[stylist] Plot input.

Fri Sep 11 03:32:30 UTC 2009

Alan,
well it depends.  michael crichton gets into major medical detail, 
makes it exciting.

when Tom Clancy describes the innards of a submarine, there's a lot 
of detail.  I appreciate the detail, makes it more believable, easier 
to get into the story and characters.

but you have to balance the detail with the kind of pace you want for 
your story.  for your story, there's really a certain amount of 
medical necessary to make it plausible.
perhaps some of the medical can be described, put together, in such a 
way that it helps build your plot?  so that the two hearts experience 
can be amplified through metaphor(s)  in some of the medical details.
jc

Jim Canaday M.A.
Lawrence, KS

At 04:55 AM 9/3/2009, you wrote:
>After my last post, it occurs to be not to bog the story down with 
>too much medical detail (i,e.: medical jargon, etc.)  How do you, as 
>writers, strike a balance in situations like this?
>
>----- Original Message ----- From: "James Canaday M.A. N6YR" 
><n6yr at sunflower.com>
>To: "Writer's Division Mailing List" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
>Sent: Thursday, September 03, 2009 12:18 AM
>Subject: Re: [stylist] Plot input.
>
>
>>Dear Alan,
>>Amy  beat me to it, but the scenario of two people having an 
>>autoimmune heart condition and both needing transplants isn't so far fetched.
>>without involvement of diabetes, if instead they as a couple 
>>traveled to a part of the world with a Scarlet fever outbreak, and 
>>both contracted it. later, they were both found to have heart valve 
>>problems and an autoimmune rejection process going on.  now, a 
>>little less plausible is that they would actually be able to be 
>>donors for each other's hearts.
>>but here's a good intro on the Rheumatic fever issue:
>>http://www.illness-disease.com/rec/364-Rheumatic-fever/
>>
>>for the two of them to be potential heart donors to each other and 
>>make it a bit more plausible, they need to have the same blood 
>>type, be generally the same size, and there are a couple 
>>dozen  titers in blood matching. but some of that could be covered 
>>by maybe putting them both into a religious/ethnic minority together I think.
>>
>>Alan, I'm recovering from congestive heart failure, my heart 
>>literally pumps twice what it did five years ago.  back then, I was 
>>a few months away from living in the hospital and waiting for transplant.
>>
>>in my case, and I think in most, docs try hard to save the heart 
>>rather than going quickly to transplant.  transplant has a lot of risks.
>>
>>now, as to your plot, it is a great one and don't let anybody talk 
>>you out of it!  there are good reasons why even ancient greeks 
>>thought that the heart was the seat of all emotion.
>>jc
>>
>>Jim Canaday M.A.
>>Lawrence, KS
>>
>>
>>At 04:48 AM 8/31/2009, you wrote:
>>>I have an idea for a short story I want to write, but I want input 
>>>on the strength of the overall idea.  Is it plausible, or am I 
>>>asking the reader to suspend disbelief too much?
>>>
>>>Here's the idea, a couple (I haven't determined married or just 
>>>lovers) is struggling with communicating with and understanding 
>>>each other.  In a strange twist of fate, one (or both) have a 
>>>heart condition that allows them to participate in an experimental 
>>>surgery to literally swap hearts. The procedure is a success, but 
>>>as they go the recovery from the surgery, they disover that they 
>>>now more deeply understand each other.  Granted, yes, I know, 
>>>something of a fairy tale, but isn't that what some literature is meant to be?
>>>
>>>_______________________________________________
>>>Writers Division web site:
>>>http://www.nfb-writers-division.org <http://www.nfb-writers-division.org/>
>>>
>>>stylist mailing list
>>>stylist at nfbnet.org
>>>http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/stylist_nfbnet.org
>>>To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info 
>>>for stylist:
>>>http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/stylist_nfbnet.org/n6yr%40sunflower.com
>>
>>
>>_______________________________________________
>>Writers Division web site:
>>http://www.nfb-writers-division.org <http://www.nfb-writers-division.org/>
>>
>>stylist mailing list
>>stylist at nfbnet.org
>>http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/stylist_nfbnet.org
>>To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info 
>>for stylist:
>>http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/stylist_nfbnet.org/awheeler%40neb.rr.com
>>
>>
>>__________ NOD32 4383 (20090831) Information __________
>>
>>This message was checked by NOD32 antivirus system.
>>http://www.eset.com
>>
>
>
>_______________________________________________
>Writers Division web site:
>http://www.nfb-writers-division.org <http://www.nfb-writers-division.org/>
>
>stylist mailing list
>stylist at nfbnet.org
>http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/stylist_nfbnet.org
>To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for stylist:
>http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/stylist_nfbnet.org/n6yr%40sunflower.com