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guestspeaker
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hi Mary
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guestspeaker
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Hi Mary
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mary rosenblum
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Hello all!
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mary rosenblum
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Welcome to our Friday After
Hours Forum.
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mary rosenblum
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I'm waiting for a BIG Pacific
storm to hit, but hopefully it will hold off until we're done here...
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mary rosenblum
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but if I vanish, that's why.
:-)
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mary rosenblum
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This is our After Hours Forum,
with me, Mary Rosenblum, your web editor and we're talking about Point of
View. I've published seven novels (number eight will be out next year) ,
more than 60 short stories, and will do my best to answer any questions you
have. If you're new here, remember that you need to click on the 'Ask a
Question' button or the 'word bubble' next to the red question mark at the
top of the screen in order to ask a question. Your regular 'send' bar won't
reach me! Or you can use /ask and type your question into the regular send
bar if that works better for you..
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mary rosenblum
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I thought we'd focus on Point
of View tonight...any questions you have about it at all.
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mary rosenblum
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I know first person, second,
and third as well as the various forms of those POVs really...
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mary rosenblum
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confuse a lot of novice
writers.
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barbg
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Is there a deep third person
point of view?
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mary rosenblum
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Yes, Barb. It is what is
called 'deep penetration' or 'zero narrative distance' limited third.
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mary rosenblum
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It is when you immerse your
reader utterly in this character.
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mary rosenblum
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The reader perceives the story
entirely through the POV's senses...
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mary rosenblum
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that is you hear only sounds
she hears, you see only what she sees, you know only what she knows.
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mary rosenblum
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It is the key ingredient of
really powerful characterization.
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barbg
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So that's a good pov?
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mary rosenblum
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Depends on what you are doing,
barb. It's certainly my favorite, but it may NOT be the best choice all the
time.
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mary rosenblum
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It works very well for
character driven stories when you want your reader to identify with the POV
character.
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mary rosenblum
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It may not work as well if
your POV is not very likeable...
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mary rosenblum
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because your reader will
resist identifying with that person...
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mary rosenblum
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or if your story is strongly
plot driven and you don't have a strong MC...
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mary rosenblum
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or where your MC is not going
to be present for important events.
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paminnapa
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would that be like Stephen Kings
Misery where we could feel the guys fear?
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mary rosenblum
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I haven't read Misery but
generally, if you begin to feel as if you are living the story with the MC,
then that is what the author is doing.
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mary rosenblum
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This is what all limited third
person is supposed to do, but some writers do it more 'deeply' than others.
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mary rosenblum
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That's why it's called
'limited third'. We are 'limited' to what the POV character perceives.
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megger
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So is that like the internal
monologue in first person?
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mary rosenblum
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Good for you megger...
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mary rosenblum
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Actually first person is ALL
internal monologue except when the POV speaks out loud. :-)
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mary rosenblum
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But really deep limited third
reads like first person...
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mary rosenblum
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and often if you ask someone
afteward, they may even tell you the story was written in first person.
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mary rosenblum
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But to get that effect, all
the description in the story needs to be in your POV character's voice.
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mary rosenblum
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The effect is similar to a
first person POV telling us what's going on.
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mary rosenblum
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third person POV also comes in
other flavors. :-)
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mary rosenblum
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You have omnsicient, the
novice writer's usual choice (and RARELY a good one)...
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mary rosenblum
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and cinematic.
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mary rosenblum
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Oh, let's not forget narrative
third...
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mary rosenblum
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That is when the author TELLS
the story...
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mary rosenblum
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and that can work...Fritz
Leiber does it nicely with his Fafhrd and Grey Mouser stories...
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mary rosenblum
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but it's harder to do well
than you might think. And it's also another 'novice third'.
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mary rosenblum
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For the most part, avoid
narrative third and omniscient unless you have GOOD reasons to use 'em.
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mary rosenblum
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And there are not many good
reasons.
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paminnapa
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can you give a sample of
omiscient
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mary rosenblum
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This is our After Hours Forum,
with me, Mary Rosenblum, your web editor and we're talking about Point of
View. I've published seven novels (number eight will be out next year) ,
more than 60 short stories, and will do my best to answer any questions you
have. If you're new here, remember that you need to click on the 'Ask a
Question' button or the 'word bubble' next to the red question mark at the
top of the screen in order to ask a question. Your regular 'send' bar won't
reach me! Or you can use /ask and type your question into the regular send
bar if that works better for you..
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mary rosenblum
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Sure, Pam.
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mary rosenblum
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Tom wandered into the living
room. Carla sprawled on the couch, her golden hair sweeping the floor.
Gosh, she's gorgeous, he thought. I wonder if I dare ask her out.
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mary rosenblum
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Carle peeked at him from
beneath her hair. Boy, that Tom is sure cute. I hope he asks me out, she
thought.
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mary rosenblum
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Many novices think it's a
GREAT pov because wow, your reader now knows everything they need to know!
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mary rosenblum
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BUT...it prevents you from
becoming intimate with any particular character.
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mary rosenblum
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Every time we 'head hop' from
one character to another...we are jolted out of our growing intimacy with
that character...
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mary rosenblum
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and have to start over.
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mary rosenblum
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Now this CAN work when you
have a very plot driven story...
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mary rosenblum
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and we really never indentify
with or become bonded to any particular character.
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mary rosenblum
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Then we can be distanced and
it's fine.
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mary rosenblum
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But if the reader must care
about a character for your story to work, then stay in that character's POV
and do not leave!
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janecj333
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don't you think that most
beginning writers who use omniscient don't know what they're doing? it just
feels easy?
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mary rosenblum
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Of course.
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mary rosenblum
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You do EVERYTHING because you
don't know what you're doing at first. :-)
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mary rosenblum
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And at first you really cannot
see the difference. Yeah, you know what moved you as a reader...
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mary rosenblum
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but you can't point out WHY it
moved you.
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mary rosenblum
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That's what learning your
craft is all about.
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mary rosenblum
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That's why writers are not
BORN.
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mary rosenblum
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You might have a strong gift
of story...
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mary rosenblum
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but you have to learn how to
make that story work powerfully for many many different readers.
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sayre
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can you list some good books for
researching POV if you are a novice writer?
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mary rosenblum
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I think the best one out there
is Orson Scott Card's book from Writers Digest Books.
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mary rosenblum
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Character and
Characterization, I think?
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mary rosenblum
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He taught me how to do it and
'deep penetration third' is a term he made up.
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mary rosenblum
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He's a very good teacher and
his book is very clear.
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geezer
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So, in deep third can we use
"I" ?
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mary rosenblum
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Geeze, youcan only use
'I" in third person in dialogue.
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mary rosenblum
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You can create the 'feeling'
of it being first, but if you're in third person, you're using he/she or
the POV's name.
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janecj333
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'deep penetration'...sounds very
sensual
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mary rosenblum
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Actually I think that word
needs an 'x' in it. :-) I think Scott actually missed that nuance when he
used it first.
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geezer
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Not inner dialogue?
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mary rosenblum
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Only in direct throught,
geeze, not paraphrased thought.
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paminnapa
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How would you incorporate
thought into 3rd person?
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mary rosenblum
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Caroline peered through the
curtain as Tom headed for the barn. Cute. She smiled. Maybe she'd take
those horseback riding lessons after all.
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mary rosenblum
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Cute is Caroline's thought.
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mary rosenblum
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So is 'Maybe she'd take those
horseback riding lessons after all'.
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mary rosenblum
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Those are not the actual words
passing through her brain...
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mary rosenblum
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we tend to think in fragments
and her ACTUAL thought might be...'might do it'...
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mary rosenblum
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and nothing more than that.
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mary rosenblum
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Which won't mean much to the
reader.
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tory
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But yopu couldn't say: Maybe
I'll take those lessons after all"?
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mary rosenblum
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Sure.
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mary rosenblum
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You see that all the time...it
is 'direct thought' and often publishers italicize it. (Which I hate).
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mary rosenblum
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But those thoughts tend to
read 'clunky' to the reader...
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mary rosenblum
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because we rarely think in
dialogue.
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mary rosenblum
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So they sound false.
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mary rosenblum
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You can use them, but I
wouldn't use them often at all.
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carla
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can you explain second person
POV
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mary rosenblum
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Second person POV is 'YOU'.
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mary rosenblum
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You go down the hall and peer
around the door at your little brother.
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mary rosenblum
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Jemmy is brushing his teeth
and you just have time to go sneak the quarter under his pillow so he'll
find it in the morning and..
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mary rosenblum
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think the tooth fairy left it.
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janecj333
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can you touch on 2nd person (is
that what it's called?) pov...it's a weird one and one I used to see in a
lot of sf a few years ago
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mary rosenblum
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Yeah, it showed up ...when was
it? Way back in the eighties, I think. Sort of a 'litrerary phase'...
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mary rosenblum
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Readers tend to dislike
it...the reaction is 'no I did not'...
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mary rosenblum
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but it can work.
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mary rosenblum
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I actually have
a...lessee...2300 word piece from a writers workshop I'm doing in a couple
of weeks...
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mary rosenblum
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and it's in second person. I
haven't read it yet, but I think it's probably satire.
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robastor
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Many young adult adventure
stories used second person, especially in stories where you picked which
events happened next.
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mary rosenblum
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Well, 'many' YA don't use it,
but yes, the 'choose your own adventure' books did. :-)
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mary rosenblum
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They were a hoot, actually.
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mary rosenblum
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It can work.
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mary rosenblum
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It works better in a literary
piece where you are playing with style...
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mary rosenblum
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rather than with plot and
character.
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mary rosenblum
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carla try using /ask in front
of a longer question in your REGULAR send bar...
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mary rosenblum
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that will let you send me a
longer question.
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speckledorf
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Evening! The OSC book is
Character & ViewPoint...very good. Is one I'm in process of studying
now.
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mary rosenblum
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Thanks Speck! I was going to
go google it when I got a second.
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carla
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so if piece is personal
experience article :
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carla
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whole article is using I and
Me.... but when refer to
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mary rosenblum
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I'm guessing from what you
sent that you're asking if it's a personal experience article using first
person...
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carla
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so if a piece is a personal
experience article and the whole article is using I and me ... and you make
a statement like "if you get my drift" how is that 2nd POV
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mary rosenblum
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ah, bingo! Thanks.
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mary rosenblum
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Yes, 'If you get my drift' is
you, the author, speaking directly to the reader...
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mary rosenblum
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and it's fine.
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mary rosenblum
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It can make a nice personal
connection... but the piece is in first person POV...if you're telling
about an experience that happened to you.
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mary rosenblum
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I go fishing with my dad every
weekend. It's not like I really l like to fish, but my dad really likes
it...
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mary rosenblum
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that I like to fish, if you
get my drift.
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mary rosenblum
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This is a first person
character...could be the author, could be a made up character...talking to
the reader.
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geezer
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So, we can mix inner thought and
direct thought?
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mary rosenblum
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Sure, geeze. Here's an
example:
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mary rosenblum
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Marty grabbed for the vase,
winced as it crashed. Lordy. She squeezed her eyes closed. She was in big
trouble now.
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mary rosenblum
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'Lordy' is the word (well
probably a much stronger version) that flashes into her mind.
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mary rosenblum
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It is her actual thought.
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mary rosenblum
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She was in big trouble now is
the paraphrase of what is actually going through her mind...
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mary rosenblum
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which is probably less
coherent.
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janecj333
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It seems as if omniscient pov
reveals everything but the kitchen sink and romance writers tend to use it
to make their characters appear naive; 3rd person pov functions to hide
info from the reader ( to develop suspense); 1st person can let the
narrator lie to the reader which might be important in a mystery. I can't
think of a good reason to use 2nd person pov.
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mary rosenblum
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That's a pretty good
summation, Jane.
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mary rosenblum
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I think the main reason to use
2nd person is to make the reader pay attention to HOW you are writing.
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mary rosenblum
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As I said, it's predominantly
used in literary, stylistically driven, works.
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mary rosenblum
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It can give a story a weird,
dreamlike feel but readers are VERY resistant to it...
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mary rosenblum
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and many editors won't even
look at it.
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robastor
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What do you call the POV froma
secondary character in the sotry, not the hero?
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mary rosenblum
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POV and Main Character are not
the same thing, rob.
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mary rosenblum
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Scout, in To Kill a
Mockingbird, is the POV and she is not the MC.
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mary rosenblum
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Quite a few books have a main
character who is not the POV.
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mary rosenblum
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Sometimes the POV is the
author...that's a narrative story.
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xana
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Dr. Watson and Sherlock Holmes
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mary rosenblum
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Good one, Xana.
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carla
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is most non-fiction done in
first person
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mary rosenblum
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Yes, carla.
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mary rosenblum
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And there's a reason for that.
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mary rosenblum
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Even if it is true, if you use
third person, the readers feel that it is fiction.
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mary rosenblum
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They expect 'I' if you are
telling us a true story.
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mary rosenblum
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Some writers use a strong
narrative voice to tell a true story about another person...
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mary rosenblum
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so that their narrative voice
reminds the reader 'I am telling this and it's true'.
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carla
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if is true story in a fiction
format do you have to tell it in 1st ... or is it possible to use a
different pov
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mary rosenblum
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If you don't want to use first...say
you're telling the story of the kid next door who saves his family from a
flood...
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mary rosenblum
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I would use a narrative
third...a 'storytelling voice'...
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mary rosenblum
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that makes it clear to the
reader that you, the author, are telling us about this kid.
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mary rosenblum
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When you put the reader into
the character's head, so to speak, you really are crossing over into the
'fiction' side of the fence.
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geezer
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It's essential to the plot to
know what both the MC & the secondary character is thinking. Is it a
good idea to skip a line, go to the secondary charater for one paragraph,
and then skip another line to return to the MC?
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mary rosenblum
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Geezer I will bet you money
that I can make the readers guess what your secondary character is thinking
without shifting POV. :-)
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mary rosenblum
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Shifting POV is easy...but it
costs you.
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mary rosenblum
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With a little work you don't
have to shift POV.
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mary rosenblum
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Nobody said writing was easy.
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telcontar
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what if the MC is blind and
can't see the expression and body language of the other?
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mary rosenblum
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Then you have to find some
other way to convey their reactions tel...
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mary rosenblum
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your MC can be VERY good at
reading pauses and rhythms of speech, indrawn breaths...
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mary rosenblum
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and the like.
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mary rosenblum
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Or someone says something that
gives us a clue.
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mary rosenblum
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Actually, a blind POV is a fun
challenge.
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mary rosenblum
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I did it once.
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mary rosenblum
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Spent a day without seeing and
had a good friend who had been totally blind since 16...she had GREAT
insights.
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mary rosenblum
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She could tell if a room was
empty or full, if people were present.
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mary rosenblum
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COOL stuff.
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mary rosenblum
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This is our After Hours Forum,
with me, Mary Rosenblum, your web editor and we're talking about Point of
View. I've published seven novels (number eight will be out next year) ,
more than 60 short stories, and will do my best to answer any questions you
have. If you're new here, remember that you need to click on the 'Ask a
Question' button or the 'word bubble' next to the red question mark at the
top of the screen in order to ask a question. Your regular 'send' bar won't
reach me! Or you can use /ask and type your question into the regular send
bar if that works better for you..
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mary rosenblum
|
Geeze, think of this...
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mary rosenblum
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Your secondary character can
reveal info through body language...
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mary rosenblum
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she can start a sentence and
shut up...giving us a clue that the MC might miss, if you need to leave the
MC in the dark.
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mary rosenblum
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Your secondary can say
something cryptic which our MC misses and readers do not.
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mary rosenblum
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Your MC can guess what she's
withholding and then decide that can't be.
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mary rosenblum
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WE know it is.
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mary rosenblum
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Now, it's not like you can't
EVER shift POV in a short story.
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mary rosenblum
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yes, the cost is high if your
story is character driven...
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mary rosenblum
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that is, if the success of
your story depends on we readers bonding with and caring about a character.
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mary rosenblum
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It will diminish your story's
success a bit.
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mary rosenblum
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BUT...if the story is more
plot driven...it's the twist end that matters...
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mary rosenblum
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or the solution of the
mystery...then yeah, you can shift POV...
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mary rosenblum
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if we aren't deeply involved
with your MC>
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mary rosenblum
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But do it because it benefits
the story, not because it's easier.
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mary rosenblum
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Most novices do it because
it's easy, it seems like the simplest solution (it is) and don't realize
what price they pay.
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mary rosenblum
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If your story is strongly plot
driven, that shift in POV might be just fine.
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geezer
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I'm doing a novel. Does that
make a difference?
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mary rosenblum
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Goodness yes. I'm laughing.
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mary rosenblum
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Most novels have more than one
POV character.
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mary rosenblum
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It's hard to stick to a single
POV for an entire novel and it does limit you.
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mary rosenblum
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I tend to think of 'short
story' when someone say story...I need to ask 'how long'!
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geezer
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But don't shift within a scene
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mary rosenblum
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Exactly...you'd be amazed how
many readers will miss it.
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owlybear
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Hi Mary... I'm writing a true
story about a girl who was raped by four men.. a week later she was shot in
the face with a shotgun by a stepbrother of one of the rapists... he was
sentenced to 7 years for attempted murder but for 24 years the victim lived
in fear until his death... her female cousin stuck by her all those
years... I want to express the fear that the victim had as well as the
reaction of the cousin to that fear for so many years... I want to do it in
story form but is it difficult to have two POVs... it's for my lesson 12
(finally) and I want to sell it to interested magazines....so I want to do
an excellent job...
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mary rosenblum
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Owly, I would do that as a
narrative...you're telling the story, and just use good, vivid description
when you want readers to share that fear.
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mary rosenblum
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This is a type of story where
you can shift POV...just make it clear to the reader when you do so.
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telcontar
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the only story I've ever read
that successfully jumps between POVs was The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley
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mary rosenblum
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Short story, tel?
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telcontar
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no... novel
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mary rosenblum
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I've read quite a few novel
with more than one strong POV.
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mary rosenblum
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Actually, when you get into
the thriller genre, you generally have a relatively large number...
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mary rosenblum
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I just read one ...I'm on an
award committe and playing judge...and I think it had four serious POV.
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mary rosenblum
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No...make that five.
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janecj333
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isn't multiple pov in novels a
pretty recent innovation, though? I'm thinking of the classics
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mary rosenblum
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As I recall, jane, a lot of
those classics are more omniscient than limited third.
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mary rosenblum
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I think it's the limited third
that's a fairly recent innovation.
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mary rosenblum
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And you have a lot more
narrative in the classics like Dickens Austin and the like.
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janecj333
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I've read, in fact, that the
novel is a fairly new artform, and most writing was epic myth, religious
dogma, and letters in centuries past
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mary rosenblum
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Oh yes.
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mary rosenblum
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NOvel didn't appear until...I
think 1800s but anyone with a more precise date feel free to toss it up
here.
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mary rosenblum
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This is our After Hours Forum,
with me, Mary Rosenblum, your web editor and we're talking about Point of
View. I've published seven novels (number eight will be out next year) ,
more than 60 short stories, and will do my best to answer any questions you
have. If you're new here, remember that you need to click on the 'Ask a
Question' button or the 'word bubble' next to the red question mark at the
top of the screen in order to ask a question. Your regular 'send' bar won't
reach me! Or you can use /ask and type your question into the regular send
bar if that works better for you..
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mary rosenblum
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One rule of thumb for POV...
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mary rosenblum
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is that the more the character
drives the story, the deeper your POV needs to be.
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janecj333
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Makes you wonder what innovation
will come next, and why we didn't think of it first! :)
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mary rosenblum
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Ah, this is the stuff of many
late night conversations in the bar at writers' conferences, jane. :-)
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carla
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is still trying to get non
fiction pov down ... so if writing something like "For the most part,
courtships is crude among lizards. During the breeding season males chase
females, and when the female is caught, mating follows." is this still
1st person POV
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mary rosenblum
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When you're writing this type
of highly informative nonfiction, carla...
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mary rosenblum
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you are using a very very
distanced third person. You avoid any personal reference at all...
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mary rosenblum
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In nonfiction, 'I' and first
person finds a home in 'personal narrative'.
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mary rosenblum
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That's what the name
means...you the author are talking to us.
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mary rosenblum
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Informative pieces use a
distanced third with no hint of author as person.
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mary rosenblum
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It conveys the information
clearly, that's all.
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mary rosenblum
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Medical writing is a different
form from that and uses predominantly passive voice.
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mary rosenblum
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But that is a VERY specialized
field and if you're not in research you're not going to use it.
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carla
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so if change it to "For the
most part, if you watch the courtship of lizards, you will find it
crude." then it would be 1st person
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mary rosenblum
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No, first person is 'I'.
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mary rosenblum
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What you have here is a
narrative third...you the author are speaking to the reader...
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mary rosenblum
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this is more personal than the
distanced third you'd find in, say, a textbook on reptiles.
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mary rosenblum
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This might work for, say, a
family magazine.
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carla
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groans
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mary rosenblum
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The thing to do, Carla, is
pick up a copy of the magazine you want to sell to...
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mary rosenblum
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and read it.
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mary rosenblum
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Pay attention to how the
articles are written.
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mary rosenblum
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Does an author use 'you' like
that and speak directly to the reader?
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mary rosenblum
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Or are all the articles more
impersonal...
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mary rosenblum
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For the most part, the
courtship of lizards seems crude.
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mary rosenblum
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That's a more distanced, less
personal third.
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mary rosenblum
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You're not speaking to the
reader.
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tory
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What differentiates
run-of-the-mill third from deep third POV?
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mary rosenblum
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It entirely depends on where
you have to stand to see what is begin described, tory.
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mary rosenblum
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If we see the entire scene
then this is a relatively distanced third person.
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mary rosenblum
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If we only see what the POV
character sees, then this is a very limited third.
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mary rosenblum
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If you take our article on
lizard mating...
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mary rosenblum
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this is also third person but
we're not trying to convey anybody's personal thoughts here!
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mary rosenblum
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We're just describing lizard
behavior...characterization is not going to play any role in this piece.
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tory
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So deep third and limited third
refer to the same thing?
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mary rosenblum
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Yes. Limited third is the term
everybody...pretty much...agrees on.
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mary rosenblum
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It means that you are
'limited' to what the POV character knows, hears, sees, tastes, smells,
feels.
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mary rosenblum
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It seems confusing when we
take it out of the story and dissect it like this...
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mary rosenblum
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but you're already doing it on
the page. :-)
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mary rosenblum
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One way to 'check' your POV...
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mary rosenblum
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is to read your scene.
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mary rosenblum
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Ask yourself where someone has
to stand in order to see everything you describe in the scene.
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speckledorf
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The OSC book goes in to deep
third and shows some really great examples. Makes it easy to understand.
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mary rosenblum
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Yes. He does a good job of
making it clear.
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mary rosenblum
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I really recommend that book.
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mary rosenblum
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Character
and viewpoint
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mary rosenblum
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That's the link to the
amazon.com page for the book
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mary rosenblum
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He was writing it when I
worked with him and I have a set of page proofs of it.
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carla
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thank you Mary ... night A/all
needs be up at 5 to drive for first interview assigned
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mary rosenblum
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Good luck on your interview,
Carla.
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mary rosenblum
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Is this for an assignment or
an article?
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info
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OSC is Orson Scott Card, right?
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mary rosenblum
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Sorry, yes.
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mary rosenblum
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Mastering really limited POV
will give your characters much greater depth...
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mary rosenblum
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since it will allow readers to
share the story with that character.
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mary rosenblum
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It is one of your strongest
characterization tools.
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mary rosenblum
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You can, of course, share a
lot with the reader in first person...
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mary rosenblum
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but the limitation there is
that the first person character is always telling the reader...
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mary rosenblum
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so the reader never really
merges with that character as can happen in limited third.
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janecj333
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can you give us a short laundry
list of pov no-no's that editors will dock you for, especially in a novel?
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mary rosenblum
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I don't really think there is
any technique that will get you 'docked' jane, except for using second
person (you)!
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mary rosenblum
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The technique has to work in
that particular story.
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mary rosenblum
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And if it does, it's fine.
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mary rosenblum
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If it does not...THAT will
cost you.
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mary rosenblum
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Not the technique itself but
the fact that the story suffered because of it.
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tory
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In novel length, if you shift
from one POV to another, but the time doesn't change, should you still
leave extra space and mark it?
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mary rosenblum
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It is difficult to shift from
one POV into another within the same time and place without losing readers.
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mary rosenblum
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That skipped line is
problematic...
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mary rosenblum
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because readers may think the
time or place have changed.
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mary rosenblum
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If you must do that shift, try
to use the new POV's name right away so the reader gets a heads up.
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mary rosenblum
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Say we've been in Sue's POV up
until now.
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mary rosenblum
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And you decide to shift into
Brent's POV.
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mary rosenblum
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THis is how I would start.
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mary rosenblum
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Brent turned and looked at the
grandfather clock in the corner. Only ten minutes? It seemed as if he'd
been here an hour.
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mary rosenblum
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At least, by using Brent's
name first in the sentence, the reader gets a tap on the shoulder '(Hey,
buddy, the POV has changed)
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tory
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I tried once to add some
suspense by saying: She didn't know her life would turn 180 degrees that
night. They didn't like that! Author's POV, not characters.
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mary rosenblum
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Yep.
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tory
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In your Brent/Sue ex. You woul
not leave extra space then?
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mary rosenblum
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I probably would not. I have
done the inscene switch in novels where I needed to shift POV and didn't
want a four page chapter!
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mary rosenblum
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I do something like I did with
the Brent/sue example.
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mary rosenblum
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A skipped line is even more
obtrusive.
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mary rosenblum
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Most readers make the switch.
The ones that dont' grumble about it at the next book signing, sigh.
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mary rosenblum
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Readers DO tell you what does
not work. How did you think I foiund out anyway? LOL
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janecj333
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I have seen authors tell a scene
from one pov, and then retell the same event immediately after in a second
pov. The repeat slows the action too much for me.
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mary rosenblum
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Yeah, it's a cool device, but
like you, I always find that it slows the story too much.
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mary rosenblum
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I'd like to find a way to make
that work though.
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janecj333
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A novel with multiple pov where
the mc is in the first scene, but then disappears for several scenes while
we meet other pov characters, might be a problem for editors, am I right?
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mary rosenblum
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I could be a problem for
readers, Jane, if they don't realize your MC is the MC.
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mary rosenblum
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It can work if you have either
dual MCs or a very strong secondary...
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mary rosenblum
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so that the MC gradually takes
over the story from the secondary or the other MC
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ltsonya
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so if you have several POV
characters, how would you go about showing that this particular one is the
MC?
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mary rosenblum
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YOur MC is the person with the
'most on the table'.
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mary rosenblum
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This is the person who will be
affected most by the story.
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mary rosenblum
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When I started out, I
published several stories that had a different character as MC in the first
draft...
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mary rosenblum
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and only later realized that
it was THIS character's story.
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mary rosenblum
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I never would have published
them with the original MC.
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mary rosenblum
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Your MC has the most at stake
and is most involved with what is going on.
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telcontar
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what about a novel about an
entire family during a war.... with the POV resting on each of the people
at some point in the book. There isn't really an MC. It's about the war and
how it affects the family
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mary rosenblum
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You put your finger on it,
tel...
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mary rosenblum
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the family and the war is the
MC in effect...in other words this is a plot/setting driven story...
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mary rosenblum
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and the characters support it.
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geezer
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Hoa about introducing characters
in suceeding chapters and not getting back to MC until the 4th one?
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mary rosenblum
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Well, that's a long gap right
off the bat, geeze.
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mary rosenblum
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I'd try to get back to your MC
sooner than that.
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megger
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You could retell a scene from
another POV in a dream - you could really show some creativity.
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mary rosenblum
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It should be doable. I
actually did it in two different stories. :-)
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mary rosenblum
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The same scene occurs in
both...one as an actual scene, in the other story, it's the MC's memory.
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mary rosenblum
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A bunch of fans DID make the
connection. That was my little hidden reader cookie for attentive readers.
It was fun.
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mary rosenblum
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Well, this has been a fun
Oregon hour...
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mary rosenblum
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and our storm has not yet hit.
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mary rosenblum
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Do join us on Sunday for our
casual chat...
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mary rosenblum
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same time as this..but we just
talk about whatever.
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mary rosenblum
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I'll see you all then!
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mary rosenblum
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And I'll post the transcript
in the usual place.
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mary rosenblum
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Writing Craft: Forum
Transcripts.
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