I've been thinking about this idea of the voice of the narrator as a character. That is to say, the way I describe things in a story adding character and style to the story, changing it in a fundamental way.
When I wrote the first "Dorothy" book, I made a very conscious choice to make everything as Dorothy's point of view. So, everything you see, hear, think, smell in the story is what she can see or think or feel or hear. This was interesting because she's sometimes wrong or acting out on foolish motives. I love the idea of character flaws, and this put that idea front and center.
However, in another story, I'll need to think about changing my perspective away from the direct environment of the characters themselves and writing something that's descriptive of an event, or even something that's more conceptual.
I once read an entire book (the last of the "Ender's Game" series) where the author was just waxing philosophical through the entire thing. There was hardly any action you could follow. Things like reading about a super computer stretching its consciousness across the galaxy, growing so thin it could nearly snap. Oh! It drove me nuts! I'm much happier writing about real things. I like action and adventure. If characters behave on emotions, they actually BEHAVE on emotions! They don't just talk about them!
Sorry. Side rant. I'm back.
So, I'll be thinking about switching my viewpoint and taking the reader on a broader journey in my next book, "The Winders". When I get to work on another book, it will be an epic war story and might be more sweeping. I think I'll write the next Dorothy book first though. Stay tuned to see how I find my own writer's voice in the process!
When I wrote the first "Dorothy" book, I made a very conscious choice to make everything as Dorothy's point of view. So, everything you see, hear, think, smell in the story is what she can see or think or feel or hear. This was interesting because she's sometimes wrong or acting out on foolish motives. I love the idea of character flaws, and this put that idea front and center.
However, in another story, I'll need to think about changing my perspective away from the direct environment of the characters themselves and writing something that's descriptive of an event, or even something that's more conceptual.
I once read an entire book (the last of the "Ender's Game" series) where the author was just waxing philosophical through the entire thing. There was hardly any action you could follow. Things like reading about a super computer stretching its consciousness across the galaxy, growing so thin it could nearly snap. Oh! It drove me nuts! I'm much happier writing about real things. I like action and adventure. If characters behave on emotions, they actually BEHAVE on emotions! They don't just talk about them!
Sorry. Side rant. I'm back.
So, I'll be thinking about switching my viewpoint and taking the reader on a broader journey in my next book, "The Winders". When I get to work on another book, it will be an epic war story and might be more sweeping. I think I'll write the next Dorothy book first though. Stay tuned to see how I find my own writer's voice in the process!
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