Bell, Book, and Scandal

multiple viewpoints. I had to do a monster of a rewrite, but it was a much better book.
    “However, I only go into two, or occasionally three, viewpoints in any given scene. If you have a crowd of people interacting, you don’t want to know what every single one of them is thinking.“
    She went on, “Now, I warn you, this is only my opinion, strong as it is. Our other esteemed author, Daisy Ellis, does third-person single viewpoint and I love her books. She’s much better at it than I was,“ she added with a big smile as she introduced the other speaker and sat down.
    Daisy Ellis, probably a good ten years older than Orla, stood at the microphone and was just as gracious. “Orla and I have been good friends and fans of each other’s work for about ten years, and we’ve learned to agree to disagree.“
    “I’ll say!“ Ms. Witherspoon agreed heartily.
    Ms. Ellis spoke just as confidently as Ms. Witherspoon had. “My purpose is to make the reader identify with the sleuth. Really be in his or her mind. Know what she or he knows, suspects, or concludes. I think it makes for a stronger story line as the sleuth investigates, finds dead ends, identifies and broods over what may or may not be genuine clues to the mystery.“
    She went on, “A lot of this depends on what the writer is comfortable doing. Be sure to realize that neither approach is right or wrong. Orla’s books are, frankly, deeper than mine. But mine, I believe and hope, are enjoyed by just as many contented readers. And it’s what I’m comfortable writing. And I know from experimenting with one book, I don’t do multiple viewpoint half as well as she does. Now let’s hear what all of you think about this, or want to ask about.“
    The group had lots of good questions for both speakers. Slightly more of them were directed at Ms. Witherspoon, about the technicalities of being in a number of characters’ minds. Who should dominate the story? How could you go into the mind of the perpetrator without giving away the solution? Or didn’t you ever go into the perp’s viewpoint? If so, wasn’t that a sure sign that he or she was the murderer? Ms. Witherspoon fielded these questions with explanations.
    When Ms. Ellis was questioned about the main character speculating on the other characters’ traits without the problems Ms. Witherspoon had listed, she said, “I let the characters speak and act for themselves. The reader usually draws the same conclusion as the sleuth does. I have no problem with writing, for example, ‘Porky replied shyly,’ or ‘Violet became angry’
    “That’s what my first-person sleuth thinks,“ she went on. “Sometimes the sleuth later finds out it was the wrong impression. And so does the reader.“
    Everyone had so many questions that when the allotted time ran out, they straggled out of the room still asking the speakers and each other questions.
    Jane thought it had been a very enjoyable and well-prepared argument between friends and philosophies. She was glad she’d attended. And worried that Shelley’s seminar must have been boring compared to her choice.
    Jane was right. Shelley said dramatically, “You have no idea how deadly that was. I’m so glad I was at the back of the room and could slip out.“
    “You didn’t learn anything interesting?“
    “No, not really. Just what you said. The rules of punctuation change with the times, and various publishing houses have their own rule books they follow. Some are out of date, some don’t care as long as the writer is consistent to his or her own rules, some don’t care at all. They handed out lists of style sheets and recommended asking your publisher in advance which grammar and punctuation book you should follow. Imagine someone who’s never published yet, asking a question like that.“
    “I’m so sorry I stuck you with that,“ Jane said. “The one I went to was wonderful. By the way, I haven’t seen anything of the cowgirl Wonder Woman all morning, have you?“
    “I heard that Vernetta crashed one of the other seminars in the middle of the second speech and made a fool of herself,“ Shelley said. “So she’s still kicking. Didn’t Felicity say Sophie Smith never appeared at conferences very much unless she was the single speaker?“
    “Yes, I think she did. What did Vernetta do, specifically?“
    Shelley said, “I didn’t care to hang around the people who were ranting against her long enough to find out. But she and her hubby were in