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"Fatal(ly poorly written) Legacies".....

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  • "Fatal(ly poorly written) Legacies".....

    Guggenheim has apparently co-written an "Arrow" novel called "Fatal Legacies".



    Now, Guggenheim has caught a lot of flak from some folks for his amateur script writing ("tumblr fan fics") on the "Arrow" show. However, if these excerpts from "Fatal Legacies" are legit (and not parodies, which they almost seem to be!), I'd say that this piece of embarrasingly flat prose is worse than anything we've seen on "Arrow". In a scripted show the action is conveyed through motion, dialogue and actors' interpretations, while in written prose it's all conveyed through the authors' words and style .....and IMHO there are fan fic writers on this very forum who could do a better/more professional job with this material (looking at you Amarice and JDBentz!):

    Discover the magic of the internet at Imgur, a community powered entertainment destination. Lift your spirits with funny jokes, trending memes, entertaining gifs, inspiring stories, viral videos, and so much more from users.




    This is almost "Fifty Shades of Grey"-level of bad and (unintentionally) comical writing! I know this isn't the kind of stuff that gets reviewed in the NYT, but there are many "low brow" genre writers out there whose characterization is much more subtle/less clunky than Sara's inner monologue about her relationship with Oliver or her ruminations about the electrifying Olicity "chemistry" and "Smoaking" Felicity....Seems like having other "Arrow" characters praise Felicity and turning them into Olicity shippers is a part of Guggenheim's writing habits.

    And it's not really the subject matter that is the main problem, but the manner and style of writing. I found Moira's praise of Laurel equally clunky in some season one eps, e.g. when she told Laurel to her face that being with her made Oliver a better person (talking about their past), especially since the writers ALSO kept emphasizing what a douchebag he was pre-Island! A good novelist/screen writer finds more subtle ways of showing that a character has empathy, or is a good person (or that a romantic relationship is singularly blessed and flawless) than having people TALK about it in forced dialogues. They also try to maintain some continuity which actually make these statements ring true, rather than presenting situations where the supposedly empathetic character does not seem especially tuned in to other people's feelings, or create unnecessary drama which makes the relationship seem less than epic and written in the stars (and that goes IMHO for most of Oliver's more durable romances).

    In general, Guggenheim's/Arrow writing is too much telling and too little showing/subtlety/subtext, and that is why it comes off as so (emotionally) flat sometimes.
    Last edited by evaba; 01-31-2018, 03:34 AM.

  • #2
    "Sara smiled and shared a nod with Curtis. She'd forgotten the energy of being in the room with Felicity and Oliver. The rest of the team added to it, but she could watch those two and their chemistry all day."

    "Even with that, the chemistry between Felicity and Oliver could light up a building. And Felicity was smoking-Smoaking?-"




    Reminds me of Friends and that erotic book of Rachel's that Joey was reading. If I was an Olicity shipper, I'd be deeply offended because apparently MG thinks that this is the type of kindergarten dialogue that appeals to me. If he hasn't dumbed down the dialogue intentionally and this is the best he can do, then I'd love to meet his agent.

    Of course these passages also confirm that Guggenheim has always meant to pander to that fanbase. Something that's been vehemently denied at times...
    Last edited by costas22; 01-31-2018, 06:41 AM.

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    • #3
      Originally posted by costas22
      "Sara smiled and shared a nod with Curtis. She'd forgotten the energy of being in the room with Felicity and Oliver. The rest of the team added to it, but she could watch those two and their chemistry all day."

      "Even with that, the chemistry between Felicity and Oliver could light up a building. And Felicity was smoking-Smoaking?-"
      Wow.

      Seriously, are these passages someone pulling a prank?

      If not, explains a lot about what happened to the show....

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      • #4
        Evaba > Thanks for posting this - I had a good laugh on this afternoon. After reading those fragments I feel more motivated to finish my WIP I've been writing for over two years than ever.

        Srsly, if Guggie and his co-writer wanted to show the epicness of Olicity there was a few more subtle ways to show their special connection that making other characters to observe their "amazing chemistry". Literally! Who does say/think something like this about partners who are a good match??? It seems that putting those words into Sara's mouth was meant to erase the only relationship of Oliver that seemed to work on the screen (sidenote: I don't care about Canarrrow and I don't ship it - but at least it was clear to me as the viewer where the relationship in S2 came from).

        Btw. "a dress fluttering under intensity of his gaze"??? "The laugh burts out of her, taking her whole face"??? Does it sound right to native speakers?

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