🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1992Dec13.212651.22944@lclark.edu> larryw@sun.lclark.edu (Larry Westdahl) writes:
>
>I already have my own ideas on this, but I wanted to know what others thought
>about this technique.  Do you think that stream of consciousness can be 
>a valuable tool in a story, or do you think that the form, because it is
>so rarely used, may only a distraction?  Joyce and Faulkner were able to 
>pull it off with great success, but as a writing technique it never 
>picked much steam.  Like the second person narrative, S.O.C. must
>be used for some specific effect, and not just so the writer can be 
>different from everone else, and often when I see someone use S.O.C., it
>seems a little affected.  Also, do you think that the short story form might
>be a little too restricting for the deployment of a stream of consciousness
>passage?  Within the context of a novel there is enough room to show off, and
>the reader can forgive the the writer these moments.  In a short story, is 
>there enough room?  I would say yes, if the passage was appropriate, and just
>about perfect.  I would appreciate hearing what others think on this matter.

Like many other devices, it should not be tossed in willy-nilly,
but used for a purpose. One example you might see in a short story
would be a peek at the rapidly degenerating mind of an unstable 
character as his attitude toward an individual or thing changes to
increasingly bizarre and unrealistic interpretations.
This may be more tricky if you try to "show" each nuance of change
by his actions and speech alone.


-- 
Dorothy Westphal, Sunnyvale, Calif. % Just when things are going your way...%
westphal@iscnvx.lmsc.lockheed.com   %               they get even better!   %