Point of View

 

Copyright Glo Lewis 7/09/2023

 

Dear Readers of My Blog,💕

I am having some delays in getting the technical aspect of my blog up to speed with ads to make it affordable for me eventually and hopefully. However, with this post, I am moving forward, regardless.

Seniors’ Wealth of Wisdom:

Let me just say that as we age, most of us notice that the younger generations consider us irrelevant, which is disappointing and saddening, since many of us have a wealth of wisdom gained by a lifetime of experience, hard work, and reflection. Therefore, it seems to me, that it is incumbent upon seniors to embrace self-love and the support of other seniors in positive interactions. And it’s also crucial to interact well with the younger members of society whom we encounter, to project a positive reflection of older people. In other words, let’s not reinforce negative stereotypes of the crotchety elderly. Many of us are still sharp and hardworking and have gifts of importance to share with our society and the world at large. I recall a friend of mine, years ago, when she turned 70, telling me that she had decided to now treat others poorly, believing that old age gave her that entitlement. I assured her that she had no such license, and that a bad attitude would render her very much alone. Therefore, she struggled forward, trying to become a better person. And really, isn’t that everyone’s mandate? —To become in every way possible a better citizen of this world, not only for this time, but also for whatever comes after death, to be as prepared for that adventure as for any that may present itself in this life.

Now let’s consider point of view (POV) in writing.

I would like to draw your attention to a website called Kindlepreneur.com, where its host, Dave Chesson, gives an in-depth discussion of point of view and its importance.

In brief, he states that “point of view (POV) in book writing is a term that means the perspective from which a story is told. The common points of view from which an author can narrate a story are:

• 1st person POV uses the pronouns “I” and “we.”
• 2nd person POV uses the pronoun “you.”
• 3rd person POV uses the pronouns “she,” “he,” “they,” and “it.”
• 3rd person limited is when the narrator only knows the thoughts of one person.
• 3rd person omniscient is when the narrator knows more than the thoughts of just one person.

Inconsistent point of view is one of the top things a professional editor has to proofread and correct. If that mistake makes it through to readers, they may leave negative reviews about how unprofessional and confusing the book is. POV is necessary to understand.” I encourage you to visit Dave Chesson’s website to learn more about point of view. Since he has done such an outstanding job of explaining this important concept, I see no need to waste a lot of time for no reason here.

Now, let’s review a paragraph that I wrote on the fly, as it were, in a prior post, entitled, “Winging It,” namely this, where the discussion was about “Show, Don’t Tell”:

“Our bedroom door flew open, and the soft ambient light of the hall stood innocently tentative in the opening, before the palpable violence that was about to erupt. Reeking of Screwdrivers and bar smoke, Dad yanked us from sleep, manhandled us against our bedroom wall, a loud crack of plaster piercing the inky, still night. He slapped us, and then, as my sister and I stole quick glances at each other, Dad shoved our smoldering faces into the shadows mottling the stucco. And then he slammed his fists into our kidneys repeatedly, bent over and gyrating back and forth, grunting like a prizefighter, while tears streamed down our cheeks, salting our trembling lips, and our young bodies shook with terror for our lives. We were just teenage girls, who had been schooled by years of fear not to cry out or seek help in any way. Fingers to her mouth, Mother muttered impotently from the corridor, ‘Oh dear, oh dear…’”

Notice in the paragraph above the sentence that reads in part, “as my sister and I stole quick glances at each other,” because this piece of information is crucial to supporting the first person point of view, which uses the pronouns, “I” and “we,” as noted above. Otherwise, how would the narrator be able to affirm this sentence from above, “while tears streamed down our cheeks, salting our trembling lips, and our young bodies shook with terror for our lives.”? The reason, then, that the narrator knows that her sister is crying and shaking as she herself is, is because the sisters have stolen quick glances at each other while they are being punched by their father. Thus, it is crucial that at every step of the way, the author maintains proper point of view and doesn’t make note of things that they don’t make clear they could rightfully know, unless the writer is working in third person omniscient point of view, where the narrator knows the thoughts of more than one person. But let me say this, point of view requires vigilance, and even experienced writers make mistakes. Therefore, go over and over your work, and try your best to make sure that you are true to point of view, as challenging as that can be in the thick of writing.

Holding the Tension:

In any compelling story, creating suspense is essential. We build characters and then involve them in conflict with the opposing goals of other characters. We raise the stakes of those conflicts, balancing with subplots. Then, to tell a relevant story, we want to withhold resolution of conflict for as long as possible. This is a simplification of the process, but it’s the essential formula that makes for well-crafted storytelling.

Now, let’s dig in and start drafting stories and taking them apart.

Some writers have trouble beginning a story. In such times, it can be helpful to just pull ideas out of your mind.

Here’s a situation that is one of an infinite number of examples from which we can mine a story:

Idea: An old woman is trapped under a fallen post in her home, which is on fire.

Now decide on point of view and consider holding the tension. Do you want to write from the old woman’s point of view? That will be first person, if you use “I” or “we.” Or do you prefer something more instructive, such as a second person point of view, advising others on what to do in a fire; for example: You first call 911, etc.? Or do you want to tell your story from a third person limited point of view, where you may convey just the thoughts of one person? Or again, third person omniscient, where the narrator explores the thoughts of more than just one person. So, for our exercise here, let’s use third person limited and only convey the thoughts of the old woman. We can later carefully switch point of view to explore the points of view of the fire crew people, which would then put us in third person omniscient. But for the moment, in third person limited, we might write something like the following:

Only moments before, she had still been under the blankets, drinking her morning coffee, Starbucks's Christmas blend that her husband had brought up from the kitchen below, and laughing on her cell phone in an animated conversation with her younger sister, when suddenly, she had exclaimed, “Is that smoke? Oh, Rue, I smell smoke. I’d better go investigate!” She had flung her covers over to the other side of the bed and lurched across the enormous room, when suddenly there was a terrifying crack of wood in the hall, and a support beam split in half, releasing a beast of raging heat and orange fire that lunged for her, hissing, snapping, and popping. The carpet, covered in wood debris, felt hot and ragged to her bare feet. She grabbed the banister, which gave way, and she fell, helplessly, crying out in her panic and dread, “Oh, dear God!”

God bless, and more to come soon…Glo