Lost in Words

Friday, August 2, 2024

The Writing Journey: First, or Third-Person? That is the Question.

I had a moment yesterday, when I started to question what I was doing. It was very specific, concerning a project that I have been working on since late last year, when I decided to try my hand at writing fiction.

The end result is now within sight. I am writing the final chapter and conclusion.

So, the end is within reach.

However, yesterday I was on Twitter X, and noticed in my timeline there was a tweet asking about books written from a first-person perspective. The question was, what did people prefer, first or third person? Many replied, saying that they did not like first-person books at all. It seems to be like marmite, you either like it or you don't.

I had not given it much thought, but I was writing this book in first-person. I did so for the following reasons.

Writing and Reading: The Struggle to Find Time For Both.

I am struggling to find the time to read any of the books on my "to read" list.

The struggle exists because most of my spare time I now spend writing, or researching for writing.

Image by wal 172619 from Pixabay

I have four writing projects in progress right now.

My Medium Writing Journey: The Little Bell Icon

My experiment with the writer's platform Medium continues.

Anyone who is a creative can become a slave to the little bell icon. That little bell icon. Twitter X has one, YouTube has one, Medium has one. I assume that all the social media platforms have them. It is a reminder of how popular, or not, you are.

Image by Neal Brian from Pixabay

Let me explain.

Twitter X: Why I'm Not Celebrating My One Year Anniversary

There was a reply in my Twitter X notifications the other day, which told me that I should celebrate my one-year anniversary on the platform with a post.

Here's the message.

I chose not to use it. I couldn't see the point of it, as other than being a post, it did not offer any special privileges. I did not get the impression that it would be seen by many people.

In fact, one of the reasons why I did not post it, was because of the Twitter X algorithm. To coincide with using the platform for one year, the algorithm had been playing games again. I had noticed a dramatic drop in the number of views on posts that I had sent. Apparently, and judging by the number of "do you see this post", many others have noticed this as well. Interaction numbers are well down, and there are times (many times) when you feel like you are talking to yourself.

I was left wondering, what was "big" about it? I have gone from averaging about 50–100 views on a post, which isn't that many anyway, to 5-10. Perhaps they were all bots?

I only feel encouraged to post less, and go and do something more productive than scrolling the Twitter X feed, like actual writing.

Medium Update: Latest Article and Story.

The following article and story can be found on Medium.

The Grammar Check

I have, what you might call, a love-hate relationship with grammar check software. We all make mistakes when we write. I know that I do. The mistakes are corrected during editing, but...

Welcome to The House of Fun

My journey into Bedsitland had begun when I rented a small, partially furnished single room on the ground floor of a terraced house, close to where I had lived as a boy...

Monday, June 24, 2024

When I Was a Lad: Billy's Boots, a Blast From the Past.

I was on Twitter X the other day, when I came across a post about the comics that were a big part of life for children back in the 1970s. The question was asked, how many did you buy? There was a picture of the comics available at the time. Not sure if it was all of them, but there were a lot. Most of them were for boys, some, like Sally, Bunty and Diana, for girls.

Here it is.

It's an impressive number. The ones that I remember buying were the Beano and Dandy. I also remember Look-in, Joe 90, Marvel and Spider-man. Most of the names here are familiar to me, and the chances are that I occasionally bought them. It has to be said, though, that I couldn't afford to buy all the ones that I probably wanted.