Point of View Tips for the Fiction Writer

Last night I was working with my critique group and they stunned me with some of the errors they found still hidden within my novel, “Born to be Brothers.” Two, (count ‘em), of those errors were in Point of View, or as its know, POV. With last night’s lesson clear in my mind, I thought today’s post should encompass that great bugaboo, Point of View.

Let’s first try to understand what POV is. In a sound bite, it’s who is telling the story. Is a single character narrating what is going on, or are a number, or even all the characters, telling the reader what is happening? POV is nothing more than the writer’s method of determining which character is presenting the narrative.

See, it’s not all that mysterious.

As to the types of POV, there are four perspectives for telling your story, though some say there are five. Regardless, my focus will be with the three most common, and then primarily upon the Third Person, as it is the most common in fiction.

Know that each POV has its advantages, disadvantages and typical uses.

They three major types, with primary subdivisions are:

• First Person POV
• Second Person POV
• Third Person POV
o Limited
o Omniscient
o Objective

Keep in mind when you write, you’ll settle into the one or two POV’s that serves your storytelling and writing style. In fiction, the primary POV is Third Person.

Let’s define these POV’s.

• First Person POV

First Person POV has the writer, or narrator, personally telling the story. In effect, the narrator is speaking to his readers about what is transpiring and it can be told in either present or past POV. It is most often used when one is authoring a book about ones’ personal experiences or opinions. You’ll see the writer using the common pronouns of I, me, my, mine, we, our and ours. It can fit into fiction, but is widely used in memoirs.

An example sentence is:

As I looked at Jill, I knew she was upset.

• Second Person POV

Think of this as how to write an instruction manual and extensive use of the word, “you.” This POV is rarely used in fiction as it simply tells the reader what the characters are doing and what they see.

It is an awkward way to write with limited access to creativity. However, it does grab the reader’s attention. It can also exist in past and present forms.

An example sentence is:

You, Jill, will then purse your lips and furrow your brow.

• Third Person POV has three subtypes and we’ll discover each on its own.

o Third Person - Omniscient POV

Third Person Omniscient POV is having all the major characters in your novel telling the story.

What is nice about this POV is the freedom it affords. The author can tell the reader what everyone’s motivations are and what it is they are thinking. It allows the writer to give or withhold information at will.

The difficulties lie in lack of control and its potentially cumbersome nature. If you are not careful, by showing what inside every character’s head, the reader receives too much information and can become frustrated as your POV loses cohesion.

You overcome this issue by consistency in your POV and have only one person telling the story at a time. Also, eliminate any information that is not pertinent to the story. Have each chapter focus on one individual will help eliminate “head-hopping,” or jumping from one character’s POV to another within chapters.

Your example:

Jack wondered what Jill was thinking while Jill knew quite well what thoughts rattled around Jack’s mind. Bill was surprised by what Jill was thinking.

See how this can get out of hand?

o Third Person - Limited POV

Third Person Limited POV is perhaps the easiest to utilize and most popular when writing novels. Here the author writes from a single person’s vision throughout the entire book. In third person POV, you’ll see pronouns such as she, he, her, him, hers, his, it, its, they, them, theirs.

The disadvantages come with the writer’s limitation as to who sees what. The character telling the story cannot get into the head of another to read his thoughts. He can only surmise what the other guy is thinking by that person’s facial expression, actions and such. It’s also very easy to shift out of this POV.

Your example:

Jak understood Jill’s irritation, for her pursed lips and furrowed brow told him everything he needed to know.

o Third Person Objective POV

In this POV, the author only tells his readers what happens by way of action or dialogue. Their characters’ feelings or thoughts are never revealed. It’s not the most effective POV for fiction.

Your example is:

Jack watched Jill furrow her brow and pinch her face.

When it’s broken down into the types that fit your writing genre, it doesn’t seem quite so overwhelming, does it?

The secret to POV is to learn what type works well for your writing style and the types of stories you tell. These factors will drive your POV. Focus on the one or two you need and let the rest go for now.

I hope this has helped a bit, and I wish you only best-sellers.

C. Patrick Schulze

Believable Characters

I’ve heard there are only a dozen or so stories to write and believe it’s true. You know what I mean, boy meets girl, boy wins girl, boy looses girl, that sort of thing. The ability to retell this limited number of storylines is derived by creating imaginative setting and characters.

So, how is it we create these elusive, yet all-important, characters?

As authors, we’ve all heard the old saw our reader must “identify” with our characters for our stories to fly and our books to fly off the shelves. Yet, despite this sage advice, all this identifying is so very difficult to achieve.

Or is it? Not so much as you might think.

Consider those you appreciate in life. What is it about them that calls to you, makes them interesting or likeable? Now, armed with those thoughts, can you guess what traits your characters require? Yep, those very same characteristic that resonate with you will probably do so with your readers. Personally, I’ve often gravitated to those who color outside the lines, just enough, and my best characters always seem to be those who are a tad irreverent.

Do your friends have a dark side, a weakness, a hidden strength, a freakish mannerism? What is their failing in life? What type of emotions do they possess and what brings those to the fore? What challenges them or excites them?

Once you’ve determined what makes your friends tick, by translating their idiosyncrasies to the page, you’ve got credible characters. They’re believable because they are real.

A cute trick I often use is to mix personalities to create a whole new person. In my newest manuscript, I’ve created a single character with the cross-pollinated personalities of all my siblings. He sort of the priest-who-murders-for-fun type. (Yeah, I did have an interesting childhood…)

You now have all the fundamental tools needed for effective characterization. However, there are a few tricks you can use to enhance your readers’ enjoyment.

Find that universal human experience and put them in it. For example, how do people feel when they lose a love? How about losing a child? (God forbid!) Use this sort of situation to bring their true inner being to life.

Face them with a timeless truth. Is every boss kind and generous? Not a chance! Have them face this type of conflict.

Give him a life-sustaining mantra and kick him in the teeth with it. “Always say something nice or don’t say nothing at all,” is an easy one. Put your character in a situation where there is nothing nice to say. It’s the old fish-out-of-water trick and it’s real effective.

Let your character become a better person. Personal growth is always accepted by your audience and, in fact, necessary for a good story. Let your protagonists learn and people will identify.

Read my previous post for more clues to effective characters.

There are a thousand ways to improve your characterizations, but this is a good start. Take it to heart and you’ll be a better writer for it.

Until my next post, may all your books be best sellers.

C. Patrick Schulze

Word Count Parameters

There’s a long list of diatribes as to the length of various types of writing, and everyone seems to disagree with everyone else. What’s a writer to do?

The reality is, people don’t read what YOU want, they read what THEY want. A second grader won’t read a two hundred thousand word tome, and there is nothing you can do about it. If you’re writing romance, nobody will pick up your thirty-seven page booklet. Ain’t gonna happen, bucko!

If you work is too long for your market, it probably needs to broken into two books and you’ve got a ton of unnecessary words. Yes, there are exceptions, but get over it, you are not The One. If it’s too short in length, you probably don’t have a story hidden in there. The lesson is, of course, writing to your market. What will they buy? Write that.

Now, what is the correct length for each type of genre? As mentioned, there is a wide range of answers but according to The Guide to Literary Agents, here are you limits.

Adult novels :

80,000 to 90,000 words is your word count.
110,000 is your upper limit.
70,000 is your lower limit.

Sci-Fi and Fantasy

100,000 to 115,000 is your target word count.
125,000 is your upper limit.
90,000 is your lower limit.

Middle Grade

Upper middle grade or “tweens”,

32,000 – 40,000 is your target word count.

Lower middle grade

20,000 to 30,000 is your target word count.

The Guide did not offer upper and lower limits in these categories so stay within these bounds.

YA (Young Adult)

55,000 – 69,000 is your target word count.
80,000 is your upper limit.
47,000 is your lower limit.

Remember, agents receive thousands of manuscripts a year, but only need a few dozen. They are looking for a reason to say, “No.” Don’t give them that reason. Color within the lines until after you have sold those million copies.

Best of luck.

C. Patrick Schulze
Author of "Born to be Brothers"

Twitter.com/CPatrickSchulze

Hikin' Time!

Katy and I are filling up the ol' backpack to hike our rear ends off on the Spottsylvania Battlefield. Great fun is to be had by the whole two of us.

Also, the trip is tax deductible as I write historical fiction! Woo-hoo!

Long Road to Success

I've been doing a bit of research on what else it takes to become a successful author, besides writing novels. In my reading I ran across an idea that made perfect sense to me. This concept is to read widely in your genre. Granted, a simple idea, but one that managed to escape me heretofore.

In that vein, I did something today I haven't done in some 40 or more years. I joined the library and actually checked out a book!

Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks?

In Need of a Good Agent

Started looking for a new agent today. Way lot of things to consider! Do they accept your type of work? Do they have a track record of substance? If not, what sort of promise do they hold? Are they looking for new authors? What type of books have they sold and do those sales represent your work? Seems like more time on this than the manuscript. I will forge ahead, however, and slay this beast!

BookBuzzer

I Just found a new twitter and web site I like. It looks good for writers and authors. Check it out.

http://twitter.com/BookBuzzr

The Supreme Ordeal

Good day, Writers,

We are continuing with our explanation of The Hero’s Journey as a method of storytelling.

Today we’ll discuss The Supreme Ordeal, which should be the most exciting part of your story for your hero and your reader. It is where the hero faces that most difficult of tasks around which your story revolves. Here he meets the great beast and slays it. Your readers should not be able to set your book aside until this section of your novel is complete, after which they should sit back, take a deep breath and scream, “Wow!” (And then tell everyone they know!)

This beast need not be a creature with horns and blood-soaked fur. Neither need it be an alien with thrashing tentacles and/or menacing, retractable teeth. (Although we all know those creatures work quite well.) The beast can be anything that causes your hero extreme fear.

Could an honorable man who loves his family be the beast? You bet! He can be If he dies leaving his family penniless and hungry. (And as long that situation has the same fear for your readers!) Can a loving daughter who goes away to university be the beast? Sure, if her mother is left alone in the world. So, don’t think of your hero only as a muscle bound warrior that crushes some mythological creature from the underworld. The beast is anything that is supremely fearsome to your hero and, more importantly, your readers.

Now that we know what The Supreme Ordeal needs to be, what is its purpose? First and foremost in my mind, The Supreme Ordeal changes your hero. It takes the flawed person he was and transforms him to the person he needs to be.

For example, we’ll again call on Luke of Star Wars to enlighten us. Where in that story did Luke experience his supreme ordeal? It is when he rescues Princess Leia.

How did all the excitement involved with rescuing her change Luke? He went from an orphaned farmer to a masterful Jedi. Pretty serious change, don’t you think?

Why else might you, as a storyteller, need an effective ordeal for your hero? One of the most important aspects is to engage your reader. Have you ever stopped watching a movie or set down a book and never finished it? Why would you do that? Because, for whatever reason, you were not engaged with the story or the hero. The instant your reader decides not to continue with your novel, you’ll lose your word of mouth advertising - your buzz. Your novel will almost never go viral with poor buzz.

Are there other goals to accomplish with The Supreme Ordeal? Of course. It can’t be that simple, now can it?

As a writer, you need to give your audience a feeling of exhilaration upon conclusion of The Supreme Ordeal. They’ve come accustomed to that feeling and are expectant of it. They want to think he will not succeed, in fact, may even die! They want your hero to slip and fall. They want him to get up, too, but first, they need to be convinced he will fail. That emotion is what they want, and you must give it to them. If you do not engage your audience emotionally, your buzz, and your book, are dead in the water. An old maxim in business, (and you are in the business of writing), is to give them what they want to buy. I recommend you do just that.

In my next post, we’ll discuss what happens after your hero survives. That part of the story is called, “The Reward.” Until then, good writing.

Patrick
Author of Born to be Brothers
CPatrickSchulze.blogspot.com
Twitter.com/CPatrickSchulze

The Approach

Good day, Writers,

We’ve traveled quite a way toward our goal of learning how to utilize The Hero’s Journey to craft your manuscript. In this posting, we’re going to see how The Approach plays into your story.

The Approach is the part of your manuscript where your hero prepares whatever it is he must do to come to the entrance of the greatest danger he will face. It is here your hero must ready himself to face his primeval fear. He is about to “disappear” into the Belly of the Beast and must be ready or he will surely die. During The Approach is when he defeats the lesser villains and readies himself for the Big Enchilada!

It ends when he stands on the precipice into which he must descend to locate and take hold of the item of his quest. Classical representations of the end of The Approach, as you might imagine, are the mouth of caves, dungeon doors, and the like. Wherever it is, it’s ominous!

Keep in mind your hero need not approach a place. It can be a mental state or even something as innocuous as a party. It’s simply anything that causes ultimate anguish for your hero. However, your reader must be convinced your hero will surely die. (At least figuratively.) Without this ultimate danger, the next step in your story won’t fly.

The Approach is another interesting part of your novel and may be approached, if you will, from a number of different prospective. Here you can work in some appropriate humor, for example. Have you ever heard of people laughing before battle? It’s just another way to handle one’s nervousness. You might even work in some romance, if you’d like. We’ve all heard the line, “We may not survive!” This is usually spoken by the man as he readies for battle or in another form by a character before the meteor strikes. Regardless, it’s a fun part of writing with endless possibilities.

In our example of Luke in Star Wars, A New Hope, can you envision a scene where Luke was on the precipice of some unholy situation? How about when he and his compatriots fret as the trash masher’s walls close in on them? (Being crushed into goo is, by law, a primeval fear which causes ultimate anguish.) Of course, your hero needs to escape and rescue the princess, as literally happens in A New Hope.

Okay, Writers, if you’ve been following along, your novel is at the point where the world is about to explode. Getting exciting, isn’t it?

My next posting will cover the following step your hero obviously must take – The Supreme Ordeal! (This is gonna’ be fun!)

Till then, good writing.

Patrick

C. Patrick Schulze

Twitter.com/CPatrickSchulze

Author of “Born to be Brothers”

Tests, Allies and Enemies

Good day, All,

We’re working toward telling our novel’s storyline by way of The Hero’s Journey, a formula for storytelling that has survived the millennia. In our case, we’re following Luke of Star Wars fame. We’ve followed him through his Ordinary World, watched as he receives his Call to Adventure and shook our heads when he made excuses to Refuse the Call. After that, he Met his Mentor then Crossed the Threshold to his new adventure.

The next section, Tests, Allies and Enemies, is one of the most intricate to develop and one of the most critical to your story. It can also be the longest. Here is where you flesh out your character and where he transforms to the true hero he needs to become. It shows your reader his true inner strength. However, it must be done in a way that keeps your reader connected with him. If your hero shows personality traits your readers dislike, they close the book. Here we also give the reader the exciting part of the story, those things that test your hero. This part of your novel also introduces more of those people, creatures and situations that assist your hero in completing his quest.

Okay, here are a few tips for writing this part of your story. First, consider the Rule of Threes. (“Huh?” You say.) As in so many things in life, threes work well with readers. By this I mean the story will do well to have the hero face three major tests, find three important allies and encounter three premier enemies. The Rule of Threes need not be followed, but it is a great concept if you’re new to storytelling. I don’t know why, but threes do seem to work.

Another hint is to have your hero encounter a simple test or two early on so he can grow into his new, more dramatic self in realistic fashion. You don’t want someone with a fear of heights to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel in chapter two. He has yet to build the necessary courage and knowledge. Instead, maybe he climbs a tree and freezes half way to the top. He falls and survives, thus learning a valuable lesson he needs to go over the falls. That’s the sort of thing I mean for your readers will not believe he goes over on purpose without first accumulating a bit of knowledge. Your reader also needs to know who your hero will react to various situations. If he fell over Niagara Falls right away, he’s going down screaming like a little girl, yet maybe only a yelp escapes him as he falls out of the tree. By the time he goes over Niagara, he’s able to hold his tongue and only moan a bit. Smaller tests help him to learn how to grow into the larger, more sinister tests.

A third tip, and a classic tip, is to use the seedy bar or nightclub as the setting. Of course, you can use any setting, but like the Rule of Threes, this seems to work. In my second book, “Pretty Boy and the Bugler” I used a saloon and it worked out quite well.

My fourth and final tip is to consider having the hero falter as he faces his initial tests. Again, this isn’t necessary but can lead to more excitement. If he does waver, how might he overcome? Ah, it’s good to have allies!

Okay, let’s take our regular look at Luke as he meets his Tests, Allies and Enemies.

Review the third tip above and you’ll see a seedy bar is a good place to begin. Well, remember the famous bar scene in Star Wars, A New Hope? What happened there? Luke confronted enemies, (the storm troopers, the creature who wanted to fight him), was tested, (he didn’t step down from the fight even though he would’ve lost), and he met two major allies, (Han and Chewbacca).

So, there you have it, Tests, Allies and Enemies. It was an interesting scene, wasn’t it? In fact, it was so interesting, it’s now classic of its own right. That is how important Tests, Allies and Enemies can be.

Keep in mind there may be more, many more, of these people and events in your story. For example, does Luke meet other allies? Sure he does. How about Yoda and the guy in charge of the cloud mining operation, (I don’t remember his name.). Does he meet other enemies? You betcha! He even meets someone who presents himself as an ally, (the cloud city guy), turns out to be an enemy, (he turns the band over to the Darth Vader), and an ally again. This guy even ends up a Rebellion general! Whew… what a roller coaster ride he is! By the way, this type of character is called a Shape-Shifter – something we’ll get into later.

Don’t think of this part of your story as done with a single scene for there should be many to build the excitement for your readers. Does Luke face other tests? How about the fight with Vader? He had a million tests as the story progresses. Does he meet other allies? Yoda is a perfect example. And talk about learning and growing! Yoda makes the guy hump around the planet with the Jedi on his back! It goes on and on.

So there you have it, Tests, Allies and Enemies. Make ‘em real, make ‘em scary and make a lot of ‘em.

Until we get together again, good writing.

Patrick

Twitter.com/CPatrickSchulze

Author of: Born to be Brothers

Crossing the Threshold

Good day, Writers,

We’re learning how to write a novel by way of The Hero’s Journey, a classic “formula” for storytelling. We are using the original Stars Wars as our model and have seen Luke’s Ordinary World, watched him receive his Call to Adventure, saw him Refuse the Call and then he met, Obi Wan, his Mentor. Now Luke must face Crossing the Threshold.

Crossing the Threshold is an exciting time in your novel for it is here your hero leaves the world he has known and begins his epic quest. In the case of Star Wars, when does Luke cross his threshold? It’s when he returns after meeting with Obi Wan and finds his Aunt and Uncle killed by Federation troopers. In this scene, his very way of life is no more and choices must be made. He decides to become a Jedi. Why does he do that? Because it must happen to move the story foward.

Let’s evaluate this scene, shall we? Three things have happened here. The character is placed in a position where he must make some sort of decision, his only real option is to answer the earlier Call to Adventure and, finally, he made the correct choice by becoming a Jedi.

Looking at each of these stages of Crossing the Threshold, we find Luke’s entire life is gone and is given no choice but to decide something. Did he have other options? Sure. He could have simply gone to a friend’s home and taken a nap. He could have committed suicide. He could have become a hermit and spent his life fighting off sand people. There was any number of decisions available to him. However, had he not taken the choice he did, what would have happened to the story?

Next, Luke had to have not only a reason, but the reason, to take this very specific route. (Ah, motivation!) Why didn’t he take that nap? Why did Luke decide upon the Jedi route? Basically, the authors insured he had no other option. They forced this decision by developing the character to desire military training, having him meet Obi Wan and so on. The author’s made sure the right decision was the logical step to take.

Finally, Luke saw no other option than to make the very specific decision to become a Jedi.

So, how do we apply this to your novel?

You follow the same outline. You should put your hero in a position where he must make a decision. How do you do that? By destroying, metaphorically speaking, his Ordinary World. In A New Hope, that literally happens. It is not required you be quite so destructive, but in some way, your hero must face this traumatic crossroads. If he never faces this juncture, why would he ever leave on his journey?

Your hero must have motivation to take the route you wish him to take. In The New Hope Luke decides he must punish those responsible. Imagine if, instead of becoming a Jedi, Luke becomes an alcoholic. You can see how without the correct motivation, the story falls apart. So, too, your hero must receive the motivation to take the very specific action you want him to take.

Finally, your hero must take the correct action or, again, the story fails. What if your hero’s family is killed by a murderer and the hero decides to kill his aunts and uncles in retaliation? This decision makes no sense. His motivations must logically presage his actions.

He must face the problem, have the correct motivations for the particular action you wish him to take, and he must formally take the proper action. Without these three aspects, properly presented, you’ve cheated your readers and probably doomed your novel.

There you have it, Crossing the Threshold.

Until my next post, good writing.

Patrick

Twitter.com/CPatrickSchulze

Author of Born to be Brother

Meeting the Mentor

Okay, guys, here we are again with a new post on how to tell your story by way of a novel. Today we’re discussing the next step in your literary journey, Meeting the Mentor. If you recall in my last posting on this subject, I asked you to try and determine when it was that Luke Skywalker met this character.

I think it is obvious Luke’s mentor is Obi Wan Kanobi, his uncle if memory serves. Luke meets Obi Wan when he saves the young boy from an attack by the sand people. Soon after Obi Wan reviews the message from Princess Leia, he starts talking to Luke about “The Force.”

Okay, again the question rises, “So what?” Why does our hero need to connect with a mentor? Can’t he just go on his journey and get things done? He could, but how much of your novel will be needed to “teach” your hero what he needs to know? The Mentor speeds this process by offering your hero information he cannot get on his own. The Mentor provides knowledge, motivation and training.

One of the first things Obi Wan gives Luke is knowledge of The Force. (How important is this bit of information to the story?) You simply don’t have the word count available to give your hero all the knowledge he requires if he is forced to learn it on his own. It must come in quick bursts. Thus the need for a mentor arises.

How about training for Luke? It was Obi Wan who introduces Yoda to Luke. Although your story does not need formal training as we see in this story, but some sort of enlightenment for your hero is required. If you remember, our hero has already refused the Call to Adventure and needs someone to move his along his path. He needs inspiration and this, too, is the job of your mentor.

In general, your mentor arrives early but can arrive later if it fits your storyline. Can your hero have more than one mentor? Sure, Like had Obi Wan and Yoda, for example. We’ll discuss more about additional mentors, called “allies” in a later posting.

So, here we are. We’ve our hero in his Ordinary World which is disrupted by the Call to Adventure. His normal response is a Refusal of the Call, but then he Meets The Mentor and everything is about to change.

What do you think must happen next in your story? He must take the first step on his adventure by Crossing the Threshold!

When does Luke Cross his Threshold?

Until my next posting, good writing.

Patrick