I pretty much said the same thing -- that I would've believed one of them doing the instant-recall (especially in light of later discovery that he'd recalled b/c he was facing his very first major crush, and that does kind of imprint on us to some degree) -- but both, I wasn't so sure. I wanted something distinctive, like an accent or a way of moving or a pattern of speech or a phrase, something that might trigger the "I didn't expect to hear/see that, and it makes me think of ___, waitaminnit..." kind of process.
It was definitely one of those times where the beta-reader (like any reader) is taking personal experience/perspective and, in a way, changing the story or mis-reading the story because of that personal background. Like having someone yell during a fight, and my reaction is that this is it, the relationship is over (and thus am always shocked when the couple then goes into heat-overdrive). I can hardly expect the writer to write to my preferences, but still, I can't seem to turn them off as a beta-reader!
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Date: 4 Dec 2010 05:10 am (UTC)It was definitely one of those times where the beta-reader (like any reader) is taking personal experience/perspective and, in a way, changing the story or mis-reading the story because of that personal background. Like having someone yell during a fight, and my reaction is that this is it, the relationship is over (and thus am always shocked when the couple then goes into heat-overdrive). I can hardly expect the writer to write to my preferences, but still, I can't seem to turn them off as a beta-reader!