Scottoline

Writers learn all the time. Or they should. About writing technique, I mean. It’s one thing to write from the viewpoint of the hero, or the observer of the hero, but quite another, from the viewpoint of the villain. Without our experience in villainy, it brings us up short to get inside the head of one of them. But I’m about to conclude sticking with the bad guy’s POV is easier than with the observer’s or narrator’s POV. After all, could the narrator, a decent character, really dig deep enough into the villain’s brain to know his wicked thoughts? While the writer is not a bad guy, he's supposed to be able to get inside any character's head. Someone is not going to understand that. The writer and the narrator are not the same person. One of them really lives, the other does not.

I’m tired of hearing, “Write what you know,” for most people who say it possibly cut that area down to one’s own backyard. How ridiculous! If we had to know the material we write about first-hand, how in the world would history books get written? Historians living now do not know first-hand the defeats and victories of the Roman Empire, the Norman Conquest of England, or even the more recent War Between the States. Those writers of history learn their facts from various sources, mainly the printed word. Other writers must do the same and today many of those printed words are on the Internet. You can take an unfamiliar subject, research it, and write about it. You are writing about something you know, but not what the backyard folks meant. I learned something from the exciting book I promised to tell you about, but I may never be aware I’m using even a scintilla of a fact from it. Nevertheless, some new information is lodged upstairs for retrieval, if desired.

That book is Look Again by Lisa Scottoline. Pronounce her surname in four syllables. I heard it online. Its ending rhymes with linguini. This is one story that will keep you turning ages fast for the suspense really grabs you. It’s written from the heart and it will touch yours (unless you’re a villain). It’s mainly a woman’s story but it has some highly interesting males in it. Nothing here about the plot, except to say it concerns a young single woman and her adopted three-year-old son, and it has a villain of the worst kind. This author has sold me. I plan to buy her latest book, Think Twice.

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