Point of View
Now, I've told you that I'm a writer. So, today I want to talk about Point of View!
The strongest and weakest part of a book can be the lens through which you view the action of a book. For example, I would have dismissed Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins completely if it weren't for the fact that Suzanne wrote the book entirely in first person (present tense) point of view and pulled it off excellently. On the other hand, the worst thing about Twilight by Stephanie Meyer, in my opinion, is that the whole thing is also written in first person point of view. This is partially because of the character through which we see the action.
If the character is interesting and dynamic, it improves the story and makes it all the more interesting. Katniss from Hunger Games is constantly viewing the world around her and commenting on them. On top of that, she questions herself on her actions and most of the time she doesn't see herself as wonderful or get feedback from the world that she is without flaws and views everything exactly as it should be. This can be seen when Peeta confesses how he feels about her on the news program and she's floored by the revelation and then has to have the drunk explain to her that Peeta helped her by his actions, not hurt her. In contrast, Bella just seems flat. Yes she's initially wrong about what Edward is and yes, she acts like a teenager, but everyone pretends she's so much more insightful and wonderful that she actually comes off. Anyone who's actually read Wuthering Heights and understood it can see that by her view of the book compared to the reality of the book.
See, when the wrong point of view in a book is used, then the author's flaws become more and more obvious. Sometimes it's a flaw in pacing, other times it's an author's flaws in knowledge or understanding. Sometimes it's every flaw the author has.
When I write, I usually use third person point of view because first person tends to bring out my pacing problem. Either I want to shove all the information in at once, have my characters' brains go off on tangents or I get into robot territory. Robot territory is this:
"I wake up. I go to the bathroom. I then go to the kitchen and make myself some toast and eggs over easy. Then, I grab my things and walk to school."
Does anyone see the problem with that? Well, besides the lack of DESCRIPTION? And the fact that "I" didn't wash "my" hands after going to the bathroom?
It's very simple, once you learn how to spot it.
Let me ask you a question: What was "I" thinking while "I" did all that stuff?
You don't know. "I" could have done all that while thinking about my upcoming vacation to Germany and you never would've known. I'm sure it would've made those three sentences A LOT more interesting.
Whoever "I" is, that person has no character. They are a robot, a flat, emotionless thing.
I hate when I'm reading a book and it treads into Robot Territory. It makes me yawn. If it lasts too long, I want to defile the book by lighting the offending pages on fire. When I do it, I want to give myself paper cuts for my sin against writing.
Then there are those that play with point of view, like House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski. The whole book is written sort of like a description of a movie. Then there's the commentaries and footnotes that blend together to turn the whole thing into a story. It's really fascinating, but it's also complicated and deserves it's own article. However, even House of Leaves has its problems as the pacing can be somewhat clunky and the book itself is a medium in points of view, which I'll explain to you when I write the article on the book.
Also... Minotaur.
In short, picking a point of view can be the best and worst thing an author can do for a book. The author in question needs to take into account their strengths and weaknesses as well as what they want their readers to get out of the book. Again, Hunger Games is a perfect example. If the book were told in any other way, due to Katniss's attitude and behavior, no one would've been able to like or sympathize with her. Just look at the movie. In her thoughts, Katniss is alive. If you watch her actions? She comes off as a terrible and terribly dull person. The reader needed that first person point of view. However, I think Suzanne Collins was showing off by doing First Person Present Tense Point of View. She just wanted to show the writing community that she could do it and some of us still have more to learn.
... Or maybe I'm just jealous that she did pull it off.
Either way, it made the book more engaging an interesting so kudos to you Miss Collins. You make me feel inadequate.
Third person point of view can be pretty interesting too. Mostly because you can see from the eyes of different characters or zoom in to just view one. For example, Frank Herbert's Dune series and some of Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, follows the actions of the characters, jumping around the shoulders of multiple people. Meanwhile, the Harry Potter series will stick to one character, Harry Potter and view things over his shoulder with only a chapter or two going elsewhere.
No matter what point of view you use, the falls and pitfalls are usually the same. You just have to pick the one that's right for the story. Me, I'm a third person gal, but I'll use first person if I ever write a blog or if the story just won't be right otherwise. What POV do you prefer? What pitfall kills you? Why? How would you fix it?
The strongest and weakest part of a book can be the lens through which you view the action of a book. For example, I would have dismissed Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins completely if it weren't for the fact that Suzanne wrote the book entirely in first person (present tense) point of view and pulled it off excellently. On the other hand, the worst thing about Twilight by Stephanie Meyer, in my opinion, is that the whole thing is also written in first person point of view. This is partially because of the character through which we see the action.
If the character is interesting and dynamic, it improves the story and makes it all the more interesting. Katniss from Hunger Games is constantly viewing the world around her and commenting on them. On top of that, she questions herself on her actions and most of the time she doesn't see herself as wonderful or get feedback from the world that she is without flaws and views everything exactly as it should be. This can be seen when Peeta confesses how he feels about her on the news program and she's floored by the revelation and then has to have the drunk explain to her that Peeta helped her by his actions, not hurt her. In contrast, Bella just seems flat. Yes she's initially wrong about what Edward is and yes, she acts like a teenager, but everyone pretends she's so much more insightful and wonderful that she actually comes off. Anyone who's actually read Wuthering Heights and understood it can see that by her view of the book compared to the reality of the book.
See, when the wrong point of view in a book is used, then the author's flaws become more and more obvious. Sometimes it's a flaw in pacing, other times it's an author's flaws in knowledge or understanding. Sometimes it's every flaw the author has.
When I write, I usually use third person point of view because first person tends to bring out my pacing problem. Either I want to shove all the information in at once, have my characters' brains go off on tangents or I get into robot territory. Robot territory is this:
"I wake up. I go to the bathroom. I then go to the kitchen and make myself some toast and eggs over easy. Then, I grab my things and walk to school."
Does anyone see the problem with that? Well, besides the lack of DESCRIPTION? And the fact that "I" didn't wash "my" hands after going to the bathroom?
It's very simple, once you learn how to spot it.
Let me ask you a question: What was "I" thinking while "I" did all that stuff?
You don't know. "I" could have done all that while thinking about my upcoming vacation to Germany and you never would've known. I'm sure it would've made those three sentences A LOT more interesting.
Whoever "I" is, that person has no character. They are a robot, a flat, emotionless thing.
I hate when I'm reading a book and it treads into Robot Territory. It makes me yawn. If it lasts too long, I want to defile the book by lighting the offending pages on fire. When I do it, I want to give myself paper cuts for my sin against writing.
Then there are those that play with point of view, like House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski. The whole book is written sort of like a description of a movie. Then there's the commentaries and footnotes that blend together to turn the whole thing into a story. It's really fascinating, but it's also complicated and deserves it's own article. However, even House of Leaves has its problems as the pacing can be somewhat clunky and the book itself is a medium in points of view, which I'll explain to you when I write the article on the book.
Also... Minotaur.
In short, picking a point of view can be the best and worst thing an author can do for a book. The author in question needs to take into account their strengths and weaknesses as well as what they want their readers to get out of the book. Again, Hunger Games is a perfect example. If the book were told in any other way, due to Katniss's attitude and behavior, no one would've been able to like or sympathize with her. Just look at the movie. In her thoughts, Katniss is alive. If you watch her actions? She comes off as a terrible and terribly dull person. The reader needed that first person point of view. However, I think Suzanne Collins was showing off by doing First Person Present Tense Point of View. She just wanted to show the writing community that she could do it and some of us still have more to learn.
... Or maybe I'm just jealous that she did pull it off.
Either way, it made the book more engaging an interesting so kudos to you Miss Collins. You make me feel inadequate.
Third person point of view can be pretty interesting too. Mostly because you can see from the eyes of different characters or zoom in to just view one. For example, Frank Herbert's Dune series and some of Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, follows the actions of the characters, jumping around the shoulders of multiple people. Meanwhile, the Harry Potter series will stick to one character, Harry Potter and view things over his shoulder with only a chapter or two going elsewhere.
No matter what point of view you use, the falls and pitfalls are usually the same. You just have to pick the one that's right for the story. Me, I'm a third person gal, but I'll use first person if I ever write a blog or if the story just won't be right otherwise. What POV do you prefer? What pitfall kills you? Why? How would you fix it?
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