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mary rosenblum
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Hello all!
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mary rosenblum
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I hope you had a fine weekend
and are not TOO hot wherever you are.
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mary rosenblum
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(And if you are, just come to
OR. We've started fall now...)
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mary rosenblum
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This is the Tuesday Forum with
me, Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor, fiction and nonfiction writer and we're
creating characters by 'filtering' through their POV. If you're new here,
remember that you need to click on the 'Ask a Question' button or the 'word
bubble' next to the red question mark at the top of the screen, or use the
ask a question icon in order to ask a question. Your regular 'send' bar
won't reach me! You can also type /ask in front of your question to reach
me.
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mary rosenblum
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I chose my topic today because
of one of the panels I did for the Willamette Writers Conference this past
weekend.
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mary rosenblum
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It was on characterization and
creating characters who were not 'plot puppets'...
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mary rosenblum
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and I found the issue of
'filtering' to be the one that the participants had the least understanding
of...
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mary rosenblum
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and it is really the primary
'non-narrative' tool for revealing characterization.
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mary rosenblum
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And understanding it is what
takes you from telling readers about your characters...
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mary rosenblum
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or NOT telling readers about
your characters and ending up with characters that seem very cardboard...
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mary rosenblum
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to creating real, three
dimensional characters.
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mary rosenblum
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Because even if you know your
character inside and out, you have created that iceberg of person for
yourself...
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mary rosenblum
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you still have to communicate
that reality to the reader.
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mary rosenblum
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And do it without telling!
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travisli
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can you give us an example of
filtering
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mary rosenblum
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redraven just sent me one. We'll
start with that.
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redraven
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So the teacher glares at the
chatty student and thinks, "Dun
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redraven
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Dunce cap or detention
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mary rosenblum
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Thoughts are one way...
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mary rosenblum
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Arbie eyed the new girl. Cute.
Sexy redhead.
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mary rosenblum
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We get a good sense of what
Arbie is interested in. :-)
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mary rosenblum
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That's the most obvious way to
filter the story through your POV.
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mary rosenblum
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We have mental opinions about
everything around us.
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mary rosenblum
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Carolyn smiled across the
table at Harold, hating all middle aged job-obsessed me.
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mary rosenblum
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You have to use this tool
judiciously.
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mary rosenblum
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Too much of anything bogs down
the flow of action...
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mary rosenblum
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but if you block us out of
your POV's head, we lose a LOT of insight.
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tory
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One way is by what a character
notices as they go through a space, no? On a street maybe one character
notices the flowers, trees, birds; another the antique shops or high-end
shops.
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mary rosenblum
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Exactly, tory.
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mary rosenblum
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Let's take a public park.
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mary rosenblum
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Our first character is a
cranky old guy who obsesses over his perfect and gorgeous garden.
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mary rosenblum
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In the park, he notices how
neglected the plants are and he knows them not only by species...
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mary rosenblum
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but by variety and cultivar,
too.
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mary rosenblum
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And he hates 'dirty mutts' who
pee on plants and poop in his yard...
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mary rosenblum
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and he REALLY hates 'punk
kids'
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mary rosenblum
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who cut through his yard and
damage his plants.
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mary rosenblum
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So he sees trampled grass, not
enough water, parched Stella D'Oro in the bed, a dying Queen Elizabeth
rose...filty mutts and out of control punk kids everywhere.
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mary rosenblum
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A young mother with her child
sees new, well kept play equipment, lots of shady grass for play, loose
dogs which unnerve her...
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mary rosenblum
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and she barely notices the
plants.
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mary rosenblum
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A dog lover notices beagles,
labs, approves of their off-leash play, and notices that all the kid hang
around the swing set, so they head for the empty soccer field at the other
end.
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mary rosenblum
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Same park.
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mary rosenblum
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Reader doesn't even see
flowers in two viewpoints...
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mary rosenblum
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doesn't see individual dog
breeds in at least one...
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mary rosenblum
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will describe a very different
park after reading these three different versions, if asked.
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seigfried007
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Mrs. Rosenblum carefully spied
Tami and chris in the back. They pass that note one more time and so help
me...
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mary rosenblum
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-)
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mary rosenblum
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'Cept I probably wouldn't
'carefully' spy. I'd glare, myself.
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mary rosenblum
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So...we have thought and we
have the choice of what the POV notices and does not.
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randi-lee
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however, one person could notice
almost all of what is there plus crochety old Mr. Jones who is glaring at
the kids and dogs and curing about the plants starving.
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mary rosenblum
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Yes, but ONLY if that
character WOULD notice all of that.
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mary rosenblum
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And that's what is important
here.
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mary rosenblum
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If your character is someone
who loves the plants in the park, enjoys kids, likes dogs a lot, and is
observant of people...
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mary rosenblum
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you can have that person see
all that...
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mary rosenblum
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BUT...
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mary rosenblum
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would he? Would she?
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mary rosenblum
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This is part of
characterization.
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mary rosenblum
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YOU, the author may want to
show the reader this park.
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mary rosenblum
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You can do it if Ms Well
Rounded is out for a stroll and is notcing all those details.
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mary rosenblum
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BUT...if she has just broken
up with her boyfriend, has just heard she has breast cancer from her doc...
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mary rosenblum
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is worried about that critical
job interview...
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mary rosenblum
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she is probably not going to
see all that.
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tory
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Mary, can you suggest a
solution? Character is self-absorbed with problems and doesn't notice much
of that park, but for story line, important to convey some bit of
info--like it is rundown or something. How to do it without slipping into
omniscient POV?
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mary rosenblum
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Aha, this is where the 'work'
of being a writer comes in.
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mary rosenblum
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You have to force that
character to notice what you want her to...
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mary rosenblum
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even if she is totally self
absorbed.
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mary rosenblum
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OKay, our POV is worrying
about the critical job interview.
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mary rosenblum
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She sits down on a bench,
trying to calm herself. Forces herself to look at the park...
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mary rosenblum
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but all she can see are the
scuzzy details...the litter, the overflowing garbage cans, the dog piles...
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mary rosenblum
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and she thinks how she will
always be stuck living in crummy neighborhoods like this...
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mary rosenblum
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if she doesn't get this job.
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mary rosenblum
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You CAN find a way.
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mary rosenblum
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A stranger can ask for
directions and make some disparaging comment about the park...
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mary rosenblum
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and our self absorbed POV can
look around, blink. You know, he's right.
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mary rosenblum
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This park really is run down. She
might feel offended becauase it's 'her' park, she might think it's time to
move...whatever suits your story.
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mary rosenblum
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If your character would not
see/think/do something on his or her own...
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mary rosenblum
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you, the author, simply find a
means to MAKE that character think/see/do even if they do NOT want to.
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gwanny
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as a writer I might take it all
in...but my character, unless she is a writer would not...correct?
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mary rosenblum
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Exactly, gwanny.
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mary rosenblum
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THis is why cops go nuts with
witnesses who see wildly different perps.
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mary rosenblum
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People really don't LOOK.
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mary rosenblum
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They see the details that
matter to them and not much else...
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mary rosenblum
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and everyone's details are
different.
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mary rosenblum
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A middle aged
lifetime-housekeeper might notice all the dust, cobwebs, mess in a new room
she enters.
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mary rosenblum
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The bachelor dude won't see
one of those...might be impressed with the wet bar or the guns on the wall.
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mary rosenblum
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This is the Tuesday Forum with
me, Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor, fiction and nonfiction writer and we're
creating characters by 'filtering' through their POV. If you're new here,
remember that you need to click on the 'Ask a Question' button or the 'word
bubble' next to the red question mark at the top of the screen, or use the
ask a question icon in order to ask a question. Your regular 'send' bar
won't reach me! You can also type /ask in front of your question to reach
me.
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randi-lee
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so if you have two characters
meet. John is thinking Pam is a hottie and Pam thinks he is an ass...you
would then stick with one point of view and then in the next chapter could
you use the other one?
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mary rosenblum
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Well, that works in a novel,
if they're both POV characters.
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mary rosenblum
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But usually you can show the
reader what one attitude is from the outside...
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mary rosenblum
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and often you don't need to.
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mary rosenblum
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Novice writers tend to feel
that the reader MUST know everything, and thus fall back on omniscient
POV...big mistake 98 percent of the time.
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mary rosenblum
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Maybe 99 percent.
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mary rosenblum
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Often it really doesn't matter
if we know for sure what that other person thinks. We'll eventually figure
it out more or less from what happens...
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mary rosenblum
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we don't have to know it now.
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mary rosenblum
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Let's look at John and Pam.
Say the reader MUST know both sets of feelings to make this scene work.
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mary rosenblum
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We'll use Pam's POV first.
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mary rosenblum
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"Hi." Pam smiled,
her face stiff as plastic. The jerk was practically drooling. "Nice to
meet you." And see if you can tear your eyes away from my chest,.
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mary rosenblum
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Okay, from John's.
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mary rosenblum
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"Hey, nice to meet
you." John did his best smile. Wow, what a hottie! "I'm really
looking forward to working here."
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mary rosenblum
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"How nice." She gave
him a look that could freeze lava. "I have to get back to work
now."
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mary rosenblum
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Well, so much for _her_. John
sighed and plodded back to his desk.
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mary rosenblum
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Any questions about what the
non-POV thinks in either of these examples. :-)
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mary rosenblum
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This is the Tuesday Forum with
me, Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor, fiction and nonfiction writer and we're
creating characters by 'filtering' through their POV. If you're new here,
remember that you need to click on the 'Ask a Question' button or the 'word
bubble' next to the red question mark at the top of the screen, or use the
ask a question icon in order to ask a question. Your regular 'send' bar
won't reach me! You can also type /ask in front of your question to reach
me.
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seigfried007
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Besides what the character
notices, you also have to use the language your character uses.
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mary rosenblum
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And that's the third aspect of
'filtering'. Language/vocabulary.
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mary rosenblum
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We have thoughts.
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mary rosenblum
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Details.
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mary rosenblum
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And now, vocabulary.
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mary rosenblum
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And this is the one most
novice writers miss entirely.
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mary rosenblum
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If you do not think about it,
your character WILL use your vocabulary.
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mary rosenblum
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Which is fine if your POV
shares your educational history.
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mary rosenblum
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BUT...if he is a fifth grade
dropout and you have a Masters in English...
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mary rosenblum
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this is not gonna work.
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mary rosenblum
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You need to think about HOW
your character would say this, even when you are creating action scenes.
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mary rosenblum
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By constantly using the
character's vocabulary, you keep us immersed in that POV.
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mary rosenblum
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Our fifth grade dropout who
works in the steel plant and is a total sports nut...
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mary rosenblum
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might look at a row of
hollyhocks and see tall pink flowers.
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mary rosenblum
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our English MA might see
elegant spires of pink and green.
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mary rosenblum
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If your steelworker sees those
'elegant spires of pink and green'...
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mary rosenblum
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it's gonna sound a bit off.
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redraven
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So in dialogue (or its thought
equivalent) one can switch PO
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mary rosenblum
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Not unless you mean to switch
POV red.
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mary rosenblum
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Omnicient POV is changing POV
within a scene. Not a good idea.
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mary rosenblum
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You can switch POV...although
in shorter works it tends to distance the reader from your characters and
is generally problematical...
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mary rosenblum
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but in novel form, it is best
to do it at a chapter break and CERTAINLY do it at a scene break.
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randi-lee
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in other words the evil
"head hopping"
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mary rosenblum
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Yeah.
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mary rosenblum
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And that can work.
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mary rosenblum
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But it only works well where
there is NO reason to become intimate with any one character.
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mary rosenblum
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Some literary fiction is
written this way...
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mary rosenblum
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and strongly plot driven or
'come uppance' stories can do this.
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mary rosenblum
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But it is hard to do a STRONG
plot driven story that compells the reader.
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seigfried007
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or your character can read
thoughts
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mary rosenblum
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We all read thoughts, seig.
:-) Some better than others...
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mary rosenblum
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and we do it by noticing body
langauge signals.
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mary rosenblum
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This is the Tuesday Forum with
me, Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor, fiction and nonfiction writer and we're
creating characters by 'filtering' through their POV. If you're new here,
remember that you need to click on the 'Ask a Question' button or the 'word
bubble' next to the red question mark at the top of the screen, or use the
ask a question icon in order to ask a question. Your regular 'send' bar
won't reach me! You can also type /ask in front of your question to reach
me.
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gwanny
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In novel writing, using first
POV, everything filters thru them. Can't I just use dialogue to let the
reader know what the other characters think/feel/ Or is there a better way?
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mary rosenblum
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In first person, gwanny, as in
very limited third, you will have to reveal what other characters
think/feel in one of two ways...
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mary rosenblum
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either your POV notices their
reaction/expression and interprets it...
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mary rosenblum
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OR that person says something.
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mary rosenblum
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Here's an example:
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mary rosenblum
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I'm telling Arthur about how
he'll love it at the school, how much fun we have on the weekends with the
pond and the woods and all...
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mary rosenblum
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and I can see that he doesn't
believe me one bit. Well, I guess I wouldn't either, I mean why should he?
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mary rosenblum
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OR you can let Arthur tell her
himself.
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mary rosenblum
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And when I get done, he just
looks at me. "You're full of it," he says and then he just walks
away. Well, I guess I sort of am.
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mary rosenblum
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This is the Tuesday Forum with
me, Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor, fiction and nonfiction writer and we're
creating characters by 'filtering' through their POV. If you're new here,
remember that you need to click on the 'Ask a Question' button or the 'word
bubble' next to the red question mark at the top of the screen, or use the
ask a question icon in order to ask a question. Your regular 'send' bar won't
reach me! You can also type /ask in front of your question to reach me.
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gwanny
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I wrote a story recently in
which one character spoke a certain dialogue. I was told by several people
that using dialect is not a good idea. It dates a piece. The piece was
dated, 1919...but they said I should have just used a tag line. What do you
think? Is using dialect to make your character true to form wrong?
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mary rosenblum
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Well, I'm not sure I follow
the arguement.
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mary rosenblum
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ONe of the real hassles with
writing historical fiction is the danger that your characters will sound
modern!
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mary rosenblum
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If your piece is set in 1919,
then you WANT them to sound dated!
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mary rosenblum
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It's not taking place in 2005
!
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mary rosenblum
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Dialect is like salt.
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mary rosenblum
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Necessary in moderation, but
you can make food inedible with too much.
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mary rosenblum
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For a bit of too much, think
of Brian Jacques cockney-speaking moles...
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mary rosenblum
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the dialect is spelled out
phonetically and it gives readers headaches!
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gwanny
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that was my argument exactly...I
disagreed strongly with the advise they gave
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mary rosenblum
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Well, dear, not ALL advice is
good advice!
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mary rosenblum
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YOU are the final authority.
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geezer
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I'm very clumsy with inner
dialogue. Are there any rules to go by?
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mary rosenblum
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Use it very sparingly.
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mary rosenblum
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It CAN clunk if overused.
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mary rosenblum
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YOu'll get better with
practice.
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geezer
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However, Uncle Remus is a
classic.
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mary rosenblum
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Ah, been a LONG time since I
read it. :-)
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mary rosenblum
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Orson Scott Card taught a very
useful technique in the workshop I did with him when I was starting out.
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mary rosenblum
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Use phonetic spelling for your
dialect very intensely for the first few paragraphs of a short story or the
first pages of a novel...
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mary rosenblum
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and then keep the construction
and rhythm of the dialect, but spell it correctly...
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mary rosenblum
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with the occasional phonetic
misspelling to remind the reader.
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mary rosenblum
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The reader will continue to
'hear' the dialect even if it is spelled correctly and thus easy to read.
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mary rosenblum
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He's right, too. :-)
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mary rosenblum
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I
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mary rosenblum
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I've tested that a number of
times.
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roe
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I wrote a character who spoke
broken English, instead of dialect. EX: He come in here all the time tells
me I remind him of his grandmama. Is that okay?
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mary rosenblum
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Yes, roe. It is also a way to
convey the impression that the characters are speaking another language...
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mary rosenblum
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even if you are actually
writing in English.
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missa
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What is a tag line?
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mary rosenblum
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That is the line that 'tags'
or identifies the speaker, missa.
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mary rosenblum
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Andrew said he said
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mary rosenblum
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You can also use action tags
to identify the speaker.
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mary rosenblum
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"I don't know."
Andrea made a face. "You tell me."
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mary rosenblum
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Andrea made a face identifies
the speaker of those two sentences and also SHOWS us Andrea.
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mary rosenblum
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MUCH better than "I don't
know," Andrea said. "You tell me."
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mary rosenblum
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There, 'Andrea said' is the
tag line, but it merely identifies the speaker.
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mary rosenblum
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That action tag identifies her
and ALSO shows her to us. :-)
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redraven
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Remus would be difficult unless
you are from the old south
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mary rosenblum
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Yeah, you have to weigh
verisimilitude with the reality of readers.
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seigfried007
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what about fantasy? why do they
have to sound dated?
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mary rosenblum
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Who says it does, seig?
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mary rosenblum
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Classical Sword and Sworcery
fantasy does sort of have it's own style.
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mary rosenblum
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But that's convention.
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mary rosenblum
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And certainly contemporary
fantasy doesn't sound dated. LOL.
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mary rosenblum
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The fourth aspect of filtering
is one that nearly all novice writers are blind to.
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mary rosenblum
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And that is world view.
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seigfried007
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whew! glad to hear someone
agrees with me--medieval people didn't thinkof themselves as medieval and
people from other worlds don't have to talk like they're from our past...
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mary rosenblum
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Well, sometimes a stilted form
of English is used to indicate that these are ESL speakers or are speaking
an 'alien' language, seig.
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mary rosenblum
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(ESL...English as a Second
Language)
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mary rosenblum
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And world view rather overlaps
the other aspects of filtering actually...
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mary rosenblum
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It determines what a
characater looks at and what they see when they do.
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mary rosenblum
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It colors their thoughts.
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mary rosenblum
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it colors their speech.
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mary rosenblum
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It IS the character.
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mary rosenblum
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And in this day and age of
PCness...
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mary rosenblum
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I see some real breaks in
characterization because the writer just couldn't bring herself to have the
character think or speak in offensive ways. :-)
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missa
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And I thought that POV was just
1st person or third
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mary rosenblum
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Well, that defines POV yes,
missa...first is the MC telling us the story...
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mary rosenblum
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in third the author uses
he/she/it...
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mary rosenblum
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but ideally we are as deeply
immersed in either POV.
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gwanny
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I don't think that PCness should
ever stop me or anyone else from writing what they feel. If, as writers, we
allow that to enter into our way of thinking, we are doomed..in my humble
opinion
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mary rosenblum
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Well, it simply limits
severely what you can do.
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mary rosenblum
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Think of To Kill a
Mockingbird.
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mary rosenblum
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That is a powerful novel and
one of the best examples of strong structure...
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mary rosenblum
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and that book could not even
exist if it had to be PC.
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speckledorf
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When adding some character
thoughts, their observations and dialogue...how do we keep it from being
too much?
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mary rosenblum
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That's a matter of pacing and
it's something you will have to learn from reader reaction.
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mary rosenblum
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It's easy to put in too much
or not enough...
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mary rosenblum
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learning that 'just right' is
something you learn from giving your work to readers.
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mary rosenblum
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If they don't say anything
about too much or too little about character thoughts, ask 'em.
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geezer
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That's my problem with inner
dialogue. Without the use of personal pronouns, it seems like 3rd person
POV to me.
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mary rosenblum
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Essentially, geezer, ALL of
first person that is not actual spoken dialogue IS internal POV.
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mary rosenblum
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Don't try to do it any
differently.
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mary rosenblum
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Your character is thinking to
himself and we are overhearing those thoughts.
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mary rosenblum
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You can't effectively separate
a thought from that internal monologue that is first person POV.
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mary rosenblum
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I left home early, figured I'd
get to Pookie's cabin before it got too hot.
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mary rosenblum
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All the way there, I'm
thinking about how I'm gonna say I'm sorry to her without her slappin' my
face right off my head.
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mary rosenblum
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I can't figure out a way, and
when she comes to the door, I just blurt it right out. "I'm sorry,
Pook. I really screwed up."
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mary rosenblum
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And I get ready to duck and
her face gets hard and then...by damn, she starts crying. What do I do now?
I'm thinking and I can't think of nothing.
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geezer
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How do you do it without
personal pronouns though?
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mary rosenblum
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Like the above, geezer.
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mary rosenblum
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Speaker just say, he's
thinking...
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mary rosenblum
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And we have a single spoken
line of dialogue.
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mary rosenblum
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Does that answer your
question?
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mary rosenblum
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You can use direct thoughts.
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mary rosenblum
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What do I do now? is a direct
thought.
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cosmos
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I'm still not clear on world
view. Do you mean everything all at once? The total essence of a person as
shown in actions, thought, speech, etc.?
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mary rosenblum
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Yes, exactly, cosmos.
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mary rosenblum
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Your character...what they
believe in, their life experiences, likes, dislikes, hopes, fears...
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mary rosenblum
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color EVERY word they
speak....just as yours color every word YOU speak.
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mary rosenblum
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And that is how we get to know
people...by what they say and how they say it.
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mary rosenblum
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Word choices, vocabulary,
accent...
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mary rosenblum
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we reveal ourselves.
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geezer
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Can we have another session on
inner dialogue sometime?
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mary rosenblum
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Sure geezer.
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mary rosenblum
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Can you make the Friday Forum?
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mary rosenblum
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I'll do it then if you can.
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cosmos
|
I thought that all went into POV
character in 1st or 3rd person.
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mary rosenblum
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Yes, cosmos, that's what we're
getting at here.
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mary rosenblum
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Essentially filtering all the
action and description THROUGH the worldview of the POV.
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randi-lee
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are thoughts supposed to be in
italics?
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mary rosenblum
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Some publishing houses do that
for direct thought and some authors do.
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mary rosenblum
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I don't like it and don't do
it because readers hear a shout or a non-human voice when they see italic
for the most part.
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mary rosenblum
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If I know a publisher will
insist on italicized direct thought...I try not to use any direct thought.
:-)
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randi-lee
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I know someone who uses
"iffen" all the time and it drives me nuts. It sounds uneducated
and very ignorant in my oppinio and that person is not uneducated. I would
use that word for an uneducated hillbilly of sorts.
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mary rosenblum
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And most people would hear a
hillbilly talking, too, randi.
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missa
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What about in nonfiction and the
piece is in 1st person?
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mary rosenblum
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If it's nonfiction then YOU
are the first person voice, so you can relax, missa. :-)
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mary rosenblum
|
Use your own words.
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tory
|
Mary, can you give some examples
of world view filtering--that works or doesn't?
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mary rosenblum
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Oookay, let's see if I can do
it as a short example here.
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mary rosenblum
|
We have a kid who grew up in a
meth home...has been on the street or living with friends since he was
about ten.
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mary rosenblum
|
Has been bounced and out of
the system and has a very healthy distrust for the system.
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mary rosenblum
|
He's just been placed in yet
another foster home.
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mary rosenblum
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Better than last time, Tod
thought. Didn't stink of cat pee. He said 'yes ma'am and no sir a lot, like
he always did, kept an eye on the older son. He had that 'I'm gonna teach
you your place' look in his eye. Good way out, he figured.
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mary rosenblum
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Maybe wait and see what the
food was like. If it was good enough, let the asshole push him around a
little. Maybe.
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mary rosenblum
|
This kid has been in and out
of foster homes, doesn't see them as anything particularly good, has
expectations that should let the reader know what his past has been like.
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mary rosenblum
|
Now if I had simply showed
this kid being polite, washing his hands when told to, saying that yes
ma'am, no sir with no other clues...
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mary rosenblum
|
we'd think he was a polite,
grateful kid who would fit nicely into this home.
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tory
|
You are so good, I even read
"didn't stink of cat pee" as "Don't stinkof cat pee" as
if he was saying it!
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mary rosenblum
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Thanks, Tory. :-)
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mary rosenblum
|
actually, if you do limited
third really really well, readers WILL hear the characeter talking...you
will have the effect of first person POV...
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mary rosenblum
|
but the flexibility of third.
:-)
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mary rosenblum
|
A good exercise, by the way,
is to write a first person scene and then convert it directly to third with
as few changes as possible.
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mary rosenblum
|
That's a great way to learn
very limited third person POV.
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roe
|
So if it was third person, can
you say she thought about it all the way there. How could she aplogize
without getting smacked in the head. etc. rather than using I which might
get turned into italics?
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mary rosenblum
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Yes, roe, that's a good way to
do it.
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redraven
|
Is it better for novices to use
one like themselves as POV?
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mary rosenblum
|
Well, red, if the character
works in the story...
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mary rosenblum
|
but I think it's better for
you as a writer, to use a character that is different from you...
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mary rosenblum
|
and then work darned hard at
getting inside that person's head.
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seigfried007
|
Clinging to the space under the
eaves of the decrepit building in the old quarter, Chico glared at the
scurrying pinkies beneath him on the street. Oblivious to him as always.
Sometimes he wanted to scream at them--proclaim their many sins against his
race. He closed his black catlike eyes, laying his ears back in the sigh,
and dropped to the street to finish the mission.
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mary rosenblum
|
Nice seig.
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mary rosenblum
|
My only quibble here is why
does he think about how catlike his eyes are?
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mary rosenblum
|
I haven't thought about the
shape/color of my eyes for I bet weeks now. :-)
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mary rosenblum
|
I'd leave that out, is all.
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mary rosenblum
|
He laid his ears back in a
sigh...
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mary rosenblum
|
that's nice because it shows
us that this race speaks with its ears. :-)
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seigfried007
|
LOL--still getting used to which
details i can 'tel'
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mary rosenblum
|
Ah, you will forever, seig.
:-) But you did a nice job with that.
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tolkienlvr
|
Going back to internal dialogue:
can you give example of how you differentiate direct thoughts from speech
-- grammatically, without using italics.
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mary rosenblum
|
Sure tolkien.
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mary rosenblum
|
"I don't see any reason
to continue this conversation, Kelly." Priam turned his back on her
and stomped out of the kitchen. What a bitch. His bad luck to get stuck in
this cabin. He headed for the barn hoping Angelo would be there. Angelo
understood.
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mary rosenblum
|
Sure enough, he heard the
familiar tuneless whistle as he ducked through the big doors.
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mary rosenblum
|
Okay...
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mary rosenblum
|
We start with spoken words,
then Priam stomps out. His only direct thought is 'what a bitch'.
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mary rosenblum
|
'His bad luck toget stuck in
this cabin' is my paraphrase of what he is actually thinking...
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mary rosenblum
|
and I made it a sentence
fragment to sound like a thought.
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|
mary rosenblum
|
We rarely think in complete
sentences.
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mary rosenblum
|
He headed for the barn...
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mary rosenblum
|
is simply action.
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mary rosenblum
|
He is aware of heading for the
barn, but he is not thinking 'I am heading for the barn now'.
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mary rosenblum
|
He is hoping Angelo will be
there, but he's not consciously thinking that, he's just feeling a hope.
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seigfried007
|
i thought it was 'use quotation
marks for spoken dialogue' and everything else is thoughts...
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mary rosenblum
|
Yep, that's it.
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|
mary rosenblum
|
REalize that this software
program does put "" around every post...
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mary rosenblum
|
so ignore those!
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randi-lee
|
I become my characters, I think
my experience in acting has helped like that. So, when I do it from a
characters POV that is how I am seeing it while being them. I don't know if
many writer's actually become their characters.
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mary rosenblum
|
Randi, every writer who
creates real, three dimensional characters becomes his/her characters to
some degree. :-)
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mary rosenblum
|
Well, this has been a fun
Oregon Hour.
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mary rosenblum
|
Characterization seem
simple...every book tells you...
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mary rosenblum
|
create real people.
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|
mary rosenblum
|
But the HOW of creating real
people is pretty complex...
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mary rosenblum
|
and affects every word you put
down.
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missa
|
Can I get a transcript of this
session?
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mary rosenblum
|
You sure can, missa.
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mary rosenblum
|
I'll post it in Writing Craft:
Forum Transcripts.
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|
mary rosenblum
|
And Friday, we'll talk about
internal POV.
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mary rosenblum
|
Hopefully you can make it
geezer? Or shall I do it next Tuesday?
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seigfried007
|
he slipped the denim Baby B'Gosh
over his leather armor, cursing the bright green buttons. Stupid f*cking
dinosaurs... His eyes narrowed again as he set the worn baseball cap over
his furry ears and slipped his arms through the blue plastic raincoat for yet
another excursion between the legs of the pinky horde...
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mary rosenblum
|
I'm laughing seig. I want to
read this story! :-) Nice POV.
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geezer
|
I'll be there. Can I e-mail an
example?
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mary rosenblum
|
Sure.
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mary rosenblum
|
See you all on Friday!
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mary rosenblum
|
And don't forget our open chat
tomorrow AM...
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mary rosenblum
|
same time as this forum.
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mary rosenblum
|
Have a good week, all!
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