New Podfic: Edge of Snow is up! +blather on writing

[arrow00]

Eee! nos4a2no9 has gone and done recorded Edge of Snow as a fantastic podfic.

Her voice is perfect for reading Fraser 1st person, and for that I am so grateful, because Fraser is a tough nut to crack and it's not an easy story. Be sure to visit her LJ and give her fb because we just don't have enough people willing to record podfics. It's a long and

Comments

[t_verano]

not that I...even know what the heck I'm doing

You do so *too* know what the heck you're doing. Seriously. Wonderfully. And 's cool to get a little glimpse behind the Arrow writing curtain. (Not to mention the spiffy styling, setting up the transitions between the topics. ::appreciates::)

No sick suggestions (sadly), but POV has been much on my mind lately. You state the single-POV case excellently. I love writing it, for the reasons you give (and, okay, because I don'texactlyfeelcompetenttoswitchPOVinaficyet). But really, personal cowardice aside, I love that using a single POV reads/feels maybe a little more like life, being lived through a single set of eyes and observations and thoughts. Of course, I also do love reading fic that switches viewpoints, if it does it well and doesn't leave me flailing.

(Why would your novel need to be *not* from a single character's POV? Those are usually my favorite novels, letting me identify with the main character most fully. And go you, planning to write a novel ::beams at you::)

Endings -- uh-huh. So tough and so essential. I usually find beginnings much easier. But it feels great the times you find the ending that's *right*...

Titles. Heh. If I start out with the title I end up with no fic at all. The fic tells me what it wants, but that always changes as it goes along. Even a drabble doesn't tell me until it's almost in its final editing.

Setting yourself secret challenges -- ooh, very cool idea. (Which I plan to remember and use, if I ever get to the point that I can.)

[arrow00]

Thank you kindly, T, but sadly I *often* haven't the first clue what I'm doing. I look down at the screen and shake my head and give up for a while.

And then, like a switch gets flipped or something, sometimes it seems so easy. And I haven't yet figured out how to flip that switch manually.

But really, personal cowardice aside, I love that using a single POV reads/feels maybe a little more like life, being lived through a single set of eyes and observations and thoughts.

Yes! Right on the freakin' button, there. Also, I really do feel the flailing thing you mentioned when a story switches. My theory is: the reader, in reading the first POV, makes their own assumptions about the other character's mental processes, and it's so very hard to match--when the writer switches, I'm suddenly treated to thoughts I wasn't expecting, or an attitude that doesn't match my assumptions, and that's when I flail.

As I mentioned to isicolo above, actually, I had just assumed you had to switch POV for a novel. If I don't have to, then I think writing a novel will be much much easier. But it does mean I have to be very careful not to lose sight of the second character's arc.

Titles. Heh. If I start out with the title I end up with no fic at all. The fic tells me what it wants, but that always changes as it goes along. Even a drabble doesn't tell me until it's almost in its final editing.

Fascinating. You have a totally organic process, sounds like. I definitely find at times the story takes me where I'm not expecting, but even so I usually know the title...and it's almost as if somewhere underneath I know why the title is appropriate, even if I don't consciously. It's both a touchstone *and* an unexpected surprise.

I think that's why I have to write short stories, though. I don't think my brain is big enough to encapsulate an entire novel unconsciously that way. I have written five novellas, though.

Why do you think you can't do challenges? Unless you mean it's because you're too busy to write right now...which saddens me greatly. :o