Re: [Paddlewise] Book suggestions, please

In a message dated 11/12/99 11:31:43 PM, dlloyd_at_bc.sympatico.ca writes:

<< So, should I offer my friend some opinions, or just let him be?
Just thinking out loud, I guess. >>

bottom line: If he is your friend he will listen attentively, thank you, and 
then write the way he know how to write.

the rest of the opinion: When I read about trips on the water I like to see 
things as well as feel things. In paddling, no two moments are the same, 
though many are similar. In the similar moments I see reflected my own past. 
On the internal voyage I recognize where I am and maybe how I fit into this 
experience. That is a large part of why I paddle. To read about paddling I 
like to have a similar experience with the external as well as the internal 
journey. I need to recognize the trip as one I want to take, one I have taken 
or one I want to avoid or some combination of the 3. "I" have to be part of 
the story.
    That said, you can't fake the internal journey. That internal journey 
doesn't have to be full of deep thoughts, or even very coherent thoughts as 
long as the story is whole. But I get bored with other people's internal 
dialogs after a rather brief period.
    Most of what I think and feel is rather pointless and repetitious. People 
who write like that don't sell me books. The art of writing is striking a 
balance between offering the reader something they recognize and something 
beyond what they already have.
    You can tell your friend what happened to you but you can't tell him what 
happened to him. I suspect this group likes the adventure, from looking at 
our posts over time. But I see no way, from all the words we post up here to 
draw a conclusion about how we like our art of storytelling served up. If he 
really cares what we think, I'd suggest he read how we write.

Joan Spinner
    
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