tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222296802338385267.post3778241603816645891..comments2024-03-21T11:30:25.618-07:00Comments on Ontos: "You—A Doctor Who Is Supposed To Heal, Not Kill"Mike Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17182471386130948540noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222296802338385267.post-78446500526128041892020-10-30T06:50:06.397-07:002020-10-30T06:50:06.397-07:00Mark - I couldn't agree with you more. If the ...Mark - I couldn't agree with you more. If the author has a message to send ("working," as you say, "to impress literary critics"), that's fine; just tell a good story first and foremost and work the message into the story line. Doing it the other way around spoils everything.Mike Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17182471386130948540noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222296802338385267.post-29897550795464152692020-10-30T05:19:40.276-07:002020-10-30T05:19:40.276-07:00Mike,
The entertainment value of collaborative fi...Mike,<br /><br />The entertainment value of collaborative fiction and commercial fiction is not only better than one might anticipate, but often superior to that in works produced by a lone writer working in isolation, working to impress literary critics instead of the everyday reader who reads for pleasure rather than some sort of enlightenment.<br /><br />Schools should include in their literature classes lessons on reading for the sheer pleasure of it.Mark Armstronghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13687605795028679735noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222296802338385267.post-36488816187788346772020-10-29T10:02:13.226-07:002020-10-29T10:02:13.226-07:00Mark - I've heard that that was a practice wit...Mark - I've heard that that was a practice with some publishers. What's nice is the entertainment value of the stories staff writers produced as a result, better in many cases than you might anticipate from that approach.Mike Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17182471386130948540noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222296802338385267.post-52945080203202206382020-10-28T11:27:01.517-07:002020-10-28T11:27:01.517-07:00I wonder if Better Publications engaged in that co...I wonder if Better Publications engaged in that common practice of having stories written to go with artwork, rather than having artwork done to go with stories?<br /><br />I could see the editor coming up with the title, "Medical Murder," then assigning one of the artists he employed to come up with an appropriate illustration. Hence, the stethoscope, the hypodermic needle, the doctor's black bag, and a prone patient.<br /><br />The next step, on the day that writers were seen at the office, the early-arriving writers would get their choice of illustrations to work from--to use as writing prompts, while the late-arrivers would have to make do with whatever was left over. Or at least that's how it went over at Ziff-Davis, from what I've read.Mark Armstronghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13687605795028679735noreply@blogger.com