I woke up early this morning and lay in the predawn dimness of our bedroom, listening to the dogs' heavy breathing. I'd fallen asleep with a worrying thought and it was still with me -- the realization that Miss Birdie needs to tell her story in first person rather than the third person I've been using. In my head, I ran through bits of some of the chapters I've written, trying to imagine how I'd rephrase them. After five or ten minutes of this, I got up, dressed quietly, and went outside to do some watering before sun up. It was five-thirty.
When the watering was done and the
bird feeders filled and the laundry started, I powered up my laptop and set to. A few pages in and I knew this was the right decision. I want to tell Birdie's story without my voice, the author voice in the other books, creeping in. That author voice is too full of big words that don't work with Birdie. It's been bothering me all along.
"It's not going to be
all dialect, is it?" My husband is a little worried when I tell him what I'm up to. No, I'll confine the dialect to when Birdie's actually speaking. Her thoughts will be in her own
turn of phrase, without the phonetic spelling (which I'm really trying to go easy on anyway). For example, when Birdie
speaks, I'll have her say 'git you a cheer,' but if it's her thoughts, she'll
think "I told her to get her a chair.' A subtle difference but I think it'll work.
(It is hotter than the hinges of Hades here, but the roses and clematis are thriving -- good bye Spring, hello early Summer.)
11 comments:
Interesting what gets us up at odd hours ... yours concerning Miss Birdie, and me, being selfish, wanting to enjoy the outdoors before the sun comes over the mountain and the heat begins. I dislike being house bound, but these days by mid-morning a person can't stand being out any longer, so I start my day extra early if only to sit on the deck and enjoy the view ... my garden/yard/woods.
I like your 'hotter then the hinges of Hades' ... same over here with tomorrow, supposedly, our hottest day to date. UGH!!!
Yep, this is bloody miserable weather. At least we're not in Charlotte or Atlanta.
Every time I go outside and see the thermometer hitting 90+, I remind myself that I could still be living in Savannah where it sometimes gets to 100 degrees, with near 100% humidity. Much better in these mountains, but it's still hot as heck sometimes. :)
I think your decision to write Miss Birdie's story in the first person is a great one. It will make the book/her story stand alone, yet still connect to the rest. Can't wait to read it.
I think it's working -- so far anyway.
Vicki, you put me to shame. I overslept this morning, so I didn't get out to do my gardening work till after 9 o'clock. Pretty soon the heat drew closer and closer, the tree shadows began retreating, and I was ready to gather up my chard, spinach, lettuce, not to mention my precious cherries and head for the house. I did lug several cans of water out, and will lug more late this afternoon, after I've finished pitting the cherries.
I think Miss Birdie in first person sounds like a good call.
And your asparagus in the Saturday post is to die for! We had asparagus beetles this year, so that took a toll, but looks like all the plants will come through for another year.
Maybe I'll put the hinges of Hades in a poem!
Wish I could claim Hades' hinges as my own but it's just one more thing floating around in the packrat's horde I call my brain. No idea where it came from but I love to think you may use it in a poem!
Hoard, I mean hoard -- my brain is fried by this heat.
I delayed going out in our St. Louis muggy heat until evening. Though I don't grow edibles, the work of nurturing green and flowering things reminds me a lot of raising children. The patience and keeping a calm and easy pace, knowing that one is never "there", but for a moment. Vicki, your mind seems to do that also.........getting finally to a place that's right, but then moving on to the next uncertainty..LIFE!
Susan
Ah, yes -- the next uncertainty.
Dorothy Parker is said to have greeted the telephone's ring with the phrase "What fresh hell?'
I prefer to say "What new adventure?" (Though if it's a telemarketer, I WILL hang up on them, rather than accepting the adventure of a different long distance provider or vinyl siding for the house.
Very interesting. Something I wouldn't have thought about, but I reckon that what 'person' you tell the story in, does affect the story and character portrayal. What fun. :-)
And it's 'that' hot here too... Although today we have gotten more rain, and it seems a bit cooler.
Tammy
Yep, there's a lot to this writing stuff. And I really am getting more into Birdie's head now with the POV switch.
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