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Further Sales
Dec. 18th, 2009 06:23 amI'm into Book the Third of Armistead Maupin's amazing "Tales of the City
" series. And loving it.
The technique he uses is a familiar one, intended to keep the readers returning: keep on foreshadowing something exciting coming up. He delivers - eventually - but in the meantime something else has appeared on the horizon.
And he doesn't always spell out what's happening. A few times in More Tales, he just sketches out the details of something, such as the brothel scene, leaving the reader to wonder just exactly what it is being described. Tantalism is the name of the game.
But. But sometimes he delivers. A plot twist so ridiculous, so outrageous, so bizarre that the reader puts up with all the hints and half-truths.
Well, when I finished More Tales of the City
", I was in awe of the final plot twist Maupin delivered. A bizarre cult involving Episcopalians. Quite implausible, literally over the top, taboo and disgusting. And a poke in the eye at a wider group who must have been strong critics of the series and the lifestyle(s) portrayed.
I began thinking about a novel I've contemplated for a while, and finally I came up with something. Something different. A really bizarre, outrageous, implausible, disgusting situation. Totally over the top. It hooked in well with the locations, it could be spun out to a natural climax, and it could be milked for later effect next year in Boston.
So, it was with a shiver of delight that about halfway through Further Tales of the City
I realised that Maupin had come up with the EXACT same plot that I'd thought of all by myself.
I won't bore my readers with the ridiculous details.
Not just yet, anyway.
Once I finish The Monster that Ate Constitution Avenue, I'll get stuck into my third Ann Ounce tale. I've got a lot of writing ahead, and I'm enjoying the process.
" series. And loving it.The technique he uses is a familiar one, intended to keep the readers returning: keep on foreshadowing something exciting coming up. He delivers - eventually - but in the meantime something else has appeared on the horizon.
And he doesn't always spell out what's happening. A few times in More Tales, he just sketches out the details of something, such as the brothel scene, leaving the reader to wonder just exactly what it is being described. Tantalism is the name of the game.
But. But sometimes he delivers. A plot twist so ridiculous, so outrageous, so bizarre that the reader puts up with all the hints and half-truths.
Well, when I finished More Tales of the City
", I was in awe of the final plot twist Maupin delivered. A bizarre cult involving Episcopalians. Quite implausible, literally over the top, taboo and disgusting. And a poke in the eye at a wider group who must have been strong critics of the series and the lifestyle(s) portrayed.I began thinking about a novel I've contemplated for a while, and finally I came up with something. Something different. A really bizarre, outrageous, implausible, disgusting situation. Totally over the top. It hooked in well with the locations, it could be spun out to a natural climax, and it could be milked for later effect next year in Boston.
So, it was with a shiver of delight that about halfway through Further Tales of the City
I realised that Maupin had come up with the EXACT same plot that I'd thought of all by myself.I won't bore my readers with the ridiculous details.
Not just yet, anyway.
Once I finish The Monster that Ate Constitution Avenue, I'll get stuck into my third Ann Ounce tale. I've got a lot of writing ahead, and I'm enjoying the process.
