How To Develop Point Of View In Fiction Writing
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The Problems Of The Human Heart...
William Faulkner wrote: "... the problems of the human heart in conflict with itself... alone can make good writing because only that is worth writing about, worth the sweat and the agony." Faulkner has given us a tough assignment, yet it is an assignment at which we must excel as fiction writers. |
The best way to succeed at this is to leave behind what you believe to be "true" and open yourself to the vast possibility of life experiences outside your own. For it is not true that we can only write what we experience. As writers, we have enormous access to the cosmic imagination where anything is possible -- including the great expanse of human emotions.
"Emily opened up a new door to my creativity. It was like entering a magical world where I understood for the first time my character's motivations."
~Vallerie Huyghue
Writing An Emotionally Strong Scene...
One of the best ways to experience the power of point of view is to write an emotionally strong scene between two people who, when they tell their story, have very different versions of the experience. For example, write a fight between two people, perhaps a Couple, or a mother and a daughter or a father and a son.
One of the best ways to experience the power of point of view is to write an emotionally strong scene between two people who, when they tell their story, have very different versions of the experience. For example, write a fight between two people, perhaps a Couple, or a mother and a daughter or a father and a son.
An Exercise In Developing Tension Through Point Of View...
A fight has built-in tension, which makes the scene easier to write. You also have the opportunity to use dialogue - when people fight, they usually have a lot say!
Begin by asking yourself: What is the issue between this Couple (or father and son, or any two people). First, write the scene from the woman's point of view. This means you get inside only her head. The reader can hear what the man says and see how he acts, but cannot know his thoughts. This exercise brings you totally inside the woman. The only inner thoughts you use belong to her.
Then put the woman's story aside and write the scene from the man's point of view. You need not have the exact same dialogue and almost certainly the story will be very different from the woman's point of view. This time around, you show the reader only the man's inner thoughts. The woman speaks and acts but we do not know her motivations other than by what she says and does.
This is a great eye-opener of an exercise geared to deepening your understanding of the writer's technique of point of view.
A fight has built-in tension, which makes the scene easier to write. You also have the opportunity to use dialogue - when people fight, they usually have a lot say!
Begin by asking yourself: What is the issue between this Couple (or father and son, or any two people). First, write the scene from the woman's point of view. This means you get inside only her head. The reader can hear what the man says and see how he acts, but cannot know his thoughts. This exercise brings you totally inside the woman. The only inner thoughts you use belong to her.
Then put the woman's story aside and write the scene from the man's point of view. You need not have the exact same dialogue and almost certainly the story will be very different from the woman's point of view. This time around, you show the reader only the man's inner thoughts. The woman speaks and acts but we do not know her motivations other than by what she says and does.
This is a great eye-opener of an exercise geared to deepening your understanding of the writer's technique of point of view.
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You can enjoy Station Stops just by bookmarking this page and coming to it whenever you're looking for inspiration, or you can sign up for the Station Stops newsletter and have a weekly update sent right to you!
When you sign up for the newsletter, you'll also receive a free hour audio: The Power of Point of View in Fiction Writing.