."
A blush came to Grayson's cheeks, adding to his red aura, as he acknowledged to Arabella that he held strong feelings for her. He smiled wanly and turned to look at Garreth once more, then walked from the room and headed out of the castle. In all the chaos and strife, he found a smile for himself, as he walked to his birlinn. He couldn't help but remember his own words, not too long ago. 'E'en in war, ye never know when love will just come up and slap ye in the face'.
He helped to push the boat out and into the deeper water, before climbing aboard and standing at the prow. The sail was raised and the oars set to, as they made their way out of the loch and on for Donan. Grayson's heart was torn with emotion, all from opposite ends, but all were as powerful in wanting his attention as the other. The bright sunshine had no effect on illuminating the answers he sought, as the voyage brought him closer to one feeling, away from another and one that nagged at him constantly.

 

[SweetMaj]

I don't understand all the piling on that happens when someone tries to start what could be a useful little discussion. What an intellectual dump this place has become!

For one thing, I wouldn't be surprised if JBJ has a different conception of mood because he's coming from a background in clinical psych, where "mood" has a very different meaning than what most lay people imagine.

But mood means something different to me too. I tend to think of it as it applies in art or writing, where settings have mood, places have mood, scenes have mood, everything had mood, the moods these things convey are a lot more subtle and ambiguous than what we usually mean by emotion. A moonlit sea or a deserted street both evoke moods and do so pretty powerfully, but I doubt the moods evoked are exactly the same for any of us. I suppose that in this sense, mood could be described as all the non-verbal information we associate with something.

One of the most striking failures of so many Lit stories is the absence of mood. Ignoring the moody background of place and time of day and weather and all makes the stories seem very flat and cartoonish and lacking in context. They don't feel at all real because mood is entirely absent.

I'm so tired of hearing what an "intellectual dumb place this has become".

I'm sure the "old" members left for a reason.

Just in case you wonder - nothing ever stays the same.

 

[lance gt]

I'm so tired of hearing what an "intellectual dumb place this has become".

I'm sure the "old" members left for a reason.

Just in case you wonder - nothing ever stays the same.

Intellectual dumb place, is giving some people credit for intelligence. This is becoming more like a schoolyard playground and the responses by people unmentioned, are giving the AH a bad rep by them.
Criticism, if given properly, is what every writer needs to grow from. Slamming a newbie writer for the quality of his/her work, puts them further behind, instead of ahead. The worst offenders seem to be those with nothing published here, or elsewhere and those who have had moderate success with their stories.
This is a forum for writers, those that are and those that want to be. The person you put down today, maybe the author you read tomorrow.

 

[SweetMaj]

Intellectual dumb place, is giving some people credit for intelligence. This is becoming more like a schoolyard playground and the responses by people unmentioned, are giving the AH a bad rep by them.
Criticism, if given properly, is what every writer needs to grow from. Slamming a newbie writer for the quality of his/her work, puts them further behind, instead of ahead. The worst offenders seem to be those with nothing published here, or elsewhere and those who have had moderate success with their stories.
This is a forum for writers, those that are and those that want to be. The person you put down today, maybe the author you read tomorrow.

I totally agree with your words!

The reason I posted here in the first place, was trying to give JBJ a wake up call.

I realize now that my time was wasted though.