Friday 5 December 2008

Writing exercise -see story in last blog

Howdy all,
just thought I'd clear up a possible misconception pointed out to me by a great guy and follower of my blog. I wrote the short story in a flurry of activity (after seeing no flurry of snow that I was waiting for) as a little writing exercise. Usually I write from a first person perspective, where my character Joe Hunter tells the tale as he sees it, interspersed with chapters from a third person perspective where we see other aspects of the story where Joe is not present. Joe has a certain perspective himself, and has often pondered on how others see him. To him he's a good guy doing what he feels is right, but to his enemies he's the bad guy. I thought it would be fun getting into the mind of a thoroughly nasty individual and telling a tale from his eyes. I chose the nameless lead in The Holly and the I.V as a downright thug and bully, of little intelligence, who thinks he is a great guy because he is so bad. Therefore I wrote in the kind of language that I believed a man of such integrity (or lack of) would speak. I'm not a fan of swearing (unless necessary). You can write a great thriller or crime novel without the use of four letter words, and I have tried to do this with my books, only adding swearing at points where it was necessary to the moment. This story is excessive - hence the warning at the beginning - but it served my purpose for looking at Joe through someone else's eyes and sensibilities.
By the way, anyone looking for publication should keep anything gratuitous out of their writing (in my opinion) as - like my friend pointed out - it could turn off a lot of commisioning editors.
In the meantime, if you read the story, read it for fun as intended.
Matt

No comments: