Quote:
Originally Posted by AstoundingBruce
In some of these books, I wonder about the story itself. It doesn't seem as if the violence is moving the story along. Rather, it seems as if the plot is just a vehicle to get from one ultra-violent scene to another.
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That is simply a failure then on the editor's behalf, in my opinion. Part of their job is to make sure the writer doesn't lose the forest for the trees.
This is a topic of interest to me, personally -- and one I have some experience with. I write horror, and it's all too easy to lapse into a sort of trance when writing violence. I mean, it's like any intense action sequence where the action itself is vital. When one wants to lay it down vividly, it's a terribly delicate balance, and of course it's impossible to please all the people all the time. Everyone's tolerance is totally different. That said, the line must be drawn when it stops advancing the story.
And I don't know if the writer is always the one best equipped to make that determination. For me, anyway, it is usually best to write the scenes as they come and let my editor tell me when I've gone too far. Make him earn his money. And he does. And then I kill my babies and leave them in the waste bin beside my writing desk.