tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18499463.post8730202033952731771..comments2023-10-31T11:37:50.028-04:00Comments on on life & other inconveniences: Believability in FictionSandra Ruttanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06109584805469336742noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18499463.post-20768957594550765032008-03-04T10:16:00.000-05:002008-03-04T10:16:00.000-05:00In crime fic, guns are important. Writing about wh...In crime fic, guns are important. Writing about what happens when people shoot and get shot is important. I put this up on Crimespace, where it was met with what I anticipate will be equal incredulity and indifference here:<BR/><BR/>W/r/t norby's comment: gunshot victims do not fall down dead. You've learned that from tv and movies. Fatal gunshot wounds to anywhere but a 3x5 inch area of the head and a 2x4 inch area of the throat are not immediately incapacitating. Fatal chest wounds can require between 15 seconds and several days to result in incapacitation. See the section "The Human Target" of:<BR/>http://tinyurl.com/2f2n58<BR/>See also Reservoir Dogs's Mr. Orange (Freddy Newandyke, played by Tim Roth) for an excellent example of realistic death by gunshot. For further documented examples of post-chest-wound survival, see:<BR/>http://tinyurl.com/26hvbk<BR/>http://tinyurl.com/2eyvrc<BR/>http://tinyurl.com/22bbm7<BR/>These are not the exceptions. The only people who get shot, fall down, and give up are those who have learned their firearms mentality from tv and movies.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18499463.post-40794623827225729502008-02-25T22:57:00.000-05:002008-02-25T22:57:00.000-05:00John, sounds like an interesting movie.Terry, inte...John, sounds like an interesting movie.<BR/><BR/>Terry, interesting way of putting it. Multiple possible interpretations.Sandra Ruttanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06109584805469336742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18499463.post-89220986860483769382008-02-24T21:24:00.000-05:002008-02-24T21:24:00.000-05:00I've always heard that fiction is truer than reali...I've always heard that fiction is truer than reality, but even our fiction needs a smidge of the real in it.<BR/><BR/>Terry Finley<BR/><BR/>http://terryrfinley.blogspot.com/Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18499463.post-33741345276170395992008-02-24T15:27:00.000-05:002008-02-24T15:27:00.000-05:00A friend of mine told me about a Hong Kong movie h...A friend of mine told me about a Hong Kong movie he saw once where the hero is in a gunfight and everyone (including the viewer) thinks he is out of bullets. He ends up getting one last kill, however. Later on, the movie flashes back and shows you the part where the hero has hidden a bullet in his mouth and after he ran out of bullets, spit the bullet into the open chamber for that last shot.<BR/><BR/>I don't know what movie it was, but I would sure like to see it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18499463.post-58029856913706957762008-02-24T12:44:00.000-05:002008-02-24T12:44:00.000-05:00Now everyone knows why I adore Stephen Blackmoore....Now everyone knows why I adore Stephen Blackmoore. LOL!Sandra Ruttanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06109584805469336742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18499463.post-7878181746054091882008-02-24T12:40:00.000-05:002008-02-24T12:40:00.000-05:00We all have different criteria for suspension of d...We all have different criteria for suspension of disbelief and we all have different things that will pull us out of it.<BR/><BR/>In most cases I think it comes down to consistency. If your world is consistent from beginning to end it makes it much easier to swallow.<BR/><BR/>In some ways fiction in a contemporary setting has a harder time with that than in a fantasy setting. It's easier to spot the inconsistencies.<BR/><BR/>Of course, writing fantasy in the first place is difficult because you don't get a lot of built in preconceptions from your audience.<BR/><BR/>Either way you're fucked.<BR/><BR/>Friend of mine would go on about some minor detail that would pull him out of the story. Like, really minor. Especially in context of the other things that didn't.<BR/><BR/>Okay, so let me get this straight. You're okay with the cyborg ninjas with the laser katanas, the DD bimbos with rocket launchers who don't need any kind of armor to avoid being hacked apart by the 80-foot zombie hamster who's singing Neil Diamond karaoke as he eats Manhattan... but you can't get past the fact that the half naked nuclear physicist who flashes her tits every three minutes is named Bambi?Stephen Blackmoorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01241134280141088631noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18499463.post-71868596822028002642008-02-23T20:29:00.000-05:002008-02-23T20:29:00.000-05:00Send the list to Bunny.Hell, he probably has one o...Send the list to Bunny.<BR/><BR/>Hell, he probably has one of his own...Sandra Ruttanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06109584805469336742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18499463.post-55685352947074498362008-02-23T20:26:00.000-05:002008-02-23T20:26:00.000-05:00You know, I knew when I posted the comment that yo...You know, I knew when I posted the comment that you had seen it, but it is strange that you saw a movie before I did!! I want to know when I can send a list of your required viewing so that you can start catching up!<BR/><BR/>I tried not use character names so that anyone else who read it who hasn't seen the movie won't have it ruined for them.<BR/><BR/>I've already told you my impression of the film.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18499463.post-54390430526139745082008-02-23T20:22:00.000-05:002008-02-23T20:22:00.000-05:00(Which is a real first for me, a Hallmark moment o...(Which is a real first for me, a Hallmark moment of sorts, eh Norby?!)Sandra Ruttanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06109584805469336742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18499463.post-29267415756554930732008-02-23T20:21:00.000-05:002008-02-23T20:21:00.000-05:00Hey... I think I saw that movie!Hey... I think I saw that movie!Sandra Ruttanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06109584805469336742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18499463.post-47257347118021291102008-02-23T19:19:00.000-05:002008-02-23T19:19:00.000-05:00I had a big moment at the end of a movie I watched...I had a big moment at the end of a movie I watched the other night. A guy gets shot twice in the back, from not that far away, say ten feet. You see it happen from the front, so the bullets either come out his chest or close to it. <BR/><BR/>The guy then runs out, down the street, into another building and up onto the roof where he sits down and has a conversation with someone before he dies. Did I mention that the shots were on the left side of his body?<BR/><BR/>No. No, no, no. Not possible. The movie actually continues for about ten minutes after that, but for me, it was over right then. I'm willing to suspend disbelief, but don't treat me like I'm stupid.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18499463.post-13322841965833091242008-02-23T16:12:00.000-05:002008-02-23T16:12:00.000-05:00It's very interesting to see how other people appr...It's very interesting to see how other people approach books. I've lost count of the number of blog posts I've seen from authors saying that the things they're criticized for as being unbelievable are what's actually true.<BR/><BR/>Of course, with your books John, I find it hard to believe people can have that much good sex. But I could eventually be proven wrong. ;)Sandra Ruttanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06109584805469336742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18499463.post-25037200050822835732008-02-23T16:04:00.000-05:002008-02-23T16:04:00.000-05:00All I'm gonna say is I can't wait till you go thro...All I'm gonna say is I can't wait till you go through your post-modern phase... or your magic realism phase... ;)John McFetridgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09442198820998606682noreply@blogger.com