One of you commented that my announcement in Chapter 28 that all of Carl’s actions up to that point had been to get to the party to meet Marilyn was wrongly done. Since Carl is writing his thoughts, he should have announced his plan to meet Marilyn much, much earlier in the story, as soon as he thought of it. My counter-argument is that: A) this would have ruined any surprise or suspense, and B) that this is a technique I have seen a lot of real authors use in real books. How many times have you read the hero telling his subordinates, “Okay, here’s the plan…”, and then the chapter ends? You see what happens in the upcoming chapters!
I believe the complaint is that this technique is acceptable in stories written in the third person (“He did…he said…”) but not in those written in the first person (“I did…I said…”). I think that is just wrong. It can be used either place.
On a side note, many of the great authors of the past used this type of technique, the ‘cliffhanger’, in their works. Especially in the 19th Century, many writers of fiction published their works as installments in newspapers. Every few weeks or maybe once a month, a new chapter would come out, and the newspapers would advertise these events heavily. These authors included Charles Dickens, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and Alexander Dumas. In fact, the cliffhanger aspect to these stories is a major reason they are so popular. Most of these authors have never been out of print, a significant accomplishment!
I know Jack Daniel’s isn’t bourbon, but it isn’t because it’s not from Kentucky. The strict definition of bourbon according to the feds is that bourbon must be aged in charred oak barrels. Jack Daniel’s is charcoal filtered before aging, which violates the strict definition. According to NAFTA and several other international laws, Jack Daniel’s is treated for international trade purposes as bourbon. God knows, I drank enough way back when to know it tastes like bourbon!
There were a few comments about fraternity hazing and the dangers of the polar bear swim. As to the swim, five seconds in icy water won’t kill a healthy teenager, and the rope wrapped around his wrist will ensure he gets pulled out. Cold? Hell yes! Deadly? Not hardly! People do this stupid shit all the time in the winter, and usually the local television station will send a camera down to film them.
Hazing is common in almost any male group experience. Any anthropologist can provide chapter and verse examples from around the globe. It doesn’t matter whether it is a fraternity, the military, school clubs, sports teams, or Masai hunting groups. Hazing rituals are what separate non-members from members. “You’re not one of us.” “You’re not man enough!” “We had to do it, now it’s your turn.” All groups have them. The tough part is to make sure that the hazing group, the older males, have decent internal supervision and don’t get carried away. That can be tricky when everybody is drunk.