tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post4405339858623200948..comments2024-03-25T09:56:16.164+00:00Comments on An Awfully Big Blog Adventure: In Which I Hear Voices - Catherine ButlerUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-78404374664748225372016-10-12T09:14:28.662+01:002016-10-12T09:14:28.662+01:00To some extent, it's the same convention of st...To some extent, it's the same convention of story-telling that means there are no 'umms' and 'ahs' and digressions in speech, and we accept that someone can get a whole conversation down verbatim. This is just how novels work. But I think on the specifics of the child voice, you're right, it's the quirks and tics that tell us it's a child, and so we accept the odd unreal sophistication without blinking. A bit like ignoring anachronisms in historical novels. C.J.Busbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12288574235370421625noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-36166322040055481752016-10-12T05:23:02.532+01:002016-10-12T05:23:02.532+01:00Great post. I think you're right - but also a ...Great post. I think you're right - but also a child reader enjoys the new words and phrases that come from the bit of adult articulacy appropriated by a child narrator. Crafting an entirely convincing child's voice is a skill, but one that I suspect will be admired by adults looking at the artistry rather than by children who want to read a good story well written.Stroppy Authorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16560035800075465845noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-26525390811093944882016-10-11T11:16:25.381+01:002016-10-11T11:16:25.381+01:00Interesting post, Cathy. Thank you.Interesting post, Cathy. Thank you.Sue Purkisshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09084528571944803477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-12318681458992452452016-10-11T11:01:24.051+01:002016-10-11T11:01:24.051+01:00Oh yes, I quite agree that Dolphin is more articul...Oh yes, I quite agree that Dolphin is more articulate than she believes herself to be. But her articulacy is often of an implausibly literary variety.Catherine Butlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17693526864905868829noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-7749489103850253432016-10-11T09:10:13.706+01:002016-10-11T09:10:13.706+01:00Wonderful post, Cathy. I would say though, with D...Wonderful post, Cathy. I would say though, with Dolphin, that she might be a child who is supposedly "bad" at writing because she struggles to get things down on paper, rather than because she is inarticulate. Unless you imagine she has to physically write down the book, then she could be mentally telling someone the tale in her head, or dictating it, and she could do this extremely well regardless of her "writing" skills. (This is actually something I try and get across to kids on my school visits, that the most important thing about being a "writer" is making up stories where people want to know more, NOT whether you have neat handwriting, spelling, punctuate correctly etc. It's easy for kids who have great imaginations to think they are "no good" at writing when actually they are terrific storytellers.)<br /><br />You are right, though, that even taking that into account, it's unlikely she would use some of the phrases you've identified. And, in fact, every first person book with a child narrator is inherently unlikely, regardless of the type of language used, because of the craft involved in creating such a book. So every such first person book requires a suspension of disbelief. But then, we know its fiction, and I suppose it's enough to feel that there is an authenticity, in that this is the story such a child would tell, had they the skills and opportunity. And Jacqueline Wilson scores hands down in that respect.<br /><br />Emma Barneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02718171070716804800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-62967644256828782502016-10-11T07:31:10.384+01:002016-10-11T07:31:10.384+01:00I have a tendency to teach the dual narration thin...I have a tendency to teach the dual narration thing even when a writer uses a third person narrator. Very few writers can write a narratorial voice that's either fully independent of their authorial voice or fully subsumed by it. I count it as a win when the student can see what they're doing and identify their choices.Gillian Polackhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07113321985223288302noreply@blogger.com