Timewaster's Guide Archive

Would any of you happen to know...

I've noticed that in recent issues of The Leading Edge that the editors call it Leading Edge, without the "The". It's also this way on the covers. It has changed without warning.

When did this happen, and why?

I intend to be committed. I haven't been able to find a writing group where I am, much less one that's sci/fi/fantasy. I do technical writing professionally, so I'm used to reading and reviewing other people's stuff. Plus I was an editor at TLE many moons ago and am realistic about what reviewing fiction entails.

I can reliably meet for reviews/discussions once or twice a month. I really want help with my stuff and am willing to read others'.

Daniel Craig gives me the creeps.

Eric Bana is so much hotter, but the articles were saying he wasn't handsome enough. How irritating. I mean, did you see him in Troy? Wow!

This article is hilarious, and I think shows Craig's true 'genious':

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/9546090/

Ness, it sounds like you're trying to find a reason to switch pov, but don't have a good reason to change.

It smacks of writer's block. I do it all the time. I make a non-issue into something that has to be addressed before I can move on.

Haha. I guess I'm more transparent than I thought. I guess I was thinking it would be a better story and better received if I wrote third person---and hopefully easier to write what I'm trying to get across. <shrug>

I'm sticking to first person, I've decided. I'm still trudging through the writer's block, though. Eventually I'll get through this rough patch.

Fell, I think you're right. I'm going to stick with first person and try to do the world-building through her eyes.

Gorgon's points were good, too.

So thanks guys.

Do you prefer a multi-character story told in FP to be FP for all the characters?

Is this a question for me? I have written stories both ways (well, one with two first person characters) and I think it's easier to write, IMO. I think FP for more than one character gets confusing, although it can be interesting in a story. For example, "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver is told from FP between 4 children and it works remarkably well. I would not go that route lightly, and certainly not in the story I'm doing now.

Here's the issue I'm trying to solve:

I'm writing a first person story from only one person's point of view. There aren't multiple fp characters. If I were to write third person the story would be longer and I could potentially write from pov for three characters if I want the story really long.

I'm trying to figure out the best way to write it. I guess I'm wondering if I should break down and re-write in in 3rd person now (I'm at 40k words right now, so to avoid re-writing a longer story later), but I rather like it first person.  Here are the issues:

1. If I flesh out the story I think it would lose its intimacy in that the story really is about 'her', the main character. She is in every scene and is the focal point (unless I change to 3rd person and I could make it more about a few others, too).

2. But then there's a lot of potential to really flesh out the world-building and stuff that I can't do if I focus just on her.

3. But then if I write 3rd person I could lose other stuff, like how her magic works, which is integral to the story.

4. You don't know what the other characters are thinking or their motivations, much might annoy readers.

5. I've found that fp makes the story much shorter, but I'm not sure it's a bad thing, unless it sacrifices making a cohesive story.

Does my conundrum make sense? Am I just being lazy?

There was another first person POV thread a while back, but I wanted to ask a more general question.

What do you guys think generally of writing in first person? It doesn't seem that many novels are written in first-person. I understand that fp limits the storyline, but it also enables the reader to know the main character on a deeper level. Personally, I like that, but then broader plotlines can't be fleshed-out.

Example: What if Robert Jordan only wrote fp from Rand's pov? That would cut the story down considerably (but then would that be a bad thing?). We would see more of what he thought and his actions on an inimate level. But then of course we would only be seeing the other characters through his eyes and wouldn't know them as well.

So I guess my question is, when is it good to write first person pov, and when should one expand the storyline with third person?

I'm Vanessa Christenson, I live in Orem, Utah, and I'm a stay-at-home-mom. I dabble in fantasy writing.

I was the editor at TLE for issue #36. TWG started not long after I left, but I found out about this site through the TLE ads and only bothered to check things out recently.

I graduated from BYU in 1998 with a degree in English and a minor in Agronomy (Agriculture for all you city folk). You see, I grew up on a dairy farm, so if I write about farmboys who save the world, I at least have some first-hand experience, unlike other authors... I'm originally from Oregon, but am stuck in the beehive state because my husband has decided he wants to work here.

I worked as a full-time technical writer for 5 years, 4 of which were in St. Louis, Missouri, while my husband was going to school, until my second child was born. Now I do work from home for a local contract company. I have three kids [aka the demon spawn] and am married to a medical doctor.

I primarily read fantasy, Orson Scott Card, Robert Jordan, Robin McKinley, Robin Hobb, Patricia Briggs, Lois McMaster Bujold and the like. I also read a lot of mainstream fiction, mostly because my book club is full of speculative fiction-hating LDS women (I did sneak in "Ender's Game" one month, though).