slayerofangels

No offense, but I can see why you're an ex instructor. Good luck.

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Foxee

I am (she says unblushingly) a fabulous driver.

My knowledge of car workings is thus: engine is located under the hood, I can put windshield wiper fluid in the car (there's a little hickey* that says 'Windshield wiper fluid'), and check the oil (but not change it). I can find the spare tire but I've never changed one so not sure how to do it. In some undisclosed location there are 'circuit breakers' and if something goes really screwy it's good to hunt that down and see if any of them look like busted light bulbs.

I know that I never want to have a vehicle with a carburetor again. They are expensive to keep fixing.

Please don't ask me about distributor caps, transmissions, fan belts, timing belts or other stuff. These are only words that the mechanic uses right before he robs me blind.

Most of the things that make the car go (other than me) are called 'doohickeys' or 'thingamabobs'**

However, I can drive the heck out of the car. Oh, it's a manual transmission. I know this term, too.

*Technical term
**More technical terms

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Sam Winchester

I was beginning to assume that Americans didn't know what the word "manual transmission" meant, Foxee. A lot call it "stick shift," I think. I've driven an automatic car once, and it just bugged the hell out of me. I kept looking for the gear stick, and kept hitting the frigging brakes looking for the clutch. Annoying.

Sam.

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Foxee

I've done the same thing, Sam. I hate automatics unless I have to go into heavy bumper-to-bumper traffic, then they're fine. Otherwise I prefer to shift my car myself, thanks.

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JoannaMac

I bet you couldn't find a single racing car driver that didn't know the basic workings of their car. No one said they had to be mechanics themselves. Ox was a professional driving instructor and basic mechanics are part of his training. Do you actually think that a professional racing driver would know less than him?

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Sam Winchester

You don't need to know every single thing about a car to drive it. All you need to know is that that right pedal makes it go faster, the middle one makes it slow down, and the furthest left one allows you to change gears. I would say there are some racers who don't know the intricate details.

Sam.

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JoannaMac

Please read my previous post properly. I already said a couple of times that no one expects good drivers to have the knowledge level of auto mechanics.

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Foxee

Okay, so there is agreement. Let's keep it friendly, please.

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alanmt

*Help! I am the original topic! The analogy in post 5 has taken over my thread!*

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Sam Winchester

Who isn't being friendly, Foxee? I nor Joanna have not said anything in a malicious way. I'm stating my point, she likewise. Where is the unfriendliness?

Sam.

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Foxee

I'm looking down the road a bit and making a suggestion. That is all.

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Sam Winchester

Suggestion noted and taken aboard.

Sam.

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johnaustin

Ox-Man,

Get out of Queensland and shake it loose a little in a new place for a while...It will do wonders for perspective...

Actually, this gator thinks that knowing the inner workings of a gasoline combustion engine would make you a better mechanic, NOT necessarily a better driver...Driving has more to do with eye-hand-head-body coordination, etc.

Foxee, I also agree with Sam Winchester on letting the new thread alone and not interfering...it will die a natural death when the time comes...Right now it's generating action discourse!!!

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lin

The question if one of terminology. It is for people to discuss writing and critique it, not for use of writers.

To continue the sucky auto analogy, the question would be more like, how important is it for you to know the names of parts in order to drive?
Would you be better if you also know the Chinese names? And in Italian?
It's no advantage whatsoever.

Just one of MANY problems that arise with this, other than people wasting time fucking around with debating terminology and wondering who their protagonist is and such, is that it can severely limit your thinking and creativity.

One good example in this thread: there are three POV's writers use.
OK, for one thing those aren't "points of view", they are essentially "persons". Makes a difference and people get it all balled up. As we've seen.

But beyond that: what about second person? There have been entire novels written in second person.

I see people running into all this "First person is too limiting" shit. Because they have learned that it's a viewpoint they're locked into. Acutally a first person narration can pretty much tell or show anything third person can. You just have to use your head...the scrabbling around a writer's imagination does...instead of trying to force it into the cookie cutters available in the store.

The next crime that comes out of this crap is people asking about "head-hopping" or "too many POV's" etc.
That's total bullshit, actually. And more importantly: the natural way to tell stories, even talking about an incident at work or school, is to "head-hop". It works well, and effortlessly.

Then you start thinking about limiting the POV's and how many protagonists can antagonize each other on a pinhead and you get fucked up, stilted, and diminished.

This is another reason writing classes fuck writers up.

Ever notice how all this didactic shit is always telling what you CAN'T do or MUSTN'T do or how you have to color in the lines and limit what your doing?

Is there any more to say than that?

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Foxee

Isn't it true, though, that our whole lives we have to decide what to believe and what information is useful?

If creative advice comes tagged with 'always' or 'never' that might be an indication to take it with a grain of salt. After all, who enforces this stuff? If you do one of the 'never's does your muse whack you over the head with an umbrella?

Okay, your inner editor might try it but it's your job as the writer to decide whether to listen to it or not.

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