When I create a story, it usually comes to me the way it wants to be told.  I don’t really think about point of view. By the time I have it settled in my mind and ready to write, my hero shouts “I want out of this box!” or a narrator says “Rhonda stepped off the curb and got hit by a tour bus.”  But I know some people who write everything in the same point of view.  Other writer-friends often struggle with deciding what approach to take with a project.

How do you decide what direction to take when you are starting a new tale? Point of view is NOT a question of “Whose story is it?”  It’s a question of “Who is TELLING your story?”

Tolstoy and his grandchildren

Why is this important? Because it controls how the reader identifies his own place in the story. If it is first person, the story will be about them. If not, they will either become the narrator, or become the narrator’s target.  Readers unconsciously make that choice.

Think back to your favorite books, and how you absorbed them.  Did you infuse yourself with the main characters?  Did you become an audience, letting the storytellers take you on a journey? I can’t imagine Alice’s Adventures in first person.  Part of the charm is the ‘story telling’ aspect of it.  But you, the writer, can guide how the reader perceives your tale.

Here’s an exercise to try if your piece doesn’t seem to be working the way you thought it would, or if you are having a hard time getting started.

Re-write a paragraph or two of a strong scene  -  1) through the eyes of two or three of the characters individually, 2) through a narrator (focusing on a couple different characters), and then, for good measure, 3) have all the voices chime in at once.  When you have finished, one ‘telling’ will seem stronger than the others. The strong one may even jump out at you halfway through the exercise, and you’ll know.

You will become more familiar and comfortable with how each of the characters feels and acts about what’s going on.  Better yet, you will gain a definite idea of who has a story to tell, and how it should be told to get the desired effect.

Watch for other surprising things that happen with this exercise. Possible results:

1.  It turns out your main character – isn’t! The incident(s) in your plot may have more effect on a different one. One of your other people is more interesting – or has a better grasp of, or solution to, the conflict in your story.
2. Your story changes.  One of your characters reveals that what you thought the story was about really isn’t the issue at all.
3. A minor character suddenly becomes a major influence.

These can help you with your subplots and or your future action. They will enrich your work, and possibly improve it.

Belated Birthday notice for Lewis Carroll.  Yesterday was 182 years.

January 27, 1832. 

Thanks for sharing the Adventure!