Can We Talk 2

Miscellaneous On Writing

         It's been popular in the last few years to have best sellers written in the first person by more than one protagonist. When it just goes back and forth between, say, a husband and wife, it's not too hard to keep straight. When it's done by more than one person, and two of the women are similar, it's hard to know who's talking and what's going on. I've had to backtrack and reread and figure out who's telling the story. After a while it begins to click and takes minimal effort at the start of each chapter or segment to know whose viewpoint this is. (The movie version of one such book just didn't get into that at all, but told the story from the omniscient camera point of view. You didn't have to work as hard, so you were vested in the story.)

         I've read two very different books recently with the omniscient third person. One is a top selling current author, and one is an award winner from a small genre that's not as popular and wrote in the mid 20th century. I noticed both of them switched back and forth, even in the same paragraph, indicating every character's feelings and insights.

         I found a split infinitive in Danielle Steele. Granted sometimes, as in dialog, you want to leave it that way to indicate the character's speech or education. But in the authoritative commentary you expect it to be correct. It wouldn't have altered the sound or the meaning to avoid splitting it. We look to her, a successful author, for an example.

         I frequently get writer's block. There's always something going on in my head, revising a story, questioning a character's growth, but getting it on paper is another story. I'm not a paid author, so I always feel I have to justify my time writing. There's always so many other things to do.

         Modern technology makes writing easier and quicker. But it's changing constantly. I found some floppy discs earlier today. Where am I going to be able to look at those? I have a hard drive with an old system that no longer works with the Internet, and much of my writing is on it. The programs I have on it are no longer available, including my photo slide shows, and my family tree work. I've talked to some computer geeks who agree that things saved on today's technology may not be accessible ten years from now. I'm glad that I have a few things on WDC, so at least as long as that's up and current, I can see those items. Old fashioned photographs and printed word documents may be a safe backup, when thinking about the future.