Old Habits, part the last
OK this is it for National Novel Writing Month 2009, the final day of writing. I've almost finished my novel but Thanksgiving and recovering from that took several productive days away so I won't have it done this month.
I jumped ahead several chapters to near the end for the final part, for the big reveal. Readers may have possibly guessed what this story is an adaptation or homage to, but the clues have been pretty vague. This chapter ought to give a decent idea. A lot has happened in the intervening chapters, so the situation has changed some, but it isn't so different that it is incomprehensible.
I'll put a spoiler below the break so people can see that first if they want.
Old Habits, part 21
I jumped ahead several chapters to near the end for the final part, for the big reveal. Readers may have possibly guessed what this story is an adaptation or homage to, but the clues have been pretty vague. This chapter ought to give a decent idea. A lot has happened in the intervening chapters, so the situation has changed some, but it isn't so different that it is incomprehensible.
I'll put a spoiler below the break so people can see that first if they want.
Old Habits, part 21
This is, of course, an adaptation of Die Hard. What I wanted to do was pull together a fantasy version of the story because it is such a fun and distinctive tale but no one has - to my knowledge - tried to put it into any other setting. Instead of a huge corporate tower, we have a castle. Instead of explosives, we have a wizard's spell. Instead of a cop, we have a thief and instead of a thief we have the guards.
Ideally, I think an adaptation should retain enough of the story elements and ideas to be recognizable, but be changed enough to make the tale unique. I'm really trying to make this work because I have not a few adaptations in mind, such as the Mel Gibson movie Payback as a western - since that's what the movie feels like to me (as I understand it, Payback is a remake so I'm curious what the original is like. Maybe I can Netflix it).
Die Hard is so iconic that I thought it would be a wonderful story to work with, and placing it in fantasy instead of modern day changes things enough that it hopefully isn't a direct rip off. And I've adjusted the story flow a bit so things are unique to Old Habits. Hopefully this one will be published next year - I'd really rather not go through PublishAmerica again, but I might have to if I can't find an agent or publisher.
Oh, the title. How's that saying go again?
Ideally, I think an adaptation should retain enough of the story elements and ideas to be recognizable, but be changed enough to make the tale unique. I'm really trying to make this work because I have not a few adaptations in mind, such as the Mel Gibson movie Payback as a western - since that's what the movie feels like to me (as I understand it, Payback is a remake so I'm curious what the original is like. Maybe I can Netflix it).
Die Hard is so iconic that I thought it would be a wonderful story to work with, and placing it in fantasy instead of modern day changes things enough that it hopefully isn't a direct rip off. And I've adjusted the story flow a bit so things are unique to Old Habits. Hopefully this one will be published next year - I'd really rather not go through PublishAmerica again, but I might have to if I can't find an agent or publisher.
Oh, the title. How's that saying go again?
posted by Christopher Taylor at 9:07 AM
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