Thanks to my one-day leave from work, I finished reading two ebooks. Both of them are old Star Trek Voyager books (yes I am a trekkie). Ever since Hallmark channel decided to cut off its Voyager shows, I have been suffering withdrawal symptoms from the show. At least reading the two books helped me get over the feeling.
Actually the books I read were Raganok (book 3) and Violations (book 4). I will not talk about the plot of the books since I find them a little boring and I'm guessing these are not the best books for the series. These books focused more on the first season of Voyager. I scanned through the pages (rather than read them word by word) because the plot was not that complicated (it followed the same style of storytelling in the TV show) and the characters were all too familiar. I wasn't impressed much with the books since they had the same format and style used on the show. But at least it was a great mental exercise to speed read two books in one night and enjoy it at the same time.
My next book would be from Orson Scott Card's Alvin series. Its around 200 pages in Word (with a 10 pt font). I haven't read any of his works yet so I am willing to give him a try.
Book Review: Children in Exile
One thing I can say, after finishing Vincent Sale's book (Children in Exile), was that his stories lacked the forceful resolutions in the end. I guess I wanted endings that have more impact. But overall, the book is good. I could see where he got some of his ideas and inspirations from. He used a lot of local folk myths and urban legends to color his stories. However these myths played only a secondary role since all his stories are character driven.
Most writers now use the first person point of view in writing their works. I use it because it is easier to express myself through one person and it is simplier to have the story written in the perspective of one person. The downside to that is I tend to simply the characterization of other characters. Most of my other characters become underdeveloped or rigid stereotypes (lacking in personality or depth). Plus I notice that I tend to assign some of my personal traits to my first person characters. The story becomes biographical in a way or more of a non-fiction narrative.
I remember Charles Newman violently criticizing the writers today for their blatant abuse of the first person point of view. He said that writers should try to go beyond the limits of the first person narrative and try the third person angle. It is more of a challenge but it can improve the way one writes.
Most writers now use the first person point of view in writing their works. I use it because it is easier to express myself through one person and it is simplier to have the story written in the perspective of one person. The downside to that is I tend to simply the characterization of other characters. Most of my other characters become underdeveloped or rigid stereotypes (lacking in personality or depth). Plus I notice that I tend to assign some of my personal traits to my first person characters. The story becomes biographical in a way or more of a non-fiction narrative.
I remember Charles Newman violently criticizing the writers today for their blatant abuse of the first person point of view. He said that writers should try to go beyond the limits of the first person narrative and try the third person angle. It is more of a challenge but it can improve the way one writes.
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