[Writingworkshop] narrative voice

[Adam Holland]

You never cease to impress / amaze me..
Your writing, effortless and pleasant, leaves your readers feeling as though
they've encountered something appropriate, as if Moorcock's Balance has been
well served.
Often, a rereading will reveal to your readers more than they thought was
there at first.
You'll be surprised at what your facile skill with words, and insight into
the human psyche can do with even short texts.

turn to page 13 if you want to continue to write
Turn to page 47 to bask briefly in the admiration of your readers before
moving on to your next success.


;)

thanks,

Adam

PS  I'm totally going to give it a try.  However, a biographical update
seems especially  challenging, and I wonder how many people will "get it"

On Sat, Oct 4, 2008 at 9:12 PM, Neale Morison <neale at nealemorison.com>wrote:

>  So. You're ready to write something in second person, but you're not sure
> of the voice . You know, you might find that there are some answers in
> technical writing. Frequently, to avoid weighty formality and the excessive
> use of passive voice, you may wish to speak directly to the reader, almost
> as an old friend. You take them through the steps, one by one, offering
> advice, a tip, a trick. Warning: You should first ensure that the audience
> is willing to accept this level of informality. Some people may feel it is
> like unsolicited touching.
> If you are writing the story of your life, you could write as if you were
> instructing the reader how to behave as you. An example, no resemblance to
> your life intended:
>
> You open your eyes. Still breathing.Your wiggle your toes. Cold, but
> nevertheless they move. You stretch your limbs, your back. No worse than
> yesterday. Are you going to do it the easy way, make the small effort to
> rotate your legs out of bed and let them fall so the weight will lever the
> rest of you up, or is today the day? The hard way, full use of the abs, not
> even a bounce to break the inertia? You take a breath, you concentrate your
> forces, and hah! You're sitting bolt upright in bed, your heart beating at
> twice the rate, your torso a degree warmer. You narrow your eyes and smile
> grimly. This day is not going to know what hit it.
>
>
>
>
> Adam Holland wrote:
>
> OK, so my 15th college reunion is coming up, and there's the usual "submit
> a brief description of what you are up to for the class bulletin"
> I usualyl eschew these, bu since the 5 year intervlas actually result in a
> published volume, I submit something then, but try to have some fun with it.
>
> For example, at my 10th, I rewrote the intro to one of the Conan
> collections so that it was about me.
> "At this stage in Holland's wanderings, he is in his early thirties, and at
> the height of his powers... etc."
>
> So I'm trying to decide what would be funny for this one, because If I'm
> just going to do the boiler plate crap, what's the point?
>
> One idea I had was to somehow write it in the 2nd person.  But, I'd like to
> see some models if possible.
> Are there any available examples of this being done even reasonably well?
>
> Adam
>
> * From the discomfort of truth there is only one refuge, and that is
> ignorance.
> I do not need to be comfortable, and I will not take refuge.
> I demand to know.*
>
>
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>
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> --
> Neale Morisonneale at nealemorison.comhttp://www.nealemorison.com
> 35 Frazer St, Leichhardt NSW 2040
> +61 417 661 427
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