RARA-AVIS: Re: John D. MacDonald

From: Kevin Burton Smith ( kvnsmith@colba.net)
Date: 02 Apr 2001


Juri wrote:

>I've always thought that when a writer makes his/her points clear only
>through dialogue, he/she is just not competent. This is a rash
>exaggeration, but this is how I feel about these matters. The points
>should be made through some other devices, plot, atmosphere, the
>relations between characters, et cetera.

But in the hands of a good writer, dialogue can, and should, deliver plot, atmosphere, the relations between characters, et cetera.

Read the dialogue of someone like Elmore Leonard or George Higgins
(or even Robert Parker) and you can see what dialogue can do...

And maybe it's a cultural thing, but like Marianne, I think the idea of a Rolls-Royce pick-up is a hoot.

>The first message I ever
>received from Rara-Avis was from someone (Kevin Smith?) who said he
>preferred "Payback" over "Point Blank". The message ended with words:
>"So shoot me." This stuck onto my mind.

Yeah, that was me. Guilty as charged. But all you guys with guns under your pillows, you know I was kidding, right?

Kevin Burton Smith Stop the Saskatchewan Seal Hunt!

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