tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9088473527308746266.post1546448761245519830..comments2023-10-15T11:23:35.339+01:00Comments on Hawkins Bizarre: Hearing voicesAlishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406189984167289987noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9088473527308746266.post-81033205713201199832008-08-11T08:03:00.000+01:002008-08-11T08:03:00.000+01:00Ack, I'm in a quandary here. ANd I'm not even sure...Ack, I'm in a quandary here. ANd I'm not even sure what a "quandary" is--as a child, I somehow associated it with "quarry," in the sense of a place where people removed huge blocks of stone and left a big hole you could be in. I'm morally certain that isn't the origin, but I'll be damned if I'm going to go look it up.<BR/><BR/>I love writers who carry their authority and voice from work to work, and Tim's trio are good examples. But I also love the ones who play with voice, tone, and style from work to work--Jane Smiley, Iris Murdoch, and John Fowles come to mind.<BR/><BR/>The critical establishment thinks an author has a single voice, which can be "found." That might be correct--though I feel that some (Hemingway and Faulkner and Waugh, offhand, though I love all three dearly) tend to drop into imitations of themselves after a time.<BR/><BR/>Fowles predicted the day would come where good writers, like Picasso, would prodcue works in every imaginable style. Maybe so. But I doubt they'll get those works published. (I'm still trying to figure out how Jane Smiley gets away with it...)David Isaakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04928598446742324391noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9088473527308746266.post-76404781761153136962008-08-09T11:06:00.000+01:002008-08-09T11:06:00.000+01:00I admire writers who can switch voice - it can be ...I admire writers who can switch voice - it can be immensely rewarding for the reader.<BR/><BR/>That said, the writers I enjoy the most--Vance, Austen, O'Brian--don't work that way at all.<BR/><BR/>One of the beauties of the novel form is how there are so many ways of creating a satisfying whole (and, conversely, so many spectacular ways to fail...)Tim Strettonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08598897603628943741noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9088473527308746266.post-59305233493115067112008-08-08T21:11:00.000+01:002008-08-08T21:11:00.000+01:00I agree, and I also find that it's harder to write...I agree, and I also find that it's harder to write multiple viewpoint/voice books because you have to keep moving from the inside of one character's head to another. Quite achieveable, and great when it works, but far from easy.Martin Edwardshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16082485795280777670noreply@blogger.com