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Header image by Ricardo Esquivel

For whatever reason--and step near any literature major, and you'll hear every possible one of them--scary, gory, and downright mean stuff is some of the most invigorating and dreadfully fun to read. You know from the jump that you are going to see some shit, alright! Crack the spine. Awake now, eh? Got your attention? Can you imagine for a while? You might regret it, 'cause there is no unknowing.

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Author photo by John Gress, used with permission.

So the main course of my trip to Portland was to interview Chuck Palahniuk for the release of Damned (tune in next week for that).  But the dessert was being invited to sit in on one of the most coveted writing groups in the country, if not the planet.  Yes, THAT writing group.  The one that has given us Chuck, Lidia Yuknavitch, Monica Drake, Chelsea Cain, etc… all published and polished authors who have the collective insight, experience, and divergent POVs to make any noob w

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Photo by hisks

When I sit down to write, several things can happen:

1) A brilliant idea I've been holding on to with a mental death grip slips away the moment I set my fingers on the keyboard, and I’m left wondering what was so great about the idea in the first place.

2) I furiously whip out five or six ideas that I have been cooking up, but they all come out unfinished, still soft in the middle.

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Given this is a column about writing craft, it’s inevitable that sooner or later we’re going to have to discuss point of view. At its core, P.O.V. is an issue of perspectives. The mode of narration you choose fundamentally alters how your story will be received.