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Creative Writer's Study On Voice
- By Deborah Owen
- Published December 15, 2008
- Improving Your Writing Skills & Marketing
Deborah Owen
Ms. Deb, as her students affectionately call her, is the CEO & Founder of Creative Writing Institute, and the former A-1 Writing Academy (now defunct).
"The A-1 Academy was a pilot program built within the virtual walls of a large writer's group," said Deborah. "In the first year we drew 600 students, but I wanted to reach the public. In another year Creative Writing Institute was created. It is a high-quality, low cost writing school with full-time mentors and small classes. Even distressed students and seniors can afford our prices."
Creative Writing Institute now partners with http://bookpleasures.com to bring the best and most up-to-date information available to creative writers everywhere. Check out the new school by Clicking Here.
Every story and every article has a "voice". What do we
mean by voice? It is the angle from which your story is viewed. No
one point of view (POV) is right or wrong.
* First person
point of view pronouns are: I, me, my, mine, and we. New authors
usually write in first person because they feel more focused and
closer to the story when using "I". And it truly does draw
the reader in closer.
But there are at least two problems
with this approach. For one thing, the constant use of "I"
is a problem. For another, the story's character can only know what
the writer knows, and can only see things from that point of view.
For example, if John says, "Susan is going to meet me at
seven o'clock," and in the meantime, Susan falls, breaks a leg,
and lies helplessly on the floor, John will not know what happened to
her until someone tells him. First person POV is better reserved for
memoirs, journal entries, and specific stories that should be told
from that angle.
* Second person POV pronouns are you,
(singular), you (plural), and yours. Example: "You must come
with me to the Christmas play. You and I will have popcorn and lots
of fun. Your hat is on backwards." As you can see, this point of
view is even more limiting, and is never used.
* Third person
POV pronouns are: he, she, it, and they. There are two kinds of third
person writing. In third person omniscient, the reader is like a fly
on the wall. They can even see into people's minds. This POV limits
the suspense since the reader is left with very few unanswered
questions – but it is easy to write because the author can provide
solutions to questions by making a character think it, or by changing
perspective. He doesn't have to work at "showing" the
scene.
* In third person limited, your story won't show
internal dialog (thoughts), and the characters won't foreknow things.
As in first person, the reader can only see through the character's
eyes, but they can see through the eyes of various characters. The
difference is that the writer can skip from one character to another
to see through their eyes, whereas in first person, we can only see
through one character's point of view. Thus the word, limited.
In
third limited, the suspense builds as the writer shows the scene
instead of telling it. The reader lives the story as the character
lives it. Here is an example from The Perfect Crime:
"Harrison
slumped against the car, collapsed on the ground, and rolled in agony
as he clutched his chest. Vision blurred. His eyes rolled back and
eventually settled into an empty glaze that resembled a blind stare."
Editors buy more third person limited than first person;
however, it takes a little longer to learn because it depends on
showing, not telling. Let your readers feel your characters as they
experience the gamut of emotions.