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~Kyle's Compilation~
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I'll try to read those pieces. I am terribly forgetful, so just remind me (probably on Stories Discussions) and I'll get around to it eventually.
In terms of cliché stories, I would say that as a story, that is probably not too cliché for these forums. If you've ever seen any movie ever, however, it would be incredibly cliché. Here's the plot structure you'd probably end up using:
1. Man is great at something
2. Hurts hands in horrible but unrelated accident
3. Gives up on life
4. Is inspired and learns to play piano
5. Can't get it, or something causes him distress, and he gives up again
6. What inspired him (or a woman/friend) returns (arrives) to convince him to keep playing/not kill himself
7. Plays piano happily ever after.
I'd discourage writing about it unless you're doing it purely for the sake of putting an exceptionally powerful twist on the above structure.
With regards to Poe, I actually started reading him when I was younger than that. (
) At first I found it almost unintelligible, and I always had to read it in a guided setting (meaning at school with a class analysis or with a critical analysis of the story). Nowadays I can read it just fine, and am hardly ever confused by the convolution. Something I would say, though, is that if you can get an annotated copy of his works, it helps immensely. I got my copy for $12 a few years back, and it has roughly 800 pages of his stories/poems. What makes it helpful is that the annotations explain the nuances of his diction (which, given his lexical mastery, was extensive and subtle). It also explained vague references that he makes.
I'll just pick a completely random example.
In terms of cliché stories, I would say that as a story, that is probably not too cliché for these forums. If you've ever seen any movie ever, however, it would be incredibly cliché. Here's the plot structure you'd probably end up using:
1. Man is great at something
2. Hurts hands in horrible but unrelated accident
3. Gives up on life
4. Is inspired and learns to play piano
5. Can't get it, or something causes him distress, and he gives up again
6. What inspired him (or a woman/friend) returns (arrives) to convince him to keep playing/not kill himself
7. Plays piano happily ever after.
I'd discourage writing about it unless you're doing it purely for the sake of putting an exceptionally powerful twist on the above structure.
With regards to Poe, I actually started reading him when I was younger than that. (
) At first I found it almost unintelligible, and I always had to read it in a guided setting (meaning at school with a class analysis or with a critical analysis of the story). Nowadays I can read it just fine, and am hardly ever confused by the convolution. Something I would say, though, is that if you can get an annotated copy of his works, it helps immensely. I got my copy for $12 a few years back, and it has roughly 800 pages of his stories/poems. What makes it helpful is that the annotations explain the nuances of his diction (which, given his lexical mastery, was extensive and subtle). It also explained vague references that he makes.
I'll just pick a completely random example.
02-Jan-2011 01:25:44
From "The Cask of Amontillado", the following endnote:
65. (p.427) "Luchesi cannot tell Amontillado from Sherry": Interestingly, Amontillado is a variety of sherry. perhaps Montresor implies that Luhesi cannot distinguish Amontillado from lower-grade sherry. Just as interesting, the name Luchesi may sound in English as "look hazy," thus characterizing Fortnato's perceptions. For that matter, despite his seeming thinking to the contrary, Montresor likewise has misperceptions. That is, later in the story, when he has nearly completed the walling up of Fortunato, he appears to be almost on the verge of admitting that the task sickens him; second, his later boast that for fifty years nobody has discovered his crime may be no genuine boast after all, but rather a confession that this long-past episode has attained a fixity in his life -- that is, that it bothers his conscience.
---
Something to say of note is that when I read any literature from Poe's era (I would say most things prior to 1870), I read it much more slowly than I read contemporary writing. there are a lot of reasons that things were more complicated in writing back then (and not all of it was the style of speaking/communication).
If ever you're having trouble reading one of Poe's pieces, I'm here for consultation. I'm not exactly an expert, but I think I could be helpful.
65. (p.427) "Luchesi cannot tell Amontillado from Sherry": Interestingly, Amontillado is a variety of sherry. perhaps Montresor implies that Luhesi cannot distinguish Amontillado from lower-grade sherry. Just as interesting, the name Luchesi may sound in English as "look hazy," thus characterizing Fortnato's perceptions. For that matter, despite his seeming thinking to the contrary, Montresor likewise has misperceptions. That is, later in the story, when he has nearly completed the walling up of Fortunato, he appears to be almost on the verge of admitting that the task sickens him; second, his later boast that for fifty years nobody has discovered his crime may be no genuine boast after all, but rather a confession that this long-past episode has attained a fixity in his life -- that is, that it bothers his conscience.
---
Something to say of note is that when I read any literature from Poe's era (I would say most things prior to 1870), I read it much more slowly than I read contemporary writing. there are a lot of reasons that things were more complicated in writing back then (and not all of it was the style of speaking/communication).
If ever you're having trouble reading one of Poe's pieces, I'm here for consultation. I'm not exactly an expert, but I think I could be helpful.
02-Jan-2011 01:30:29
As for that plot structure, there would be some things I would change. I don't want him to be great at anything really, because I want him to learn that him can be good a something after the accident, which is music. The real twist I am thinking of having is that the man begins playing to point where he permanently ruins his hands, at the end of the story (I don't know if this will result in them being amputated or just no longer functional, either will be extremely detrimental to his life) as well as the death of his teacher. I guess you could say the two, in my opinion, are connected. From that point I don't know if he will try to teach music it to his son or realize that that point in his life has passed (which I kind of like the idea of him having an autistic son and no matter how hard the man tries his son will never fully grasp the idea of music). I am rather fond of the latter option as it states that not everything in life is timeless and maybe it's better to just have the memories.
I wouldn't mind hearing your opinion on this ending. Will this help with making the story less cliche, as it wasn't quite the happy ending you were expecting (In my mind it is similar to when Schubert ruined his hands performing those debilitating accidents, the happy ending being that his wife would play all of his compositions, if you call that happy). If it is still "movie mimicry", do you have any ideas that would help? I'm not asking for you to write my story but if you know one of those seven aspects of the story that could improve my plot the most I'd appreciate it.
I wouldn't mind hearing your opinion on this ending. Will this help with making the story less cliche, as it wasn't quite the happy ending you were expecting (In my mind it is similar to when Schubert ruined his hands performing those debilitating accidents, the happy ending being that his wife would play all of his compositions, if you call that happy). If it is still "movie mimicry", do you have any ideas that would help? I'm not asking for you to write my story but if you know one of those seven aspects of the story that could improve my plot the most I'd appreciate it.
02-Jan-2011 04:43:12
I am not questioning the possibility of the injury from playing (I play myself, and know it is possible) -- I question the usefulness of it.
If he played all that time for no gain, what message would that send to the reader? I just am having trouble thinking of a twist that could give such a plot a message.
With regards to him hating music, I'd say it's definitely possible. I know many people who dislike music. He, being a person whose life was ruined by music, should have no problem hating it. And if not hating it, then definitely having no active interest in it. It's a psychological aversion, which is a sort of defense mechanism.
If he played all that time for no gain, what message would that send to the reader? I just am having trouble thinking of a twist that could give such a plot a message.
With regards to him hating music, I'd say it's definitely possible. I know many people who dislike music. He, being a person whose life was ruined by music, should have no problem hating it. And if not hating it, then definitely having no active interest in it. It's a psychological aversion, which is a sort of defense mechanism.
02-Jan-2011 06:08:01 - Last edited on 02-Jan-2011 06:09:28 by Yrolg
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