Researching to write, writing to research?

I like collecting nuggets of information, like a particularly greedy squirrel. History, pop culture, literature, sociology, archaeology, art history, music, whatever.

So, when I started writing fiction about five years ago, it was naturally a great excuse to do research and learn new things. What usually happens is this: I'll write the first chapter or so of a story, and then I'll realize I don't know what the hell I’m talking about. So, hooray, I get to go research!

I've got a couple of decent university libraries nearby (I'm too lazy to go up to Stanford and they're too snooty to let me into their stacks, anyway) so off I go. It's a big production, and I generally spend all day farting around in the stacks. Sadly, the MLK library (San Jose/SJSU joint production) is too new to be musty, but on a Saturday morning there's no one around, so I get the upper floors practically to myself, as well as the huge floor-to-ceiling windows looking out on downtown SJ. It's just a great excuse to pretend I'm in college again, take copious notes, learn new things, and read, read, read.

Over the next few weeks I'll bookmark about a bajillion sites related to my topic and start plowing through those. Thank heavens for del.icio.us – I can finally organize my bookmarks and find them. I try to get the bulk of my research done ahead of time, but new stuff always crops up that I need to learn about, and the challenge there is not getting sidetracked. I've talked with Cas and Heather about this before – it's far too easy to "just check a fact" while I'm in the middle of writing, and find 15 minutes of precious writing time have evaporated.

So. What about you? Are you addicted to research? Is it a good procrastination tool?

Word-hoard
soncy: lucky and thriving


Myths, symbols, and folklore
oriole "In China it is a bird symbolic of spring, marriage, and joy."

I was going to write about the different flavors of frustration when getting rejections on queries, partials, and full reads. But then, I thought, that's just negative energy and not at all useful. As I always say, onwards and upwards. Rejections are a good reminder that the point of all of this is writing and creating, so that's what I shall do this morning. :D


Word-hoard
hypoyposis: an unusually vivid description

We're all set - my friend Heather and and I are going to the Historical Novel Society conference in lovely Albany, NY this June! I'm all giddy: Bernard Cornwell (he of the Sharpe series) will be there, as well as some great agents and editors. They have a good program planned, and, as she said, nerd weekend with Heather!!

First, this great quote from Joseph Campbell:
Artists are magical helpers. Evoking symbols and motifs that connect us to our deeper selves, they can help us along the heroic journey of our own lives.

Apropos of nothing, you must visit the Degree Confluence Project site. From the site:

The goal of the project is to visit each of the latitude and longitude integer degree intersections in the world, and to take pictures at each location. The pictures, along with a narrative describing the adventures it took to get there are then posted on this web site. This creates an organized sampling of the world.

Another goal is to document the changes at these locations over time. Although we initially want to visit as many different locations as possible, don't hesitate to revisit a confluence if you're in the area.

We've excluded confluences in the oceans and dropped some near the poles, but there are still 11,281 to be found. You're invited to help. There is a confluence within 49 miles (79 km) of you if you are on the surface of Earth.

Want to know what Vladivostok really looks like? Moldova? Malawi? These aren't tourist photos or official shots of the "attractions" but photos of the woods, the desert, the forgotten lakes and streams, the wadis, the tiny villages. It's the real life of the planet and fascinating. The site is well organized and new photos are being added every day. If you're a travel/geography dork like me, it's like heaven.

Word-hoard (a twofer today!)
topolatry: worship of a place
paidumatic: tendency of a culture to be shaped by its physical setting (Frobenius)

Myths, symbols, and folklore
Evening Star "Like the morning star, it is a designation for the bright planet Venus, but in contrast to the morning star, it refers to the evening position of Venus. Because it is considered the herald of approaching night, it is occasionally the Christian symbol of Lucifer."

If you're a visual artist, do you also write? If you're an incredible cook, do you also draw? If you write, do you also sew/knit? Is historical research a form of creativity?

I'm so fascinated by the ways people are creative. I write, but I'm also a pretty mean baker (though hopeless as a cook). I can't draw (but love to doodle) but I love getting out my wee oil paint set and playing with color. It would be interesting to see if there's a trend: writers are more likely also sew and draw, for example. Or painters are more likely to be amazing cooks, that sort of thing. Nothing scientific, just "directional trending" as I might say in my day job. :D

So, what about you?

And, for the record, today's word-hoard and myth/symbol/folklore entry are completely random...it's entirely too early to be clever :)

Word-hoard
quiritation: a cry for help

Myths, symbols, and folklore
Gorgons "In Greek mythology they are three sisters, Euryale, Stheno, and Medusa, who are ugly monsters, the sight of whom turns the viewer to stone. They are represented with serpents in their hair or on their girdles and are often winged. They are frequently interpreted as symbolic embodiments of the horrific aspect of the numinous. When spoken of in the singular, the Gorgon usually refers to Medusa, the mortal among the three sisters, whom Perseus decapitated. In later times she was often depicted as young and beautiful."

Flicking through The Herder Dictionary of Symbols, I came across the entry for lightning (below) and was fascinated by the first line: "a symbol or expression...of divine power, which appears as terrifying or creative."

We've all heard the stories - or experienced ourselves - the spark of inspiration, a kind of lightning bolt, and that feeling of being in the moment, going with the flow, etc. That's the positive side of that lightning. But what about the terrifying side? Have you had ideas, inspirations, which have terrified you? Or at the least, been deeply disconcerting?

I have two examples. Sometime last week, I realized with a jolt (ha!) that not one, but two, characters were going to die in my current story, and I took it very personally for some reason. It scared me - why would I do that? Why would I think of doing that to a character, am I a sadist? The lightning bolt of inspiration was frightening in that moment.

When I was writing my first novel, I wrote the first chapter without a real idea of where I was going. Then, about a month later, the ideas for the plot came fast and furious - that flash of inspiration - and I stopped and thought: this is kinda weird, would anyone get this? And then I thought: oh crap, am I going to write a novel? It was a different kind of terrifying.

So what about you? Have you had flashes of inspiration that were both creative and terrifying?

Word-hoard
ascham: a box for keeping bows and arrows dry

Myths, symbols, & folklore
lightning: "A symbol or expression in many cultures of divine power, which appears as terrifying or creative. In many cultures lightnin and thunder were thought to be caused by the highest god (e.g., Jupiter/Zeus, Indra). In the Bible lightning is associated with God's wrathful judgment; a punitive God of fire, lightning, and thunder is depicted. Zeus, the hurler of lightning bolts, can be seen as a fructifying, illuminating deity as well as a punishing one. Particularly in the Orient, a relationship exists between lighning and storms or rain; hence the symbolic connection of lightning and fertility, and the phallic significance of lightning. Until recently, people in some areas of Asia and Europe have made milk offerings to pacify lightning." (~Herder)

A sense of place

First. Heroes. I was really excited about this show when my friend John mentioned it after ComiCon last summer. It's right up my alley – the intersection of the fantastic and the mundane and how it affects people's lives It's the type of thing I love to write about. Plus – super powers! How cool is that? But I haven't watched a single episode. If it were on at 8 and not 9, I might actually watch, but I'm an old lady now who's usually asleep by 8:45 at night. I don't watch enough TV to warrant getting Tivo, so I'll just wait until the DVD is released and I can get it from NetFlix. How sad am I?

OK, what I really wanted to talk about today: yesterday the Endicott Studio blog featured a very cool project: Memory Maps. The goal of the program is to investigate the relationship between place and the creativity and unique works that emerge as people are affected by, and affect, that location. Absolutely fascinating.

My novels (thus far) are about far-away (for me) places – France, Norway, medieval England – but the short stories I've written have been set locally. That's odd, I just realized that. I'm proud of California, and feel like I'm on a mini-mission to show people that there is so much more to the San Jose than the Silicon Valley. But when I get into a longer work, I feel like I want to really imagine, get under the skin, of another time and/or place.

So my question for you all: how does the location you live affect your work? Do you write about your hometown, or your current home?

Oh, and on the subject of San Jose history, here's an incredibly cool grassroots history project: [murmur] San Jose (also in Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal). The [murmur] team works with local folks to record tidbits on local history and take a photo of the location being discussed. They then post the audio file and the photo on their website. But what's even cooler is that they also put signs up at the locations being discussed (a green ear) and you can call the number on the sign and get that bit of local history. I just love this idea.


Word-hoard
cathisophobia: fear of sitting

Myths, symbols, and folklore
teeth "They are a symbol of strength, vitality, and aggressiveness."

Not sure what got me off on this track, but wanted to share something cool with y'all.

The Hardanger fiddle is a popular instrument for folk musicians in Norway (and in Norwegian-American communities here in the US). It's got quite a haunting sound, and they're absolutely gorgeous to look at.

From the Wikipedia entry:

A Hardanger fiddle or hardingfele (Norwegian) is a traditional stringed instrument from Norway. In modern designs, the instruments are very similar to the violin, but typically with thinner wood. It is different enough that a luthier accustomed to repairing violins could easily ruin a hardingfele. The instrument typically has eight or nine strings; four are played like a violin, while the rest (aptly named sympathetic strings) resonate under the influence of the other four, providing a pleasant continuous sound environment for the tune.

You've heard a hardingfele before, though you probably didn't realize it: the theme for Edoras and the Rohirrim in the Lord of the Rings movies is played on a hardingfele.

You can hear samples of the hardingfele at:

• As Quick as Fire: The Art of the Norwegian Hardanger Fiddle


• Traditional Norwegian Fiddle Music


• Wizard Women of the North - a silly name for a very cool CD

Word-hoard
neume: "medieval musical notation, derived from the Greeks, showing relative pitch"

Huzzah!

Thing the first: Huzzah! THE MIDNIGHT SON is a finalist in the San Francisco Writer's Conference contest! The gory details are here. Winners will be announced at the conference – as if I weren't already giddy about going to this event! It's nice to have your work recognized – THE PILGRIM GLASS was a finalist in the 2005 Faulkner-Wisdom, and now my strange little Erik is a finalist in this SFWC contest. I'm thrilled! Now, we just need find an agent…

Thing the second: if you are at all interested in folklore, myth, folklife, etc., the links at the Endicott Studio blog are not to be missed. I've mentioned before that it's a fantastic blog in and of itself, content-wise, but the collection of links is pretty spectacular. Check it out.

Thing the third: Inspiration. For your latest creation – story, painting, sweater, cake, whatever – what inspired you? What was the spark of light that led you down the road you're on? For me, it can come in the strangest ways at the strangest times.

With the novel I'm writing now, it came when I was incredibly frustrated with my first 2006 NaNo attempt. I was floundering and dissatisfied with the story and the characters. One evening, about 4 or 5 days in, I was doing a visualization for some spiritual "homework" I had, and the image of a beautiful, spare cabin on the top of a mountain, surrounded by even higher mountains, popped into my head. I wandered around the space for a while – it was very soothing, calming. My brain tends to be a rather hectic place at times, and the cabin was the perfect antidote. Then, all of a sudden, two young women sauntered in: one, strong and open-faced, with straw-blond hair and icy blue eyes; the other, delicate and mischievous, with chestnut hair and pale green eyes. And when they started talking, I was shocked to realize that their names were Elisabeth and Oleanna: my great-great aunts from Norway. I'd never met either one of them, but there they were. So I wrote down what they were chattering about, and the story began to unfold from there.

I will admit I was reluctant at first. My second novel is set in modern-day Norway, and though Elisabeth and Oleanna's story is set in 1905, I was concerned about setting another story in western Norway. But, you have to go with the flow as far as it will take you. And as always, the story and characters are surprising the heck out of me, in brilliant and shocking and funny ways.

So, for your latest creation: what inspired you to begin?

Word-hoard
parabolanus: a monk medic specializing in contagious diseases

Myths, symbols, and folklore
athanor "The alchemical furnace, in which the physical, mystical, and moral transformations took place, it is occasionally compared with the womb and the world egg."

Remember how I was talking about sacrifices yesterday? I guess I'd better adjust my attitude there...'round about 6:30 last night I absolutely crashed out. I mean, half-asleep at 6:30, fully asleep at 7:00...woke up a bit to listen to the Sharks game, then zonked out for good by 8:00. I guess getting up at 4:45 every morning for weeks on end does have an affect on the body. Who knew? :D

Today, just because it felt right, a few history links.

The Labyrinth, Georgetown's venerable resource for everything medieval. I say venerable, because I recall the beginnings of this site wayyyyy back when I was in grad school. A broad set of topics, a robust search engine, and lots of depth within many of the topics. Great for a wander through, even if you're not writing anything in the period.

Sharan Newman's 6 Fallacies of the Middle Ages. Sharan writes, among other things, the Catherine LeVendeur mysteries, set in 12c France, and has done a ton of research on the era. This is a quick, clever primer. I wish she still had her outstanding bibliography posted somewhere - it was a great starting point for my research when I was writing the pilgrim sections of The Pilgrim Glass. And if you're even remotely interested in murder mysteries, and like historicals, I really recommend the Catherine LeVendeur series.

Costumer's Manifesto costume history page. What can I say? If I could sew, or, you know, cut in a straight line, I might actually start doing costuming myself. But it's not in the cards, methinks, so I just go to sites like the Costumer's Manifesto and sigh over the gorgeous plates from throughout history. The costume history page is simple and organized chronologically, so if you need to know what hair or headdresses were common in ancient Rome, or need to know exactly what was fashionable during the reign of Louis XIII, they've got it. Beware: you could lose a lot of time clicking through these fascinating links.


Word-hoard
janiceps: a two-headed monster facing opposite directions


Myths, symbols, and folklore
dwarfs: "A supernatural race of master artisans who serve as donor figures to the gods in Scandinavian mythology and as donors or servants to knights and heroes in Old French, Middle High German, and medieval Scandinavian chivalric and heroic literature. Scandinavian mythological sources depict dvergar (dwarfs) as an all-male race of supernatural beings, residing in cliffs and stones, created asexually from the bones and blood of giants."

Finding the time

I am not yet fortunate enough to be able to write full time. I grab an hour before I go into work, and time on the weekends.

What about you? Where do you find the time to be creative? Do you borrow it from sleep? Or leave the housework to another weekend? Do you have to make sacrifices in order to do your creative work? Is it worth it? What price do you pay? Or is it all effortless?

Word-hoard
mogigraphia: writer's cramp

Creative space

When I first started writing, I sat in our office (AKA second bedroom), in the afternoons on the weekend, looking out across rooftops and powerlines to the Santa Cruz mountains, about 10 miles to the west. During the summer it was stifling, but I loved the bright, warm light. As my writing habits changed, I found that I preferred writing in the morning, when my brain is most awake and I'm most productive (curses to that, by the way, but it is what it is). The office is gloomy and cold in the morning, so starting with NaNo in 2005, I moved the operations to our kitchen table, where there's a big window and sliding glass door facing the east. The view isn't all that - just the other buildings in our complex, some nice green grassy areas. But off to the side, there's a tremendous weeping willow - it's got to be 40 years old - and I watch the sun rise behind the willow every morning. It's really spectacular. Of course, this also means we haven't eaten at our kitchen table in over a year, excepting Thanksgiving and Christmas.

When I want to write in my journal, I have to do it sitting in bed, and when I want to paint I have to do it sitting at the coffee table in the family room. Coloring in my mandala coloring book? That can be just about anywhere.

So, on the right, there's a pile of books, photocopies, and my notebook with all of my character sketches and arcs, the story chronology, notes, etc. The basket was my "NaNo survival kit" for 2005 and it's just stuck. It's got CDs, another story idea notebook, the CWC bulletin for this month, my writing scarf (shut up), and lots and lots of gum.

Over on the left, I've got a Ganesh figurine and candle (got to unblock those blocks!), a wee bottle of BPAL Polyhymnia for when I need a little inspiration, and my ZenaMoon candle for writing.

And of course, on the chair, Pandora.








So, what about you? Have you created a space in your house dedicated to creating - writing, knitting, beading, painting, etc.?


And in shameless fangirl news: my favorite actor, Christopher Eccleston, is going to be in a movie adaptation of The Dark Is Rising. The books have been rec'd to me a million times...I guess it's time I actually pick them up from the library.

Was feeling rather random this morning in the creation of today's tidbits...

Word-hoard
megalonisus: a tendency to exaggerate

Myths, symbols, and folklore:
poplar: "Because its foliage trembles at the least breath of air, it is a symbol of pain and lamentation. The Greeks regarded it as a tree growing in the underworld, and in that connection it symbolizes the laments of the dead."

The Endicott Studio

Thought you all would be interested in this blog: Endicott Redux. It's the blog from the folks at The Endicott Studio, "an interdisciplinary organization dedicated to the creation and support of mythic art." Headed by Terri Windling, a writer and artist who has published over 40 books and has won seven World Fantasy Awards, the Mythopoeic Award, and the Bram Stoker Award. Midori Snyder is the co-director and author of eight books for children and adults, and recipient of the Mythopoeic Award.

Every post has something fascinating, transporting, or disturbing. Recent posts include profiles of artists Angela Barrett and Jeannie Tomanek, info on the latest issue of Clarksworld Magazine, heroes of Indian mythology, Gypsy stories, mythic weavers, and their weekly feature, the Sunday Poem.

The Endicott Studio's Journal of Mythic Arts is another great site to add to your Favorites - "An online journal exploring myth, folklore, fairy tales, and their use in contemporary arts". The current issue focuses on faerie, with essays, short fiction, poetry, and art.

Word-hoard
vafrous: crafty; shrewd; cunning

Myths, symbols, and folklore:
fox: "In Japanese and Chinese myths, it plays a significant role as a wise, demonic, partly good, party evil animal with knowledge of magic and the ability to metamorphose into many other shapes, especially human ones; in some Indian cultures, the fox is a symbol of sexual lust; in Europe it often symbolizes cunning and slyness. In medieval art it appears as a symbol of the Devil, lies, injustice, intemperance, greed, and lust."

Magic!

Via BookSlut:

Turning the Pages - leaf through original manuscripts and journals from Austen, Blake, daVinci. There's also the Sherborne Missal, the first atlas of Europe, and more. What's even cooler is you can magnify some of them, and there's audio commentary on many of them.

Beware, you need to have the latest version of the Shockwave plug-in installed before you can lose a whole day to this. :D

In all of my visits to London, I've only visited the manuscripts room at the British Library twice. When I was 14, I visited for the first time. I had just read Pride & Prejudice for the bajillionth time, so when I walked in and saw an original Austen manuscript on display, it was magical. It was the same feeling I get when I get close enough to a painting to see the brushstrokes - a transporting feeling of connection to the artist. Wow, Jane Austen's handwriting. Something she touched, owned, worked and worried over, right here in front of me. It was like a rift in time opened up and I felt like I was right there, watching the manuscript come together. Magic. That time in the manuscript room really sparked my interest in history and fascination with the creative process. And it was just so effing cool.

Hurrah!

Now I've got two writer's conferences to go to this spring! First, the SF Writer's Conference in February, which has a ton of great workshops and a huge "speed dating with agents" room. Met some great folks there last year.

Last night I signed up for the Jack London Writer's Conference on the Peninsula. The workshops look good but not fantastico, but the "meet an agent" room is much less frenetic and much more civilized (and better organized, IMO, than the SFWC's agent room).

But, the best thing about Jack London this year? Christopher Moore is the lunchtime keynote. Score.

Quick review: Lamb

So, Lamb, The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore (2002).

1. Yes, I know, I'm 5 years late on this review.

2. Wow, sad ending. I cried.

The concept of the book is simple: what happened to Jesus between childhood and the crucifixion? But the story is much more than that.

Moore did a fantastic job taking a story we all think we know, and making it fresh, engaging, and funny. An adventure tale. Even suspenseful – which is quite a feat, given the story. And I mentioned funny, yeah? Laughed out loud every few pages. And though the book was incredibly funny, it was touching too and Moore approached the subject with respect.

Seeing Joshua (AKA Jesus) through Biff's definitely less-than-perfect eyes humanizes him and makes the extraordinary things he does – and is – even more amazing. It's tough having the Son of God as your best friend. It's tough being the Son of God. Humor is what gets Biff and Josh through. To wit – the drafting of the Sermon on the Mount:

[Biff] "We've got: Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness; blessed are the poor in spirit, the pure in heart, the whiners, the meek, the – "

"Wait, what are we giving the meek?"

"Let's see, uh, here: Blessed are the meek, for to them we shall say, 'attaboy'."

"A little weak."

"Yeah."

"Let's let the meek inherit the earth."

"Can't you give the earth to the whiners?"

"Well then, cut the whiners and give the earth to the meek."

"Okay. Earth to the meek. Here we go. Blessed are the peacemakers, the mourners, and that's it."

"How many is that?"

"Seven."

"Not enough. We need one more. How about the dumbfucks?"

"No, Josh, not the dumbfucks. You've done enough for the dumbfucks. Nathaniel, Thomas –"

"Blessed are the dumbfucks for they, uh – I don't know – they shall never be disappointed."

What makes the story even more compelling is Biff's voice. I normally shy away from first person narratives – they generally annoy me – but his voice was engaging (better be, as the self-proclaimed inventor of sarcasm) and the shifts between humor and deep feeling were elegant.

Bottom line? I enjoyed the hell out of this book.

And I really did cry at the end.


Word-hoard:
risorial: pertaining to, causing, or producing laughter

Myths, symbols, and folklore
Daisy: "A composite flower of the temperate zone, the daisy was sacred to the Germanic mother goddess Freya; In medieval art it is a common attribute of Mary, signifying eternal life and salvation, but also, like the Marguerite, tears and drops of blood."

Publisher's Marketplace

One of the best resources I've found for writers who want to get published is Publisher's Marketplace and their daily Publisher's Lunch email. The email is great for getting the skinny on the publishing industry - profits statements, the monthly BookSense lists, personnel comings and goings at publishers and agencies. I believe you have to be registered on the site to get the email ($20 per month, I think), but the membership means you can also review the latest deals (great for uncovering agents you might not have known about or considered), and use the great search tool which shows who represents different authors. Neil Gaiman? Looks like Merrilee Heifetz at Writers House. Susanna Clark? Nick Marston at Curtis Brown UK.

There's plenty of industry folks going to that site, and I think it's worth having a membership so you can have your own profile page (which of course links to your website and your blog). I even took out a banner ad on the site a number of times, indicating I was seeking representation, which got me a full read on Jonas.

Regardless, if you're even considering getting your work published in the U.S., the site's a great educational tool.

And, now on to the less prosaic part of the show :D

Word-hoard
halomancy: fortune-telling with salt

Myths, symbols, and folklore
The Wild Hunt: "Legend complex (motif E501) concerning a ghostly hunter, often accompanied by dogs or spirits and often hunting a woman, who is frequently one of the supernatural beings. In many Scandinavian and German versions the hunter captures or kills the woman and carries her off like a game animal. The hunter may be unidentified, or he may be a historical figure…The woman being hunted is most often a local forest being; in some Scandinavian versions she is said to have huge breasts that she slings over her shoulder as she runs from her pursuer. The fullest versions of this form of the legend tell of someone who witnesses first the woman running by, then the hunter, and then finally the hunter with the captured or killed woman. In other forms of the legend more common in Germany, the hunter may be a lost soul, or he may lead lost souls on a wild ride through the sky, rather like the Norwegian oskorei, a band of spirits who rush about and often overrun farms…Sometimes a rushing noise high in the trees is called Odin's hunt…The identification of the hunter as Odin and the rushing of spirits around him has led scholars…to consider a connection with an ecstatic Odin cult…More-recent scholarship, however, would argue for a basis in an Indo-European warrior cult in which young warriors imbued with life force fight with the characteristics of animals…From the twelfth century forward the Wild Hunt appears as a major theme of legend in England and Wales."

Begin with the end?

Not much to report this morning, though for some reason I wrote (what I think) is the ending of my Oleanna novel this morning. That was weird. Like I've mentioned before, I've always been a linear writer, but these random scenes keep jumping out of my head, so we go with it. It did help me understand something about Oleanna and her growth during the story, so that was incredibly helpful. Ahh, the brain and the fickle muse. :D

Word-hoard
ramjollock: to shuffle cards

Myth, folklore, and POV shifts

I've been interested in myth, symbol, and folklore for years – since college, lo those many years ago – and those elements have been a big part of my writing. I say that like I've been writing for a million years (it's only been a little over four), but you know what I mean. When I started writing my first novel, I found some fantastic books on the subject, and I thought I'd use this venue to share some interesting tidbits from those sources.

I also thought I'd bring something over from my personal LJ, ye olde word-hoard. I mean, we're writers and readers here, right? Finding fabulous old or under-utilized words to share with you every once in a while should be a blast for me, too. They may or may not have anything to do with anything relevant. But they'll be fun, regardless.

I'm also planning on talking more regularly about the craft of writing, the business of writing, and maybe some book reviews and interesting links thrown in for fun.

So, let's talk craft, specifically POV shifts. I used POV shifts in my first novel, but separated them by chapter. I felt it was important to show how each of the three principal characters reacted to the same events, and I wanted a way to go into more depth into their backstories, as their interweaving threads were crucial to the plot climax. I've kept to a single POV for my second novel and in-progress third novel (20K words as of yesterday, w00t!) because it's right for those stories, and multiple POVs (alternating chapters) for my novella, because it was right for that story.

What throws me is seeing POV shifts within chapters, however. It takes me out of the story – I have to stop and reorient myself every time it happens. So, my question is: when are in-chapter or in-section POV shifts appropriate? What function do they serve? Have you seen them done well? As a writer do you use section or chapter POV shifts? As a reader, do you find section or chapter POV shifts distracting, or a nice change of pace?


Word-hoard
polychrestic: useful for many reasons

Myths, symbols, and folklore
glass: "like crystal, it is a symbol of light because of its transparency; in medieval pictures, glass that lets all things shine through without being affected itself is a symbol of the Immaculate Conception"

(cross-posted from my LiveJournal: http://juliekrose.livejournal.com)