Where do you stand?
In April we took away a lot of ways to add information to your story. In May, we’re giving them back… and then some, with a shift in your point of view.
Ready?
May’s assignment is: rewrite your story from a different point of view. (Maximum wordcount for your submission: 1,000 words)
Clarifications:
- If your story is in first person, you may change to second or third person or you may keep it in first person but change which character is telling the story.
- You may shift between the broad and the narrow version of a point of view (third person limited to omniscient, for example).
- The two most similar points of view from a storytelling standpoint are first person and third person limited, so if you make that change, take a little extra time to focus on your narrative voice and really make this version distinct from the other.
The whys and hows:
Point of view dictates a lot of things about your story, from the voice it’s told in to the information you’re able to give readers. If you’re struggling with a story, if your characters have to give expository speeches about things they can’t possibly know, or if you find yourself unable to give the reader enough information while staying in character, the answer might be to go back and change the point of view.
So what’s a point of view?
First of all, we’re going to say POV from here on in because who wants to type point of view 500 times? Not us. At its base, POV is all about the pronouns you use in your story when you refer to the main character. First person is “I,” second person is “you,” and third person is “he/she/they” and so forth. POV can also be tightly focused or broad and omniscient. That’s about whose head you’re in when you’re telling the story. Even first person can be broad as long as you’re willing to keep shifting who’s telling the story.
Confused yet? Let’s walk through it.
Points of view
- First person. Uses “I” and “me” pronouns to relate the story. The story is told by one of its characters, usually (but not always) the main character. This is the most common point of view for personal essays.
- close. The story sticks to a single narrator. An example is Sherlock Holmes.
- broad. The story is told by a series of narrators. An example is Dracula.
- Second person. Uses “you” pronouns to put the reader into the story. Infrequently used.
- close. Can be used for reader-insert or tutorial works. An example is Choose Your Own Adventure books.
- broad. Usually an instruction manual, such as IKEA directions.
- Third person. Uses he/she/they pronouns to describe what characters are doing. The story is told by a narrator who is not a character in the main story, although they may still be a character if the whole thing is told to the reader by a character who knows the events described.
- close. The narration only gives information that would be known to or observed by a single character. Nothing happens outside that character’s point of view. Stephen King usually writes in this POV.
- mixed. The narration only gives information known to or observed by a single character at a time, but switches between characters, usually at chapter breaks. This is a way for narration to follow the plot rather than the characters while still concealing information from the reader. Agatha Christie often wrote in this POV.
- broad/omniscient. The narration can give any information the author thinks is relevant, including information not known to or observed by any of the characters. Movies often use this POV to show the viewer something like the Ark of the Covenant being stowed in a warehouse at the end of Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Ok but… help.
The good news is, like last month, we’ve already done a TON of the work for you. Our writing help post on POV explores the strength and weakness of each option.
A few tips and tricks we learned on the way:
- Don’t get too stuck on your original story – shifting POV might mean you change to a different character’s observations entirely, which means your scenes will start and end in different places.
- Remember the list you made for yourself (mentally or on paper) of what the most important things in your story are. Those should still be there. In fact, you might come up with one or two more.
- The voice of your narration might change a lot when you change POV. For example, if there are only two characters, you might want to write in the other character’s voice entirely. Or you might play with a narration that doesn’t sound like any of the characters, if you were writing in close first-person.
Need a second pair of eyes to see what you might have missed? Don’t be afraid to ask for help in the Coffeehouse!
Good luck! Talk to you soon…
Loading InLinkz ...Hindsight!
In case you missed it, here's a look back (see what we did there?) at the exercises in our 2020 workshop.
January: Write a story or essay in 1,000 words
February: Write the same piece in 100 words
March: Retain just 25 adjectives and adverbs from your original 1,000 word story
April: Write your story or essay using only dialogue
May: Write your story or essay from a different point of view
June: Write your story or essay in 2,000 words
July: Write your story or essay out of chronological order
August: Record your story or essay and transcribe it
September: Write your story or essay using a different voice
October: Write a poem using your story or essay as inspiration
November: Write a version of your story set in an alternate universe.
December: Write the final version of your story or essay in 1000 words.
About the author:
Christine Hanolsy is a (primarily) science fiction and fantasy writer who simply cannot resist a love story. She joined the YeahWrite team in 2014 as the microstory editor and stepped into the role of Editor-In-Chief in 2020. Christine was a 2015 BlogHer Voices of the Year award recipient and Community Keynote speaker for her YeahWrite essay, “Rights and Privileges.” Her short fiction has been published in a number of anthologies and periodicals and her creative nonfiction at Dead Housekeeping and in the Timberline Review. Outside of YeahWrite, Christine’s past roles have included Russian language scholar, composer, interpreter, and general cat herder. Find her online at christinehanolsy.com.
About the author:
Rowan submitted exactly one piece of microfiction to YeahWrite before being consumed by the editorial darkside. She spent some time working hard as our Submissions Editor before becoming YeahWrite’s Managing Editor in 2016. She was a BlogHer Voice of the Year in 2017 for her work on intersectional feminism, but she suggests you find and follow WOC instead. In real life she’s been at various times an attorney, aerialist, professional knitter, artist, graphic designer (yes, they’re different things), editor, secretary, tailor, and martial artist. It bothers her vaguely that the preceding list isn’t alphabetized, but the Oxford comma makes up for it. She lives in Portlandia with a menagerie which includes at least one other human. She tells lies at textwall and uncomfortable truths at CrossKnit.
