 Fantasy: October 04, 2023 Issue [#12206] |
This week: Picking the Character in the Moment POV Edited by: Dawn Embers  
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Fantasy Newsletter by Dawn
A newsletter inspired by romance novels with dual or more viewpoints with divided scenes or chapters. Whether in first or third person, there are decisions to be made when it comes to point of view. |
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When it comes to writing a story, often the characters are a major part. Hard to have a story without characters. And for most of us, there are going to be more than one character in the story (I would assume). However, it's not always easy deciding which of these characters is going to be the point of view one.
In romance type novels, it's very common to tell the story from two characters point of view. They are separated by chapters with the name of the focus character at the start of each chapter. At times, they will switch in a chapter but there should always be an indication when there is a change. This works for both first person and third person.
Sometimes, there will be more than two, even if one is minimal compared to the other two. One that involved three was an action romance, so the villain also had a little point of view time. It worked for showing a particular element and giving the motive for an action. Other times, it's going to be a smaller character, someone on the side or even an animal. There are options when it comes to speculative fiction. The story has different angles and views that a reader might want to know.
How do you decide which character to use?
It's not always an easy answer. Okay, in romance it can be easy. Most of the time, it's the two characters that are falling in love with each other. Not always strict to that but it's a rather common situation. However, when it's a minor subplot, working with genres and big plots, there are many different scenes that will require this decision.
There are some particular factors that can be taken into consideration. What is happening in the scene? Is there a particular character who has more of a stake in the moment? Do we need to know some internal thoughts?
Also, there are some aspected to consider when writing that might be better to avoid. Are you jumping in the middle of the scene between different characters? Will a reader know who is the point of view character? Yes, I've had some times reading on my phone where I've had to go back in order to figure out which point of view I happened to be in because voice is difficult when switching. It's a challenge to pick the right moment and the right character for each one.
First drafts are great because you have the chance to try different characters. If you're not sure... write the same scene more than once. Test out a different character and get a feel of the situation from their viewpoint. It can help whether you keep that scene or not. It can help even if a reader never sees anything from that character. First drafts let you be messy. From there, after some time away, you can decide in the rewrite which one feels more natural or when you need to make a change. Take it a step at a time. And keep writing.
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How do you pick the point of view character in a scene?
Last time, for fantasy newsletter, I discussed ideas in general. In particular, the question came up with how to pick one idea out of many or in finding an idea. Here are a couple of comments from that topic:
Comment by BIG BAD WOLF is Howling 
Sometimes an idea keeps yelling "Pick Me!" Then, you look at it, and it says, "Please?" Then you think about it, and go, "Alright. I'll put you in."
Comment by Osirantinous 
Interesting question - how do you decide which story to write? I don't, I just write what comes to me. I don't pick and choose. I've written 2K words based on a dream I had the other night, and I'm going to write some more later this evening. I'm not likely to finish it and I really have no idea where it started or where it's going but I'll write it as long as it sits with me. On a good writing day I can write 7K words on one story or 5k each on three different stories. I'm not pushing myself to finish anything and so I just enjoy keeping up with my varied characters and their stories - even as I'm also trying to push myself to finish and publish book 3 of my series.
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