Comments on: What point of view?

By: Therese Walsh

Therese Walsh — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 21:10:57 +0000

“…a Gordian knot of plot or character awkwardness.” That was it. Exactly!

Like? 0

By: Sophie Masson

Sophie Masson — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 20:41:20 +0000

Thanks everyone for the great comments! It’s true, experimenting with POV can do wonders for a novel–I’ve had that happen to me a few times, when just changing from 3rd to 1st(or vice versa) has instantly cut through a Gordian knot of plot or character awkwardness..
What I like doing too, in both 1st and 3rd person, is writing one chapter from one character’s POV followed by another in next–so you’re seeing the story from the inside or two or even three main characters-doing that can give 3rd person the intimate feel of 1st person, and give 1st person the wider range of 3rd person.

Like? 0

By: Meredith

Meredith — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 03:43:50 +0000

I have rewritten a couple of entire draft novels from one POV to another. Sometimes third person works best, sometimes first person. Often I don’t know for sure until I’ve dried both. I learn a lot about the story from each POV I use. Ideally, I think it would be cool to write each story from all points of view.

But who has time for that?

Like? 0

By: Therese Walsh

Therese Walsh — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 03:42:45 +0000

Changing POV in a troublesome scene made ALL of the difference for my wip today. Thanks for the inspiration, Sophie!

Like? 0

By: Juliet

Juliet — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 01:14:32 +0000

Excellent post, Sophie! Your final point makes it clear to me why I’ve struggled a bit with one of my two first person narrators in the current ms. She is one of those cool, self-contained types.

Like? 0

By: Lydia Sharp

Lydia Sharp — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 21:33:24 +0000

Sandy,
I understand what you mean about a “degree of separation.” It’s slight, but it’s there, simply because we see the words he/she instead of I/me. I suppose, for example, it might be difficult for a female reader to feel a connection to a male viewpoint character when they see the words I and me being used. But if they read he, him, and his, it might be easier to visualize and connect with, even though it’s technically a little more distant.
I get that. It’s not something I have an issue with as a reader, but I can see how someone else might.

Kristin,
You’re right about poorly written first person being too self-centered. The first GOOD example that came to my mind is Seeker by Jack McDevitt. I didn’t care too much for the story, but in terms of writing first person POV, McDevitt did a stellar job. You’d be hard-pressed to find many I’s, me’s, or my’s on any given page. Not surprisingly, he won a Nebula for that one. :)

Like? 0

By: Jennifer Bailey

Jennifer Bailey — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 21:16:35 +0000

The the WU crew–this series lately on Voice and POV has been great. I’m a very new writer and following these discussions have helped me tremendously. Thanks for the topic choices!

Like? 0

By: Sandy Shin

Sandy Shin — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 19:07:30 +0000

Often, I just pick a PoV and start writing, but these are great things to ask myself before I start any project. I’ll definitely think more about PoV before I start writing in the future. Thank you! :)

@Lydia Sharp: I am one of those harboring slight apathy toward first person PoV. I don’t go out of my way avoiding books written in first person (considering I read and write YA, doing so would be excluding 3/4 newly published novels), but it’s more difficult for me to enjoy. When done well, it’s brilliant. Some of my favorite novels are written in 1st person.

However, if I happen to dislike the MC’s voice or personality, it is almost impossible for me to get through the novel. With 3rd person, there is a degree of separation; with 1st, there is none. The narrator has to be very compelling in order to draw me in with 1st.

Like? 0

By: Lost Wanderer

Lost Wanderer — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 17:32:49 +0000

I wrote my entire fantasy novel in multiple third person. Most of the scenes are from MC’s POV, but few from another character, and an antagonist. When I did a read-through before revision, I had doubts that perhaps it should be first person. So I did a trial. I decided to write the beginning (5000 words) in first person and see what happened. I wrote about 1500 words, and I knew that this had to be first person. Now, I am planning to redo the outline again to change all the scenes where MC isn’t there in the original version. Total nightmare, but worth it because this guy is totally capable of telling his own story.

Like? 0

By: Kristin Laughtin

Kristin Laughtin — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 17:17:03 +0000

Lydia: I know several people who refuse to read first person as well, and though they can’t articulate why clearly, what I’ve been able to gather is that they assume it’s often lazy. With first-person narration, it’s easy for the POV character to tell the reader what they feel, rather than show it. (e.g. “It made me so angry!” rather than including a description of balled fists, a pinched expression, etc.) It’s also quite easy for first-person narrators to dwell on their own feelings rather than the plot, and this can be bad especially if the reader is averse to emo or moody characters.

Of course, it could be that these people just haven’t read well-written first-person stories, because these flaws are certainly avoidable.

Like? 0