tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post6029569964920072227..comments2024-03-29T03:14:14.401-04:00Comments on Patricia Abbott (pattinase): Al Guthrie's Top Reasons for Not Finishing a Bookpattinase (abbott)http://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-27098062481477265752008-05-19T09:46:00.000-04:002008-05-19T09:46:00.000-04:00I've never figured out how to do POV omniscient wi...I've never figured out how to do POV omniscient without sounding like God. Anyone have a good example of a well done one? Maybe I'll pose that question. Thanks.pattinase (abbott)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-16548354686163752872008-05-19T09:31:00.000-04:002008-05-19T09:31:00.000-04:00Lisa, the problem with summary narrative is that i...Lisa, the problem with summary narrative is that it's far less convincing than a dramatised scene. So if you can turn that piece of narrative into a scene (however short), I'd suggest doing so. If you think it isn't worthy of a scene, though, then it's probably not that important, so maybe you can cut it entirely.<BR/><BR/>Debbi: Sorry to say that for me, third person omniscient is likely to be a major POV issue all by itself.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-79434061140964683322008-05-17T22:36:00.000-04:002008-05-17T22:36:00.000-04:00How much of a problem are POV issues if the author...How much of a problem are POV issues if the author's writing in third person omniscient?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-81680537023305049232008-05-15T08:41:00.000-04:002008-05-15T08:41:00.000-04:00See Elizabeth Zelvin's blog today for her analysis...See Elizabeth Zelvin's blog today for her analysis of girl book and boy books which touch on some of this. <BR/>(Poe's Deadly Daughters).pattinase (abbott)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-14923855967142684902008-05-15T01:35:00.000-04:002008-05-15T01:35:00.000-04:00great list. i never broke it down that way, but i...great list. i never broke it down that way, but i think i have a lot of overlap. What's surprising to me lately is how quickly I can tell...maybe four pages, though I'll generally wait for a second chapter because of the tendency, especially in thriller, for authors to do dramatic shifts in voice at the outset.Sophie Littlefieldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16578153078188007343noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-73343067891525204712008-05-14T20:14:00.000-04:002008-05-14T20:14:00.000-04:00This list provides a great balance to that list of...This list provides a great balance to that list of things I try to make sure I do in each scene and chapter. <BR/><BR/>Does "summary narrative" refer to an excess of narrative summary, as opposed to in-scene writing, or is this something else?<BR/><BR/>Great list.Lisahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00665632105920753931noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-22544745105933271712008-05-14T18:15:00.000-04:002008-05-14T18:15:00.000-04:00I guess the idea is that backstory should never ha...I guess the idea is that backstory should never halt the forward motion of a story. Or be there just to fill in dots that don't need to be filled in. If you can tell it in a few sentences, don't write a chapter.pattinase (abbott)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-40999470671547675502008-05-14T18:10:00.000-04:002008-05-14T18:10:00.000-04:00Frontloading might describe what I mean, John. Rea...Frontloading might describe what I mean, John. Really, I'm just referring to backstory that's inappropriate in one way or another. For instance, I need to see characters in action before I care about what makes them act the way they do. So I'll put a book down if I get handed the backstory before I'm engaged enough with the characters to give a hoot. Or I'll put the book down if the backstory's a chapter long when it could have been handled in a paragraph. Or indeed as Josephine says, when there's no apparent conflict. All scenes need conflict, and they don't get a free pass just because they're backstory.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-56830137765041480212008-05-14T17:40:00.000-04:002008-05-14T17:40:00.000-04:00A lot of writers don't get that backstory or flash...A lot of writers don't get that backstory or flashbacks need conflict.<BR/><BR/>And in the short story contest I just judges I saw a lot "bickering as conflict" - mistake. <BR/><BR/>Excellent list - thanks for posting.Josephine Damianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17952030380866201241noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-50186616546091093292008-05-14T16:47:00.000-04:002008-05-14T16:47:00.000-04:00Me, too. If the motivation comes from an earlier i...Me, too. If the motivation comes from an earlier incident, how can you avoid backstory? I guess you have to do it through conversation as John notes rather than a completely separate piece of writing. Harder though. I like going to another place or time and letting it play out.pattinase (abbott)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-65452089382556741162008-05-14T16:39:00.000-04:002008-05-14T16:39:00.000-04:00An excellent list.I just wonder about backstory. I...An excellent list.<BR/><BR/>I just wonder about backstory. It's a problem for me if a book is too front-loaded with backstory, but it's just as big a problem if I start to feel the author has no idea how these characters got to this point in their lives.<BR/><BR/>I like it when the backstory comes out during the story - and usually in a variety of ways; what the characters say, what other characters say about them, etc..John McFetridgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09442198820998606682noreply@blogger.com