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mary rosenblum
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Hello all, and welcome to our
Tuesday Forum.
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mary rosenblum
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I've been keeping an eye on
Mr. St. Helens, which is blowing up again right now...not 'the big one'
that we're waiting for, but lots of ash.
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mary rosenblum
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Not coming in my direction at
least!
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mary rosenblum
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If you want to take a peek,
there is a nice webcam that...at the moment...is offering a nice view.
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mary rosenblum
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St Helen's webcam
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mary rosenblum
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Living on the ring of fire is
indeed interesting...and now Mt. Hood is shaking a bit.
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mary rosenblum
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Now that one is CLOSE.
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bud
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nice picture. Are you SW, S, or
SE of the Mt?
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mary rosenblum
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I'm nearly straight south.
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mary rosenblum
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Right now, the ash is drifting
NE...the usual wind flow.
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bravo6
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You live in Washington or
Oregon???
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mary rosenblum
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Oregon, Bravo.
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mary rosenblum
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Right across the border.
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mary rosenblum
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Well, in spite of exploding
volcanoes, I wanted to talk about describing characters this morning.
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mary rosenblum
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It's a problem I see a lot in
student and novice writer ms.
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mary rosenblum
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Writers really really want to
show us the characater in detail, and it is not always possible to do
so...at least not easily.
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mary rosenblum
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And if you switch over to
authorial voice or violate your POV...it JARS readers.
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mary rosenblum
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and reminds the readers that
they are not really living your adventure, but rather are listening to you
tell a story.
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mary rosenblum
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And a compelling story holds
you so tightly that you forget that you're in the living room and not in
the author's world...you've all had that experience, I'm sure.
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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. 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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Two problems tend to trouble
writers as regards to character description.
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mary rosenblum
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The first is authorial
narrative and the second is POV violation.
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peejay
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"C coughed vigorously,
emphysema. "There's P", Bill said.
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mary rosenblum
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Do we have three characters
here, peejay? How about: C coughed vigorously. "Darn emphysema."
"Hey, there's P," Bill interrupted.
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mary rosenblum
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That way, C tells us that he
has emphysema, and YOU don't.
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peejay
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Three you say? Cool, let me toss
the idea.
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mary rosenblum
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I just wasn't sure who or what
C was...:-)
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roe
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Looks like you are going to have
to do a forum where we get to send you a paragraph on character
description.
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mary rosenblum
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Well, it would take more than
a paragraph, I'm afraid...although that's a good idea.
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mary rosenblum
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I think we'll do more of those
hands on workshops...
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mary rosenblum
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although folk are going to
have to send me examples right away when they get an announcement.
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mary rosenblum
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I got paragraphs for two days
afterward!
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mary rosenblum
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Let's start with that
authorial intrusion...the most glaring and problematic 'description'
problem.
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mary rosenblum
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I see it a lot. We have a nice
bit of action to start the story... Jane stomped into the classroom.
"Shut up!" she hollered, fists on her hips. Silence filled the
room and thirty pairs of..
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mary rosenblum
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stunned eyes turned her way.
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mary rosenblum
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Jane was a tall woman, bony
and lean, with a commanding presence. She always wore a linen skirt and a
cotton shirt. The colors might change, but the combination never did.
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mary rosenblum
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Her hair was honey blonde,
pulled back tightly into a knotted braid at the base of her head, and her
horned rim glasses looked like antiques.
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mary rosenblum
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Okay, class, who is telling us
about Jane?
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mary rosenblum
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The author, right?
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mary rosenblum
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And it stops our opening
action dead in its tracks.
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mary rosenblum
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But we want to SEE Jane,
right?
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mary rosenblum
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So how?
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mary rosenblum
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Let's try this.
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mary rosenblum
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Jane ducked through the door
and planted both fists on her bony hips. "Shut up," she hollered.
A stunned silence filled the room and thirty pairs of eyes fixed on her
horn rimmed spectacles.
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mary rosenblum
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Someone giggled, a weak sound
that died instantly.
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mary rosenblum
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"Open your history books
to page thirty-two'. She stalked to the teacher's desk, not a wrinkle
marring her starched cotton shirt and linen skirt. "I want you to
answer all forty questions at the end of the chapter. You have fifteen
minutes. Go."
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mary rosenblum
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Okay, so what do we see here?
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mary rosenblum
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We see tall (she ducked
through the door, she is VERY tall), bony (she planted her fists on her
bony hips),
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mary rosenblum
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wears those horn rim antique
glasses...the 'spectacles' helps convey that image
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mary rosenblum
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We see that starched
shirt/skirt ensemble and her commanding presence is implied by her actions
and dialogue.
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mary rosenblum
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Same stuff, only threaded on
that strong string of action.
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guessit
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So you would say one good trick
is to stick your own comments into the characters' mouths??
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mary rosenblum
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Not quite, guessit. You want
to let the characters talk, not parrot YOUR words.
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guessit
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you sneak in the
descriptions....
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mary rosenblum
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And yes, that's how you do it.
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mary rosenblum
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IN reality, those bits of
description are every bit as much MY voice as that klunky solid paragraph I
first showed you...BUT...because I sneak them into the flow of action...
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mary rosenblum
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the reader isn't nearly as
aware of them, so they blend into the character's POV.
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mary rosenblum
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Now if we had done this scene
in First Person it would be MUCH more difficult to do even this much
description.
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mary rosenblum
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When WAS the last time you
inventoried your appearance when you weren't dressing for your high school
reunion?
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mary rosenblum
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If your character stops to
tell us her height, weight, hair color, eye color, and clothing preferences
it sounds SO phony...
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mary rosenblum
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unless she has a real reason.
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bravo6
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what about something like this:
"Bond. James Bond," he said to his mirroed reflection. :Maybe if
you lose thrity pound, grow heair, put on contacts and get rid of your hick
accent," his sister giggled...
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mary rosenblum
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This is a lovely way to give
us a concentrated dose of description and I use something like it a lot.
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mary rosenblum
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It is called 'comparison'
description. (I made that one up, but it works, LOL).
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mary rosenblum
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Here's another example:
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mary rosenblum
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The leader walked over. A good
six foot four, taller than me by a head, he still had all his hair and a
smile that yelled 'orthodontist'.
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mary rosenblum
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Okay...we now know that our
POV is less than six feet tall, balding or bald, and probably has somewhat
crooked teeth.
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mary rosenblum
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Actually, bravo's example
would work very well in first person...another form of 'comparions
description'.
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mary rosenblum
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'James Bond," I announced
to my reflection. "Yeah, maybe. If you lose thirty pounds, grow hair,
put on contacts and get rid of that hick accent." My sister giggled.
Every the joker, she.
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mary rosenblum
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Oops...Ever the joker, she.
:-)
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deb1234
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How about 'Logan turned sideways
and ducked to enter the cave.'
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mary rosenblum
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If we know how tall the
opening is, then yes, that gives us his height, deb.
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mary rosenblum
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And if he puffs and squeezes
to get through, we'll guess he's a bit on the tubby side.
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guessit
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I think when you write in first
person, the reader feels and thinks so much with the character, that looks
become less important than the other characteristics which are easier to
express when writing in first person....
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mary rosenblum
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Well, that's a double edged
sword...that reader identification, guessit...and why first person can be
risky. The reader first has to identify with that person!
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mary rosenblum
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But you're right that we are
so much inside the POV's point of view that you cannot sneak in those bits
of description invisibly.
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mary rosenblum
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That is why third is a more
flexible POV than first.
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mary rosenblum
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First is very rigid about what
you can include. You can include ONLY what that first person POV chooses to
tell us or think about to himself/herself.
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mary rosenblum
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You can't sneak in anything
else without it sticking out like a dog accident on the carpet.
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mary rosenblum
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But what most novice writers
don't realize is that you really don't have to give readers that many
details.
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mary rosenblum
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Your reader will construct the
image he or she wants to see.
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mary rosenblum
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It won't fit the image YOU
have of that character...but they need to resemble each other on key
points.
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mary rosenblum
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Gender is VERY nice. :-) So is
race. Finding out that you are wrong about either of those points REALLY
shakes up the reader.
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t green
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how important is it, really, to
describe a first person POV character? Wouldn't that jolt the reader since
they tend to "get into character" with the first person pov?
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mary rosenblum
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Exactly, T.
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mary rosenblum
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Same with third, since you get
equal reader identification, if not STRONGER reader identification with a
well written limited third person POV.
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mary rosenblum
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The reader wants to see the
person he/she wants to be.
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mary rosenblum
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But as I said, some things
will need to be defined.
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mary rosenblum
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Age, gender, race are the
three main points you should find a way to convey.
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mary rosenblum
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They can be a challenge in
first, believe me.
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mary rosenblum
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A lot of novice writers are
very controlling. They want the readers to see THEIR characters an no
others.
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mary rosenblum
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Works against you.
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deb1234
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In a short short, how much
description is needed and how do you get it into sucha short piece?
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mary rosenblum
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Very very little, deb.
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mary rosenblum
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If you are telling the story
from your POV's viewpoint, the way you 'see' scenes will give us a sense of
that character's height.
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mary rosenblum
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If it's roughly normal, then
no need for anything further. If you have a kid or a miget, then get down
low and look at the world from that level before you describe scenes...
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mary rosenblum
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or you'll give us a 'miget'
who is nearly 6 feet tall! And yes, readers notice.
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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. 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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jcm
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How do you make your character
unique, but still normal?
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mary rosenblum
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jcm, unique has little to do
with visuals and a lot to do with the characters themselves.
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mary rosenblum
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It is how your character
thinks, acts, and talks that makes him/her memorable.
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mary rosenblum
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He can have three eyes, but if
he's boring cardboard, we'll be lucky to remember him at all.
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mary rosenblum
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What makes characters 'boring'
is not that they don't look unique, but rather that they act about as three
dimensional as Dick, Jane, and Sally in the old first grade readers.
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mary rosenblum
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You need to give your
character a history, prejudices, fears, loves, hates, and insecurities...
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mary rosenblum
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THOSE make that character
memorable, not their hair color and finger nails.
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mary rosenblum
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Although striking and
memorable details can contribute to that sense of 'unusual'.
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margieh
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If a short has little room for
character development is it apt to be more plot driven? Does 1st person
tend to be more plot driven or not because of voice?
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mary rosenblum
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There's plenty of room for
character even in short shorts, margieh. You just reveal character rather
than developing it.
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mary rosenblum
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First person can be either
plot OR character driven. My most recent story...in last month's Asimov's
is a VERY character driven first person without a whole lot of action or
plot.
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mary rosenblum
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Raymond Chandler's detective
Phillip Marlow was the first person voice in some very good plot driven
mysteries.
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mary rosenblum
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But we still had a strong
sense of the character, even if he didn't change much from book to book.
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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. 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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What you do need to remember
is that readers will ALWAYS assign the gender of the author to the first
person character.
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mary rosenblum
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ALWAYS.
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mary rosenblum
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So if your POV is NOT your
gender or if you write under androgynous initials, you MUST reveal your
character's gender in the first page.
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mary rosenblum
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And THAT is hard!
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mary rosenblum
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Or it can be. When was the
last time you thought, 'I am a boy'?
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mary rosenblum
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And you cannot be subtle. I
learned that lesson the hard way, believe me. LOL
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mary rosenblum
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In first person, you can use
dialogue to convey appearance.
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mary rosenblum
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In Bravo's example, we have a
sister poking fun at a brother by mentioning all his 'non-Bondlike'
attributes...
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mary rosenblum
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his lack of hair, beer belly,
accent, and so forth.
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mary rosenblum
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That is a great way to do
it...if it works as part of the story.
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mary rosenblum
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'As we all know' dialogue is
VERY visible as is 'let's describe the character' dialogue.
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mary rosenblum
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And mirrors make other writers
and many readers giggle. "Aha, we know why you put THAT in there...'
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mary rosenblum
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Comparison is a good
way...'She's nearly my height and at six-two, too tall to professional
ballerinal'
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mary rosenblum
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Now we know how tall our POV
is.
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mary rosenblum
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But again, that has to be
necessary dialogue. He has to have a reason to be describing her.
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mary rosenblum
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Here, he might be explaining
why his sister is surly. She can't be what she wants to be.
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mary rosenblum
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The other way to show is by
doing.
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mary rosenblum
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If your character stretches to
reach a glass on the shelf over the kitchen counter...
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mary rosenblum
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not too tall, is she?
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mary rosenblum
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If he grunts and puffs as he
strains to buckle his belt...we're getting an image of his general weight.
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mary rosenblum
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That works in first, too.
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mary rosenblum
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I got dressed for work,
promising myself one more time that I"d join the gym as I strained to
buckle my belt.
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mary rosenblum
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Too many chicken tacos at
Ricardo's lunchtime stand.
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kitfox_starchild
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as a general rule is it better
not to give eye or hair color
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mary rosenblum
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Oh, I like to do eyes,
personally, especially if they are unexpected for the phenotype.
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mary rosenblum
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Easy to do in third. He turned
his green eyes her way. Winked.
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mary rosenblum
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Harder in first. You'll need a
mirror or a comparison thought there.
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mary rosenblum
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My father refused to believe I
was his kid for six months because of my blue eyes.
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mary rosenblum
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My grandmother finally told
him about his great Aunt from Poland who had blue eyes, but I think he
secretly doubted.
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mary rosenblum
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Hair color is also easy. She
ran her hands through her blonde hair...
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mary rosenblum
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or It used to be red. Maybe
I'll dye it after all. I hate mousy brown.
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arfelin
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Is it okay to add bits of
description mid-story or should we do it all in the beginning?
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mary rosenblum
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One very important thing,
arfelin, is to give at least a couple of basic details about every
character you introduce.
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mary rosenblum
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Readers will instantly begin
to see that character and once they have formed an image in their minds...
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mary rosenblum
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it is extremely disruptive to
attempt to change it.
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mary rosenblum
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That is probably one of the
biggest mistakes you can make...at least as far as shattering your reader
bond...misleading them about your character's image.
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mary rosenblum
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One or two key details is
enough, but give them right away...but PLAUSIBLY.
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mary rosenblum
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Yes, it is work to figure out
how to do that, but you know what? Work IS invovled in writing. LOL.
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mary rosenblum
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Getting that first draft down
can be a lot of fun...but then the craft comes in as you work to make YOUR
story accessable and compelling to a host of readers...
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mary rosenblum
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who do not have a telepathic
hyperlink that allows them to read your minds!
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t green
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giving physical character
details in the middle of a story is like unmasking a villan and finding a
rock
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mary rosenblum
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Well, not if they support and
expand on what we already know, t.
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mary rosenblum
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If you tell us in the middle
of the story that your character only has one arm...that is going to jar
us.
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mary rosenblum
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We've been seeing two.
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mary rosenblum
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But if your blonde character
suddenly bats her blue eyes on page 57, how many people saw her with dark
eyes? Not many, most likely, and the 'bump' is small if it happens at all.
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mary rosenblum
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AND..it IS a good idea to
remind us subtly what your character looks like, especially in a novel
length work.
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mary rosenblum
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Let their actions and
description reinforce their images.
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t green
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i meant MAJOR detail things that
don't jive with what you had before.... like the one armed thing
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mary rosenblum
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Well, exactly.
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mary rosenblum
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You need to get the main
points down right away.
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mary rosenblum
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There is a writer who shall
remain nameless, who suddenly mentioned in the MIDDLE of his novel, that
his POV character was African American. Uh...he sure had seemed real white
before.
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mary rosenblum
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That jarred a LOT of people
and inspired some not-so-kind critical commentary about his
characterization.
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mary rosenblum
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Baaaad move.
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mary rosenblum
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I would say gender is your
biggest point...if it's obvious fine, if it is not, make it CLEAR.
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mary rosenblum
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I run into a lot of fantasy ms
with unusual and androgynous names and I CANNOT tell for the first few
pages what gender we're dealing with. Not a good thing. Readers will
CHOOSE.
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mary rosenblum
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And if they choose wrong, you
are in trouble
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mary rosenblum
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Okay, I do want to talk about
the more subtle problem of POV violation in description.
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mary rosenblum
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This is something that writers
working at a more advanced level encounter.
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mary rosenblum
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Remember that when you are in
a character's POV, either first or third...
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mary rosenblum
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you are filtering the world
through their perceptions.
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mary rosenblum
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We see and experience the
world, in other words, through their own prejudices, beliefs, and in their
vocabuilaries.
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gail
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Are names, alone, a good way to
identify gender? And, would that apply to foreign and/or historical names?
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mary rosenblum
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Not unless they are clearly
gender-specific and you are not violating that.
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mary rosenblum
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Which public restroom does
Jess or Bobbie use? Hmmm?
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mary rosenblum
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And if Mike has to put on a
dress for the birthday party, you'd better make sure that we don't think
'he's' a cross dresser!
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mary rosenblum
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Fantasy names are the biggest
culprit there. Fantasy writers love to make up names.
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mary rosenblum
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It may be obvious that Achalea
is a woman to YOU, but it may sound like a teen boy to me.
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mary rosenblum
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AS to POV violation, I bumped
into that this morning, reading a very well written story by a student of
mine.
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mary rosenblum
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The POV is a young Amish
woman, and she looks out the bathroom woman.
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mary rosenblum
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This is what she sees:
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mary rosenblum
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A stooped, bald-headed man
stomped across the barnyard, hauling two buckets of feed.
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mary rosenblum
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Okay, is this a stranger or
someone she knows?
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mary rosenblum
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If I see a stooped baldheaded
man in My yard, I'm sure not looking at anyone whose name I know.
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mary rosenblum
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If I see Dad, that's what I
see. Dad.
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mary rosenblum
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And in this case...this IS
Dad.
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mary rosenblum
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So he has violated POV here by
describing Dad the way a stranger (us readers) would see him.
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mary rosenblum
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The woman will look out and
think, 'there's Dad'.
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mary rosenblum
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To preserve POV, when she
looks out that window that's all she sees. Dad.
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mary rosenblum
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Unless she has reason to
notice that he's really stooped now, and when did his back start to curve
like that? He always seemed so tall and straight.
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roe
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so if she would have said she
saw her father and then described his stooped bent figure as he walked, the
sun shining off his bald head would have worked
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mary rosenblum
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Not necessarily, roe.
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mary rosenblum
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When was the last time you
looked at someone in your family and REALLY noticed their details?
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mary rosenblum
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When was the last time you
looked at your husband, wife, child and inventoried their features?
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mary rosenblum
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You might if you have a
REASON, but otherwise...you see this person fifty times a day.
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mary rosenblum
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Why notice some particular
characteristic.
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mary rosenblum
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My son Jake just walked into
the room.
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mary rosenblum
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What do I see? Jake.
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mary rosenblum
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Why should I notice his
haircut particularly, or the color of his eyes, or the way he is standing?
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mary rosenblum
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It hasn't changed from the
last time I saw him, fifteen minutes ago.
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mary rosenblum
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But, say, I'm thinking about
his brother's back troubles, I might notice how straight he stands, and
think about how he's always had good posture.
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mary rosenblum
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Your character has to have
REASONS to notice details in a familiar person.
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mary rosenblum
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Just as he/she has to have a
reason to notice details in himself/herself.
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mercyinc
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what if you are in love with the
character..how about detail
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mary rosenblum
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Love is a GREAT lense for
description, LOL.
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mary rosenblum
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A lovesick teen is going to
inventory her beloved's features until we're ready to throw up! Just don't
go overboard! LOL
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roe
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so if all of a sudden she
noticed how much he's aged due to a problem or something then it would
work? she needs a reason to take stock?
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mary rosenblum
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Exactly, roe. Often a sudden
change can force itself on our attention.
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mary rosenblum
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We just didn't notice it
before. Wow, we think. When did his hair get so white?
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mary rosenblum
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But again...the character must
do this plausibly.
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gail
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So, are you saying that it's
only the "unusual" we (or our POV) would notice about a familiar
someone?
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mary rosenblum
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Of if we have a reason to
notice details. Say our POV's son is about to go to Iraq. Suddenly she
realizes his is a grown man. When did the child turn into the man? And she
notices details she has seen every...
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mary rosenblum
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day for years, but suddenly
they have a new significance.
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mary rosenblum
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That is part of the craft of
description.
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mary rosenblum
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If you need to insert it, can
you give your character a reason to notice it?
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mary rosenblum
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Usually you can, with a little
creative effort.
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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. 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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It can even be worse in first
person...since your MC may not have ANY reason to describe someone.
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mary rosenblum
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If he sees Joe every day, he
sees Joe.
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mary rosenblum
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Why should he think about the
white hair and plaid cap that he just saw and expects to see?
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mary rosenblum
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Now if your first person POV
is doing narrative...
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mary rosenblum
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if he is telling a story about
Joe and the Big Fishing Expedition...
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mary rosenblum
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then sure, he'll describe Joe
in detail for us.
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mary rosenblum
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But if we're living the
fishing nightmare WITH him, he has no reason to think about how Joe looks
as they struggle to keep the boat afloat.
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roe
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that is so true, son shaved his
mustache and it took me hours to realize it.
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mary rosenblum
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Yep. Actually, it's true that
once we see someone often enough that the person becomes 'familiar' we most
of us don't really look carefully.
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mary rosenblum
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We see what we expect to see.
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mary rosenblum
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The main things to remember
are: Show us a very few basic details right away so we all see roughly the
same character..
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mary rosenblum
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and filter all your character
description through your POV.
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mary rosenblum
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Don't use YOUR voice.
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mary rosenblum
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A much as possible, show us
the character through their actions.
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mary rosenblum
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Toss that red hair back over
her shoulders, let him tug on his skinny black braid.
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mary rosenblum
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Finger his moustache.
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mary rosenblum
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Fiddle with her silver bracelet
or flutter pale eyelashes at us.
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mary rosenblum
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If the chair creaks and sags
when he sits down...maybe he needs to go on a diet (or the chair is old and
feeble...)
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mary rosenblum
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You can portray age that
way...he winces as he gets out of the chair, rubs arthritic fingers...
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mary rosenblum
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now she may be twenty with
early onset rheumatoid arthritis...
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mary rosenblum
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but readers jump to
steroetypical conclusions, so when they work, use em.
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gail
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My problem is familiarity of
setting, et al. My historical figures, I'm sure, wouldn't notice the
details of their clothing, tools, setting, etc., as much as the reader would
require. Suggestions?
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mary rosenblum
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That's a very real problem,
Gail, and one that afflicts fantasy and SF writers, too, whose characters
live in a familiar world..
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mary rosenblum
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that is alien to readers.
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mary rosenblum
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Essentially, you need to show
the items in context so that we can figure out what they are/do.
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mary rosenblum
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If she winds a hank of flax on
the wheel's spindle and begins to draw out the fine thread as she turns
it...
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mary rosenblum
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we'll see the spinning wheel
in action and she can be scolding her daughter for doing something at the
same time.
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mary rosenblum
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He can scowl at the mud spots
on his new linen hose, or notice how fine his new britches look.
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mary rosenblum
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You can 'define' a lot of
unfamiliar or alien implements in action scenes when nothing really
dramatic is going on.
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mary rosenblum
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By the time the housewife
makes breakfast, we see that colonial kitchen in details
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gail
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I'm stuck between starting with
action -- my preference for an action-adventure story -- and starting with
character and setting to ensure the reader is in the right time and place.
Can't seem to get a good balance.
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mary rosenblum
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If this is a short story don't
start with character setting.
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mary rosenblum
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That is a novel start, not a
short story start.
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mary rosenblum
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You can start with action and
show us the world at the same time. We don't need to know EVERYTHING right away.
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mary rosenblum
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That is a common
misconception.
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mary rosenblum
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We only need a few road signs
to get us going...
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mary rosenblum
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and then you can fill in more
details as we progress.
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mary rosenblum
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There is nothing more boring
than an inventory of setting and character right off the bat.
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mary rosenblum
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Pare it down to as few details
as you can and then give that first section to a reader.
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mary rosenblum
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Ask that reader to tell you
what he/she now knows.
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mary rosenblum
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Ask if something really needed
to be explained for this to make sense.
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mary rosenblum
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If you plan to explain it in
the next sentence or two, fine. If not, see if you can slip it in.
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mary rosenblum
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You'll find that you can use
far fewer details than you thought you needed and still get that world and
character across clearly in the first scene.
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mary rosenblum
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We won't know a lot, but we'll
know enough to be hooked, and that's all you need.
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mary rosenblum
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You have the rest of the story
to add the rest
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mary rosenblum
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Reader feedback will help you
walk the line there.
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mary rosenblum
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Well, this has been a fun
Oregon Hour. I'll have to go see what Mt. St. Helens is up to..but I have
the news on and no interruptions, so I guess she's still melting glaciers
into steam.
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mary rosenblum
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Our hands on paragraph
workshop was fun.
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mary rosenblum
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Any suggestions for another
round like that?
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mary rosenblum
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For this Friday?
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gail
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Sorry, I missed that workshop.
What was involved?
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mary rosenblum
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I asked people to submit
opening paragraphs and I critiqued them on the stage.
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writermom
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I would like to see the same
workshop again I didn't know about it the first time
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mary rosenblum
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I'll do it again, don't worry.
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deb1234
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Let's do a story hands on again
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arfelin
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What about submitting a line or
two of character description?
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mary rosenblum
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They're both good. Hmm.
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roe
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Looks like everyone enjoyed
those hands on
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mary rosenblum
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I think they're fun and they
offer a wide variety of examples. Keeps me on my toes, too! LOL
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mary rosenblum
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Hmmm
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mary rosenblum
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How about a story idea, this
time.
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mary rosenblum
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A single paragraph with a
projected length.
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mary rosenblum
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That way, I can suggest how to
make it fit the word length if needed...
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mary rosenblum
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might be a good way to offer
examples of how to plot short!
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mary rosenblum
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Last time we did a story idea,
but we only did one story.
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mary rosenblum
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This will give everyone a lot
of examples.
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mary rosenblum
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Limit is a short paragraph.
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deb1234
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I could use help in learning how
to judge about word length
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mary rosenblum
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Everybody could, deb!
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mary rosenblum
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I think this is a good way.
Okay, we'll do it.
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mary rosenblum
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Maybe I'll do the description
one next week or so.
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mary rosenblum
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I'll post the transcript of
this in the usual place: Writing Craft: Forum Transcripts
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roe
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Does everyone get to send a
paragraph or just on that night a couple of them?
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mary rosenblum
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I'll call for 'em ahead of
time when I send out the reminder.
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mary rosenblum
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Or you can paste 'em in on the
night of the Forum if I didn't get them ahead of time...
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mary rosenblum
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but I'll take the ones I have,
first.
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mary rosenblum
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Well, I'll see you for our
casual chat here tomorrow..
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mary rosenblum
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same time same place.
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mary rosenblum
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I'm off to send my agent my
novels.
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writermom
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I'm a member over at ICL how
will I get the reminder
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mary rosenblum
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writemom, you can sign up for
the reminders on the website.
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mary rosenblum
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email
reminders
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mary rosenblum
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Just go here and enter your
email address.
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mary rosenblum
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You should get a reminder for
Friday..
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mary rosenblum
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usually I send 'em out
Thursday.
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mary rosenblum
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AND you'll get this week's
website update...lists new articles and the guests.
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mary rosenblum
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See you all tomrrow!
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mary rosenblum
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Have a good week!
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