tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7478647262272649869.post5933850528300251002..comments2021-12-20T10:32:26.602-06:00Comments on Committing Fiction: Serial characters, cliffhanger endings and other odds and endsJoe Flynnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17862186143599173970noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7478647262272649869.post-7525716308337799072014-04-08T15:11:08.973-05:002014-04-08T15:11:08.973-05:00Love the McGill plot lines, but can see the author...Love the McGill plot lines, but can see the author's political leanings as much as his imagination for political intrigue and suspense. On the one hand are all the "good guys" with their noble ideals; and on the other are right-wing-nuts, portrayed exclusively as misguided puppets, southern idiots, talk show lunatics or greedy villains. As the series progressed, it began to come across akin to the well-oiled propaganda machine of the left, employing cliched stereotypes. As someone who takes the political middle-road, the author's one-sided portrayals got me thinking more about the author's motivations than about those of his characters. InterestedReaderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08078114498376598737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7478647262272649869.post-85145067509036470102012-04-14T20:44:31.265-05:002012-04-14T20:44:31.265-05:00Sorry about being so tardy with this reply. I'...Sorry about being so tardy with this reply. I'm much better at writing than social media, even something as basic as blogging.<br /><br />Only hacks go into writing for money. I do it for the love of telling a story. If that wasn't the case, no one would like what I do and wouldn't care how my stories end. If you want to borrow a copy of McG#4, fair enough. I've already given away more than 30,000 ebooks, and plan to start a new free book program.Joe Flynnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17862186143599173970noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7478647262272649869.post-72951824041515063192012-04-14T20:41:53.861-05:002012-04-14T20:41:53.861-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Joe Flynnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17862186143599173970noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7478647262272649869.post-25544524896694752432012-04-14T20:41:03.909-05:002012-04-14T20:41:03.909-05:00Jon: I have no objection to series. I just don'...Jon: I have no objection to series. I just don't see every book as the start of one. Thanks for commenting.Joe Flynnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17862186143599173970noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7478647262272649869.post-76113000621383061222012-04-14T20:40:19.779-05:002012-04-14T20:40:19.779-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Joe Flynnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17862186143599173970noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7478647262272649869.post-3953050370883325942012-01-20T11:06:22.513-06:002012-01-20T11:06:22.513-06:00Well, I sympathize with the standalone conundrum. ...Well, I sympathize with the standalone conundrum. In my Petoskey Stone, I wanted to write that novel then. But to go back and deal with that character again (even though he didn't die) -- it would feel like aping myself, I think. I've changed, and my tastes have changed. I know, it's not a "professional" outlook, and not a remunerative one, either, but I do really not care for series, even as a reader. <br /><br />Thanks for your blog. <br /><br />Jon Olson<br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Petoskey-Stone-ebook/dp/B004EYTBM6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1293830105&sr=8-1" rel="nofollow">The Petoskey Stone</a>Jon Olsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11798152229818636016noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7478647262272649869.post-90847013835104985422011-12-28T23:59:12.172-06:002011-12-28T23:59:12.172-06:00I love Jim McGill. When I first read The President...I love Jim McGill. When I first read The President's Henchman, I was thrilled to meet the first original character I'd found in many years. Imagine, I tell my friends when recommending your books, a female president whose husband was a former cop, who continues to work as a PI after her election. Imagine it!<br /><br />I eagerly followed along through all the McGill novels, into and through K-Street. After a bit of an awkward beginning, I got back into it and was enjoying it very much as I flew across the country for Christmas with my family. However, the entire book was ruined by the cliffhanger ending. As I clicked over the final page on my e-reader in the departures area of DFW, I actually said aloud "that's it?!?" The people around me all looked up, and I was a little embarrassed. <br /><br />Leaving questions unanswered is okay. It brings people back and lets readers wonder. But there's a huge difference between not clearing up what happened to an antagonist and leaving major plot points unfinished. I was majorly disappointed.<br /><br />I'm glad you didn't do it for economic reasons: because I won't be buying the next book. I'll read it, because you write well and I enjoy the characters, and I really want to finish the first book... which is what the next one will let me do. But instead of buying it, I'll be borrowing it from my local library, or the Kindle lending library. Because I really don't want to reward - or encourage a repeat - of what you did in K Street. It may not be about economics, but economics tells the tale.<br /><br />On another note, I was a little frustrated right off the top because you didn't 'reintroduce' the characters. I'd read the rest of the books all in a row long after they were originally published, but it had been awhile since then, and I'd forgotten who many of the players were. It was hard to follow until I returned to the 'cast of characters' list.<br /><br />When I was learning to write the news, I was told that if you go a few paragraphs without mentioning someone, then bring them up again, it's best to 'reintroduce' them by title to remind the reader who I was talking about. It would have been really helpful to do that here. The 'cast of characters' was useful, but could have been avoided. Just a thought.<br /><br />Like I said, I love the very idea of Jim McGill, and enjoy your writing on this series and in other books I've read. Keep writing, but please don't do again what you did this time. Would be very grateful.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com