Comments on: So it IS Maine!

By: Natasha Fondren

Natasha Fondren — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 21:47:44 +0000

LOL, Angie! I’m just laughing because I was waiting for Joey to jump all over that one. That’s his pet peeve, too. XD

Yeah, I don’t know. Some authors make the region or city more of a character and part of the essence of a book than others.

By: Angie

Angie — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:47:16 +0000

I have no clue where most of my favorite writers are from. I suppose if one assumes that literary writers usually set their stories in the area they’re from (do they? I’ve sort of gotten that impression but wouldn’t swear to it) then it might depend what genre you’re into.

Also, just as a data point, this:

I was writing to ask if you were interested

is not passive voice. There’s a meme going around which says that any instance of the verb “to be” signals passive voice, but that’s not accurate. Rewriting that into passive voice, it would be more like:

The letter was written to ask if you were interested.

In passive voice, the subject of the sentence is not the actor, but rather is the acted-upon — the object of the verb. So “I was writing” is perfectly active. It might not be incredibly vivid writing, I’ll grant you, but it’s not passive.

Angie

By: Natasha Fondren

Natasha Fondren — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:35:21 +0000

WOW, Written! I want to move to Maine. In fact, when I get tired of the road, I think Maine will be at the top of my list. That’s amazing! And reasonable!

By: Natasha Fondren

Natasha Fondren — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:34:16 +0000

Lauren, I’m curious, now! I think I’m going to have to pay more attention, too. We’re all different. I want to know how we’re different.

By: Natasha Fondren

Natasha Fondren — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:33:00 +0000

Me either, Melanie. I don’t even read the author blurb. Although, like you, I’ve been surprised when, say, a series that’s very Southern is written by a Northerner, LOL!

By: Natasha Fondren

Natasha Fondren — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:31:57 +0000

And Herman Melville lived there, didn’t he? Weren’t you the one who loved Moby Dick, recently?

Wow… Greenwich Village and Maine are two very cool places to live!

By: writtenwyrdd

writtenwyrdd — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:23:23 +0000

A lot of Maine writers aren’t from Maine–like me, though I’m not in the same league as Annie Dillard, Steven King, et al. But you should move to Maine because Northern Maine’s realty prices are dead cheap. Just remember: It’s frigging cold in the Winter!

But I paid 34k for a 3 br house ten years ago (although it needed twice that cost in maintenance work) and for the present house I paid 56k last Christmas! Cheap. So if you don’t have the need for a day job (really, mean income is about 20k in my area) you can buy cheap.

By: Lauren

Lauren — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 15:10:05 +0000

I love your observation. I never really thought of it, but I can see how the place that you are from, or region, I suppose, would mutate the way you tell your stories. I don’t pay particular attention to the locales of my favorite authors, but I’m going to have to go look at the little bios again and mentally note where they live

By: Melanie

Melanie — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 14:02:41 +0000

Honestly, I don’t pay any attention to where writers are from. I always read the little author blurb in the back and sometimes am surprised if the book (esp a series) takes place in a completely different place than where the author is from, but it rarely registers for future recollection.

By: Eric Mayer

Eric Mayer — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 03:39:26 +0000

I don’t usually know where writers are from unless they reveal it in their writing, which often they do. Stephen King lives in Maine and he’s a favorite of mine. More important though, to me, E.B. White split his time between Greenwich Village and a salt water farm in Maine so I guess Maine writers loom large for me too!