[identity profile] sarahmichigan.livejournal.com 2008-01-10 04:35 pm (UTC)(link)
I dunno. I think there's a place for the red herring, but I think there's a balance. Sometimes authors will throw in characters and situations and objects and go into detail about them, and by the end of the book, you're wondering, "What happened to so-and-so?" or "Why did he go on and on about that book when it never contributed anything to the plot?"

[identity profile] simianpower.livejournal.com 2008-01-10 05:22 pm (UTC)(link)
True, a balance needs to be struck. I'm not on the "make everything a red herring" camp either.