"orientate, orientated" rather than "orient, oriented" as a form of "orientation."

"oriented" is just too short. I say "orientated", and that's what I write, unless I have very specific reason (an American character speaking) not to.

---

But what does orientate mean? Aside from the meaning of "orient", that is? If it's a different word, shouldn't there be a difference in meaning? The extra syllable doesn't give it added power, it just sounds...puffy. To me, anyway. But as I said, luddite.

---

Common Errors in English lists it as a mistake.

Edit: and MW gives its conception date as mid-1800s.

---

So the replacement set of Vividcon DVDs *did* arrive. (Yay!) The other set is presumably being watched by an employee of the Yakima Post Office, but whatever. More joy to them.

Anyway, I know some folks on here wished they could've gotten copies, and since the people who put the set together said it would be all right I wanted to offer to burn some off if anyone's interested. The e-mail address in my profile should be good - just drop me your snail address.

---

Just got the nicest review on ff.net for No Going Back.

I only wish more people would express their appreciation -

but I fear the more mature the writing the less vocal the FB. Pity,that.

It's correctly spelled, it grammatical, and it likes me. Happy sigh.

---

I have a question about limited third person POV. Or about fanfic in general.

This article on fanfic peeves says:

Most fan fiction is written in limited third person -- this means that the story keeps a tight focus on the viewpoint character. This is a good thing, generally; it makes it easy for the reader to feel close to that character. But there are things you can't do with limited third.

If Blair is our viewpoint character, you can say

"Blair looked up into Jim's adoring face"
(though it's so sweet I wish you wouldn't...)

but you can't say

"Blair raised his incredibly beautiful azure eyes to Jim's adoring face."

Is most fanfic really written in ltd 3rd? Because, apart from the retch factor, I doubt the latter sentence would have yanked me out of the moment (though I probably should wonder why I'm reading Sentinel fic at that point). But I'm hypothesising with a faulty memory, and maybe the sampling of fic I read isn't characteristic at all.

Or I'm a sloppy reader.

---

Well, I tend to write in a limited 3rd where the POV shifts from scene to scene. I find it easier to live in a particular character's head in certain situations. The sentence with the incredibly beautiful azure eyes could be limited 3rd, if Blair is an utterly self-absorbed git who knows he's beautiful and is using ever wile at his command on poor Jim.

Most fic? Subjectively, I think most fic is limited 3rd, but that might because I prefer ltd 3rd (which looks like musical notation). There's a sense of immediacy in ltd 3rd, because you do have to live in one person's head through that scene, you're not so detached as you would be with omnisicient 3rd.

Now that I think about it, I think all the books I re-read--as opposed to read one time then avoid--are ltd 3rd, just for the sense of being closer to the characters.

---

Is most fanfic really written in ltd 3rd?

Connie's right. Speculating wildly out of my hindparts, I suspect that the majority of fiction is ltd 3rd, and that fanfic, which tends to be about emotional & experiential stuff, is even moreso than that.

Not that there aren't people who head-jump like lice, but the fact that they are called on this regularly implies to me a culture that tends to eschew omniscience. I think there's something about identidying with a character -- which I think most fanfic writers do -- that trends the writing away from standing at a distance like, say, the show's own producers, and toward standing in the trenches wth the [beleaguered] character[s].

This theory from my hindparts sadly does not cover the relative dearth of 1st person. I suppose fear of being labeled Mary Sue?

---

Maybe. I love first, but it does absolutely limit you to one character's knowledge and stuff. I've written 2 first-person drabbles(as my girl Kay,her voice is just that strong for me) but that's it.

---

I agree that first person can be limiting. Some characters beg for it more than others.

Batman, I'm discovering, is very much a self-involved, first person kind of guy. And in the comics, he's written in first person.

My default is limited third, but I've been trying to stretch more.

And lack of first person may be the worry about coming off as a Mary Sue, but in my experience, I think I have a more difficult time writing engaging prose in first person. It's all "I went there and I did that and I sat down--"

Maybe that's just me.

---