Busting out from the rules
Mario here:

What I'm reading:


Suspect, by Robert Crais.










The Internet and cable have changed a lot about the way we enjoy movies. And that in turn has changed the way movies are made and changed the way they tell their stories.

If you've tried to write a screenplay, you know how rigorous the format and pacing have to be. By page 13, the inciting incident must occur. By mid-point, you should be at the reversal. It's a well-honed formula and when a script deviates from those principles, the story and our attention suffer. On the other hand, it takes a skilled hand to deftly articulate the plot points without feeling like we're checking them off a list.



One of the attractions of programs in episodic format, like The Sorpranos, Sons of Anarchy, and Longmire, is that such stories get to spool out the narrative in way that keeps us guessing. In a typical movie, we know that at eighty minutes we should be circling the plot resolution. And we're certain who will live and who will die. But the episodic format has subverted the formula.




Longmire is the most traditional of the shows I watch as it follows the TV mystery trope by solving the crime start-to-finish in one episode. But with every episode the subplots and the backstories of the characters continue to simmer beneath the narrative. At some point we're expecting the dramatic fireworks. Which is the point of entertainment.



Now George R.R. Martin wrenches the story narrative further with a bloody twist. He leads us along to root for our favorite characters, then ruthlessly kills them. One of the prime tenets in storytelling is to make you care for the major characters. To knock off the bad guys doesn't buy as much dramatic impact as we watch the show to see the villains get theirs. But to make us embrace the good guys and then hack them to death seems remarkably cruel. And it is. But it stirs the plot and keeps us watching. I'm sure a lot of other writers will attempt to follow Martin's example though few have his chops.

Labels: George RR Martin, Longmire, narrative shivs, Robert Crais, Sons of Anarchy, The Sopranos

  ¶ posted by Mario Acevedo @ 9:10 PM  2 comments

  When the stars shine Mario here:


What I'm reading: L.A. Requiem by Robert Crais.










The blog is busting with good news.

This Wednesday, critique buddy, Aaron Michael Ritchey, will present a workshop, Hook Me! Making Your First Sentence, First Paragraph, First Page, First Chapter Irresistible! with the Zenith Writers, Southglenn Public Library, Centennial, CO.




And this weekend, you'll find the Biting-Edge corporate staff (Jeanne and myself)--along with backup, Warren Hammond--in Colorado Springs for GalaxyFest 2013. The fun and shenanigans take place in the Antlers Hilton.



We writers dream of hitting the big time: repeatedly making the major bestseller lists, author tours that include international travel, legions of adoring fans, the requisite movie deal. And it does happen. I'm fortunate to know one such lucky person. (Let me define that luck as mountains of talent, brains, and hard work.) I'm talking about Richelle Mead. Years ago, her publisher sent a manuscript of Succubus Blues for a blurb. I put my critique goggles on and prepared myself to slog through the story. But things worked out differently and by the end of the first page I was hooked. What a story. What a writer. A few months later, Richelle was passing through Denver on a road trip/impromptu book tour. Jeanne and I set up a signing for Richelle at the Denver Book Mall and maybe four people showed up. I took Richelle to the downtown Barnes & Noble to sign stock, and it was a bit humiliating to learn they didn't have her book on the shelves. Fast forward a few short years. Richelle continues with the Georgina Kincaid Succubus series, also writes the Dark Swan series, and the Age of X, and hit gold with her YA Vampire Academy series, which consistently pegs the number one bestseller spot on the New York Times and USA Today. In no small turn of irony, Barnes & Noble now offers stacks of her books. But what I most admire about Richelle is that she's the only author who has had books banned she hasn't even written yet! Take that Kurt Vonnegut and Margaret Atwood! And now, the Vampire Academy movie inches closer to reality. Mark Waters will direct, and Zoey Deutch (left) and Lucy Fry will star as Rose and Lisa. Quit slacking, Richelle.

Labels: Aaron Michael Ritchey, discount tires, GalaxyFest, Mark Waters, Richelle Mead, Robert Crais

  ¶ posted by Mario Acevedo @ 8:51 PM  3 comments

  I did it for money Mario here,

This weekend I had to miss the geeky shenanigans at StarFest because I was farther south, in Colorado Springs, for the fabulous Pikes Peak Writers Conference. The headliner was mystery writer Robert Crais, who for his banquet speech talked about the enduring allure of the mystery novel.

Though the mystery revolves around how the hero solves the crime, the main catalyst for action is the villain. When I teach writing, I emphasize that the villain is the hero of his own story; an antagonist can't be evil for the sake of being evil. The villain must have a credible motivation. In most novels, the villain is usually a Lex Luthor-type of evil genius or a serial killer, but in real life, the criminal acts out of simpler motives, often simply the desire for easy money.

The corruption of a public official is always grist for a good story. For example, Rita Crundwell, the chief financial officer of Dixon, Illinois, was recently arrested for skimming $30 million from the town coffers to fund an opulent lifestyle that included a million dollar motor home and the Meri-J Ranch with its 150 horses.









Closer to home, Sean Mueller, masterminded a Ponzi scheme to pay for the usual trappings of a lavish lifestyle: a mansion, vintage cars, exotic vacations. His enterprise churned through $140 million--his victims included football star John Elway--until the cash dwindled to the point when Mueller had less than $10 million to cover $45 million in obligations. What brought the attention of the law was when Mueller climbed on top of a parking garage and threatened to jump. No doubt, he snapped under the pressures of keeping up appearances. Mueller was sentenced to 40 years in prison.







My favorite anecdote of stolen loot is the sad tale of Michelle Cawthra, a manager in the Colorado Department of Revenue who embezzled $11 million, not because of her greed, but in a twisted saga of love. She not only provided booty call for her abusive and married boyfriend, but stole the money and risked prison for the privilege of savoring his man juice. I like to imagine the behind-the-scenes drama of this sordid affair. He'd slap her around, followed by teary boo-hoos and apologies, then make-up sex, and she would promise to behave herself and hand over more money. Cawthra's net gain for her romantic sacrifice: public disgrace and 24 years in prison. Her lover and his wife are also locked way.

I'll definitely use these crimes as inspirations for my stories, only I'll tweak the drama by adding a little murder.

Labels: anything in a D cup, crime, Robert Crais, robotic dentistry

  ¶ posted by Mario Acevedo @ 9:15 PM  0 comments

  One from the far side Mario here,

Spent an awesome weekend in Grand Junction for the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers' June educational workshop. Saw old friends and made plenty of new ones. My stay on the Western Slope was bookended by a wickedly fun road trip with author pals, Chris Goff (L) and Robin D Owens (here with host Vicki Law in the middle). We traded jokes and gossip, and if your ears were burning, then we were definitely gabbing about you.

Big Thanks to Marne Kirstatter and Vicki for their wonderful job making sure the workshop ran smooth as top shelf vodka.






As the headline instructor, Charlotte Cook dished tons of valuable writer know-how. Chris, Robin, and I were brought along to critique and offer our humble advice. Over all, we were mightily impressed with our fellow scribes on the far side of our home state.


We toured the remodeled downtown, which was decorated with statues ranging from the whimsical to the provocative to the commemorative, like this one of Grand Junction homie Dalton Trumbo--the acclaimed novelist (of the horrific Johnny Got His Gun) and screenwriter (Spartacus)--depicting the blacklisted writer scribbling in his bathtub.


<--Photo by Andrew Gulliford




The one nit this weekend was not having the time to plow through Robert Crais's newest mystery, The Sentry, which so far (at page 83) earns 100 Mario points. When I grow up, I want to write like Crais.

Labels: Chris Goff, RMFW, Robert Crais, Robin D Owens

  ¶ posted by Mario Acevedo @ 4:44 PM  3 comments