Me, He, You, We. WHAT? #Writer's Tool

I know I should be a little bit more obvious in my post titles, anyway, this is about viewpoint and narration (but if you found this here; #Writer's Tools then I'm guessing you already knew that)



Before pen touches paper or fingers to keys, you need to decide and be really clear on who's telling the story and what type of narrator (1st, 2nd, 3rd) you're going to be using. Although you might not think it at first, I certainly never, but viewpoint writing takes a lot of skill and time to be able to master it, and I'll tell you why, because you have to be consistent while weaving the story, if you're break it once, even the slightest knock.

Because I want to use an analogy--think of writing fiction as if you were crafting the shell of an egg for something glorious to hatch (fiction), now if you knock it just a little bit you can smash the shell and it has that kind of ripple effect and all that does is ruin the shell (the finished piece).

So we know that we mustn't knock the thin shells of viewpoint writing, and what better way to be assured than to remind yourself about pronouns -- Repeat Me Instead!. A little recap about your choice of narrator, 1st person is 'I', and is used to give a piece of fiction a more personal feel. 2nd person is 'You', and it is very rare that you will come across something as many people can barely keep it up, it is very stylistic. 3rd person is 'He' / 'She', and is used for both detached and personal story telling.

Choosing your viewpoint character. So you'll have a list of people, you might have even come up with the story centered around that character, which is even better. However, if you are stuck, ask yourself which character is more compelling, who offers the better perspective to your piece of fiction.



Some signs you should look out for:



Switching Narrators

I know that multiple narrators and viewpoints can be used to the advantage of the reader of knowing all sides of a story etc. but what I'm addressing here is switching narrators in the middle of a paragraph or middle of a scene, they should be easy enough to spot. I recommend not changing so frequently as it will only leave you with disgruntled readers. If you are changing narrators and viewpoints in your novel I strongly suggest doing it at a scene break or start of a new chapter.



Knowing Too Much

Characters shouldn't know something another character is knows, especially without being told it. One of the advantages of using the first person narrator 'I' is being inside your characters head, and not being inside anyone else, that is unless your character is telepathic.



Finding Their Voice

I have addressed characterization in a previous post (Three-Dimensions Please). And some extra points, if your readers don't feel strongly about your character, it doesn't matter if he's good or bad, but YOU the writer must care for that character, if you care then the reader will care--it's when they don't care that they'll stop reading.





Happy Writing & Happy Reading!I hope you enjoyed my blog post!

~Joseph Eastwood