I don’t normally discuss
technical aspects of fiction-writing on this blog, because it usually features
a more general look at living the creative life. Also because lots of other
blogs do address these topics well.
But today I want to
address a mix of current trends I haven’t yet seen addressed together. Be warned: this post gets hip-deep into
writing technique. If that’s not your bag, I apologize . . . and I have
an Artdog “Images of Interest” post coming Saturday, that you may enjoy more.
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| Diving deep into character Point of View is a challenge. |
Still with me? Then let’s
talk about “deep point of view.” If you’re new to writing or you’re a writer
who’s been living in a cave (i.e., not looking at any writing websites, reading
any writing books, or talking to other writers) for the last couple of decades,
you may ask, “What is deep POV?”
Basically, it’s a
contemporary writing trend in which the writer attempts to remove as many
“filters” between the reader and the world of the viewpoint character as
possible. The goal is to create more immediate, effective, and vivid fiction.
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| Grappling with how to improve my own fiction. |
If you do know what I’m talking about, then
you’re probably a writer who’s been grappling with questions of how best to
manage deep POV in your own fiction.
But how deep is “deep
enough”? Will third-person be immediate enough, or does it need to be
first-person? Not necessarily.
Is “narrative past tense”
immediate enough, or should it be written in the present tense? Again, that depends.
What about first-person
present tense? Is THAT “immediate”
enough?
What? A story—heck, a novel written in first-person present
tense? Could that work?
Well, some writers actually
are making it work.
I just finished reading
the first three novels of LindaCastillo’s “Amish” mysteries, set in Ohio’s Amish country. Not all of her
viewpoints are written in first-person-present-tense, but in the viewpoint of her
protagonist Police Chief Kate Burkholder, she uses it to surprisingly good
effect. It’s not for everyone, but it’s a potential tool in the kit. Gimmick?
Hmm. Time will tell.
But wait! There’s more. Today’s
post was sparked by an article, “Reader is My Copilot,” in the most recent Writer’s Digest (Yes, it’s July as I
write this, but the cover date is September 2015. Ah, publishing!).
In the article, author and
literary agent Marie Lamba outlines
tips for bringing the reader in on the creation process. As she puts it:
“Readers have in their minds a seemingly endless library of common images and
related sensory memories . . . . Common images and impressions should be an
important part of your writer’s toolkit.”
Then she goes on to
encourage writers to use strategic
but minimal description to activate
those impressions in readers’ minds, and then get out of their way.
In other words, don’t
overwrite. Instead, let readers visualize
their own setting, character, etc., for optimal vividness and immediacy. Since
it’s WD, she outlines the technique
and gives illustrative examples to help clarify what she means.
Have we now reached the
“event horizon” of just how deep and immediate written prose fiction can
possibly get? Are these concepts of immediacy and deep POV bringing us
techniques for the ages—or are they the passing fads of the moment, that will
identify for future literary scholars, “Ah, this was written in the early
twenty-first century”?
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| How engaged are YOUR readers? |
Depends on how well it
serves the reader’s engagement in the story—and on how many authors can get it
to work for them. Stay tuned.
IMAGES: I am grateful to all of the following!
The image of my hand on the keyboard of my computer was taken by me, using my other hand to clumsily wield my iPhone.
The images of the first three books in the Linda Castillo "Amish crime thriller series" are from Castillo's website.
And the
visual pun of the engaged couple engaged in their reading is from Meg Perotti’s blog—announcing the engagement of her friends Rosemary and Chris, who appear to
be quite the bibliophiles (and we wish them all the best!).
Yes, this dragon does owe a great deal of its anatomy to my Italian Greyhounds Jake and Brenna. I'd had to leave them at home when I was in California, and apparently I was missing them even more than I thought i was. :-)
