What deep point of view comes down to is cutting any distancing words and just stating what the protagonist feels, thinks, and experiences. Mostly the culprits are words like "felt," "thought," "wondered," and sense words like "saw," "smelled, and "tasted." Using active verbs and avoiding author intrusions is also a part of this. The idea is to make it feel like the reader is living the story, not reading it. Writing deep point of view requires changing the way you think and write: you have to become the character, separate your own attitudes and reactions from the character's, almost like you're acting. At first it's hard, but when you've been doing it long enough, it becomes second nature.
The book says that it's not for beginners, but I found it easy enough to follow. It's a fast read with clear examples and useful exercises, so no technical stuff, if that scares you. Hall discusses using different points of view, picking the right POV character and avoiding head-hopping, filtering observations through the character's experiences and interests, giving the full sensory experience, the difference between male and female POV, using situation and mood as filters, writing character thoughts and emotions, the importance of keeping trigger and response in the right order, using similes for expressing backstory, how to describe your protagonist's appearance in deep POV, and the importance of body language. We also get a few sample stories. If you've read a few writing books, you probably know most of this already, but it's useful to have it all collected in one volume.
I found this book useful, but if all the things I listed in the last paragraph seem like kiddie stuff to you, might be that you're already writing deep point of view without knowing it. If you're a newbie like me, you might want to check it out. And it's worth noting that this book is part of a series. You can explore the other volumes on the writer's website.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteI was happy someone else said your blog was fantastic, then I clicked and found it was only for an advertisement. I was hoping the website linked was for geeks at play.
ReplyDeleteWhen your readership grows I guess you will have to put up a "prove you are a human" filter. I had to do so after I was abruptly on someone's radar. I think a spammer had set up operations in the U.S., but I think he is gone now.
It was nice when my site was small and undiscovered. No filter. At least I'm still not important enough to have trolls.
I'm at a reader/writer/publisher conference this weekend.It's run by volunteers, like a fantasy and sf convention, called When Words Collide. I'll see whether or not I can tell any fellow geek/nerd/avid readers about your site.
Wow, that convention sounds like fun!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the heads-up about the link. No advertisements, please. Taking down the comment, sorry, Ondina.
Thanks for featuring my book! Do you feel it has made your writing stronger?
ReplyDeleteThank you for a really helpful writing book! Yes, I feel my writing is stronger because of it, and the biggest improvement is that my characters feel more like real people. I especially liked the chapter on similes and backstory. I've recommended the book to lots of writers in my online critique group, too, because they had the same issues with the characters feeling distant.
DeleteI always get so annoyed with myself for doing that. After a while, it becomes old and you don't even want to write it anymore so why would someone want to read it? This book seems to be the answer on how to get the character more clearly across without you as a writer being the middle man, so to speak. It will take some conscious effort to avoid the "culprits" but I guess after working on it for a while, it will get easier.
ReplyDeleteIt will definitely get easier with practice, like all aspects of the craft. :-)
DeleteI always get so annoyed with myself for doing that. After a while, it becomes old and you don't even want to write it anymore so why would someone want to read it? This book seems to be the answer on how to get the character more clearly across without you as a writer being the middle man, so to speak. It will take some conscious effort to avoid the "culprits" but I guess after working on it for a while, it will get easier.
ReplyDeleteI guess it comes down to your strengths and weaknesses. For me, plot and world-building come pretty easily, but characters, not so much.It often takes me several drafts to get that emotion in. I very rarely just come up with a few characters and see what they do. Usually the plot or the story concept is the starting point for me.
Delete