Very early in its history, The Water’s Edge, or the first few chapters of it, was written in the present tense. I can’t remember why I did this, except that it was very much a first draft and I was in experimental mood. Not long after, I decided against present tense, although I did keep the first person … Continue reading Past imperfect?
Had a sobering thought yesterday when I heard mail delivery (i.e. by the postman) being described as a ‘sunset industry’. Hang on, I thought, as a novelist whose primary aspiration is to get into print, am I also part of a sunset medium, soon to be supplanted by e-books, downloads or just one big blogosphere? It’s not … Continue reading Sunrise, sunset
The more I’m advised as an unpublished novelist to avoid a first person narrative (on the grounds it will be ‘harder to sell’ to an agent or publisher), the more I’m struck by how many successful novels (literary or otherwise) use this device. A case in point is Kashuo Ishiguro’s Never Let me Go, a compelling read I … Continue reading First person problematical
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