Intro to Creative Writing - Spring 2015 → Lesson 2 Posted - Point of View
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Hi everyone,
Lesson two on point of view (POV) has been posted. Please read it over. There are also several homework assignments to complete as part of the lesson.
You can read the lesson here:
http://www.thenextbigwriter.com/posting … -pov-20878
Let me know if you have questions.
Thanks,
Sol
I just read M. C. Beaton's Death of a Liar (Hamish Mcbeth mysteries) and she writes third person omniscient. At first I was put off a little, then when I realized what she was doing, and she did it so skillfully, it ceased to bother me.
Third person omniscient can work well if done by a skilled writer. Look at what Tolkien did with Lord of the Rings.
Well, my favorite author whose style I prefer to study is Robert Jordan author of the Wheel Of Time series. He is known for shifting the POV between characters in the same scene. He wrote the series in 3rd person omni, and I never had a problem with the POV shifting in terms of finding it jarring or such.
For reference, I didn't have to look far as I went back through chapter 1 of book 1 (Eye of the World), and within the first chapter we see the POV begin with Rand and shift to his father. They are in the same scene when this happens walking side by side.
I'd like to think the rule is a guard rail guideline. It keeps the writer from spilling over onto the freeway of confusing the reader if they are careless.
In the end, it's a gray area for me, and I would depend on reviewers to opine if they were confused or not when it changes in the same scene.
I'd like to think the rule is a guard rail guideline. It keeps the writer from spilling over onto the freeway of confusing the reader if they are careless.
In the end, it's a gray area for me, and I would depend on reviewers to opine if they were confused or not when it changes in the same scene.
Absolutely. There is no hard and fast rule about this. Based on my experience, beginner writers have a tough time making third person omniscient work, but if you can pull it off, or want to try and pull it off, go for it.
Title Divergent
I read Divergent and she write in the first person point of view. The writer Veronica Roth is such a good writer.
Saint Odd
No jumping of POV in this book or series. You see and know what Odd sees and knows, and that is it.
I've read it a while ago, but it is one of my favorites.
Douglas and Child: Still Life With Crows.
Writer uses 3rd person.The POV in the chapter is always from one character- though it switches characters throughout the book. The author uses the switch to describe his main character Agent Pendergast from someone else's point of view.
I wrote a comment on how much I enjoyed this write-up and I thank you for the insight on an area that was a bit gray to me before I read this. I am definitely going to pay more attention to what my favorite author's are doing with their points-of-view from now on.
For many (many, many) years I have been a fan of Robert Louis Stevenson, and my favorite book of his is "Kidnapped." (I never did like "Treasure Island," I think because I always liked Long John Silver better than Jim Hawkins, which tells me you should never make your villain more interesting than your Main Character.)
The story is a rip-roaring tale of adventure, scheming villains, and stolen inheritance, told in the first person. Young David Balfour relates the entire story as it unfolds before him, and when the author wants us to know the attitudes of the other characters, he lets David befriend them and hear their side of things.
Yesterday, in the mail, a book I ordered came in: Generation X:Tales for an Accelerated Culture by Douglas Coupland. I began reading it this morning when I awoke and I just finished it and LOVED every minute of it. I only wish it had been longer. It was written in the third person point of view which I enjoy a lot (Selena, she, he, it, Tobias, Dag)
Here is a bit of something I've started that so far is called Melted Glass Inferno. I'm sure the title may change before I finish as all that I am writing may have a complete overhaul. This is a very first draft; I'm basically still outlining and brainstorming/mindmapping... Check it out and please feel free to provide constructive criticism though I would say it is in a sucky phase at the moment. Just happens to be available to share.
Currently reading Oath to Defend (The Adam Drake Series Book 2) by Scott Matthews.
Scott writes in third person generally, but shifts to second person with changes in character and scene.
Homework:
1. Find a book that you like and think about what POV the writer used. In the forum, post the title of the book and the POV. Read a chapter. Does the POV bounce around within the chapter?
Stephanie Laurens - Devil's Bride
POV - 3rd person
With this book, SL kept to the POV of one character, but I've read other books of her where she changes POV between the two MC's without using breaks, and sometimes she change POV between the two MC's a few times forth and back in the same scene/chapter again without section breaks. Now that I've been made aware of the POV "jumps", I notice it. Before, I didn't!
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Intro to Creative Writing - Spring 2015 → Lesson 2 Posted - Point of View
