jebbypal

Heinlein is my personal deity of choice and I completely concur regarding his ability to make his characters so real and intimate that you can almost smell the B.O. that he often refers to when it comes to women. Of course that statement could be taken completely out of context were one not familiar with Heinlein. Anyways, I think Friday was a check-the-block book he dumped on the masturbating masses in order to fulfill a contract. There are only so many broken taboos that most readers can take. I recall a few years ago that his were on a list to be banned, down in one of the south central states, for that very reason. Oh yeah Point, there you are! Many times characterization is determined by the situation. It is a rare writer who can have a riveting tale of people blathering on self-importantly. If you know the character then the verbalization of their thoughts is almost redundant. I have the absolute opposite problem that you have. I can write conversations for days that seem witty, profound, and inspiring in my mind but apparently crank up the yawn factor for anyone with a pulse. Heinlein had some great actions scenes, often times so complex that you had to go back and read it three or four times just to figure what the hell happened and why that person said this at that time. Specifically, 'The Cat who Walked Through Walls', 'Time Enough For Love', and many of his later books that took on a more evocative style dealing with politics, philosophy, and morality. I haven't read Octavia Butler but have heard many good things. I suppose it just comes down to what you want the reader to take from the story. Do you want them to delve within and question their own assumptions or do you just want them to enjoy themselves and have a damn good read? Or both? Most people just want the damn good read and, then again, most people don't really want to have to think about what they are reading. So the loftier your goal, the narrower your audience. Until you get back to work on 'Twin Regrets', you'll get no more frothy praise from me ;D