Sunday, July 14, 2013

The Missing Piece of Childhood

I have a confession: I have never read Harry Potter.

Around the time Harry Potter came out I was still resistant to reading, and by the time I was open to reading I found Harry Potter insulting. Why did I find it insulting? Honestly, I don't remember. I just know I loved witches to the point that I took everything I read about them as fact. Well, as factual as one can take any fantastical creature (and before anyone points out that there are witches; they're just not the ridiculously powerful kind you see in movies, TV, or books; I am aware). For whatever the reason, I thought Harry Potter betrayed what witches, warlocks, wizards, etc. were supposed to be.

Then I got older, and I realized I was stupid.

Even so, I didn't bother reading the series because by that point the hype was so big I didn't want to be disappointed. Then eventually it just became a matter of: What's the point? I was no longer the target audience, and I had been subjected to many birthday parties filled with Harry Potter spoilers as my friends discussed the latest release.

So why bring this up now?

After struggling to write from a child's point of view I decided that this week between writing and editing I will read the first book in the series.

Not going to lie. I'm a little excited.

Monday, July 1, 2013

First Person Point of View

So recently I have been trying to write in first person point of view, and all I can say is...why is it so weird?

I have tried so many times to write in first person, but whenever I do something just doesn't feel right. I know part of this is because I it's different from how I usually write, however, it's not just that. When I read through what I've written it doesn't sound anything like how other authors write in first person. It's hard for me to pinpoint what makes my stuff sound so different in my mind--perhaps there is no difference at all? Even so, at times I think that it may be because I'm "telling" more than "showing", but when I focus on making certain that I am "showing" the writing still doesn't feel right.

Sometimes I like to think it is because of the main character, which makes the problem not as worrisome, but I sense this is more of a result of unpracticed writing skills than the awesome and amazing writing skill to make each narrative have its own voice that reflects the character from whose point of view the reader is reading.

Bleh. At this point, I think I should just keep going and see what happens.