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| A Story Told in First-Person | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Nov 1 2009, 07:57 AM (1,688 Views) | |
| messyhead | Nov 27 2009, 06:05 PM Post #61 |
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I think the trick is that the main character (whose point of view the author has taken) has to surmise what everyone else is thinking. It would be a challenge, but an interesting one. |
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| bionic4ever | Nov 27 2009, 06:09 PM Post #62 |
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I TALK TOO MUCH! LOL!
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I had Jaime do that a couple of times in Legacy. She'd say something like "Probably thinking....*insert thought*...I'm guessing." |
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| messyhead | Nov 27 2009, 07:24 PM Post #63 |
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Yeah, in 1st person you are forced to stay inside one point of view. |
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| OJFan | Nov 27 2009, 10:13 PM Post #64 |
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You mean write it in third person, but stick to only one characters point of view? It sounds easier than first person, but harder than being omnipotent. |
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| messyhead | Nov 27 2009, 10:51 PM Post #65 |
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Exactly! I've always thought that was how it was 'supposed' to be done, but I'm not quite sure why. It's a rule (if it is actually a rule) I don't quite understand. |
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| OJFan | Nov 27 2009, 11:04 PM Post #66 |
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I've gotta say though, I've read plenty of books where the author is inside the head of all the characters. There was one that seemed to be inside the head of only one, but at least described what they "thought" was going on inside the heads of the other characters. That was fairly effective, but honestly it left me wanting more - I wanted to know what THEY felt. I've always heard there are no hard and fast "rules" when it comes to writing
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| bionic4ever | Nov 27 2009, 11:34 PM Post #67 |
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I TALK TOO MUCH! LOL!
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Especially when it comes to fanfic!
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| messyhead | Nov 27 2009, 11:42 PM Post #68 |
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I keep trying to think of examples of each - but I've come up dry. I do think that mostly when authors switch points of view they do it individual scenes - and don't switch within the scene. What do you think - am I all washed up? |
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| bionic4ever | Nov 27 2009, 11:48 PM Post #69 |
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I TALK TOO MUCH! LOL!
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I did it in my very first story. Used the little "- - -" between sections but switched repeatedly. Also did it in Goodbye. It's probably much easier to follow if it's done in separate chapters, though. |
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| messyhead | Nov 28 2009, 08:34 AM Post #70 |
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I suppose that IS the danger - that the reader can become confused by who is feeling what at any given moment - if you stick with one person's POV throughout the scene, it's rock solid. You definitely have to work harder though. |
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| OJFan | Nov 29 2009, 07:52 AM Post #71 |
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I agree - I DO get confused when the author switches TOO much. I usually try to stick with one person per "scene". If it's a long scene I might switch, but I try to avoid it. Sometimes I might just describe what one person is DOING and then what the other is FEELING. I think I'd be a stronger writer if I could avoid using the easy way out like this. |
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| bionic4ever | Dec 8 2009, 02:13 PM Post #72 |
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I TALK TOO MUCH! LOL!
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It's hard to switch from one mode back to the other. Just caught myself partway through a chapter of Summer, writing in first person! |
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| melchycat | Dec 8 2009, 04:05 PM Post #73 |
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Bionic Ultra-Agent
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I know exactly what you mean Heidi. Sure you know what one person thought, but what the heck were the other people thinking? It's annoying as heck. I read a book The Copper Beech by Maeve Binchy and I loved what she did. She would write a scene like two people in the woods and then two people would walk by. In the next chapter she would write the scene from the second sets POV. If only more people did that! |
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