*groan*

[swatkat]

I've caught a cold. And a nasty one too, because I actually had stay back home. I feel better now, but I've also got a cough, and that isn't going away quickly. *sigh*

So, I leave you with a question - one that's been bothering me of late. I'm quite fond of the third person/present tense combination - if well done, it produces an intensity that's difficult to reach in the other POVs (note: a good author can do anything, and I'm not saying that other POVs are bad. I just like this one very much). But do you think it is quite suitable for a longer fic, i.e 3000 words or more? Is it possible to retain the intensity?

Comments

[pogrebin.livejournal.com]

Ah well, I'm sure you know that I'm a fan of the whole third person/present tense thing-- and I did have a similar sort of concern. Would it be too much in a longer fic, would the stylism die out/kill the story etc. but I found that if you're comfortable with the style it tends to sort of work out. (Ref. my two longer stories, Walking Shadow and Black Gold-- though both do slip between past & present a little)-- I think Soz's Russian Roulette was written in present & past as well. I think, basically, if you're intending to focus on style as well as content, go for it-- and, maybe vary the tenses to break the monotony? (It'd probably happen anyway, with flashbacks and things.) Well, that works for me personally, anyway. Hope it helps. <3.


(oh, and i just remembered, there are quite a few novels written in third person present, not the least the amazing work of kurt vonnegut, jr. *points to icon*)

[jaybee65.livejournal.com]

But do you think it is quite suitable for a longer fic, i.e 3000 words or more?

I don't see why not.

Is it possible to retain the intensity?

Well...that's a very different question. I think if something's longer, it simply loses intensity by definition, because *whatever* style you're using, the reader becomes accustomed to it and stops noticing it as much as the fic goes on. It's that whole background noise thing -- a train might sound really distractingly loud, but if I live by the tracks I won't even consciously hear it after a while.

[msgenevieve.livejournal.com]

Oh, you poor darling. You really must stop going out and playing in the rain, my dear. *g*

But do you think it is quite suitable for a longer fic, i.e 3000 words or more? Is it possible to retain the intensity?

I don't see why not. Then again, the story I'm currently writing is third person/present tense, so perhaps I'm biased. *g*

Is there a particular reason you suspect otherwise?

Once again...

[mscyanide.livejournal.com]

It all depends upon the author, if they are good then it is both suitable and will not lose intensity, if they are bad, best not to bother.