How should this group run?

[Naomi]

How would you guys like to do this group? Whould you like to do a reading club type thing, where we read a book a month or something, or just talk about the fairytale retellings we've already read. which would you perfer?

[Grace]

second one sounds fun. we could recommend a book to each other whenever we want.

i'm reading a book called East right now. it's pretty weird..... for a retold fairy tale, and i've read some weird ones....

[Naomi]

ok, I like that idea too. I'll add a bunch of books to the shelves and you guys can recommend some to me too.
If more people like the first idea later, we can change it. xD Sound good?
Since East was the first book mentioned (did I get the right version?) we'll start a topic on that first. I'd like to have a topic for each book, so it's more organized, but that would be a lot of topics. any better ideas?

[Grace]

yup, that's the right version. it's all told in 1st person and can get confusing, but it's pretty good so far.....

sounds good.

that sounds like a good idea. but what kinda topics would we be discussing?

[Naomi]

whatever we want to about the book. if we liked it or not, what we liked, what characters we liked or didn't like, etc. whatever come to mind pretty much.
I love 1st person! It helps me get into the character more. xD

[Sarah]

I have East on my TBR pile, and I read Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow last winter.

[Grace]

by Jessica Day George? that one? OMGOODNESS, I LOVE THAT ONE IF THAT'S THE ONE YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT SARAH!!!

1st person ROCKS. i <3 1st person. i write almost always in first person, and 3rd when i want to dive more into description. it harder for me to capture a character in 3rd......

[Naomi]

write in 3rd limited. it actually can capture the reader better. 3rd narrative bugs me.

[Grace]

which can capture the reader better u say?

and 3rd IS limited. but at the same time, u can step into anyone's head and write about it, not just the main one.

[Naomi]

There's 2 types of 3rd person: 3rd limited and 3rd narrative. 3rd narrative has almost no feeling. ...that sounds wrong. but it doesn't have any emotions, like the character's emotions. 3rd limited is where it's almost from the character's point of view, but not quite in their head. I like it because if the character is just watching a scene happening, you just see the scene and watch it you would yourself, whereas if it was written in 1st, you would constantly be interrupted by the character's thoughts. Though I like them both. xD (Someone correct me if I switched those. xD)

[Grace]

you got it correct, though if u write 1st person JUST RIGHT you can normally pull off it not seeming like you are being 'constantly interrupted by the characters thoughts'.

have you read any 2nd person? i've read and i've WRITTEN in it and it is so hard. but fun too. stretches the brain. xD

[Naomi]

whats 2nd?
And I love 1st! sorry if I sounded like i didn't. xD I had just read a really good book written in 3rd. xD

[Grace]

second is:

You walk down the hallway and stop at a door. You glance around and, seeing no one, turn the knob . . .

make sense?

what book would that be?

[Naomi]

ooh! that sounds really cool. though I've never read a book in that POV.
The Scarlet Pimpernel

[Grace]

it is pretty cool. :D

i forget, did u say if u write?

[Naomi]

I said I might start, but I don't. yet. xD

[[deleted user]]

Actually, Naomi....

There are like three main third persons.

1. Omniscient: This jumps around from character to character. The person telling the story knows everything.

2. Limited: This is like first person; it follows one character and only shares that character's thoughts and feelings.

3. Dramatic: The narrator does not delve into any characters' thoughts and feelings. Everything that you know about the characters is only what you can see.

[Naomi]

ah! thanks Madison! I was pretty sure I didn't have it quite right. xD

[[deleted user]]

Not a problem. AP Lit had to be good for something, right? ;-)

And I remembered the other name for the dramatic! It can also be the objective.

[Grace]

is AP lit fun, madison? it sounds kinda... tense. like, why have all these names for things like third person? sounds kinda shallow for me, but i like things simple (ik, ik, lazzzzy of me).....

[[deleted user]]

I really liked AP Lit. I didn't think it was THAT hard. I mean, it was a little hard because it often felt like I was making a lot of guesses on the multiple choice questions, but I did fine.

As for the third person...it's because there are different ways to write in the third person.

The objective/dramatic narrator...that means that the narrator only tells you what the characters are saying and doing. You don't know what they're feeling or thinking. "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson and The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck are written with such narrators, from what I can remember. (I know "The Lottery" is for sure.)

The omniscient narrator...this narrator knows everything about the story. Have you read Megan Whalen Turner's books? She writes in the omniscient. She writes from outside the characters' points of view while still bringing in their thoughts and feelings. It's really hard to write a good omniscient narrator, imho.

And then there's the third person limited. This is closest to the first person in that the story sticks with one character. You see the story through this character's eyes and you know what he or she is thinking or feeling. Most of Shannon Hale's books are written in the limited third person, although I'd say that her adult novels are borderline omniscient since they seem to have an actual narrator, unlike her YA novels.

Does that clear things up?

[Grace]

*blinks* whoa, yes it does. and thanks for taking the time to explain! i never noticed that before...

[Sarah]

Hey Naomi, I have a question. Can we have like a monthly or bimonthly group read for this group? I think that would be a lot of fun. And it would facilitate a lot of easy discussion on the books too, I think.

[Naomi]

sure. I'm willing. I don't particularly care if it's monthly or bimonthly, so if someone does care, speak up. xD Also any ideas for the first book? (A suggestion: if we pick a book, and someone's already read, I suggest re-reading it so you remember more. xD)

[Sarah]

Should it be something not on the bookshelf?

[Grace]

Group bookshelf, sarah? Is that what you mean?

[Sarah]

Yes.

[Naomi]

I don't think it really matters. we could empty the bookshelf (since I doubt many people in the group have read most of them) and start anew. What do you think?

[Grace]

It's up to you. I'm open. :)

I GOT NOBODY'S PRINCESS AND NOBODY'S PRIZE FOR CHRISTMAS!!! *dances*

[Naomi]

Gah! I need some one to either agree or disagree!
and congrats. I love those books. xD

[Grace]

i just checked the bookshelf - i don't see a reason to empty it. what was your reason to maybe empty it anyway?

[Naomi]

the reason for emptying it would be so we only have books on there that we're reading as a group.

[Grace]

ahhhhhhh......

this would be a group vote thing, then....

[Naomi]

yes. good idea. xD

[Grace]

i try. :P

[Rebekah Faith]

Grace wrote: "It's up to you. I'm open. :)

I GOT NOBODY'S PRINCESS AND NOBODY'S PRIZE FOR CHRISTMAS!!! *dances*"

YAY!!!!

[Grace]

Rae*Anidori/Isilee* wrote: "Grace wrote: "It's up to you. I'm open. :)

I GOT NOBODY'S PRINCESS AND NOBODY'S PRIZE FOR CHRISTMAS!!! *dances*"

YAY!!!!"

I KNOW! I WAS SO SURPRISED. :D thanks for celebrating with me.

but now my bookshelf is overflowing.... *sigh* what's a poor girl to do?

[Rebekah Faith]

idk.... but that is a wonderful problem to have. after you read Nobody's Princess and Nobody's Prize, you HAVE to read Sphinx's Princess it's by the same author, and i loved it immensely. :D

[Grace]

my library still doesn't have it! *sob*

i still have my B&N gift card from christmas (oh, happy day! :D). we haven't gone yet, and i haven't used it (duh). is Sphinx's Princess worth buying?

[Rebekah Faith]

most definitely. it is written similarly to Nobody's Princess and Prize, but Nefertiti is the main character and it was truly a great read. :D

[Grace]

Ok, thanks Rae! ^^

[Naomi]

My question is; what does the author have against marriage? all her characters are dead-set against it.

[Grace]

Which one are you talking about - Sphinx Princess or the Nobody's Princess series? Or are you talking about all the characters in both books?

[Naomi]

the author who wrote them. All her main characters seem to be against it.

[Rebekah Faith]

well, in Nobody's Princess and Prize, the main character is Helen of Troy- i don't think Esther is trying to put it across that she's against marriage, just being realistic with her characters since they were at one time alive. and the same goes for sphinx's princess (can't wait for her next books!)

[Grace]

i think her characters against romance cuz it makes it so much better when they fall in love against their better judgment, ya know? it makes sense that way, and it's also more fun.

[Naomi]

hmmm... true. I never thought of it that way. xD

[Grace]

lol, it's cuz i'm doing that in one of my stories. xD

plus, recently my personal view has changed about romance as a whole, so... *shrugs* ^^

[Naomi]

that makes sense. xD thanks. xD

[Grace]

np. :D