He isn't asking for feedback; to him, the novel is finished, it's perfect

Oh, as usual, dear.

Oh, I understood you. I was rewriting for my own fun.

I was rewriting for my own fun.

Ah. Well, yours is certainly light years better than his, but I am very fierce about first person; it's very hard to do properly, very difficult to put on that character and speak through them without putting yourself into it, your own issues, your own joys and sorrows. That can be done properly, or it can be done messily. It's one of the trickiest balancing acts in writing fiction.

And the problem - or one of them - is that you'd better have a damned strong story to tell, if you're saying to the reader, come with me.

I am very fierce about first person; it's very hard to do properly, very difficult to put on that character and speak through them without putting yourself into it, your own issues, your own joys and sorrows. That can be done properly, or it can be done messily. It's one of the trickiest balancing acts in writing fiction.

Absolutely. I generally find it's easier to sustaing first person for a short story or drabble. Once it gets over a thousand words, it becomes unfun.

I heart victor. I'm going to mimeograph copies of that and hand it out with candy to all my little star-struck students.

And deb, some of the people you get simpering up to you frighten me.

Oh, and I know it's not in this thread, but yay for Herself!

My first official novel -as in, offered on by a publisher - was in first person; she was a 12th century Welsh girl who lived in drag, as a man, because the times didn't provide for women being goldsmiths. It had to do with her being hired by Eleanor of Acquitaine to find Richard after he was kidnapped after the first Crusade.

Hey, Deb, I'm going to e-mail you a story I wrote and revised heavily a few years ago. You might find it interesting, in light of this discussion.

Oh God. Ack. It's so bad. And the first draft is even more awful. But it was in third-person.

Kewl.

BTW, Susan, when you check in? Will be curling up with latest chapter of Lucy later today.

edit - P-C, cool on the sending. Will read later - my brain is elsewhere at the moment.

People think that is why we are close, Deb. A networking stunt so that you can give me the secret handshake...but then I told you the fam doesn't understand me so much, right?

But what's driving me crazy is the rationale I'm getting here: "Hey, I wrote a novel! You're published! Can you read my book and make your agent read it?"

Ooooh, I hate that. It's such a terrible imposition to put on anyone.

I heart victor. I'm going to mimeograph copies of that and hand it out with candy to all my little star-struck students.

Mimeograph away!