But that's the problem, isn't it? There is no easy way to decide which point of view is the best one for a particular story. Wouldn't it be great if an author could say to himself, hmmmm, since this is a mystery, I'll write it in first person. Or, let's see, my mainstream family saga ought to be written in multiple points of view.
It doesn't work that way. At least, it hasn't for me.
And I have this story that I'm aching to write ... actually I've written it eight or ten times. In a number of points of view. And none has felt just right. You know, when you finish the manuscript, and you put the last punctuation mark after the last sentence, and you know in your heart that you got it right? Well, that hasn't happened for me. So over and over again I've set this story aside and have gone on to other things.
Until today. Today I believe I've solved the point of view problem ... finally. And now I'll begin a new edition of the book, writing the story from scratch, because I'm bringing in an entirely new character. He will tell the story, in his singular point of view. So in a way it will become a whole new story. One in which the main character is only spoken about in reminiscences by people who knew him, each with widely different opinions of the character.
Egad! Am I writing The Great Gatsby?
I'm in the revision stage of mine and have realized that I am all over the place with POV. I have to narrow my POV characters big time. Thanks for the post.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, E. Arroyo. POV has only been a chore for me on this one story. With so many characters involved in the story, I began with multiple POVs, but the main character seemed to get lost in all the POVs, and some readers told me they couldn't seem to get attached to any one character. I tried telling it in the MC's POV, but have a critical issue that makes it impossible to do so. I tried two POVs, and again, the MC got diluted. It was only after I'd finished another novel and wondered what project to work on next that I had this epiphany. The story needed an outsider, someone who could interact with all the characters. One issue about POV that put this project on the back burner so long is that I learned if a character has a POV, then he must also have a complete character arc.
ReplyDeleteHI Billie
ReplyDeleteI like this forum you have started, look forward to visiting from time to time. My main purpose for writing at the moment, is for academic essay. But I have a book or two in me as well!
Thanks for stopping by, Anonymous. I hope to some day read that book or two you mention. Drop by again, I have blogging fever these days and will be posting regularly.
ReplyDelete