ArgyBhaji's picture
ArgyBhaji from Londonville is reading Blood Child July 30, 2013 - 12:18pm

Hi all,

I find writing in point of view difficult. Just when I think I have it it seems like it has slipped away. Does anyone have any tips for keep in view point.

Like if you are writing from your characters POV how do you describe them as they already know what they look like, right?

Also how many POVs do you have in one chapter  if you have a multi cast story?

 

Argy

ReneeAPickup's picture
Class Facilitator
ReneeAPickup from Southern California is reading Wanderers by Chuck Wendig July 30, 2013 - 2:39pm

You have trouble in which POV? You mean first person?

Usually I only have one POV per chapter, I find it keeps things more streamlined. Though, technically you can change between scenes. Switching to different characters in a first person POV is really difficult to pull of easily.

 

 

Tim Johnson's picture
Tim Johnson from Rockville, MD is reading Notes From a Necrophobe by T.C. Armstrong July 31, 2013 - 9:21am

POV is a tricky thing to nail down. Sometimes a thought will occur to you, but it won't quite fit in naturally with the POV that you're working in. In those instances, you have three choices: 1). Rethink your idea so it fits with your established POV, 2). change the POV of your story or chapter so that idea works, or 3). find another way to convey that idea. If you're working in first person, for example, and you think, "this other character is probably thinking he'd like to sock my main character in the eye right about now, but my main character can't know that, hmmmm...." try to figure out a way to suggest it through that other character's actions, the things your main character can know.

Sometimes, suggestion can be more powerful for the reader than giving them access to every character's head, which is a POV. It's called third person omniscient, and I sometimes go with it. Even then, though, I sometimes find it more interesting to deny the reader knowing certain things and, instead, suggest those ideas.

Unfortunately, I don't know that there are any tips for maintaining consistency, which is the key. Just keep plodding along, and edit your work. Look specifically for places where you drop your POV. Most times, those are easy fixes. In time, you'll realize you're maintaining your POV without really even thinking about it.

As for describing your character when in first person? Personally, I don't put a lot of stock into a character's physical description, unless it gives you an indication of what kind of person he or she is. For instance, if a character is fat and I want to suggest he's a slob, I might spend a sentence or phrase on it. In most cases, though, I feel like, as long as I have a clear idea of what a person looks like, that comes through with cues in the story that I will naturally drop. I like to leave room for readers to fill in physical descriptions with their own imaginations. That isn't to say I think you should neglect it. I just don't think it should be a main concern. Far too many writers devote hundreds of words to describing characters in detail, and as a reader, I find most of it to be useless.

Basically, I believe that if you get across to a reader who a character is, most of what they look like will come through.

That said, the absolute worst thing you can do is either literally or figuratively put your character in front of a mirror. If you feel compelled to relate a main character's physical description while in first person, you can do it through action. For example, instead of telling me a woman has long hair, write that she brushed her hair out of her eyes or over her shoulders. Instead of telling me a guy is fat, write that he has trouble getting a seatbelt over his belly.

I suggest you read this essay on craft by Craig Clevenger. The part I really dug is under the "When Details Collide" subhead. He shows a cool exercise for getting down your physical description and then revising it to get across the critical details and suggest the non-essential details in an interesting, skillful way.

ArgyBhaji's picture
ArgyBhaji from Londonville is reading Blood Child July 31, 2013 - 11:23am

Hi Renee and Tim

 

Thanks for that advice, its really helpful ! And I will give the essay a read too.

 

Argy (Marie)