tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-876019129197579580.post5841996254050854023..comments2023-11-14T21:48:34.082-06:00Comments on In the Dark Mind of B.R. Stateham: B.R. Statehamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00894951166082934512noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-876019129197579580.post-41683726042298508392011-04-28T08:44:04.665-05:002011-04-28T08:44:04.665-05:00Jeanette, Glad you enjoyed this. I know I learned...Jeanette, Glad you enjoyed this. I know I learned a great deal too. When it comes to the creative aspect, rules should go out the window. You can't put imagination on an assembly line and produce the same stuff over and over. That's how I perceive these rules affecting someone's work. Creativity has to be free of constraints. They should be referred to as guidelines or suggestions--never rules.Joycehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03275503653927579472noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-876019129197579580.post-40678220409948991982011-04-28T08:41:18.105-05:002011-04-28T08:41:18.105-05:00Dana, It's wild because if you look around the...Dana, It's wild because if you look around the web, you'd be surprised (maybe not) by how many writers actually value these very same 'rules' when they write noir. Noir cannot have rules, nor can crime fiction. While I agree that perhaps traditional type mysteries might have preferred sequencing and so on, I think it's awful to try to contain creativity and make writers feel like they have to conform to content. <br /><br />Format, word counts, we all have to conform depending on the publisher. But the creative process can't be held back and caged--at least, it shouldn't be.Joycehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03275503653927579472noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-876019129197579580.post-16537551569755474212011-04-25T18:47:53.145-05:002011-04-25T18:47:53.145-05:00Thanks, BR and Joyce. I think I may have learned s...Thanks, BR and Joyce. I think I may have learned something from this great review.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-876019129197579580.post-15577625623169238072011-04-25T15:47:13.895-05:002011-04-25T15:47:13.895-05:00This is a great post, Joyce. Given I'm not a f...This is a great post, Joyce. Given I'm not a fan of many of these "rules," I'd love to someone with the time and access run a survey on how readers and writers actually feel about them, as so much of what writers have to accept as "truth" is really no more than an accumulation of conventional wisdom. (We see how well conventional wisdom has served publishing lately.<br /><br />The issue I have with these "rules" is that they seem best suited for a traditional puzzle mystery, a la Agatha Christie or Rex Stout. "Crime stories" allow for a lot more flexibility, as the author may not care so much if you know who did it, but is more interested in what's going to happen because of it.Dana Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01350344882342624735noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-876019129197579580.post-86715260194764770562011-04-25T14:05:53.461-05:002011-04-25T14:05:53.461-05:00Like I said somewhere else; when it comes to writi...Like I said somewhere else; when it comes to writing, the rules have a tendency to get broken by the very talented. Often spectacularly.B.R. Statehamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00894951166082934512noreply@blogger.com