Thursday, May 20, 2010

Point of View

Leaping into the new story!  I made a false start (and likely the not so false start will still not be the beginning), but I'm making progress.  Words are flowing, my fingers are tapping out plotlines, and even though I have direction and plot, often characters take over and take you where they want to go.  My heroine has a very strong voice - and she's argumentative and angry.  This leads to problems with my hero.  There is a lot I need to disclose about my heroine, considering she isn't your average, everyday human type person, but "The Rules" dictate that you need to bring the H/H together early on in the story.  I have a lot of backstory to write, legends to build, worlds to create.  Where will I find time to bring in my all-too-human hero?

So I asked one my writing buddies her opinion.  Do I write parallel storylines that will converge at a later date?  And she brought up a POV question in what she's currently working on, which addressed my next question as well. 

I have a goal to write a story completely in one point of view.  Like Victoria Holt, one of my first influences.  Maybe that's old fashioned, although I just read a novel recently that was all one POV.  My school of thought on that is that you should be able to include the nuances from that POV that can still show the reader what your main character might be missing.  Not that your POV character is stupid, they're merely overlooking the obvious that you, as a reader, can infer on their behalf.  (This likely won't be that story.)  To me, it is the hallmark of a good writer.  My writing buddy maintains that most stories these days are written from two points of view - readers prefer to  be able to see inside both minds for the ultimate reconciliation of the opposing understandings of the characters.  Anyone care to offer their opinions on the matter?

In the meantime, having gotten off to a (what I believe to be) good start with my latest, I believe I've found a way to bring my H/H together in Chapter #2.  The more important question going forward will be if Chapter #1 is compelling enough to open with - and that won't be determined until several chapters from now, after the flow has gone from a trickle to a stream to a raging river.

The other consideration I've been contemplating is title.  Since it is still developing, I'm taking the obvious roads with "Oneida" or "The Legend People," but ultimately, I'd prefer something a little more provocative with some use of "Legend" that will also highlight the focus of the novel as being something a little out of the ordinary.  I'd also considered "The Great Gathering" but I don't think that discloses enough.  Maybe "The Gathering Legend."  Yeah, well, titles can wait for that raging river, too, when themes become clearer and brighter.

Yep, rambling.  Part of that due to the fact I'm sick today and need a nap.  Isn't it funny that some of our most creative writing happens when we aren't in an altogether clear frame of mind? (yes, rambling again.)

Going for that nap now.  Maybe in my fever induced haze I'll imagine other brilliant plot lines or titles that can translate into a colorful story . . .

night night

1 comment:

  1. I thing POV can boil down to your story, but there's also the sticky bit about reader expectation, and they're the ones buying the books. If you don't give them what they want, it can be dicey.

    A lot depends on the story. A single POV requires that character be on the page in every scene. If a lot of critical action takes place elsewhere, you have to get creative in how you reveal it. Also -- if you're writing deep POV as opposed to distant or omniscient, you'll have more trouble with a single POV character.

    LOTS of mysteries are single POV books. Some have a dozen POV characters. There aren't rules, just conventions. Nobody said this was easy.

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