I read your post, Schoolmarm, and thought, "no, I don't remember recommending that..." -- but then I looked on my bookshelf, and sure 'nough, there it was!
I always find it really interesting to read these books about writing, but I'm an ornery critter who thinks that only some of the "rules" apply, depending on what type of thing you're writing. And I think one of the things we have to watch out for is the temptation to hit each other over the head with the book
Actually, it reminds me of a sermon, years ago, where the pastor cautioned against reading the Bible primarily in order to find fault with other people, especially if you then go repeat verses at them in an effort to shame them into repentence. I've known some people like that, and in my experience, that approach is very counter-productive.
But it can be awfully tempting. "Oh, I don't like introspection/POV shifts within a scene/whatever, and this book says it's bad, so I have proof,
proof! that those other people are bad writers, just wait until I tell them..." :p I've probably given into that temptation myself, a few times, but it's something I try to watch out for.
Anyway, we've all been here and had this discussion before. It's not an argument that anyone can ever win, so let's agree that some people love introspection, some people hate it, most people fall somewhere in between, and leave it at that, shall we?
Variety is the spice of life, tolerance is a virtue, live and let live, etc, etc.
PJ
