For the past few weeks, I've considered slapping all sorts of rants and zany posts here, but apparently in the time it takes for me to think of something and actually make it to my computer, I've either forgotten that great thing I had to say or have convinced myself that it wasn't great enough to expend the energy it takes to type it down (channeling a little Mitch Hedberg there). This time I developed an idea as I sat here with nothing better to do, so there was no time to forget it and the guarantee of greatness is null and void.
Since the end of the semester, I've literally been reading far more than I normally do when classes are in session. The main reason: I can read for enjoyment without the need for dissecting the text in preparation for later discussion and/or a critical analysis paper. Believe me, the process is so much faster this way. Anyway, among the list of recently finished books is this year's PEN/O.Henry Prize Stories. As a student and writer, all I've produced so far are short stories (still waiting patiently for the muse to send me inspiration for a novel), and I've decided that I might take a moment to point out something that I take for granted when reading something polished by an editing staff, much less a self-conscious author--continuity.
Say you're sitting with some friends and telling them about something that happened that they just have to hear, but you know they're either going to lose interest or simply not believe you if you can't keep your facts straight. A specific example (and probably most extreme violation) from a class this last semester was a story in which a character was traveling--I won't say where or why for "just in case" purposes. This character began in what I guess would still technically be the Midwest and was headed southeast to end up in a state on the Canadian border. Things unraveled quickly after that.
To make a point and hopefully not appear to be picking on a writing student too harshly, I firmly believe that this person just picked up their keyboard and took off running, never turning back to remind themselves where they'd been, otherwise they couldn't help but notice the gaps in their story that made any attempt at helpful comments nearly impossible. Seriously, it was an unnecessary waste of everyone's time. Granted, this class was a workshop and not the final, nit-picky stages of a publication, but if any of you are emerging (and sometimes even established) writers that have ever cranked out a first draft and handed it over to one or more readers without first reading it yourself, please save yourself the embarrassment and never do it again. I'm sure most people would read this and think, "Well, duh," but this isn't for you. It's for... them.
