Writing Wednesday: The Power of POV

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(note: this blog is repurposed from one posted June 2, 2013, called “Walk a Mile In My Shoes”.)

Image credit: andrejad / 123RF Stock Photo

As a writer, I’ve learned if a scene isn’t working, try changing the point of view (POV) in which it is written. That means to write the action from another character’s perspective; see what a character sees, hear what he hears, smell what she smells, do what the character would do; use the character’s motivations and background to filter what is happening on the page. It’s amazing how much situations can change.

I watched exactly one episode of the 1980’s TV show thirtysomething, but that episode has stayed with me. A single incident was shown over and over, but each time from a different character’s perspective. The various interpretations were wildly diverse. And eye-opening.

Law enforcement knows the same event may not be reported in the same way by eyewitnesses, which is why they prefer one-on-one interviews.

Seeing the Broadway hit Wicked reinforced my belief that POV is one of the most powerful tools in a writer’s toolkit. L. Frank Baum’s Wicked Witch of the West presented as a sympathetic character while Dorothy becomes the villain? Oh yeah. Completely.

I recently read Charlaine Harris’s Sookie Stackhouse series. Then my husband and I started binge-watching True Blood (the TV series based on the books). The first thing I noticed was that while the books are all written from Sookie’s POV, the TV program used multiple points of view in order to include multiple story threads. It was interesting to see how an incident in the books was changed for TV and which character’s POV was chosen for that particular story arc.

The next time a scene doesn’t hang true for you, try reimagining it from another point of view. You might just find the correct angle from which to tell your story.

SOL SUNDAY: Adventures in Wallpaper

When I was about 2, my parents started building the house in which I grew up and in which they still live. My parents, not a contractor, built it, with the help of an aunt and uncle. We lived in the cellar (basement) for a bit. Yes, I do remember this.

When the upstairs was nearly ready to move into, my father took me to one of the stores in the small, nearby village in which he’d spent his teen and young adult years. We went to Annie Long’s for just about everything. This day, we were picking out wallpaper, and I, all of about three years old, could pick out the wallpaper for the room my younger sister and I would share for most of the next 15 years. I found what I wanted right away.

childhood wall paperYes, this is the actual wallpaper from my childhood bedroom. My parents papered the walls, then my dad build closets, shelves, and bureaus against one wall. Although the room has been redecorated numerous times, the wall remains in the back of the closets, unfaded by sunlight, as bright as the day it was pasted onto the sheet rock.

I knew, even at age three, this was the perfect wallpaper for a child’s room. The doll in the green dress looked like my beloved Suzibelle. And there were letters, those magic symbols that marched across the pages of the storybooks my mother read to us. In later years, I would first try to find all the letters of the alphabet, in order, as I lay awake in bed. And later still, I would try to make words from those letters.

These brightly colored walls eventually gave way to lavender (which turned gray too quickly), then yellow (with zodiac bulletin boards!).  But I still get a thrill whenever I think about my dad taking me to Annie Long’s and letting me pick out what I wanted.

 

Writing Wednesday: Cover Reveal!

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Yes, it’s true! I officially have a cover for And Jericho Burned, which is being released February 11, 2015. I love this cover!

 

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Lucy Callahan will do anything to save her sister, even if it means marrying a stranger. Even if that stranger is an undercover government agent out to destroy the cult holding her sister hostage. Even if that stranger is a . . . werewolf.

SOL Sunday: #TastingNotesTuesday

Starting Tuesday, Jan 6, I’m going to be looking at the colorful descriptors used by wine reviewers and poking fun at some the ways they try to be original. I’m not saying the people in question don’t smell those aromas or taste those flavors when they preview a wine, but sometimes the examples they use are just plain silly.

And I’m doing it all on Twitter. You can follow me at @comptonplations.

WIP Wednesday: Prepping for the New Year Pt 2

GOALS 2015

I divide my goals into categories: writing; family; personal; and so on. This year, I added a new grouping: Promotion & Marketing. Items such as newsletters, blogs, Tweets, Facebook, Goodreads, and Tsu belong in this category. They used to be under Writing, but they multiplied too quickly. One of the things I need to do in the coming year is focus on the writing when it’s time to write, and the promotion/marketing when it’s time for those activities.

Another thing I’m trying to do this year is be specific. “Be kind to myself” is a nice sentiment, but what does it mean? So I added “Monthly date with myself.” I’m also going to set up and maintain a Happiness Jar. I meant to do this a year ago, but until I reclaimed my office, I didn’t have a place to keep the jar. It’s now all set up and ready to go.

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Speaking of my reclaimed office, once of my goals for 2015 is to maintain and refine the writing space. I actually worked on this the day after Christmas by moving books off one shelf to another where they would be more easily accessible.

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I also hung my book covers.

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And there are goals that have been successful and will stay on the list: calling my aging parents once a week; a monthly date with my husband. Because my parents are “local”, I didn’t make an effort to stay in touch, which is really self-absorbed. So for the past several years, I make a point of calling once a week. When X-Chromo was a senior in high school, I realized TV Stevie and my identities as “parents” was about to shift and we would once more be a couple instead of Y & X’s parents. So we started dating again. It’s been wonderful.

What New Years goals have been successful for you?