Propaganda and lies

[Abernovo]

Actually, a twofer thread (two (questions) for the price of one).

A woman accidentally becomes a voice of a grassroots political movement - one that threatens the authority of the government. A senior politician, in turn, reveals her unorthodox lifestyle and embellishes the truth to discredit her.

How much would you expect people in a small community (c.1,000) to believe the lies?

She didn't reveal certain things about herself, because it wasn't relevant to her life in that community, which is reasonably new, but has been brought together by hardship. However, she fears that they will take her reticence as a sign of mendacity.

So far I have it, at 70/30 in her favour, so continuing what becomes civil unrest, then spreads to other communities. It's a small part of the story, but I wondered how effective smear campaigns can be, in your opinion, in a smaller group who should know better.

*********​

The second question is how do you (as readers) feel about variable chapter lengths?

Most of mine are within 300 words of each other, but I occasionally throw in longer ones for an intense scenes and I have a couple of short chapters which cross over to the other PoV to create tension and pace (hopefully).

 

[TheDustyZebra]

People will believe anything if it's juicy, and especially in a small community where everybody will hear it and whisper it around and add to it so they look like they know more than anyone else. Only the very closest of family *might* be immune. Everyone else is more than happy to jump on the "can you believe it" bandwagon. In a larger community, where there are more people who have never heard of the person, there aren't as many who will care about the story and spread the gossip. It's the smaller community that will turn on one in an instant and embellish for their own enjoyment -- they feel they have more riding on it because they know the person.

Chapter lengths, I don't notice. Unless it's a book I'm reading to my kids a chapter at a time.

 

[Tyburn]

In answer to the first one, a 'good' politician (that is one who is skilled at politics and unburdened with any sort of social conscience) would in all probability be able to turn the tables to 70/30 against in quite a short time. If said politico has aides and access to private investigators or journalists, then a single newspaper article (or whatever the equivalent is in your world) can cause untold damage even in proven untrue.

It sort of forms the basis of one of my own concepts in a back-burner project I have running. One of the two leads is the galaxy's greatest (by merit of being the only) 'non-lethal assassin'. When questioned on this he points out that on 20th century Earth, the scandal around the resignation of President Nixon caused more damage on a sociological level than the actual killing of President Kennedy.

Your second point? My first chapter weighs in at around the 1000 word mark, the second was nearly 8000 until I split it into two.

 

[The Judge]

Even people who know her well could believe the lies -- or at least think there's no smoke without fire since she's withheld other information, so I'd have no problem in accepting a lot of the 1,000 would leap to conclusions, especially if this is a new community. On the other hand, I'd also accept that the majority might give her the benefit of the doubt if it's an opposition politician defaming her, since committed activists, as these appear to be, tend not to believe anything the other side says, even if it is true.

So, basically, you write it as you want, and I'll go along with it -- as long as you convince me why!


As for chapters, I'm one of those who would get a bit antsy if one chapter was only a few hundred words and the next was 6,000. How much longer/shorter than your norm are the others?

 

[Abernovo]

TDZ, I hear you. I live in one of those very rural areas, just like that. Gossip is the only thing know to travel faster than light.

Tyburn, he, the politician, used the press to seed the story.

TJ, they're not committed activists, but mostly normal people who've been screwed over by a remote (in essence, not distance) government once too often. I'll try to keep it convincing.

My chapters are coming in around 2,500 words. The one long one is 3,500, but it's (hopefully) one of building tension that takes the story up to a break. I have a couple, though, slightly under 1,000 words. I'm not fully committed to the chapters as they are - I think there's some room for combining some of them, to be determined at a later date. That was why I asked, how people feel about chapter lengths as readers.

 

[Tracer01]

If you ask me, the propaganda it is like a hamburger - bread it is a true and everything else it is a lie.

When Goebbels have been making Der Untermensch book he came up with a simple idea: find among exhausted Soviet prisoners the ugliest ones and take some good pictures, to convince the audience that they are less than human.

When Soviet Government has decided to motivate the soldiers of Red Army to fight, they've made a note Kill the German!

Or, maybe, we are speaking about more complicated things?

 

[The Judge]

Ah, if not activists, they might be more willing to listen, then -- whether to lies or to the truth. Another factor to bear in mind is how busy these people are -- if they're working all hours to scrape enough food to live, and they're going to bed exhausted, they might have less energy to think about lies and propaganda. Gossip, yes, but actually sitting and thinking political thoughts, perhaps not.


The longer chapter at 3,500 wouldn't worry me, but the under 1,000s might, depending on content. Not to the extent of giving up on it, but perhaps inducing an unsettled feeling. See what your betas say when it comes to it, though.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

I have no probs with the set up. Chapter length, mine vary from c. 700 words up to c2000 with 1500 as a norm, but I tend to switch pov with chapter and the short ones tend to come towards the end when pace is dictating quick switches. Zafon, in his last book, varied chapter lengths a lot. I rather liked it.

 

[Tyburn]

The difference between propaganda and gossip?

Everyone hates propaganda, everyone loves gossip.

Gossip is rarely pleasant. There's almost always a negative spin on it. It travels further and faster than any amount of propaganda. Most people in my experience switch off (mentally if not physically) when there's a 'Party Political Broadcast' on the TV. But on hearing a juicy snippet of gossip, people just can't help themselves - it's like the act of passing it on is like inviting people into a special club and swearing them to a code of silence you know nobody ever sticks to.

 

[Tracer01]

The difference between propaganda and gossip?

Everyone hates propaganda, everyone loves gossip.

Gossip is rarely pleasant. There's almost always a negative spin on it. It travels further and faster than any amount of propaganda. Most people in my experience switch off (mentally if not physically) when there's a 'Party Political Broadcast' on the TV. But on hearing a juicy snippet of gossip, people just can't help themselves - it's like the act of passing it on is like inviting people into a special club and swearing them to a code of silence you know nobody ever sticks to.

Oh the question is how to spread the information?

Have you ever played that game during the Psychology lessons?
When you receive the information, tell it the different student, who was unaware about it, then he pass the info to the next one?

 

[Abernovo]

I'm reading Brin's Existence at the mo, springs. That has some variable chapter lengths, which works for the story. But I did wonder how people feel, and I wouldn't compare myself to him.

Yes, TJ, those betas are next on my list of considerations.

Tyburn, that's the media for you: in your home like a friend. A good hatchet job with a bit of moral righteousness can be like gossip. At least, so I'm hoping (for the purposes of the story).

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Oh, me! Me! I have a suspicion I owe you oooooh about 200,000 words, anyway!

 

[Abernovo]

You don't owe me anything.
Reading your work was/is a pleasure. Agents, get your act together and sign springs up!

However, I know. When the time comes, I shall make the call.

 

[Tyburn]

Tyburn, that's the media for you: in your home like a friend. A good hatchet job with a bit of moral righteousness can be like gossip. At least, so I'm hoping (for the purposes of the story).

Exactly. The tabloids are worst for that sort of thing. Mark Thomas, in his docu-novel As Used On The Famous Nelson Mandela, even uses the line 'I was about to go totally Daily Mail' when referring to a spot of moral outrage. I'm hoping the phrase will filter through into common usage so I can pop it in a project somewhere. I like the idea of a character turning on someone and growling through gritted teeth "Don't make me go all Daily Mail on you."