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January 25, 2006
Foster 19 and 20, Agenda Items and essay
"...when writers send characters south, it's so they can run amok." (171) How true!One of my favorite books, The Last Promiseby Richard Paul Evans has a character that moves to Tuscany to escape his past accusations of the murder of his brother and ends up falling in love with a woman trapped in a loveless marriage...you get the picture. Anyhow, the sensuality of the winery and Tuscany that he lives near has become a place that opens up his own sensuality and allows him to be free from all the distress of his past in the States. The beauty of Tuscany and the thought of intoxication via wine generally gives you that cheesy/good love buzz just reading it. Foster's right setting completely gives you an instant idea of how you think that plot will unfold and puts you in the mood. As for Ch. 20, the seasons are great for song writing because of all the intense emotions they convey. Notice no one writes much about being depressed in the summer, but there are more poems about dead leaves and death in the winter than anything. Fall makes me think of childhood. Playing in the leaves, sipping cider, even people beat up flannel shirts, and the smell of woodburning sparks this for me. Each season itself can set up a different chapter in our lives or in a book.
Posted by ErinWaite at January 25, 2006 03:23 PM
Comments
Great points, Erin!
Seasons definitely play a huge role in storytelling. We seem to automatically associate fall with death and dying, and spring as rebirth. Geography & setting are HUGE when an author is beginning to write a novel. So much about the story can be seen through just those two things.
Posted by: AmandaNichols at January 26, 2006 10:20 PM
Thanks! I've noticed that when you are going through something important in your life (like moving, meeting your soul mate) you tie a season to it and a month. "It was late September..."
Posted by: Erin at January 29, 2006 11:05 PM