Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Point of View

Ken sat in front of the old, beaten desk, his blue eyes now dry and bloodshot from staring at the screen for so long. Back and forth, back and forth he went as he tried to make his decision; knowing that this one choice would shape everything. He rubbed his eyes and breathed deeply, cursed softly and began typing. The keystrokes were quick and succinct as he banged away, filling that white page with tiny, black symbols.

Once I was finished with that first page I downed what was left in my coffee cup. The dredges were cold and bitter... time for more. I didn't want to look at the page yet, didn't want to know whether or not I had made the right choice. Still holding the coffee cup, I patted Willie as I stood and headed toward the kitchen.
He hopped off the couch and followed me closely, his floppy ears bounced happily as we went along. It was a treat that he wanted, and I couldn't resist after looking into those puppy-dog eyes. He laid on the cold kitchen floor, chewing away on that smelly, jerky snack as I filled my cup again and went back to my desk.

Ken slammed the steel blue coffee mug onto the desk, slopping its contents over his mousepad, his desk speakers, everything. It didn't help his mood as he held down on the delete key. It was all wrong and he knew it. Another morning without making a decision, another blank page.
"This shouldn't be so hard," he muttered as he used his sleeve to clean up the spill. "It's only first or third person!"


What about you guys, ever have any problems deciding what the point of view for your WIP is going to be?


Thanks for reading,
buh bye then

4 comments:

  1. What a fantastic way of expressing your dilema...

    It's an unconscious rule of mine that all my novels are in third person. When I made this rule, I don't know. It just came to be. BUT my short stories, especially recent ones, have all been in first. That's why I like my short stories. It's an excuse to experiement and play with different styles, view points, genres, etc, without it affecting your main project.

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  2. What a wonderful way of expressing your dilemma. I prefer to write in the third person, this just happened naturally. Though I would love to write atleast one book in the first person.

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  3. @DRC- I think that there are many people that share in your third person rule. Third person does seem to carry the majority of novels I've read.

    @Rachna- I've been thinking that as well. Lately I've seen a lot of books that are in first person, and they work. It may soon be time to test my chops and see if I can pull it off. We'll see :)

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  4. I've written one manuscript in third and am currently working on another in first...with three separate first person characters. I'm finding it easier to get distinct voices doing it this way.

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