Do you ask yourself this question before you start to write or do you write and then seriously consider the point of view when editing? I have known authors who have changed their point of view in a rewrite and in so doing changed the whole tone and the meaning of the story. How do you decide on POV.
Good question Daffodil. I almost always use more than one POV in a book, so I ask myself which person has the most to lose in that scene and go with his/her POV. However, if I find a scene isn't working for some reason, I'll try another POV. I get the main story ideas down and then rewrite if it doesn't have the effect I was looking for. Actually, I love revising because that's where I can really think about the words and play around with language and sentence structure and all kinds of things.
I agree with you about when revising you have a better feel for the words and the structure, of not only the sentences, but what you want to project. It perhaps may entail changing the point of view.
Emmablue, your question. Do you think it makes a difference if you are writing in the voice of the first person or of the third person?
Yes it makes a huge difference. I'll try to answer. Writing in the first immediately puts the reader in the mind of the hero and therefore the reader identifies and gets pleasure from experiencing the events, through the eyes of the hero. It can also enhance suspense because the emotions are deeply felt by the reader. It gives the effect that each twist and turn, each setback or sensation of joy, fear or pain seems to be happening to the reader personally. Emotions can be deeply felt by the reader. With the third person, the reader sees, thinks and feels only what the main character experiences. Alos sometimes the story is not shown through the eyes of any one character, but an invisible, all-knowing, all-seeing narrator.
I have a story that I wrote about a dozen years ago. It was OK when I first wrote it, but it lacked a really "gotcha!" sort of ending. The story bugged me for 7 or 8 years until the perfect ending just snapped outta nowhere! Alas, to employ this zinger of an ending, I had to revise the whole tale to see it from a different perspective. Halfway thru the rewrite, it occurred to me that while the ending was gonna be great, the rest of the story was turning "sucky". So, I'm STILL stuck on that one.
POV? Two years ago, I couldn't even spell it, much less identify it. I had written eight books by that time which gathered praise from everyone who read them even though I 'Head-hopped' through my characters like some mental pixie. I sent my last book 'Return to Altarra' to Lou Aronica for his expertise and was introduced to Point of View for the first time. Even then, it was a 'What are you talking about' concept until one of my newest readers described it in terms that meant anything to me. Then the light came on and the rewriting of those books began. My point is this, If a Point of View is shifted from one character in a story to another in such a way that the reader is drawn along for the ride without a problem, then it shouldn't be a problem for Editors or other 'Professionals'. Lou described a couple of POV shifts in the rewrite that were so smoothly done, he missed them the first time through. For the most part, my POVs is from the Main Character's view unless his/her actions are best described through another's eyes. Omni is good for short stories or sections, but gets boring quickly.
POV? LOL. I hadn't a clue when I first started writing either. Anyone who thinks writing novels is easy has no idea of what it really takes. Blood on the paper as they say.
I use third person "deep" POV almost exclusively. Mainly because I am deep into the main character's head, but can still use different POVs, such as the hero and heroine. Third person deep pov is being inside the character and allows you to feel everything, see everything, do and experience everything as if you are the character. And you can switch povs and do the same for another character. If using first person, you have the same effect, but it doesn't allow you to switch povs to get inside another character's head. Pretty much, you have to stay with the main character. Like anything, using more than one first person character has been done, but it's difficult and not done that much.
All are correct, depending on what you're looking for. As Roger mentioned, whatever pov is chosen, smooth transitions are necessary. One of the truly successful head hopper authors that I know of is Nora Roberts. I could get whiplash from reading her books sometimes, yet they work for most people.
I was thinking about POV related to presenting the characters with conflicts. When writing in the first person, I think I want to be kinder to the protagonist :)
Right now I am finishing my first novel. It is based on events of some thirty years ago, centered around the common theme of a soldier's return after a lifetime at war.
I have tried to write this story several times and failed each time because it went into the land of mush. If I was writing in the first person, I became conscious of which parts of the story were too close to reality to call "fiction" and I felt like I was being dishonest if I got too creative, so I got caught on the horns of that dilemma.
Then I tried to write it in the third person "author in the sky" voice, and that didn't work at all.
I felt fake if I tried to insert myself into a different character. I am not experienced enough, I think, to write in the voice of anyone other than a woman approximately my age, even if I write in the voice of a different sort of woman.
But now I am writing in the first person with some success and I think it is because I forced myself to approach it from the third person at one time, and that helped me break free of ego-involvment with the protagonist.
I am thinking that as soon as I am done with this draft, I may write the same story over again from the beginning, from the POV of one of the other characters, and then interweave the two versions.
The problem will be what RomWrtrGirl suggests, I think: smooth transitions.
Has anyone here used this technique, of giving chapters to different characters?
You asked about writing one chapter from one person's POV and another chapter from another POV. I do it all the time in my books, but I use third person deep POV. That is being deep inside the character's head, not author in the sky. I sometimes write from the hero's POV in one chapter and the heroine's in another, depending on the scene and sequel progression and needs of the story. In one book, I went into the child's POV because it was necessary for the story. I experiment with first and third all the time, but for what I write, third person deep POV works best -- and it's also the publisher's preference.
I think of deep POV as method acting. I'm in the hero's skin, thinking and feeling as he does, and then the heroine's. The trick is to know your characters so thoroughly that every action, emotion, etc., is coming from their base of knowledge and life experience. Each character has his own goals, internal conflicts and vulnerabilities, as well as external, and they each have individual character arcs, so they learn and grow emotionally throughout the story.
Some stories work better in first person, some in third. We have to go with what works for us, for our particular story (or with publisher preferences) but it's really important to experiment and find your own voice. Writing is individual and personal and we all have our own comfort levels. It's also a never ending learning process no matter how long we've been writing. And it's fun! :-)
Hi Daf, I guess I am getting in late on the discussions - so I'll add my 2 cents from your initial statement.
The story and genre influence the person I write in.
My epic poem is third person and has to stay that way. Maybe my sense of history or tradition initially sent the tale out from that point of view, but I feel the story works best this way. In rewrite after rewrite, in addition after addition that has never changed.
The novel that 4 of us worked on and finished more recently is a type of historical fiction and I noticed during our group sessions that each writer came to the table with an indvidual sense of person. All copy brought to the table was read and reread and then included in the main piece after each author's opinions and feelings had been expressed.
"I Remember Mama" was a lovely story told from the oldest daughter's point of view recounting her family's adventures and her mother's wisdom in the scheme of everyone's life. That worked famously! I believe the author was the that daughter.
When I read my dialogue, or personal poetry, I read it over twice and aloud the third time and write some more. My final descision is based on how "Honest" it sounds. I have a few writer friends I can share with for their point of view, if I'm stuck.
