This is ANOTHER empty post. That's right! No subject. Say whatever you have on your mind. Nothing is a tangent because there is no thread of topic here.
Oh... antibiotics--good. I had an awful time getting to sleep last night, but I woke up feeling LESS horrible than I did the previous morning. Everyone at church kept saying, "You look terrible." I answered, "Yes, but I'm less terrible than I might have been." Apparently, this is a silver lining that not everyone sees.
Okay, random first person narrative question:
ReplyDeleteIf you're relaying dialogue from another character through a first person POV, would you capitalize words that aren't "capitalized" in their head? Also, though any first person narrator will be slightly fallible, how do you handle words that the narrator might not hear correctly or understand or spell as they should?
For example, can you have a non-traditional spelling of a name in a first person POV? It's not as if everyone spells out their name when they meet you.
"Hi, my name is Aarin. That's spelled A-a-r-i-n for your internal dialogue."
Am I over-thinking this or do others find themselves thinking this while writing a first person POV?
I try not to be overly introspective when in 1st person.
ReplyDeletere: the example -- if someone came up to me and spelled out his/her name for me, I'd immediately dislike him/her; similarly, I'd also dislike someone who had the thought about spelling his/her name (conversely, I'd probably like someone who had cynical thoughts about others' names :) -- I think if someone's name is spelled differently, just have the 1st person know it's spelled differently to avoid unnecessary digression.
Possible suggestions:
ReplyDelete***
"Hi, my name is Aarin."
"I'm Beth." I tucked back a strand of hair. "So, see you tomorrow?"
Aarin, who I later found out wasn't Aaron or Arron after a sneak-peak at his attendance record, said, "Yeah. I'd like that."
***
"Hi, my name is Aarin."
"Erin? I have a cousin named Erin." I always thought it was weird when guys had girls' names, but he was smokin' hot and could be named Barbie for all I cared.
"Yeah?" He ripped out a sheet from his binder. "Well, here's my email address... in case you need help in English Lit or whatever."
"Thanks," I said, seeing the Aarin007 in his addy and realizing his name was the boy-version. At least I hadn't written I heart Erin all over my notebook. He waved and started to leave. "Wait, here's mine," I said, tearing off a piece of paper.
***
"Hi, my name is Aarin."
"Yeah, your name tag pretty much gave it away."
He smiled. "Right."
***
"Hi, my name is Aarin."
"Hello, I'm Jemidibidah."
"Wow, really?" He smiled. "Does everyone spell your name wrong too?"
I frowned. Was Jemidibidah an uncommon name outside of the Secret Village?
"My name is A-A-R-I-N," he continued. "And everyone always spells it-- never mind. I think I've lost you. So can I call you Jem?"
"Um, alright."
"Wow, I'm really blowing it here." He smiled again. I'd never known anyone to smile so much. "See you around, Jem. Jem and the Holograms."
I didn't get it, but he seemed to think it was funny so I smiled back. A little.
***
"Hi, my name is Aarin."
"Hey, I'm Sarah. With an h." Oh wow, had I really helped him spell out my name? Smooth, Sarah.
He smiled a little, like there was a bigger smile behind it. "Hi Sarah-with-an-H." He took out a pen. "Since I know how to spell your name, it seems only fair to spell out mine."
He gave me the slip of paper where he'd written his name... and a phone number. My gaze flew up.
"See you around," he said.
***
"Hi, my name is Aarin."
"Hi, I'm Elsie."
"We should text," he said, pulling out his phone.
"Yeah, definitely," I said. We exchanged phones and typed each other's info in.
"Thanks," he said when I handed his back.
I glanced at mine before shutting it. Aarin. He'd always be at the top of my contact list with a name like that.
Thanks, Bane.
ReplyDeleteIf anyone is interested in a beta match, Lynnette is playing matchmaker on her blog:
http://lynnettelabelle.blogspot.com/2009/11/looking-for-crit-partner-or-group.html
Nice, Di. That was a flash fiction level of response. Some of those sounded like a good jumping off point in a YA novel. I especially liked the "Jem" one, and the "Sarah with an H" one. Very cool.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of flashy fiction--I'm truly in need of serious mental help. The story I just posted--is a glimpse into the mind of a seriously twisted person. Oh well... Frosting calls.
ReplyDeleteMy husband and I had a very similar conversation when we first met. He said, "Jaime...hmm how is that spelled?" I was happily surprised because my name IS spelled differently. He then replied that his name is Jabon to which I could instantly respond, "how is that spelled?" Which worked out very well for me.
ReplyDelete(I found out later that the reason he asked how my name was spelled was he had an ex-girlfriend named Jayme and was grasping at straws for why it was still okay to date someone with that name and had come up with...well if it's spelled different it must be okay.)
Now whenever we meet another Jaime/Jamie/Jayme I turn to him and tell him..."Don't even think about it...your collection is big enough as it is."
The point? Sometimes people do talk about name spelling right away.
I'm sorry, Jaime, but that conversation is so unlikely that I can't throw it into fiction without it sounding fictional. I try for a little more realism than crazy conversations based on weird predilections. Go peddle your crazy elsewhere. We're all full here. ;)
ReplyDelete