I was just sent these links. I haven’t even listened yet but he told me that they sounded pretty good. Thanks, William!
Writing Action starring me: http://www.cardgameorganizer.com/WE/LTUE-2011-WritingAction-Hi.zip I’m downloading this now. I had a blast doing this presentation. Had a packed auditorium too.
James Dashner’s main address: http://www.cardgameorganizer.com/LTUE2011/MainAddress-JamesDashner.zip
I love it that you’re bagging on JRR Tolkien now. You’ve got one NYT best-seller and now you’re taking on the big dogs, hey?
I can see it. I mean, hell, Tolkien has been outsold by, you know, the Bible. I’m sure you’ll surpass him in no time. Hee hee.
Whatever. I love LOTR, all I said was that it wasn’t very action packed. Out of all 3 books there are what, 16 pages of action? You crashed a helicopter into a swimming pool on page one, thereby having more 300% more action per page than LOTR.
True.
But LOTR remains the only novel I’ve read completely through twice, all of the singing and poetry and characters that have nothing to do with the main plot notwithstanding. It remains the only piece of epic/sword & sorcery fantasy I’ve ever read.
I liked the movie better, though. 🙂
Your presentation was very good. I should’ve gone, especially since I didn’t get much writing done on Friday like I’d planned.
I’m coming up with some good stuff for SOE, though.
Nice. The Writing Action lecture was one of two lectures I really wished I hadn’t missed, the other being Writing Memorable Villains.
Thank you, William. You da Man! I appreciate you sharing these with us.
I couldn’t ever get through the LOTR trilogy without skimming. I haven’t touched those books in almost twenty years, but still–they didn’t have enough action or drama for me as a kid, and they don’t do it for me now. Must be my ADD. The movies were good.
If you want to be truly bored, try reading The Silmarillion. Talk about your snooze-fest. I pick it up on occasion when I run out of sleeping pills and my insomnia is wreaking havoc on my psyche. A few pages of that, and I’m snoring like a freight train. Works like a charm.
That being said, I LOVED The Hobbit. I even read it again a few years back and still love it just as much as the first few times I read it as a kid. I’m excited for the movie.
The Silmarilion isn’t a novel. It’s the Old Testament of Middle Earth, and it’s written as such. It was a chore to get through that one.
Even LOTR probably couldn’t get published today, and for good reasons. It’s a book from a different era.
“It’s the Old Testament of Middle Earth, and it’s written as such. It was a chore to get through that one.”
That’s pretty much my take on it, although I find the Bible more entertaining. 😀
Larry, you’re quite welcome. I enjoyed your panel.
Thanks to you and John Brown for recording your “How to get and develop killer story ideas” panel. I had a dinner engagement that night so I missed that one. Great job as always.
— William