tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6607988938023368182.post4624552671281427490..comments2023-11-09T00:49:08.166-08:00Comments on Swagger: COINCIDENCEThe Swagger Writershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03005267631603104021noreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6607988938023368182.post-44566043045964874782012-01-25T15:16:04.734-08:002012-01-25T15:16:04.734-08:00Thanks for the good wishes, Caryl, & thanks fo...Thanks for the good wishes, Caryl, & thanks for your comment.Kathy Cannon Wiechmanhttp://swaggerwriters.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6607988938023368182.post-75769868400331118332012-01-25T08:20:04.658-08:002012-01-25T08:20:04.658-08:00"Truth is stranger than fiction," defini..."Truth is stranger than fiction," definitely! But I like the last coincidence you describe, and think it would work well in a story. Best wishes on your project!Carylhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05121648669908969665noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6607988938023368182.post-47322050031087737042012-01-24T15:39:19.480-08:002012-01-24T15:39:19.480-08:00You're quite welcome & thanks for visiting...You're quite welcome & thanks for visiting our blog. You make an excellent point in favor of coincidence in fiction. I'll continue to "go for it."Kathy Cannon Wiechmanhttp://swaggerwriters.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6607988938023368182.post-73155499960996972962012-01-24T11:30:13.395-08:002012-01-24T11:30:13.395-08:00Coincidences happen more often that people think t...Coincidences happen more often that people think they do. Never using them in writing wouldn't be natural, what's the fun in that? I say, go for it! Also, thanks for the kind comment you left on my blog!Nina Crittendenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05138797244541248080noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6607988938023368182.post-20989393365640057382012-01-23T23:24:46.347-08:002012-01-23T23:24:46.347-08:00And thanks for returning the visit, Loni. I really...And thanks for returning the visit, Loni. I really like your blog, & plan to visit it again in the future.Kathy Cannon Wiechmanhttp://swaggerwriters.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6607988938023368182.post-4958453471637778352012-01-23T19:07:53.309-08:002012-01-23T19:07:53.309-08:00*thought**thought*Loni Edwardshttp://loniedwards.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6607988938023368182.post-56816331754747024022012-01-23T19:06:47.124-08:002012-01-23T19:06:47.124-08:00Hi Kathy,
Thank you so much for visiting my blog...Hi Kathy, <br /><br />Thank you so much for visiting my blog. <br /><br />Thank you for your though provoking post. I really enjoyed it.Loni Edwardshttp://loniedwards.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6607988938023368182.post-16690463063863712972012-01-23T14:25:07.328-08:002012-01-23T14:25:07.328-08:00I'm glad you stopped by, too. I love your blog...I'm glad you stopped by, too. I love your blog & your talent & now your advice to "just take a chance."Kathy Cannon Wiechmanhttp://swaggerwriters.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6607988938023368182.post-16266603509577903202012-01-23T11:47:47.033-08:002012-01-23T11:47:47.033-08:00I am not a writer, but I am an artist. I have lear...I am not a writer, but I am an artist. I have learned that we are our own worst critiques. We tend to over analyses, give harsh jusdment & hold ourselves back. Therefore, I say, it is best to let go of the rules, let go of the fear, just take a chance & do it if you feel it works. <br />It was no coincidences that I stopped by your blog, as I noticed you had made a comment on my blog too... glad I stopped by.Laurie Jesshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03064034944717434517noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6607988938023368182.post-41932568157996263442012-01-23T10:33:13.914-08:002012-01-23T10:33:13.914-08:00I hope that my current WIP will be good enough to ...I hope that my current WIP will be good enough to make the coincidence believable. I will "go for it." Thanks.Kathy Cannon Wiechmanhttp://swaggerwriters.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6607988938023368182.post-13127676470135986012012-01-23T10:30:19.322-08:002012-01-23T10:30:19.322-08:00Thanks for commenting. May your coincidences all b...Thanks for commenting. May your coincidences all be good ones.Kathy Cannon Wiechmanhttp://swaggerwriters.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6607988938023368182.post-75022532191181289642012-01-23T09:04:53.705-08:002012-01-23T09:04:53.705-08:00I agree that many great books have coincidences in...I agree that many great books have coincidences in the story. I think the key is how well it is done. If the coincidence is just to tie up the story at the end then I think it feels contrived. I say go for it.Mary Jo Guglielmohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14044407102808262871noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6607988938023368182.post-44414091578296100132012-01-23T02:22:58.740-08:002012-01-23T02:22:58.740-08:00Good points about how convincingly it is done. The...Good points about how convincingly it is done. There are certainly abundant coincidences in the real world!Ms. Yinglinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17805324364289597178noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6607988938023368182.post-47783076056025673582012-01-22T14:35:41.118-08:002012-01-22T14:35:41.118-08:00Hi, Susan,
We have done group critiques at our wo...Hi, Susan,<br /> We have done group critiques at our workshops, but outside of that, some of us have done it on a one-to-one basis. And my fellow Swaggers are great at critique.<br /> Love your Bill hardy story. Another wonderful serendipitous meeting! Enjoy your reunion in CA.Kathy Cannon Wiechmanhttp://swaggerwriters.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6607988938023368182.post-33204365380608739532012-01-22T14:28:29.684-08:002012-01-22T14:28:29.684-08:00Just another example of a great writer who can get...Just another example of a great writer who can get away with things others can't. Thanks for your comment.Kathy Cannon Wiechmanhttp://swaggerwriters.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6607988938023368182.post-2731671970521047312012-01-22T14:25:31.308-08:002012-01-22T14:25:31.308-08:00So true, so true.So true, so true.Kathy Cannon Wiechmanhttp://swaggerwriters.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6607988938023368182.post-89900421998046491282012-01-22T12:48:52.457-08:002012-01-22T12:48:52.457-08:00I read several of your posts. What a nice group yo...I read several of your posts. What a nice group you are. Do you critique together too? We are a group of four (this is Susan) who critique and blog together. Like you, our interests and personalities are diverse.<br />Well I don't mind coincidence in fiction. I see so much of it in real life. <br />to wit: I have been looking for one of my old students, back form the sixties when I used to teach acting at Honolulu Comunity Theatre. The last I'd heard of Bill, he was in San Jose CA. I tried looking in the white pages and on Facebook. No luck. There are a lot of Bill Hardys out there.<br />My brother in is hospice in Kailua, HI and my sister and I have been here for two months on deathwatch. Tuesday an very nice man came to entertain and play guitar for the patients. He had a free hour between appointments and called Hospice to ask if he could do it.<br />He and my sister got to talking and... you guessed it. It was Bill Hardy. He teaches in Los Angeles at CSUN and I live twenty minutes form there. When I go home again we'll get to gether. <br />I believe the real world is far stranger than most fiction and I don't mind coincidence a bit.The Pen and Ink Blogspothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01709195512534318571noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6607988938023368182.post-87512542493167796732012-01-22T12:11:21.672-08:002012-01-22T12:11:21.672-08:00I think it depends on how well it's done. John...I think it depends on how well it's done. John Irving was a master at coincidence!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6607988938023368182.post-6425066514077104322012-01-22T07:57:51.813-08:002012-01-22T07:57:51.813-08:00This is something that I struggle with a lot. I ha...This is something that I struggle with a lot. I have had an editor say that if I wrote my life story as a novel that no one would ever publish it because of all the coincidences.<br /><br />I just got back a novel and was accused of having situations that were to contrived.<br /><br />But I agree that some great books have huge coincidences. I really feel like it's one of those things that is very subjective to an editor's taste.Reginahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11515987871219469042noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6607988938023368182.post-25459691869861288402012-01-21T17:48:55.982-08:002012-01-21T17:48:55.982-08:00I guess it depends on how good the book is. If we&...I guess it depends on how good the book is. If we're emotionally caught up in the lives of the characters, we might be more inclined to overlook a coincidence or two.Kathy Cannon Wiechmanhttp://swaggerwriters.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6607988938023368182.post-67594702202116360382012-01-21T17:45:46.076-08:002012-01-21T17:45:46.076-08:00One or two sounds like a good way to go. Moderatio...One or two sounds like a good way to go. Moderation in all things.Kathy Cannon Wiechmanhttp://swaggerwriters.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6607988938023368182.post-81413527910192138372012-01-21T17:43:34.843-08:002012-01-21T17:43:34.843-08:00And it really happened!And it really happened!Kathy Cannon Wiechmanhttp://swaggerwriters.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6607988938023368182.post-41421680242998959422012-01-21T17:42:12.332-08:002012-01-21T17:42:12.332-08:00Those are great examples. Hope the editors realize...Those are great examples. Hope the editors realize how "real" coincidence is.Kathy Cannon Wiechmanhttp://swaggerwriters.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6607988938023368182.post-29183870421571900642012-01-21T17:13:03.838-08:002012-01-21T17:13:03.838-08:00I have no problem with coincidence in novels. WAR ...I have no problem with coincidence in novels. WAR HORSE wouldn't have been such a satisfying read if **spoiler alert** the boy hadn't eventually met up with his horse during the war. Or what if Rhett Butler hadn't shown up so opportunely in GONE WITH THE WIND when they needed to get out of Atlanta? Plenty of books use coincidences (even classics)--too bad people riff on them so badly. As writers, we have to manipulate plot to a certain extent to tie up loose ends, so I don't feel guilty if I occasionally do it.Heather Day Gilberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12353914883176152555noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6607988938023368182.post-58242855735732319882012-01-21T07:17:09.026-08:002012-01-21T07:17:09.026-08:00That's a tough one. It does feel like a cheat...That's a tough one. It does feel like a cheat when I see it in a novel, but I know those things happen. There's no easy answer for that one. :)DL Hammonshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02007260062331783715noreply@blogger.com