Evolution of the Writing Style

I'm, again, working on my original novel (which I"m thinking of posting today at gypsyflower if anyone is interested; friend and I'll friend back, since it's locked), and as I've mentioned in passing, one of the characters is mute. Bridget (who used to be Joy, but whose character changed so much the name no longer fit) has voluntarily elected not to talk or communicate with anyone in her family. Her parents dead and her grandfather wanting her away, she's been sent across to live with her uncle, the black sheep of the family. I'm currently writing her first scene, where she meets and interacts with Daniel Joel Presage, another important character.

And it's driving me insane. I've always been under the (mistaken) impression that, when I write, my charaters have a rich inner life and dialogue. On my side of the page, each character has complex thoughts that continually run through their mind, reactions to what's going on, and side comments they make to themselves as the scene progresses.

Apparently, I was wrong. Instead, it appears my style of writing is Character thinks, Character does or says. Character says, Character thinks. Character 1 does/says, Character 2 reacts/thinks. It's all very linear. Something happens, characters think or say, and the inner life is .... Not missing, but not as vivid and complex as I'd thought.

And, no, they're not as bad as Earshot Cordelia, but I'm close.

And then I found out how much worse I used to be. I'm revising Slaying the Giant, which was the third or fourth slash fic I'd written and published. The writing isn't *bad*; it's simple and obviously the work of a novice writer. But it's just so different from the way I write now. In many of the scenes, the only way I know whose POV the scene is supposed to be viewed from is A. the scene starts out with the characters name or action (Wesley walked into the Hyperion, shoulders slumped or B. I happen to know because I wrote the fic and remember my intentions.

The characters have even less inner life than my characters do now. Now, I'll have a page or so devoted to what a character thinks or feels, but then, there really was nothing. Especially when the dialgoue started. Lately, I've been trying to find that balance between dialogue and thought (I tend to do dialogue and action more, I think), but back then, there was almost nothing.

It's amazing to see my growth as a writer. And exciting. I only hope I can continue to grow.

True to Life, or True to the Show?

I was thinking about Smallville and fanfiction today. Specifically, I was thinking about Lana and how everyone reacts to her. The one consistent thing since the first episode is that everyone who meets Lana loves her. They all think she's preternatually pretty, all think she's perfect, and all want to be her friend. And that is, as we all know, pretty unrealistic. And before anyone tells me that Lana is a nice girl on the surface (because she is) and her popularity is because she's actively nice to everyone (supported in canon), let me get this out of the way:

I have know several genuinely nice people, like Lana, who think no ill about anyone and who strive to be kind and polite to everyone they meet. And I have actively disliked these people for one reason or another. And have know people who dislike them. So I stand by the belief that somewhere out there, someone should dislike Lana for some reason, real or stupid/petty.

Now, here's my question. My series has several OCs. I'm thinking of introducing one of them to Lana, and have him, not necessairly not like her, but not think she's all that beautiful. Because I think this is a fair reaction; after all, after three years, I *still* don't get the fuss over KK's looks. She's not an ugly girl, but I also don't think she's all that pretty. Maybe it's her clothes or her make-up. I don't know what it is, but I don't think she's preternatually pretty like TW or Ian or Nicole Kidman. She doesn't have that trancendental beauty in my eyes. Personal opinion, of course, but ...

No one on the show has ever shared that opinion. If I introduce a character who doesn't think she's all that, am I breaking with canon, disrupting the norm, forcing my own opinions into a story without any good reason behind them, or am I simply bringing "realism" (such as it is) into this world?

(I'm not talking about rabid hatred or "Oh my God, what a dog!" reactions from OCs or even canon characters. I'm talking about a character who looks at Lana and basically says, "Meh. Not so much." and moves on with life. Like a real person would do).

Also, I read the Dreamwatcher article with TW, where he said Lana was probably the only person who would accept Clark as he is on the show if he revealed his secret. I really think he's wrong. She might be able to accept him in time, but I really think Lex is the only one who ever had the ability to accept Clark unconditionally once he knew his secret, even if that time is gone.

Maybe it's just me ...

But, I don't know. When fire is falling from the sky, and it looks as if it's heading towards me? I'd run. Not look on with mild interest.

Watching Lana's parents get killed explains a *lot* about Lana.

I'm still amused by the fact Almiles say in the comentary that the little girl playing Lana was in different town than the people playing her parents, so she didn't see them get crushed.


Oh, and I wanna see Clark use his skateboard. And I want to know what these classes Martha takes S1 and 2 are.