The Road to Reaving – Part IX

BOOM!; photo by Mark Maestas

As promised, another installment. You can catch up in the usual place; today we’ll look at layout ideas and beyond after a brief interlude.

The Road to Reaving – Part VIII

We continue our journey through the pits and perils that is the Wars of Reaving. When last we left our intrepid hero, he’d just been told there would be no record sheets and saw the book gutted of 15-16 pages of material. Whatever would our writer do?

(Catch up on the saga here.)

Oh, and before we pick up our story thread, you still have time to ask a question (or two, or three) for the “FAQ” I’ll be posting on Wednesday.

The Road to Reaving – Part VII

Lonely Clint IIC; photo by David Kerber

Continuing the colossal struggle that is the writing of Wars of Reaving… As always, catch up on all the other segments on the Wars of Reaving page on this website.

The Road to Reaving…Part VI

Snowbeast! (photo by "Cyttorak")

Continuing the seemingly never-ending saga of the Wars of Reaving. Which, if you ask my wife, is exactly what it seemed like to her during the next ten weeks after that phone call. (Catch up with all the linkage here.)

The Road to Reaving…Part V

Khan Amanda Carrol

Now that my little sidetrip on my writing approach is complete, we’ll get back to our narrative. (Need to catch up? Flip over here and follow the links…)

The Road to Reaving…Part IV

Showdown; photo by "Psycho"

When we last left off, I was staring at a botched narrative and another major rewrite. (If you need to, refresh yourself here.)

The Road to Reaving…Part II

Warhawk backlit, photo by "Dak"

Continuing my commentary of the development of the Wars of Reaving. You’ll probably want to read Part I first, if only to get the full effect.

Revenge: Worth the Cost?

Chateau D’if, courtesy of meuh

Finished the abridged Count of Monte Cristo not too long ago (abridged…yet still 600+ pages…and I’m flummoxed to find a complete unabridged work, as there are two major plot threads I remember that are missing…) and the following questions popped into my head, as I am wont to do after reading a novel and reflecting on it. Of course, it doesn’t help that this is one of my all-time favorite movies (the James Caviezel version) and I inevitably compare the two after every viewing.

Western literature begins (arguably) with the Iliad - your basic tale of revenge. It is continued in the Odyssey, which sees the revenge killing of over one hundred of Penelope’s suitors. Ok, so the theme of ‘revenge’ is popular in Western literature: it is found at the core of innumerable medieval romances and epics, Shakespearean plays, Elizabethan drama, and our aforementioned Dumas novel – from its inception to the latest NYT bestseller.

On the silver screen, film noir and westerns are notorious for this style of plot. So you have to ask…why is revenge so popular a plot? Is the avenger – in this case Edmond Dantes – a ‘stand-in’ for the reader, where Dantes avenges the slights and injuries we all suffer? If you hit the lottery for $100 million, would YOU avenge yourself against those who have harmed you?

Or…would having all that money – and the nascent power that comes with it – be its own revenge against whatever indignities you have suffered? Would it be enough to assauge all that pain?

If you had the resources, the means, and the will…would you follow the path of Edmond Dantes – and would you end up with his same fate? (Note that Dumas’ original work, Edmond’s fate is much different than that of the movie(s) – the ‘hero’ doesn’t actually ride off into the sunset with his reunited woman and boy. He actually loses Mercedes, though he is able to provide Maximillian Morrell – his old boss’s son – reclaimed wealth and his true love, but at cost to both.)

Anyway, something to think about. Most likely, I’ll be thinking on how to work this ‘timeless classic plot device’ into my next work somehow.