“Try
it yourself,” Dr. Watson told Sherlock Holmes when the latter complained about
the good doctor’s accounts of their adventures. Holmes did so twice with, it is
generally agreed, rather lamentable results.
Literally
thousands of other writers also have produced their own Sherlock Holmes
stories, usually with even more lamentable results. But now comes Leah Guinn
with Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure ofthe Blank Page, an invaluable guide for budding pastiche writers.
As
one who has written both Sherlock Holmes stories and an essay on how to write
pastiches (you can find both in “The Peculiar Persecution of John VincentHarden”), I found this 62-page entry in the John H. Watson Society’s MonographSeries to be an excellent guide to the craft.
Ms.
Guinn manages to be both academically rigorous (28 footnotes) and intensely
practical. She begins with a survey of the field, neatly categorizing various
kinds of Holmes stories in “A Field Guide to Common Pastiches.” Full disclosure:
She very kindly mentions my Sebastian McCabe – Jeff Cody mysteries in the “Guest
Starring Sherlock Holmes” category.
The
sections on “Getting Started,” “Using the Canon in Your Pastiche” (even highly
uncanonical ones), “Research in Your Pastiche,” and “Plot in Your Pastiche” (i.e.,
The Watson Formula, as fist outlined by Msgr. Ronald Knox), are all excellent.
My
favorite section, however, is “Characterization in Your Pastiche.” In just two
pages, Ms. Guinn nicely sets out some essential elements of our dynamic duo’s
characters that no pasticheur should distort – but many do. For example: “Watson
is a ladies’ man, but he is always a gentleman.” And I love this sage advice: “Whatever
you do, don’t alter character solely to further the plot or dialogue.” Are you
getting that, people?
Ms.
Guinn’s last writing section, before she deals with the practicalities of
publication, is called “Editing: More Fun Than You Might Think.” That is
actually true. I wish that more pastiche writers would do it!
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