tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post6352720964832724582..comments2023-11-03T05:49:10.841-04:00Comments on Storytelling Rules: Tense and Tension and Night CircusesMaureen McGowanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00494408580378817045noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post-59801053191573694372011-12-03T17:21:56.167-05:002011-12-03T17:21:56.167-05:00That's a great insight, Laurie.
Less interna...That's a great insight, Laurie. <br /><br />Less internationalization for sure... And if possible: none during action scenes.Maureen McGowanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00494408580378817045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post-15019000015332081982011-12-02T18:35:42.977-05:002011-12-02T18:35:42.977-05:00One of my favorite books of all time is written in...One of my favorite books of all time is written in first person, present tense -- Margaret Atwood's "Cat's Eye" -- and I even tried it myself when I was writing a book from the POV of a young child (well, half the book was from the child's perspective, then the other half from the grown-up adult). <br /><br />I think the tense allows you to not have to explain motivation. I found when using it for a child, I could just say she was doing this, or going here, or thinking this, but since no one is looking back on it yet (as in past tense), there's no intellectualizing the actions. You just state the actions, thoughts, etc. without having to explain them because you don't yet have the benefit of hindsight.<br /><br />The book you're reading sounds interesting -- I'll have to check it out!Lauriehttp://mizwrite.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post-18213521651672096862011-12-01T09:05:54.135-05:002011-12-01T09:05:54.135-05:00I just started this book last night and honestly I...I just started this book last night and honestly I find the POV part of the page turning appeal of it - it's handled very deftly, elegantly. I'm invested in all of the characters and I think the POV reflects the sort of isolated lives of these kids. Wholly unputdownable...Molly O'Keefehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15171236688541657736noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post-14713000662424724372011-11-30T16:08:14.107-05:002011-11-30T16:08:14.107-05:00Interesting discussion of how time is handled by t...Interesting discussion of how time is handled by tenses. I grew up in France, where a lot of stories set in the past, such as histories and biographies, are actually written in the future tense. I was so used to it as a child that it didn't really seem odd to me, but now, as I write my own books and think a lot about POV and tense and how they affect the telling of the story, it seems downright bizarre!Anjali Mitter Duvahttp://anjalimitterduva.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post-10966987558017163482011-11-30T14:51:04.809-05:002011-11-30T14:51:04.809-05:00If someone breaks the rules well, it's like a ...If someone breaks the rules well, it's like a revelation. That said, I think they have to know the rules and have mastered the skills to break them in a way that's revelatory and fresh.Eileenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09803986849921870941noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post-4852594935459300472011-11-30T13:06:09.413-05:002011-11-30T13:06:09.413-05:00I didn't mind the omniscient POV at all in thi...I didn't mind the omniscient POV at all in this book. The book to me was about the mystery she creates all the way through and how she adapts it to what she tells us all the way through. <br />I was never annoyed about the information flow because it always felt perfect and so the tension was maintained and the book felt dreamlike, kind of like being at the night circus.. <br /><br />I loved it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post-3979444573792733322011-11-30T12:22:33.333-05:002011-11-30T12:22:33.333-05:00I'm usually that way too, Eileen, but you shou...I'm usually that way too, Eileen, but you should read this book... In the other interview I pointed to (that I didn't read until after I posted my thoughts) the interviewer pointed out that she'd also used mostly a passive voice. I didn't even notice that. Seriously, she breaks ever rule we're taught for popular fiction and writes the most highly acclaimed and popular book of the year. :) How does one do that? (A lot of hard work, based on reading her interview...)Maureen McGowanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00494408580378817045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post-5990554844124680082011-11-30T12:08:33.316-05:002011-11-30T12:08:33.316-05:00I'm fine in first or third. I'm suspicious...I'm fine in first or third. I'm suspicious of second, but I'd roll with it, especially in small doses like you described.<br /><br />Omniscient POV? Turns me off every time. I don't even like those little slips into it when people say things like "Little did she know it would be the last time she ever saw him" although those are not total deal-breakers for me, just minor annoyances. <br /><br />I like to be firmly anchored in someone's head and I like to stay in that head for the whole scene.Eileenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09803986849921870941noreply@blogger.com