Writers Point of View
By Don Porter
Guest Author @ SlantedK
Follow us on Twitter @slantedk
About, Don.
Don is a writer of murder mystery fiction and shares with us today a Writers Point of View in the world of POV technique.
Thank You for visiting SlantedK
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Of course, with all writing tasks you must pick the point of view that’s comfortable for you, and the one that fits your story. The simplest, and perhaps the best, is to write in third person and past tense. You get to play God. You know what the characters are thinking. You don’t need an excuse to be present, you are just there.
Do remember that simple past tense becomes present tense in book time. “She went to the store.” Is what is happening now. For things that happened yesterday, actions that are already completed, we need the past perfect tense. “She had gone to the store yesterday. Perhaps the greatest advantage of writing in third person is that you know all of your characters motives.
You’re familiar with the exhortation, “Do as I say, not as I do.”
I write in first person because it fits my books. My viewpoint character is an Alaskan bush pilot, a job that I did for many years. It may be that all writing is autobiographical but I do try not to abuse that principle.
If you’re writing in first person you need an excuse to be where the action is. That comes naturally for me because the characters in the books are charter customers. You do have to be careful not to brag. Start as few sentences as possible with I. Don’t say, “I started the car.” Say, “The car started instantly.”
You also have to be careful not to say things you cannot know, such as another person’s thoughts. You have to be devious. “From George's expression I guessed he was thinking about body guarding Sally.” The other characters have to be the heroes, think Doctor Watson writing about Sherlock Holmes. Their back-stories come out in dialogue, brilliant scintillating dialogue, of course.
A few years ago there were several web sites for beginning writers, perhaps there still are, but the ones I knew, like Fat Brain for instance either died or stopped taking fiction. One of the big publishers sponsored one of those sites. The idea was that your work was reviewed by contemporaries who then rate it with a number of stars. If you get enough five-star ratings, an editor from the publisher will go over your work with the possibility of publication.
I got the requisite number of stars and the company editor was supposed to look at my book. But, before he even started, without reading it, he said, “First we have to change it to third person.” I told him to buzz off, and shortly afterward, the site was cancelled, but that does tell you how pervasive the third person point of view is.
By Don Porter
Don’s Latest Release All That Glisters
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Please feel free to comment and discuss, the community is important we hope that there is a piece of wisdom that will help you in your journey.
In the next writer POV I will discuss a way of combating writers block.
Thank You and Have a Great Day
Writers Point of View
Writers Point of View
By Don Porter
Guest Author @ SlantedK
Follow us on Twitter @slantedk
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