The first feedback on my prologue came back pretty universally favorable. Most people in my critique group think it makes a better first chapter than a prologue. That's good news for a rough draft. It still needs a coat or two of polish and I need to rework some things related to the Storyteller. Ah but I really like the first line of my current chapter 1. Decisions, decisions. I finished Orson Scott Card's Character and Viewpoint last Friday. Orson clearly knows his stuff. Character and Viewpoint is more like a textbook compared to the other books on reading I've read. That is mostly praise. The book is dense, particularly the first half of the book. It is a book that needs to be studied, not just read. There's a lot going on in there. I can tell that Mr. Card has thought deeply about the issues of character and point of view. I plan to revisit it again, soon. However, it is not flawless. The second half of the book, particularly the last third, on viewpoint, feels rushed. The most valuable advice lies in the discussion of character. If someone has a hard time writing believable characters, I'd point them to this book in a heartbeat. If someone was struggling with POV issues, I'd direct them elsewhere. I can't call it a lack of polish, all I can say is again is it feels rushed at the end. What does feel unpolished are the writing samples. Mr. Card wore one of tentpole novels of Science Fiction in Ender's Game. He is clearly a skilled writer, I've devoured a good half dozen of his books with pleasure. Moreover, the majority of the writing advice given in Character and Viewpoint reinforces Mr. Card's writing chops. That's why the writing samples he provides to illustrate his points are so painful. Unlike Self-Editing for Fiction Writers or On Writing by Stephen King, the examples Mr. Card provides show little of the fit and finish of a master craftsman.
The example dialog is often wooden. Most of the passages were strrewn with 'telling' and not good, narrative 'telling' but almost amateurish descriptions of character's thoughtsm, feelings and actions. Now these were not intended to illustrate writing mistakes. In a section on First Person, you'd see this awkward 'telling' writing sample. Again, the feeling is that the book was written in a rush. I'm sure that if Mr. Card had spent more time on his writing samples they would have shown better quality.
But apart from those two complaints, Character and Viewpoint's content is laudable. The book does belong in every writer's bookshelf. I didn't experience any 'ah ha' moments while reading it, as I have with other books on writing and I didn't have an overwhelming urge to go write immediately after finishing it. Instead the book put me in a contemplative mood where the strengths and the flaws of Mr. Card's book seemed to stand out in even sharper relief.
The example dialog is often wooden. Most of the passages were strrewn with 'telling' and not good, narrative 'telling' but almost amateurish descriptions of character's thoughtsm, feelings and actions. Now these were not intended to illustrate writing mistakes. In a section on First Person, you'd see this awkward 'telling' writing sample. Again, the feeling is that the book was written in a rush. I'm sure that if Mr. Card had spent more time on his writing samples they would have shown better quality.
But apart from those two complaints, Character and Viewpoint's content is laudable. The book does belong in every writer's bookshelf. I didn't experience any 'ah ha' moments while reading it, as I have with other books on writing and I didn't have an overwhelming urge to go write immediately after finishing it. Instead the book put me in a contemplative mood where the strengths and the flaws of Mr. Card's book seemed to stand out in even sharper relief.
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