Ed Lynskey's Blog: Cracked Rearview Mirror - Posts Tagged "noirs"
Do You Skip or Skim Over the Fight Scenes in Novels?
Yeah, sometimes I do. The blow-by-blow accounts of the fights I run across in crime fiction are so often graphic and detailed. Special emphasis is paid to the creative ways blood can spatter and gore can appear. The characters in noir and hardboiled novels have to live up to their tough guy/gal reputations. I've probably written a few of these fight scenes myself.
Sometimes if the fight scene runs on for page after page, I roll my eyes and flip through the unread pages. It's amazing the stamina and endurance our heroes and bad guys have in the extended fight scenes. Do hand-to-hand fights really last that long?
Elmore Leonard's dictum says you've failed as a writer if your reader starts skipping ahead in your novel. That sticks in my mind a lot nowadays. So, my fight scenes are fewer and shorter when they do appear in my narratives. Hey, it's better (and safer) to be a lover than a fighter.
Happy reading to you and yours!
By Ed Lynskey
Twitter: @edlynskey
Author of Ask the Dice, a hit man crime novel set in Washington, D.C.
Sometimes if the fight scene runs on for page after page, I roll my eyes and flip through the unread pages. It's amazing the stamina and endurance our heroes and bad guys have in the extended fight scenes. Do hand-to-hand fights really last that long?
Elmore Leonard's dictum says you've failed as a writer if your reader starts skipping ahead in your novel. That sticks in my mind a lot nowadays. So, my fight scenes are fewer and shorter when they do appear in my narratives. Hey, it's better (and safer) to be a lover than a fighter.
Happy reading to you and yours!
By Ed Lynskey
Twitter: @edlynskey
Author of Ask the Dice, a hit man crime novel set in Washington, D.C.
Does Friday 13th Mean It's Going to Be a Bad Day?
Not for me, it sure doesn't.
I haven't posted a new blog this week because it's been a busy time. I'm promoting ASK THE DICE as well as THE ZINC ZOO, beginning a new book (9K words done!), and greasing the skids for SKIN IN THE GAME, my organized crime book out later this year.
SKIN IN THE GAME: I'll be mentioning that title a few times in the coming weeks :-) Apologies to Warren Buffet, too. Are you a fan of the Mafia novels? This one is set in Washington, D.C., and was a bear for me to write. The large cast of characters is just the tip of the iceberg.
The front cover hasn't been done yet. What would be a spiffy design concept for the mock up cover? I leave that artistic stuff up to the experts. I'm a words guy, not the visual sort. I'm getting excited like I always do while my new book is being readied for production and distribution. This is when all the sweat pays off. So, I have high expectations for SKIN IN THE GAME.
Happy reading to you and yours!
Ed Lynskey
Twitter: @edlynskey
Ask the Dice (Newest Stand Alone Washington, D.C. Crime Noir)
The Zinc Zoo (Newest P.I. Frank Johnson Mystery)
I haven't posted a new blog this week because it's been a busy time. I'm promoting ASK THE DICE as well as THE ZINC ZOO, beginning a new book (9K words done!), and greasing the skids for SKIN IN THE GAME, my organized crime book out later this year.
SKIN IN THE GAME: I'll be mentioning that title a few times in the coming weeks :-) Apologies to Warren Buffet, too. Are you a fan of the Mafia novels? This one is set in Washington, D.C., and was a bear for me to write. The large cast of characters is just the tip of the iceberg.
The front cover hasn't been done yet. What would be a spiffy design concept for the mock up cover? I leave that artistic stuff up to the experts. I'm a words guy, not the visual sort. I'm getting excited like I always do while my new book is being readied for production and distribution. This is when all the sweat pays off. So, I have high expectations for SKIN IN THE GAME.
Happy reading to you and yours!
Ed Lynskey
Twitter: @edlynskey
Ask the Dice (Newest Stand Alone Washington, D.C. Crime Noir)
The Zinc Zoo (Newest P.I. Frank Johnson Mystery)
Cracked Rearview Mirror
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