tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2068004253242490492.post4865049018008491904..comments2024-02-10T04:18:20.931-06:00Comments on Liz Czukas: The Way Back MachineLiz Czukashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15656897969180818333noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2068004253242490492.post-82666324011865224452010-04-23T08:57:10.516-05:002010-04-23T08:57:10.516-05:00You already know what I think, but I'll say it...You already know what I think, but I'll say it again anyway because I love to post here, and also (shamelessly) love to hear myself talk.<br /><br />I agree with that angel of an agent, but for entirely different reasons. Your flashbacks were awesome and had all the right details for your genre. It was the present scene failed to grab my interest, maybe because it was cut up, maybe because half the back story hadn't been told yet. Whatever it was, I'm all for the straightforward time line. It's gonna rock.Eleven Elevenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05250594897018734565noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2068004253242490492.post-3886857190913476462010-04-23T07:42:10.519-05:002010-04-23T07:42:10.519-05:00Katie! Oh my God! Thanks for coming back to tell...Katie! Oh my God! Thanks for coming back to tell me, that's so awesome! I'm really glad you came by, and you had great stuff to say on top of that. Come back anytime.Liz Czukashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15656897969180818333noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2068004253242490492.post-640645326971816012010-04-22T23:38:42.688-05:002010-04-22T23:38:42.688-05:00Oh! I forgot to mention that I'm your cousin, ...Oh! I forgot to mention that I'm your cousin, Katie. Jean's daughter. I realized that my screen name didn't say.Katehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02127404064382918614noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2068004253242490492.post-22861647318004132442010-04-22T21:28:19.236-05:002010-04-22T21:28:19.236-05:00Wow, ask and ye shall receive. Fascinating input ...Wow, ask and ye shall receive. Fascinating input from all. Thank you so much for all the great things to think about.<br /><br />I guess I'm going to have to try it both ways and see which one sings.<br /><br />You guys are amazing!<br /><br />- LizLiz Czukashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15656897969180818333noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2068004253242490492.post-35342945326120016452010-04-21T22:34:59.053-05:002010-04-21T22:34:59.053-05:00This is a timely post for me. I just completely re...This is a timely post for me. I just completely revised my manuscript from a before/after (similar to flashbacks) format to chronological. Originally, I thought the flashback (before) chapters were brilliant because they showed my couple during the building of their relationship, during much happier times. I thought it would be a relief from the more intense stuff that comes later. <br /><br />But, after many read throughs and lots of advice from my very amazing critique partner and a few betas, I decided that the before chapters were taking away from the tension of the main conflict, much like you mentioned in your post. <br /><br />I think it all depends on the plot. Flashbacks can be incredibly powerful if done well, like in Thirteen Reasons Why. Can you imagine if that story started with Hannah's first negative experience and went chronoligically through to the end? It would have never worked! <br /><br />Good luck with your revisions. You sound like me... too stubborn to give up!Katyhttp://amongdahlias.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2068004253242490492.post-79520989048694437862010-04-21T22:34:50.157-05:002010-04-21T22:34:50.157-05:00I don't think that flashbacks are necessarily ...I don't think that flashbacks are necessarily weak storytelling. I think it depends on the audience you're going for. I think you're right about the genre thing. If you read a romantic comedy, you pretty much know what you're going in for. It's unlikely that the main character is going to burst into flames. What kind of comedy is that? <br />Plus, there are different types of flashbacks. I mean, there are flashbacks that lead to the end of a story, and flashbacks that lead to the middle of a story. What I mean is that if Definitely, Maybe had flashbacks to tell the story, then the girl found out who her mother was and that's the end of the story, it's not very exciting. But since there is more that comes after, it gets more interesting. There are plenty of stories that start with some intense scene, someone on the verge of death, someone in the middle of a fight, and you as the reader immediately wonder, "How on earth did this happen? How did this person get here?" which is a very good lead in for flashbacks.<br />Take Titanic, for example. It's one of the biggest box office hits of all time, and the first thing you find out (if you didn't already know) is that the boat sank, and that Rose lived. That's en enormous giveaway. The director could have just as easily not told it as flashbacks, and had us not know whether Rose would be safe, but he chose not to.<br />One more point to make, before I electronically speak everyone's ears off, is one of the most popular plays of all time: Romeo and Juliet. While not told as a series of flashbacks, they still tell you, on the first page, that the characters die. That is, if you're well versed enough in Shakespearean sonnets to decipher the poem. Everyone knows that the characters die, anyway. Yet it's still read by millions of people.<br />Anyway, that's my two cents. But what do I know, I'm still in college ;). Speaking of which, one of my professors, who is a Young Adult novelist published many times over, thinks flashbacks are a perfectly legitimate way of storytelling.Katehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02127404064382918614noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2068004253242490492.post-80685703917142524872010-04-21T13:30:39.189-05:002010-04-21T13:30:39.189-05:00True, Kristan.
That's one vote for linear sto...True, Kristan.<br /><br />That's one vote for linear storytelling.<br /><br />Anyone else?Liz Czukashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15656897969180818333noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2068004253242490492.post-16846589596881702682010-04-21T09:45:43.019-05:002010-04-21T09:45:43.019-05:00Mmm, the reason Definitely Maybe and HIMYM work is...Mmm, the reason Definitely Maybe and HIMYM work is that the flashbacks are giving you clues about the mystery. Life & Death isn't the issue -- it's WHO IS IT? Who is Ryan Reynolds' baby mama and who is the love of his life? Who does the narrator in HIMYM end up getting with? That's the mystery, and the flashbacks are what help us solve it.<br /><br />IF your book does that -- uses the flashbacks to solve the mystery -- then maybe the agent's feedback isn't so valid. But then again, "flashback" is kind of a bad word in the literary community, so many that's just not something you can surmount right here, right now. Hollywood is a totally different story, you know?Kristanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04771013578685419826noreply@blogger.com