tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8629757467521843286.post2206298287238989716..comments2023-10-26T10:23:13.539-04:00Comments on Shauna Roberts: Man into mythShauna Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03871768714926149114noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8629757467521843286.post-54163408825952152762007-07-24T11:56:00.000-04:002007-07-24T11:56:00.000-04:00LISA, I had to do multiple rewrites of the beginni...<B>LISA</B>, I had to do multiple rewrites of the beginning of my first novel before I could find an agent. The problem was that my main character was not sympathetic enough. I wrote him that way on purpose because his character arc was to become a better man with better priorities. But because he turned agents off in the brief sample they got, I had to rewrite him to be more likeable from the outset. <BR/><BR/><B>SIDNEY</B>, What fascinates me even more than the universality of the stories is that legends are based on real people and that their stories become distorted over time to serve various purposes.Shauna Robertshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03871768714926149114noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8629757467521843286.post-22479540756725012352007-07-24T11:01:00.000-04:002007-07-24T11:01:00.000-04:00Very great thoughts. I'm always intrigued by the u...Very great thoughts. I'm always intrigued by the universality of stories and the lessons at the heart of legends.Sidneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16284680909152676159noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8629757467521843286.post-2175783451171747762007-07-23T16:30:00.000-04:002007-07-23T16:30:00.000-04:00Shauna, this complements so well the week of educa...Shauna, this complements so well the week of education I've just had. In general fiction particularly, we have a tendency to overlook the importance from the outset of making our lead characters stand out in some way. Even an "everyman" needs some detail to make readers feel empathy or sympathy or at the very least, that makes them memorable. I like Charles's concept of the John Henry test.Lisahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00665632105920753931noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8629757467521843286.post-85954188545448665872007-07-19T16:57:00.000-04:002007-07-19T16:57:00.000-04:00CHARLES, that was how I remembered the story too....<B>CHARLES</B>, that was how I remembered the story too. But according to Nelson, it became a humanity vs. machinery story later, when people began losing their jobs to machines at a faster rate and when the American Communist Party needed a symbol for the struggle for workers' rights.<BR/><BR/>Have you heard the folk song parody in which John Henry the accountant battles a calculator to add up figures? <BR/><BR/><B>SPHINX INK</B>, I'm glad you got something out of my post. I found it useful too--isn't it odd how once one gets the words down right, one can learn something from oneself?Shauna Robertshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03871768714926149114noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8629757467521843286.post-61027784544284524732007-07-19T15:41:00.000-04:002007-07-19T15:41:00.000-04:00Thanks for yet another excellent essay on the hero...Thanks for yet another excellent essay on the heroic character. I like that you show how a modern hero exhibits the same characteristics as a hero of an ancient civilization. The late Joseph Campbell (THE POWER OF MYTH) would applaud you, as would Christopher Vogler (THE HERO'S JOURNEY). And it's a good checklist for fiction writers in designing a hero (or heroine).Sphinx Inkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03429797402360703839noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8629757467521843286.post-72725898853380475712007-07-19T02:26:00.000-04:002007-07-19T02:26:00.000-04:00I like the idea of the "John Henry" test. I remem...I like the idea of the "John Henry" test. I remember this story as a lad and it seemed to me that it was a story of humanity against machinery. There's been a few of those since, but this one is one of the best.Charles Gramlichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02052592247572253641noreply@blogger.com