tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post8847395869695576304..comments2023-11-03T05:49:10.841-04:00Comments on Storytelling Rules: Suspense, Surprise and CliffhangersMaureen McGowanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00494408580378817045noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post-23222305992012467842011-06-14T14:40:32.518-04:002011-06-14T14:40:32.518-04:00I'm not saying I don't love Divergent - I ...I'm not saying I don't love Divergent - I do - I just don't feel like she's in danger... I wonder how much of my lack of tension worries has to do with it not coming with the book jacket - it's like I don't have a soundtrack to tell me when I'm scared. But it's awesome. Loving it. Looking forward to all the killing... oh and the Four stuff is pretty delicious....Molly O'Keefehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15171236688541657736noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post-10149511168939090262011-06-13T14:28:15.529-04:002011-06-13T14:28:15.529-04:00Molly, I knew she was a born Dauntless, too. For m...Molly, I knew she was a born Dauntless, too. For me the tension was wondering what the consequences of being too good at it were, (her mom warned her not to let herself be ranked too high) and being caught as a Divergent...<br /><br />And also, I think, whether she could accept their way of thinking given how she'd grown up, or whether anyone can be only one thing... Or whether she'd be forced to kill her family at gunpoint at some point... <br /><br />I did see a lot of the twists coming, but I wasn't expecting her to kill as many people near the end, and I felt some kind of tension the whole time. There were no flat bits for me.Maureen McGowanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00494408580378817045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post-40678285060699824872011-06-13T14:23:06.557-04:002011-06-13T14:23:06.557-04:00Oh, I wanted to watch The Killing, Eileen and forg...Oh, I wanted to watch The Killing, Eileen and forgot that it was starting. I tried to watch on the on demand channel last week and they only had the last 3 episodes. :( Hoping they'll show again from the start. AMC usually does...Maureen McGowanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00494408580378817045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post-68363831771384500862011-06-13T14:19:41.565-04:002011-06-13T14:19:41.565-04:00Ned's totally dead. Really most sincerely dead...Ned's totally dead. Really most sincerely dead. Well, if he's not, then he doesn't come back to life until after book two's over. <br /><br />Tyrion gets better and better as the books go on. He's such a complex character. How he became who he is, the internal politics of his family, his own sense of honor and duty and integrity. <br /><br />But can I say, whoa! That's a lotta nudity going on! Body parts everywhere!<br /><br />The Killing is on AMC. It's a remake of a Danish show. It reminds me of Durham County Secrets, which I also loved. Things don't move fast, but it's incredibly tense and complex. Here's the url: http://www.amctv.com/shows/the-killingEileenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09803986849921870941noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post-78202454300264496642011-06-13T13:57:29.291-04:002011-06-13T13:57:29.291-04:00And we're sure Ned's dead? My assistant wh...And we're sure Ned's dead? My assistant who also watches says there is going to be some trick. The sound you heard was someone else getting popped.<br /><br />I don't know. What I have found fascinating is that I'm reading the book and actually... I think the show is better.<br /><br />I was expecting more depth at the book level, but it's really not there. Good stuff, but it makes sense that George was a screenwriter first. He wrote a story fit for the screen and it's really really working.<br /><br />Tyrion - he just gets better every week.Stephanie Doylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17448686465587131952noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post-40836628682725855852011-06-13T13:44:27.207-04:002011-06-13T13:44:27.207-04:00I think the tension killer in Divergent is that sh...I think the tension killer in Divergent is that she's so clearly good at being dauntless. She's smart, she's getting in touch with her ruthless side, she's no coward - I don't beleive she's as low in the rankings as she is. Bt I'm still reading it every night and it's shocking and exciting and super well-written - I'm just not surprised. oh Maureen - sorry to spoil it. It's shocking - I NEVER saw it coming. It's Sean Bean for crying out loud!<br /><br />Eileen - I agree with the emotional connection and what is so amazing to me in this tv adaption of the books is that and this stage I'm MORE emotionally attatched to the various heroes as I ever was with Ned. Ned did the right thing, his family loved him - instant hero. Tyroine far more complicated, not heroic at all - way more emotionally attatched.<br /><br />I don't even know what The Killing is? I don't think we got that one...Molly O'Keefehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15171236688541657736noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post-78432707136486756612011-06-13T13:41:16.143-04:002011-06-13T13:41:16.143-04:00The writers created so much suspense by killing Ne...The writers created so much suspense by killing Ned, in proving that any character could be killed at any time, no matter how seemingly central to the story, or how noble. <br />It was an interesting decision, but I read somewhere that in the books, Stark's children are the real protagonists and in that case, the death makes so much sense. <br />Loved it, love the series and would love to watch Deadwood sometime. <br /><br />As for Divergent, I'm with Maureen, I found it really tense as well.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post-34673798547176353332011-06-13T12:53:28.939-04:002011-06-13T12:53:28.939-04:00I agree about the best examples are on TV. For me,...I agree about the best examples are on TV. For me, the best writing on television is "Mad Men." They have perfected the "worse thing that could happen then happens to that character" technique. I'm now rewatching the past seasons on DVD while I wait for the next season to begin.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post-13457250879095051372011-06-13T12:41:28.964-04:002011-06-13T12:41:28.964-04:00Part of the tension thing is the emotional investm...Part of the tension thing is the emotional investment in the character thing and you already do that so so well, Molly. ROOM had me white-knuckled because I was so invested in Jack and his Ma. I'm reading EMPRESS now and a lot of surprising things happen, but I couldn't care less. I'm not invested in the character at all. (Please someone explain to me why this book won a bunch of awards. Please.)<br /><br />You can't always surprise in the same way, though. Toward the end of the second book in the Martin series, I was getting a little tired of the "she-escapes-the danger-only-to-be-in-worse danger" model that he uses over and over.<br /><br />We're watching The Killing right now and I am fascinated, but every episode has the same arc. At the end of each episode, you learn something that makes you think you know who the bad guy is and then at the beginning of the next episode, you learn that the person is not the bad guy and spend the rest of the episode building to the conclusion that it's somebody else. And then you do it again. I'm still watching, though . . .Eileenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09803986849921870941noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post-67551202320390586692011-06-13T11:16:34.624-04:002011-06-13T11:16:34.624-04:00For me, Divergent was full of tension, but I agree...For me, Divergent was full of tension, but I agree about the lack of surprising twists... Perhaps we're just defining tension differently.<br /><br />Trixie was by far my favorite character on Deadwood (other than me being in love with Timothy Olyphant). Her story just gets better and better throughout that series for me.<br /><br />Damn you for giving a Game of Thrones spoiler! (I'm out of town.) But I did kind of assume that was going to happen...Maureen McGowanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00494408580378817045noreply@blogger.com