Need some help

Sargentodiaz · Aug 6, 2008

I need some help!

I've just about completed Sonora Symphony (The Facts and Legends of the Sonora Desert) and want to know what everybody thinks the Point of View should be.

The piece is creative or narrative non-fiction about a just-retired Army sergeant who stops in Gila Bend, New Mexico and meets a member of the Papago tribe who is a retired professor of Native American Anthropology. He recognized the MC as a soldier and they strike up a friendship. The Professor take the MC to his home and, over an unidentified period, shows him the life and beauty of the Sonora Desert along with the history and lore of the people who live in the Southwest.

The Blood Stone by Irvin Morris about a Navajo legend is writted in First Person past tense.

Some others books I've recently read are written in Third Person past tense.

Which do you think works best?

Thanks for your viewpoints.

kct webber · Aug 6, 2008

I'm confused. You're just about finished with it? Or are you just about finished with the outline? 'Cause if you're just about finished with book, it seems like you would have already made the choice.

Anywhoo... I write in third person close and in first person depending on how the story needs to be told. Every story has a way in which it wants to be told. So, the only real advice I can give is to write some passages in 1st and in 3rd and see which one works better for this particular story. One is no better or worse than the other. They are both valid and valuable perspectives. If you try both, your story will choose which one it needs.

Sargentodiaz · Aug 6, 2008

Justt completed the darned thing nd it's written in 1st person past.

Phot's Moll · Aug 6, 2008

The POV used should be the one that tells the story best. It doesn't matter what other people have done with other books - this is about you and your work. If you're only concerned because others have done it differently, then stop worrying. (In any case however you write it they'll be others who've done something else)

If you're concerned because you think the story would be better told from a different POV then you'll have to change it - but only do that if it will improve the story.

Duncan J Macdonald · Aug 6, 2008

lvcabbie said:
Just completed the darned thing and it's written in 1st person past.

No problem with 1st person POV. Past tense is okay too.

As others have said, do what works for the story.

kuwisdelu · Aug 6, 2008

Unless there are any strange circumstances, whatever POV and tense works best for you is fine. Don't worry about it unless someone complains. I'm not sure this belongs in Grammar, though.

Need some help

Sargentodiaz

kct webber

Squirrel, Sekrit type, 1 ea.

Sargentodiaz

Phot's Moll

Duncan J Macdonald

Plotting! Not Plodding!

kuwisdelu

Revolutionize the World