> In the present era, many novels are grossly padded.
Robert B. Parker has
> been doing this for years. In some cases, the plot
would barely suffice
> for a short-short. We hear about Spenser's jogging
and gym habits, about
> the dog, about his cooking, about his sex with the
insufferable Susan,
> about politics, and so on.
>
> And even James Lee Burke, an author I much respect,
has padded some of
> his novels ("Dixie City Jam" is a fairly clear
example) with endless
> descriptions of the Bayou, dead cypress, alligators
and alligator gars,
> his own bait shop, and so on. Burke really can write,
and I forgive him
> somewhat, but sometimes the padding jumps at the
reader.
>
> A novel I read recently (out of desperation while
travelling) is Sue
> Grafton's "L is for Lawless". This book is padded
with events totally
> unrelated to the story, such as the marriage of her
landlord. And
> Grafton, who came up with a great character in the
charming jailbird who
> shows up in Santa Teresa, completely squanders him by
directing
> attention to the always uninteresting Kinsey Millhone
and her petty
> concerns. This could have been a great book with more
self-criticism and
> extensive use of that essential implement, the
scissors.
>
> I guess publishers no longer want the honest 200 page
mystery - a length
> that does justice to most plots and
characters.
I'm in general agreement with you regarding the authors cited
above --
particularly Parker -- but it raises an interesting question
for me as a
novice writer: where does true character expansion end, and
padding
begin? Does the Grafton novel truly suffer for the inclusion
of the
wedding sequence, or should it have been there, just pared
down? I
remember the key points that made Travis McGee and Matt Helm
so seminal
to my genre life were: continuity of characters, both primary
and
secondary, from novel to novel, and the ability of the
protagonist to be
changed by events. There's nothing that really specifies
those events --
could be the wedding of a neighbor.
Be interested in your thoughts.
... Reed Andrus
Phoenix, AZ (rising)
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