Want a Tighter Point of View? Ditch the Filter Words in Your Novel

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

If you’re using filter words in your writing, you might be inadvertently shoving readers out of your story.

No matter who your narrator is—a tight first person or an omniscient third—readers see the novel through their eyes. Sometimes this filter is invisible and readers don't notice any narrative distance between them and the point of view character. Other times, the filters are obvious and readers feel the wall between them and the characters. One narrative style looks through the eyes of the point of view character, the other looks at the point of view character.

Readers (and writers) have a variety of tastes when it comes to narrative distance and point of view. Some readers want to be inside a character’s head and part of the action, and some prefer to sit outside the action and watch. Where you put your narrator affects how the novel reads, and filter words—or lack thereof—helps you position that narrator.
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com