“OM’s” Friday

A huge mug of Kona this morning and I am still yawning. It is just one of those days.

And I just realized it is Friday. What does that say about my personality when I read through all the blogs I subscribe to and all I think is, “Why are they talking about Friday already? It’s only Thursday. Are they daft?” Perhaps I should trust the judgment and knowledge of others once in a while? Perhaps I don’t know everything? Perhaps others are not freelance and so have to keep track of the week more than I do? Whatever, I like my way of doing things more.

Speaking of blogs, over at Just About Write, Miss Christina Gullickson mentioned writers’ idiosyncrasies, and I had a hard time thinking of mine. I’m not sure I have any… yet. Aye, there’s the rub. That damn word. It should be four letters. Yett. All that tells me is that I have not written enough. Or perhaps I just tend to see patterns and avoid repetition as much as I can…? Sure dear, whatever you like. *pats self on head.

Both Nathan Bransford and Eric at Pimp My Novel mentioned a new series that will airing on CBS called “Open Books.” It will be about the behind-the-scenes world of Publishing. If it is half as fun as “Castle” I will absolutely watch it. But I am not holding my breath.

And speaking of “Castle”, September 21st! 10/9c!! Be there! Will we find out the secret around Beckett’s mother that was sadistically kept from our clawing, scrabbling fingers? Perhaps. Perhaps.

Now on to “Online Musings.” In my particular case “OM’s” refer to writing, in all its aspects, nooks, crannies, niches, sweeping halls, foyers, antechambers, entrance halls… wait, I’m getting redundant. Basically writing is a huge subject and with many things and lots of stuff to think and talk about. My friend, Kelly, mentioned that she loves it when a character “thinks out loud” in a book. In other words, when we get the character’s words in italics, showing the reader that said character is saying something in their head. I had a writing teacher that hated the technique and said it should never be done. Who do you listen to in that case? The Writer or the Reader? Well, the Reader is probably the one buying your book, so you make the call.

On the other hand, as the Writer, perhaps you want to do your best to “educate” Readers on what you think is the proper way to write. Don’t hurt yourself trying. If there is one thing I’ve learned through writing the little bit that I have, it is that there are no rules. The only “absolute” that seems to still apply is “Show, don’t Tell”. But I think there are times when you have to tell because there isn’t time for extensive back stories. So even that rule can be broken once in a while. I am personally on my teacher’s side, I get annoyed with italicized thoughts… of course I typed that I remembered using it once in DAKOTA RAWHIDE BOOK 1, and now I’m annoyed that I did it, because it wasn’t necessary. In fact, the thought Seth had that was italicized wasn’t necessary because it was clear that he hit a nerve with Jeb. Oh well, live and learn. But that is why I don’t like italic thoughts: They are almost always expository. Almost. I have seen some that really work, because they give you further insight into the character’s personality. If they say one thing in their head and another thing out loud, it can, potentially, lend some depth. But only if it is used right. However, generally, italicizing the thoughts is not a must. In fact, if it is written well, you don’t need to and it will be very clear that they are thinking. Of course this really just falls into the “personal preference” category.

I had an English teacher that absolutely hated the use of parentheses. As a result, I notice them every time and I have to say, I’m not a fan of them either. Commas do just fine. I have a love/hate relationship with the exclamation mark. Again, if the writing does its job of showing and not telling, it should be clear the character is excited or worked up or upset etc. Too many flowery adjectives get on my nerves. Too many broken sentences when not in a character’s thoughts vex me as it usually feels like a pallid attempt at poetic prose. Too much description is painfully heavy, too little leaves the story feeling like flaky parchment. Too much explanation makes me feel a little insulted, too little feels like a buffalo’s attempt at mystery/mystique. Basically, there are many things that I do/n’t like. We all have our preferences and reasons for them. Abe Lincoln. Pleasing all the people all the time, blah blah blah.

Thoughts on Italic Thoughts? I wonder what other people will think. Will they think I am picky, an elitist snob? Or that I don’t know what I am talking about? The suspense is killing me! He thought suddenly (but it was not the first time; there had been many similar thoughts in the past)

Cheers,
~D