Insantiy - Page 2 - Writers Forum

Shawn · 04-27-2007, 10:32 PM

Or you could foil the character and have the foil express their thoughts outright so the main character doesn't have to.

Destroyer · 04-28-2007, 04:22 AM

It doesn't necessarily have to be from the pov of the insane person. For my character I show the calmer periods of madness from her point of view. When it gets really extreme I switch to another character and show her from the perspective of another.
For instance, the unwelcome voices come during her point of view. When she has a complete breakdown I can never reall find the right way for her to personally experience, so I generally have another character seeing the breakdown and describe it through his or her eyes.

mammamaia · 04-28-2007, 08:06 PM

Quote:

you could foil the character and have the foil express their thoughts

huh?... 'foil' as in what?

Shawn · 04-28-2007, 08:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mammamaia

huh?... 'foil' as in what?

Have a character having a parallel experience, but make them flat... then you can have that character express thoughts rather than be blunt with your main character.

In Hamlet, a lot of what we know about Hamlet comes from Fortinbras. It's no surprise that Fortinbras is a foil to Hamlet.

mammamaia · 04-28-2007, 08:30 PM

ok, but it's a weird usage of the word 'foil' imo... first using it as a verb and then as a noun, in the same sentence definitely confoozed me...

je33ie · 04-29-2007, 01:58 AM

I'm not a fan of italics in long pieces but you could portray voices some other way. Sneak them into the description by referring to a "you" in first person:

***

I opened the door and walked into the hall. Yes, I know I should have taken the umbrella. You're right, it would have been safer for all involved. Maybe he would still be alive. I shook my head in disgust of what I had just done.

What's that? You think I should go hide the evidence. Yes, now there's a plan.

***

killned3 · 04-29-2007, 02:07 AM

Maia, "foil" is an academic term . . . another thing we're taught in American high school.

And je33ie, I wouldn't suggest what you recommended. Not only would your suggestion work solely in first person, but it also sounds somewhat on the insane side. Added to that are the rough transitions between the story and the first-to-second-person narrations. Second-person really isn't used often--normally only for a brief part of a longer piece, if ever--and there's nothing wrong with the use of italics. Conveying thought through italics is the most recognizable method, as well as the simplest. It'd be easiest to stick with it on those accounts. Why it's been a controversy these last couple of days on the forum is a mystery to me.

And still the title of the thread is spelled incorrectly.

je33ie · 04-29-2007, 04:11 AM

Ahh get over the spelling of the thread, Killned.

And isn't hearing voices a sign of insantiy? That's what I was trying to portray in my previous post anyway.

Renos Babe · 04-29-2007, 04:27 AM

sorry about the spelling i wasn't thinking straight when I posted this thread. Thank you all for you help, I chose to use italics.

killned3 · 04-29-2007, 05:57 AM

Je33ie, I don't think what you posted was hearing voices. It looks to me like you're addressing the reader.

And I can't get over misspellings. I'm pendantic. Let me be. :]

mammamaia · 04-29-2007, 07:33 PM

Quote:

Maia, "foil" is an academic term . . . another thing we're taught in American high school.

sweetiepie, i went to an american high school [though long decades before you]!... and though 'foil' can certainly be used as both a verb and a noun, the way you did so above reads as borderline gibberish to this half-century+-long writer who's been a professional editor since decades before you were born...

Shawn · 04-29-2007, 08:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mammamaia

sweetiepie, i went to an american high school [though long decades before you]!... and though 'foil' can certainly be used as both a verb and a noun, the way you did so above reads as borderline gibberish to this half-century+-long writer who's been a professional editor since decades before you were born...

I apologize if I seemed unclear in my post. Didn't want all this.

mammamaia · 04-29-2007, 08:40 PM

not to worry, shawn... i think it's over [hope so, anyway]...

hugs, m

killned3 · 04-30-2007, 12:17 AM

I find it entertaining that you believe your age solves every problem on this forum. I've seen other people say the same thing.

mammamaia · 04-30-2007, 03:59 AM

Quote:

I find it entertaining that you believe your age solves every problem on this forum. I've seen other people say the same thing.

and i find it annoying that you take that out of context and ignore that i also refer to the experience that goes along with that age... and that i've never claimed it 'solves' a thing... why you need to make this a personal vendetta of some sort, i can't imagine...