Personal Journal: the strategic default of the house we purchased in 2006

Friday, March 12, 2010

Rhetorical Mediocrity

I've read mediocre books where at some point in the story, the author or editor spoon feeds the reader, rather than just tell a great story.  The main character starts to ask rhetorical questions of himself such as, "Does she really love me?  How long is it going to last this time?  Should I buy a loaf of bread?" so that the reader can get into the head of the character.  It is a cheap trick, or at least I think it is, I'm not an author.  Needless to say, at this point in any book I'm frustrated!

Today as I scrubbed my kitchen for potential buyers, mopped, dusted, folded, and de-cluttered for the 30th time in as many days, I find myself asking silly questions to keep the story going, or to keep the house clean enough for perfect strangers to tromp their muddy shoes through.

"Why am I cleaning my house so much when no one really cares?  Why do I care what anyone thinks of how I keep my house, or me for that matter?  Why can't I just relax all the way about this house thing?  How did Malt-O-Meal get here?"

With the feather duster in hand this morning, I decided just to tell the story (and keep cleaning).

Also, a huge thank you to my talented friend PR Frank http://prfrank.com/ for making me a banner, so I can feel like a real blogger.

4 comments:

  1. If you get an ipad then you could probably clean and blog at the same time. Just saying.

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  2. I might even be able to get a cleaning application!

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  3. Is an iPad some sort of new-fangled, hi-tech, feminine hygiene product?

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  4. I think a man named it. Quite unfortunate, isn't it?

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