Do you choose your PoV or does your PoV choose you?

about that writer's block biz

I think “writer's block” is simply the realization that writing is hard, and that it requires lots of decisions. If one isn't willing to take decisions, if one vacillates, then nothing gets done and the writer is likely discovering that (a) he's just engaged in an endeavor to which he's not really suited, or, (b) he's now at that point at which he learns to be a real writer (by pressing on). Of course I have an alternate theory, and it's this: for many people, writer's block may simply be fear that the story isn't any good and that it will never be any good, so it gets trashed or ignored – or more likely, set aside and interminably fretted about.

This is why I think Stephen King was right-o when he said in his book, On Writing, that one should write quickly. That way you race right through the doubt and fretting and simply finish the work.

Jamesaritchie said:

If you like writing in third person, you should try dramatic PoV sometime. It isn't an easy write, but it can make for a great, and ususual, read.

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Might do that for short fiction, as I'm more inclined to experiment. I like my novels to have a certain feel, however.

Summonere said:

I think “writer's block” is simply the realization that writing is hard, and that it requires lots of decisions. If one isn't willing to take decisions, if one vacillates, then nothing gets done and the writer is likely discovering that (a) he's just engaged in an endeavor to which he's not really suited, or, (b) he's now at that point at which he learns to be a real writer (by pressing on). Of course I have an alternate theory, and it's this: for many people, writer's block may simply be fear that the story isn't any good and that it will never be any good, so it gets trashed or ignored – or more likely, set aside and interminably fretted about.

This is why I think Stephen King was right-o when he said in his book, On Writing, that one should write quickly. That way you race right through the doubt and fretting and simply finish the work.

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I don't understand writer's block. I know some writers swear by it, but I've never encountered it in the form that some describe. I'm sure it's very real to those writers who get it. However, when the story bogs down, I examine the reasons why it bogged down and make changes that pick it back up again. My second novel bogged down in the middle, and I ignored it for several months. Then I went back to it, examined the reasons why I was losing interest in it (I wasn't revealing new and entertaining things but was simply filling in space to get to the better stuff) and made a major adjustment. After that, it was smooth sailing for the rest of the book. Was that writer's block, or a case of just not wanting to work hard to address an issue at the time? For me, it was the latter, and I learned a valuable lesson: Jump in and tackle it.

Totally agree about writer's block, to the two above me. I like to believe a muse is real, but is often facilitated by doing the hard work on your own. Or it inspires one to begin writing, vanishes, and reappears much later. Not a bad thing, as structure is thus built like a house, by a carpenter, rather than a cloud, by a smoke machine (which looks cool, as clouds often do--is it a rabbit, or an elephant?--but can prove difficult to keep straight).

There are no doubt elements which seem to appear from locked off parts of the brain, but writers aught to learn their conscious role in the writing process or they'll learn it the hard way.

Struggling with POV

Hi,

I am currently 1/3 of the way through my novel and I thought I wanted to do it in first person present, but I wobble through it and end up doing third past with the two main characters sharing POV. Is there a thermometer, so to speak, for which types of plots work best for this? I do have my characters recount past experiences, but not as flashbacks if that makes sense; just times where they pull a little of the back story out for the reader.

I have been writing for years, been to critique groups and never had anyone comment on my POV as distracting and all over the place, but I was working on something else then. It has also been about 20 years since I was in an English class and putting the different terminologies to sentence diagramming and whatnot has completely escaped me, I guess.

Anyone who can help with this?

Thanks,
E

Jamesaritchie said:

If you like writing in third person, you should try dramatic PoV sometime. It isn't an easy write, but it can make for a great, and ususual, read.

Click to expand...

What's a dramatic POV?

jinkang said:

What's a dramatic POV?

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It's basically an impartial/objective narrator. No character thoughts, or attempts to interpret character actions, other than what might be provided through dialogue, are given.

However, the narrator is omniscient, can see everything that goes on and can relay actions that other characters don't see to the reader, but goes no further than this and does not attempt to influence the reader to reach any conclusions.

So...readers are left to digest/analyze the actions? I guess you are right; it can't be easy to the impartial to all... and make sure you the author is not leaning to one particular side.

jinkang said:

So...readers are left to digest/analyze the actions? I guess you are right; it can't be easy to the impartial to all... and make sure you the author is not leaning to one particular side.

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I think the real difficulty with this POV is making it sound like something other than a newspaper article. It is possible to give the narrator a great voice, and convey the actions with beautiful language, but that balance can be hard to find.

(at least, that's my personal experience with that POV; the experience of others may vary )

jinkang said:

What's a dramatic POV?

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Imagine watching a stage play, or even most movies and TV programs. You can see everything the characters do, but you can't get inside their minds. You get the entire story through action and dialogue.