POV and Causation issues
Tuesday, March 11, 2008, 7:19 PM

Or, I guess I could just call this a Twisty Twesday post.

One of my favorite blogs is holding a warped POV contest. Head-hoppage, body snatchedge, who or what said THATege.

But I wonder if a good POV writer (I think I'm good, not great) can write bad point-of-viewage. I used to be good at head hopping and spectacular at passive writing. I'd win medals, I tell ya, for writing the beginnings to a New York Times Bestseller. Middles and endings? Not so easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy.

I received a critique once from someone who wondered why my character was swallowing carpet. Hey, it was news to me because my girl was a heroine, not a fiber-eater.

And then there was the time when Pote wondered why I was comparing my hero to a panther and a tiger in the same paragraph. Hadn't realized I was doing that! (Do you see the overpowering, all-encompassing need for beta-readers and critiquers?)

Does overpowering and all-encompassing mean the same thing? A beta fish critter oughtta know.

Some of the best killer stomachaches I get are when I read crits of my work. God, it kills me. Sure, some of it might sting, but I want to learn and I've always given critiquers carte-blanche. It's the least I can do because they are doing ME a favor by taking the time to read my crap and comment on it. Maybe for April Fools Day I ought to...

Phenomenal? Why, that's me meandering from the main subject. Can you remember what it IS without looking at my post's title?

No cheating, now. Your nose will grow. (Oh, geeze, that's another thing about getting older. My nose IS growing.)

So I think I'm going to have a hell of a time writing a bad pov scene, which tells me I need to come up with something fun and interesting. I've already got an idea. I should be writing it now, but no. Here I am writing it here. (Pop quiz! What do you call a sentence that begins and ends with the same word?)

Causation is another tricky area for me because I'm so in to what I'm writing, I forget anyone else reading can't read my thoughts.

So pretend your nose itching wakes you up.

You try and move your arm up to itch it and can't.

Now what?

What do you think? What do you do?

(Ian, you can't play. You know why.)

I'll wait.
12 Did the Unhingey Jiggy Engage in Unhingenosity
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