Please answer the following questions (maximum 200 words per response). Please post a reply to at least two people’s posts.
- Look over S. S. Van Dine’s “Twenty Rules for Writing Detective Stories”. Keeping in mind that Van Dine is writing after the publication of The Hound of the Baskervilles, discuss how well the rules function in relation to this story. Where one does not apply, is the story weakened, or is the problem with the rule itself? How universal is the set of rules? Remember to be specific (avoid listing rules that do or do not apply), and be sure to respond to the opinions of your colleagues, which may differ widely from yours.
“Twenty Rules for Writing Detective Stories”
http://www.thrillingdetective.com/trivia/triv288.html - Aside from Holmes and Watson, the characters in Hound are quite sparsely sketched out. What do you make of Conan Doyle’s concentration on plot over character? What are the overall benefits and/or drawbacks of this? Why might it be a function of the detective-fiction genre, or why is it a necessary aspect of this particular story? The Hound of the Baskervilles.
Sample Solution