Do you write in first person or third person?

There are varying ways to write fiction. You can either delve deep into the mind of the main character and perceive the entirety of the book from their perspective, or take a more indirect approach and look at the scenes from a more third person perspective; but which is better?

First person - When writing in first person, you as the writer have one major advantage. Your writing is not your own narrated language but rather that of the character themselves. This can make it much easier to understand and develop your characters conflicts and motivations more precisely but also provide them with their own individual voice.

This can quickly become a problem however because as the creator of the story, we usually have a wider perspective on how the story is going to pan out and to a lesser extent, the characters and environments our character is going to be flung upon. With this knowledge, it can be very tempting during the writing process to deviate from the first person rule. We may want to give other characters more depth for instance or tell the story in part from others perspective. This ofcourse being impossible under a first person persona.

Writing in first person has its advantages but it also has its restrictions.

Third person - The more commonly used writing style, third person writing gives the writer the freedom to write the story from multiple viewpoints and therefore this gives scope for branching story lines and more developed character profiles.

Whatever your choice, its important to choose a writing style and stick to it, no matter how tempting it may seem to deviate. Breaking this rule only opens the story up to confused, disjointed writing which can be hard to follow. Personally, i feel a writer chooses very early on what kind of writing they are better suited for and sticks to that for the majority. For me, it is third person, but ofcourse, it purely depends on the type of book you are writing.

What Is Happiness?

A rather simplistic question when you first hear it isn't it. What is happiness? This clearly isn't as clear a question as first thought, as surely the true key to happiness holds different reasoning to each and every one of us, no?

Modern society certainly gives the insinuation that happiness is defined by two things; power and money.

If you have power and money, you have success, and surely then you have everything you need in life. We all know this isn't true however, one mans riches can be another mans burden.

I believe true happiness can only be obtained from deep within your own mind. You have to experience life's ups and downs, both its perks and its pitfalls, in order to be truly happy. How do you know what true happiness is, if you have never experienced true despair?

Of all the materialistic obsessions the modern life brings. Happiness does not need all of this fancy gadgetry, it merely is within us all, ready to be accepted once we are truly comfortable in our own minds.

Hidden Gaming Gems

You know the ones. The games that we stumble across by accident that actually turn out to be some of the best experiences we have in gaming. A hidden gaming gem that we will play completely to the end several times (maybe on different platforms) just for the fun of it. Or maybe perhaps we find the multiplayer aspect of a game too good to put down? Whether it be from years ago or maybe more recently, there are games out there that grab us and don't let us go. Some that come to mind are:

- Burnout Revenge: The multiplayer in this game as truly immense and it was the first ever game I went online to play multiplayer. It's a real shame this game is nearly impossible to play now due to how log ago it was released. Bring it back! Burnout Paradise was nothing in comparison to this arcade racer.

- Broken Sword: A childhood memory for me and one that will likely stay with me for the rest of my life. I've re-played this game on the DS, the IPhone, Ipad and PC (originally on the PS). A truly all time classic point and click adventure.

- Call of Duty: I agree with some that this franchise is becoming nothing more than a money grabbing  tyrant where they justify a full retail price for the next reincarnation which may not be so different to the latter. This said, they certainly do get the last laugh as the multiplayer is compellingly addictive and buying the next in the series feels a lot like getting the next Apple product.

- Discworld: I'm not sure how popular this game was, but along similar lines as Broken Sword, this point and click adventure is just as addictive. The difference? This game lends more humour but also in a much more fictitious environment and plot. Worth a download!

This is just a small selection of the games that come to mind first but there are many more. I remember the days of playing 'Zelda: The Ocarina Of Time', 'Super Mario All Stars' and to perhaps a lesser extend 'GTA: San Andreas'. What are yours?

Late Night Writing

Whichever day of the week it may be, once the sun has dunked its head into the horizon and the night takes hold, my will to write becomes stronger.

My imagination becomes more vivid and my thoughts become clearer. I'm not saying I can't and won't write during the day, ofcourse this is the case. However it all seems to fit together better under the metaphorical sheet of darkness that night brings, or perhaps the more real duvet.

Why is this? Is it because the internal bodyclock is trying to relax and therefore the thoughts of the day have dwindled away, leaving room for new ideas. Although the silence and calm can also lend well, especially when in a busy home.

Whatever the reason, if writing at night does anything, it eventually sends you off to sleep and if your lucky, some rather interesting dreams!

Modern Society: Have we lost the plot?

I recently learnt of primary schools in the area that actively look to not give their students (children) first place medals. Whether this be for their work, a sports day or whatever else may come by. The reasons behind this? To ensure that the other children who didn't place first do not feel inferior.

Is this the politically correct, 'we can't insult or degrade anyone in society' gone mad? I would think that a child learning the feeling and value of defeat is one of the most fundamental learning curves a child could take. The children who do not learn these essential drawbacks surely do not have a true grasp on what life is really like and the true, sometimes hefty, pitfalls it brings.

With the way the world is developing and has done in the past years, it appears it is only going to get more competitive. So, in order to be able to compete in this modern world, surely we need to expose our children to this, and not 'wrap them up in cotton wool'.

I'm not saying to go hardcore on these children. I just think modern society has it ways of doing what it thinks is right and convinces itself to that fact, when in actual fact, it is only narrowing our children's focus, vision and understanding.

Blogging vs Writing

I realise as I write this of the sheer irony it creates. The difference between the blog and of writing itself can be extreme, but can also be relatively indifferent, I guess it depends on the blogger themselves.

Writing a short story or book requires thought, and lots of it. Teamed with hoards of imagination, willpower and of-course a willing and able skill with the language itself. Writing is a passion, a state of mind. It can take us to worlds that we never thought we could ever imagine. It's liberating, yet screams escapism. It's creative, yet largely private.

Blogging on the other hand is rather different. Blogs do not need a word count or (technically) any kind of structure or thought process. Due to this, they can act more as a distraction and degrade the skill of your writing as a whole (perhaps only in extreme circumstances..). 

Writing is a life-long skill which is never fully mastered, but you can happily blog after a few mere minutes. Can the two work productively together?

Watching A Film Before Reading The Book (or vice versa)

With the continual onslaught of new films coming out on a weekly basis, there seems to be a lack of creativity amongst the ideas and stories that are created these days. Resulting in the creation of films that have predictable plot lines and characters, and a story that I don't feel attached to.

With the exception of many, the majority of films seem like passable filler between more glamourous, thought provoking work. Why is this? Does the sheer volume of films outlaid these days mean that little work still results in a considerable paycheque? If this is so, then who buys into these films?

So brings me to my point. Films that tend to do the best are the films that are based on books. The ideas, the creativity and full plot are all already there, ready to be pixated onto the big screen. From our imagination, we can see for ourselves how near our imagination was to that of the author, or perhaps the film director.

However, does reading the book prior to watching the film create unrealistic expectations and possible imminent disappointment? I have found this recently with 'The Hobbit'. Having read the book I was excited to see how this was conveyed onto the big screen. Although it is a rather good film, I was left feeling slightly deflated about the whole thing. This is purely because i had read before I watched.