Fiction 101 — #12 — Point of View

Point of View can be a tricky subject. Basically, it refers to how we decide to relate our story, the perspective from which we see it. Which character(s) will communicate the story most effectively? Do we want to tell the story from one person’s perspective?

 

 

 

A short story is often told from one perspective because of the limited length of time to develop characters. A novel, on the other hand, may use several perspectives to relate the story.  

 

 

 

Will we choose first person or third for this narrator?

This is first person: “I can still feel the heat of the fire.”

Consider the story To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, told in first person through the eyes of a young girl called Scout. Her every observation, every judgment, is sifted through her limited experience and perception, but it’s enough for the reader to grasp the greater significance.

And this is third person: “She could still feel the heat of the fire.”

Lord of the Rings uses this perspective.

The first person approach is the most intimate, but is also limiting as to how much the first person character can know and observe. The third person is less intimate, but allows for more than one character to share the point of view focus.

Besides that choice, we must decide whether the point of view character(s) will be limited to what they alone can perceive or will be privy to other characters’ thoughts and feelings? This latter POV is known as omniscient, for obvious reasons.

An example of omniscient POV:

“Alice saw the woman duck behind the counter when she entered the store, so she decided to investigate. Meanwhile, the woman crouched in fear, wondering where to hide.” Here we see from Alice’s point of view as well as the crouching woman’s. It’s like a bird’s eye view narrative.

Currently, the omniscient viewpoint is not commonly used in fiction, as it distances the reader from the characters and fragments the focus.

If we’re unsure of what point of view will best suit our story, we are free to try several options to see which works best. The experiment take time and effort, but is worthwhile.

A good tip: once we decide which perspective to use, we must be consistent. If, for example, we choose third person for a longer story, we have the option of seeing the story through the eyes of several characters, thus giving us a broader vision, but we must be clear in each instance which character is “seeing.”

The rule of thumb, at least for novice and intermediate writers, is that only one point of view should be employed in any given scene. The late Ron Benrey, agent/editor/author, suggested envisioning a camera on the head of the point of view character to help us remember that he or she can only see what the camera sees.

If we are writing about what Alice saw, then for that entire scene (one place or time in the story—think of a scene in a movie) we should only record what Alice senses or knows. If we wish to portray the story from another character’s point of view, we must create a new scene and maintain that character’s perspective throughout that scene.

Jumping from one character to another within a scene is known as head-hopping, and is generally frowned upon because it makes the story difficult to follow.

Another tip gained from Ron Benrey’s workshop is to make sure the reader is well aware of who the point of view character is. Mention the name at or very near the beginning of each scene so the reader isn’t left wondering.

Lack of understanding regarding point of view is one of the most telling signs of amateur writing. There are many books available that clarify this crucial element. Check out Writer’s Digest Books, specifically Characters & Viewpoint by Orson Scott Card.

For a more in-depth look at the various point of view options and how they work, check out this site.

 

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Fiction 101 — #10 Don’t Let Your Middle Sag

At my age, a title like this makes me take notice. I sit up straighter, pull my shoulders back and suck in my middle.

The sagging middle
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That’s what we want to do with the middles of our stories: be aware of their presentation and do what’s required to improve them.

We’ve talked about Beguiling Beginnings with more than enough zip to catch the readers’ attention and pull them into the story. We may have a good idea where the story is going and how it ends, and often the ending is intense enough that we can hardly wait to get there. Perhaps we write it early on, to be adapted later. But now we must focus on what comes between an exciting beginning and an intense ending.

If you look back at Fiction 101 — Part 8, the one about outlining or structuring a novel, you’ll see that we talked about various methods of structuring. One idea was the Plot Skeleton (from Angela Hunt). When we use the Plot Skeleton method, we start with the head (the protagonist), then the neck (the incident that starts things rolling) and then the ribs (the complications).

Let’s talk about the ribs. They run up and down both sides of the chest. Convert that image to a two-column page and put + on one column and – on the other. Something good happens, then something bad, back and forth, balanced but with ever increasing importance and tension as we go along, until we reach the crisis.

If we use the rib scenario / two-column page, we can fill in any number of events that will sustain interest and increase tension as we move forward with our stories.

Another way to hold up the middle is with subplots. Wikipedia defines a subplot as: a secondary strand of the plot that is a supporting side story for any story or the main plot. These subplots connect with the main plot in some way through one of the characters, either a major or, more often, a supporting character. Subplots are less important than the main plot, so they get less time in the scheme of the story, but they add interest and tension, as well as helping to fill out characters.

So, instead of getting bogged down with our main plot, trying to keep up the interest, we can employ subplots to switch up the focus to include other events, journeys and characters.

It’s also absolutely necessary to remember that character development must happen throughout the novel. Every scene should either move the plot along or show character development. Every scene should be based on a goal and include conflict and tension. It only all works out in the end!

The plot thickens, as they say, getting more involved. The characters meet more obstacles, face more discouragements. The goal of the main character as set out at the beginning of our story seems consistently more unattainable . . . right until the end.

All these elements make the reader sit up and take notice. What’s happening here? How are the characters ever going to come out of this in one piece? We must make the reader guess, frantically turn the pages, forget about dinner and bedtime. Let’s exercise our writing expertise, work out with subplots and character development, and make that middle firm.

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