I started reading "The Night Manager", and decided that I'm gonna post my thoughts, and the bits I find interesting here so I can find it later if I have more meta thoughts or fic reasons. I have NO posting schedule in mind.
FROM CHAPTER 1:
I highlighted and bolded bits bcos I find it fascinating.
He was a compact man but tentative, with a smile of apologetic self-protection. Even his Englishness was a well-kept secret. He was nimble and in his prime of life. If you were a sailor you might have spotted him for another, recognized the deliberate economy of his movements, the caged placing of the feet, one hand always for the boat. He had trim curled hair and a pugilist’s thick brow. The pallor of his eyes caught you by surprise. You expected more challenge from him, heavier shadows.
And this mildness of manner within a fighter’s frame gave him a troubling intensity. You would never during your stay in the hotel confuse him with anybody else: not with Herr Strippli, the creamy-haired front-of-house manager, not with one of Herr Meister’s superior young Germans, who strode through the place like gods on their way to stardom somewhere else. As a hotelier Jonathan was complete. You did not wonder who his parents were or whether he listened to music or kept a wife and children or a dog. His gaze as he watched the door was steady as a marksman’s. He wore a carnation. At night he always did.
OK. This is literally our introduction to Pine, and holy shit, Hiddleston really captured him. Wow. He nailed the physical ticks of book!Pine so well.
Jonathan’s hands stiffened, and he instinctively flicked his elbows as if to ready them for combat.
I swear I remember them focusing on this movement from S1! And Hiddleston definitely flicked his elbows a tonne whenever he thought shit was gonna hit the fan.
Jonathan was worrying about his hands, which as usual were immaculate and had been so ever since he had been the subject of spot fingernail inspections at his army school.
A military man, but also, how his hands are always clean. And yeah, I definitely NOTICED the show's focus on his hands from time to time throughout both seasons. But the one that stuck in my head most was Pine rubbing & pulling on his hands during the S2 ep1 in his session with the psychologist. His hands were immaculate there, but did it tell a damn story via their movements. It is a way to control his emotions, his actions and repress, repress and repress.
And tilting her head back and viewing him on the slant: “The flower of England.”
I LOVE that this was literally one of the first things Sophie says to Pine. But also the fact when I first read this I thought she meant him, and I DIDN'T even think it was weird. It wasn't till several minutes later when it clicked she was talking about the CARNATION he wore. I DON'T remember this line from the show... But I also did watch S1 in a stretch of fever-like dream state. So.
“What else do you do on your weekends off?”
“Play a little tennis. Run a little. Consider my immortal soul.”
“Is it immortal?”
“I hope so.”
“Do you believe so?”
“When I’m happy.”
“And when you are unhappy, you doubt it. No wonder that God is so fickle. Why should He be constant, when we are so faithless?”
Their conversation about the human soul is really INTERESTING to me bcos it resonated so much in S2. Especially when Pine tells Roper that he can't have his soul. Banger line. But also if you believe Hiddleston and the production crew are basing much of who Pine is on the book, then I feel this conversation is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT. Bcos Pine might not be religious, but he does BELIEVE in people having souls.
BUT ALSO, HE DOES INDEED PLAY TENNIS, RUNS AND CONTEMPLATE THE STATE OF HIS SOUL IN BOTH SEASONS.
The watcher’s skills had never abandoned him.
I love how le Carré just drops these little nuggets of Pine's competence with NO additional context. I'm sure it will be coming in the later chapters. I just find it a really good writer's decision.
Never surprised by his own obedience, Jonathan selected a red felt-tipped pen from the silver desk stand and wrote PINE in capitals on the envelope.
... This SAYS so much about Pine, and we see it over and over again throughout the drama. Even as he is super competent, even as he shows initiative, he is so fucking good at OBEYING direct orders and requests. Military background? Used to obey? Or a personality quirk? THOUGHTS.
“Mr. Pine.”
“Madame Sophie.”
“Concerning your immortal soul.”
“Concerning it.”
“We are all immortal, naturally. But if it should turn out that I am not, you will please give those documents to your friend Mr. Ogilvey. May I trust you to do that?”
“If that is what you want, of course.”
And we circle back to the immortal soul.
Oh. Wait. Shit. THIS LINKS BACK TO TEDDY. HOW AM I SO DUMB?!? HELL, EVEN ROPER TELLS TEDDY HE FORGIVES HIS IMMORTAL SOUL. SCRIPT WRITER!!!! I LOVE THE LINKING THEMES!!! It is like Pine witnessing Roper have the same fucking conversation as he did with Sophie all those fucking years ago. I AM ANGST.
Pine eight hours later, a different kind of servant, seated buttock-to-buttock with Mark Ogilvey in the cramped cabin of the minister’s yacht while Mrs. Ogilvey in the galley, wearing designer jeans, runs up smoked salmon sandwiches.
I have so many thoughts for this short paragraph. Pine being aware he is serving others in many different capacities. But the buttock-to-buttock is such a weirdly homoerotic description here that it throws me so much. LOLs.
While most deities allow temple attendants to choose their timeline of service, only two require a lifetime of dedication: Dunne and Loial. For both war and love change souls irrevocably. —Major Rorilee's Guide to Appeasing the Gods, Second Edition
I read Stephen King's "On Writing" (well, listened to it) so you don't have to. Whether you need creative inspiration, want some quick writing advice from the book, or didn't read it for an assignment, here you go.
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These notes are only from the "On Writing" portion of the book which comes after the memoir-heavy portion and a section called "Toolbox" which emphasizes the importance of grammar and knowing your craft. The end also has a section called "On Life" which discusses how he was hospitalized after an accident and writing helped him find him way back to himself. Two essays from his sons (one's an interview transcript) about writing and their life with their father are also featured at the end.
[ 𝗢𝗡 𝗪𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚 ]
- If you don’t want to work your ass off don’t bother
- If you want to be a writer you have to read a lot and write a lot
- Reading - "you cannot wish to sweep someone else away by the force if your writing unless it has been done to you"
- If you don’t have time to read you don’t have the time or tools to write
- Constant reading brings you to a mindset to write more freely, and to know what’s been done before
- King talks about 4-6 hours of reading and writing per day
- Writing is best when it’s "an inspired plague", writing feeling like work is the kiss of death
- King does about 10 pages/2000 words a day
- Attributes his success in part to staying active/a healthy body and a healthy relationship
- Recommends 1000 words per day as a starting point for writing daily, allowing even one day per week off
- Most important part of a writing space is a door to close that says you mean business
- You want to get rid of the world around you because you’re creating your own world
- Ensure “the muse” knows where you’ll be everyday and when do it will start showing up
- He says to not just feel limited to write what you “know”, but what you know includes imagination and feeling too
[ PLOT ]
- King doesn’t plot he believes in giving the story a place to grow
- Not just the novels creator but but it’s first reader
- The idea of plot wheels when you're stuck, apparently used a lot in the 1920s
- Strong situations for writing can be asked as a what if question ( ex what if vampires invaded New York City? )
- An exercise: write 5-6 unplotted pages from a situation
- "Description begins in the writers imagination but should be in the readers"
- It’s as easy to over describe as it is to under describe
- Fresh images, simple vocabulary
[ DIALOUGE ]
- Never tell if you can show us
- Dialogue is usually done best by people who like to speak and listen to people
(( Don’t love how he just read two slurs out loud in the audiobook version !!?? ))
- Talk should be true on the page, no matter ugly or profane, it shows character
- If I have to tell you I lose as the writer if you can figure it out yourself I win
- If you do your job your characters will come to life and start to do things on their own
- Try everything if it works it works if it doesn’t delete it
- Hemingway’s “kill your darlings”
[ SYMBOLISM ]
- Symbolism and theme in second draft as things arise … I agree with this I tend to look back and double down on the motifs and patterns that naturally arise in the first draft instead of trying to insert or plan it
- Symbolism and the other adornments are bells and whistles, the story is still the most important part
[ THEME ]
- On theme - every book is about something, look at the forest of the book after staring at all the branches closely
- Boredom is good for creative jams
- Thinking above the curve
- Asking yourself what are you writing about/why are you spending the time on this specific story (what’s worth it)
- Most writers seem to have the same themes or obsessions in their works.. the same things will likely re-arise throughout your works
- Don’t START with theme.. the story idea tends to come first. Once the story is on paper, then ask what it means and work with it
[ REVISION & IDEAL READER ]
- King does 2 drafts and a polish .. rewriting varies by writing
- Write the first draft without input from others.. like laying fresh snow without tracks from others yet
- When you let someone into the draft don’t let them talk to you about it until you talk to them about it
- Take some time off to let your book rest, he suggests about 6 weeks
- Waiting makes it feel like someone else’s… it’s easier to kill someone’s else’s darlings rather than your own
- Character motivation is something you’ll see better (why did a character do X or Y if it seems they never would, etc)
- He focuses on “big questions” (resonance— what’s it all about and how do I make it clearer without spoon feeding it) mostly in the first read through alongside things like glaring spelling errors, needing clarifying sentences in places
- Every novel has an ideal reader in the back of their mind
- You can’t let the whole world into your story but you can let in the ones that matter most
- Envisioning your ideal reader helps you get outside yourself
- Nothing wrong with fast paced novels but you do risk losing the reader or wearing them out, despite modern day publishers sometimes encouraging quick pace
- Every story should unfold at its own pace--too slow is a risk too
- Look back to "ideal reader" and how they would feel reading the book/the pace (ask: is it over/underexplained to them, etc)
- Pacing = “just take out the boring parts” -- kill your darlings, even when it breaks your ego
- KILL YOUR DARLINGS !!!
- Second draft: first draft-10% !!
- In general, reader more interested in what’s going to happen than what already happened (re: clunky backstory)
- A) everyone has a history, b) most of it isn’t very interesting.. stick to the parts that are
- Research should be as far in the background as you can get it -- remember you're writing a novel, not a research paper
[ WRITING CLASSES ]
- I have a lot of my own ideas about these since my degree is in writing, but I agree with some of the points King made that they're beneficial in ways but also put your writing on the spot a bit too much, expose your writing to empty critiques, and can end up giving you some writers block by making you feel you need to write something "important" or within a certain topic, etc....
- You learn the most by writing and reading more... you don't really NEED any writing classes. (My personal favorite part was engaging with other writers)
- Intellectually stimulating and fun but often lack the "nuts and bolts" of writing
[ PUBLISHING ]
- Publishers are mostly looking for hot new writers who can write and sell a lot of books
- Not all agents are good agents
- "The most important thing you can do is read the market"
- Get smaller magazines and stories published (being able to supply a list, even short, of reputable publications)
- "You cant make them like their story, but you can make it easier for them to try to like it" -- go in looking like a professional, word counts and correct paper and staples and cover letters, etc (small cover letter example in the book)
- Being a new writer you need to remember that anyone can publish an ad as a literary agent or claiming to be one
King says a lot of his writing knowledge feels more like instinct .. and he has written because it fulfills him for the buzz and the joy ("if you can do it for the joy, you can do it forever"). "Writing isn't life, but it can be a way back to life".
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The notes are largely unedited because they were originally just for me, but I hope someone gleans something from them!
Rebecca Yarros straight up ripped from other fantasy/dystopian novels to compensate for her inexperience with the genre and I can PROVE IT–
Imagine a world in which young adults of a certain age have to choose to go into one of a handful of color-coded jobs/social roles. Our FMC chooses to go into the edgy black-colored group which fills this society's military function. She has to fight other students as part of her training there and lives in constant fear of getting eliminated from the program (which is done to cull weak links and keep the military strong).
Basgiath War College? Wrong. That is the plot of Divergent.
Ok, but how about this: imagine that this society lives in fear of being attacked or invaded by people who live beyond their borders. It is later revealed, however, that the people beyond the border are simply struggling to survive against a massive magical existential threat. This threat was long thought to be a fairytale and has white dragons that spit blue fire. If the people inside the borders don't do anything to help, it is only a matter of time before they too are overwhelmed and destroyed.
Venin? Wrong again, that's literally just the white walkers from Game of Thrones.
Fine but what about the romance!! The MMC is dark, edgy, and has shadow powers. The FMC thinks he's awful but it's soon revealed that underneath his dangerous exterior there's someone sweet and loving, who cares for his people above all else. The MMC and FMC are also psychically connected as the accidental byproduct of a magical bond.
Look man, I haven't even read A Court of Mist and Fury and even I know that's just Rhysand from the ACOTAR series.
Finding out that this book was assigned to her by her publisher and not the result of real passion or interest in the genre comes as no surprise, though I am shocked by just how brazenly derivative it really is.
did a little digging and it really does look like the russo brothers read/skimmed the first couple gray man books and chopped them all up into one movie. to make it more marketable and digestible to as many people as possible they definitely changed and simplified a bunch of stuff — which i can get when it comes to using different art mediums to tell a story — but with how far the marvel-verse fell it really doesn’t bode well for TGM2.
personal thoughts: call me interested yet apprehensive i guess, but i wouldn’t trust these guys with my own book-turned-movie. they’re way too deep in the rut of action and very boiled down adventure that if they ever make a movie using neither one of those genres i’d be absolutely blown away.
