[Viv]

I go to pro writing workshops every now and then and what the editors are really freaked out about is point of view. You know: staying in the head of just one person. But I've noticed that very few fics conform to that convention. Any idea why? And should I just stop stressing about it? Do fic readers even care?

[Scribe]

Well its not an easy thing to write completely in someone's point of view though I tend to do it alot. Its my way of getting the characterization right. I only use narratives for things like great battle scenes because after a while, there is so many ways to describe what's going on in Aragorn's head while he's killing orcs, etc. However, I think the fear of authors is in case they don't get it right, the fear that their ruminations of a characters motivation may be wrong and they'll get called out for it.

I personally cannot write any other way but I can see why it would be lest daunting writing a story as just an observer as opposed to writing it from the point of view of the character.

[NancyBrooke]

One of the most amazing books I ever read was Norman Mailer's "the Naked and the Dead" because he write's so convincingly in a number of different character's voices. Amazing.

I don't think you should worry too much about it (but then, what should you worry too much about? ) Like a lot of writing elements/techniques I think it's a tool not a rule. Use it if you think it's the best way to tell your story. The question is what's your story about? One person's experience? Events? or how a number of people experience an event? Tolkien, e.g., was writing about events, not so much people, so he uses the omnicient narrator voice.

I'm working on a story right now that's too much POV! I've got to get out of my character's head a little and move the story along - strike the right balance between events and the emotional underpinnings. Hmmmmmmm.

I think writing, like a lot of things, goes through phases of popularity - writers, techniques - one day some authority says 'this is the way to do it! this is the best' and for a while everyone falls in line.

[Ellbee]

Most of my own stuff has stayed strictly in one POV, with the exception of a paragraph in "I Do Not Change," and I'm really not sure it works.

Now, the stories I have done with Jennifer Lee are a lot more substantial, and we would not have been able to tell the entire story without switching POVs. In fact, we recently did a back-and-forth email thing, (a bit of smut, actually,) that switched from his to her POV with every paragraph, and it turned out quite interesting. It depends on the story and the effect you're going for. I think the most important thing is that the writer knows and can convey the POV without jerking the reader out of the story, which is a problem I see a lot on ff.net; the writer either doesn't understand the entire concept, or he can't convey whose POV he is in without those annoying ~~~***Aragorn's POV***~~~ type notes.

And to tell the truth, I am so used to being in someone's POV that I don't know if I can do a straight narration. That's something I need to work on. Does anyone have any good examples of fics like that? Do you have to stay out of everyone's head completely? That's what I would find difficult, I think.

-Ell

[Viv]

I tried to do some fancy POV stuff once, and an editor pretty much flayed me. Oh, the wild and silly things we do in college. Now I stick to one POV per scene. It saves my sanity.

[miriel361]

Well I have real problems with POV as well. Sometimes it's just damn interesting to know what the other party is thinking - especially in smut stories.

In Elrohir's Tale, I tried very hard not to change too often within a chapter to avoid confusion. And it's certainly a no-no in action scenes-

In the Road to Rivendell - a nice little smutty Boromir story, I find I keep changing POV every other paragraph. Worries me a little, but I just want to share what both parties are feeling.

I think experimenting is important for all writers. Otherwise we would stagnate. If it works - continue. If it doesn't - drop it.

[GypsieRose]

Rose (1/2 of our account) pointed me to this, as we'd been discussing point of view a lot lately, and how people are often inconsistant. A very few authors can effectively use third-person omniscient point of view, where they can get into the heads of all the characters (and sometimes the scenery...) all the time. The trick to that is that one has to be consistant, and be in everyone's head from the start. Otherwise, it sounds like bad form.

Most authors choose third-person limited, where one sticks in the head of only one person. From the perspective of a creative writing teacher, this is the one most encouraged, because it is the easiest to do well, and because it doesn't jar one's readers when they suddenly jump from, say, Aragorn's head into Boromir's without warning. Things flow more smoothly that way.

Sorry, it's the English teacher in me...
Gypsie

[Kaltia]

[Viv]

[quote="Kaltia]The same with George R. Martin. The man's "A Song of Ice and Fire" series is brilliant because of his ability to fluently switch from point of view to point of view, thus building up a lot of different characters around his world.[/quote]

I'd also recommend Martin's trilogy (well, for older folks at least; it is not for kids). But it's important to note that he never switches POV within a scene. Each chapter contains only one POV and is usually titled with that character's name. So it's far from an omnicient narrative.

By the way, an interesting side-note to Martin's decision: he spent about 20 years as an editor for a fantasy publisher, and he used to (probably still does) rant about "slush-pile" manuscripts from inexperienced writers. A lot of the stylistic things that appear in his work (POV switcheroos included) are very likely underhanded stabs at the pieces of poor writing he had to read for so long.