Writing & The Ever-Changing “Rules Of Engagement”
I’ve been reading a range of novels recently, some contemporary, some from previous eras—as long ago as the 1970s and 1980s: oh, my! 😉
One of the changes in the writing “rules of engagement” that has particularly struck me relates to point of view. It’s not just that a novel can be written in First Person or Third, or even “Closed” Third Person (that is, only one Point of View character, so as readers we only know what that character either knows or will admit to)—or even Second Person, or Third Person Plural. (I have seen both used, but only rarely, for which I believe there may be “reasonz.” )
The biggest change is the move away from shifting points of view. So when reading novels from the ’70s and ’80s, the point of view frequently shifts from one character to the next without either a between- or within chapter break. In fact, thinking about it, this used to be the writing norm—and I’ve never had any difficulty following the shift or the thread of this mode of storytelling.
Yet nowadays the clear preference is for point of view only to shift when there is a clear chapter break, or failing that a marked break within the chapter, to delineate the change in character voice and perspective. In many ways, this trend reminds me of the shift from the omniscient narrator of the 19th and through to mid-20th century writing, to the First- and Closed Third Person models we now prefer.
Yet many of the great classics, such as the works of Dickens and Tolstoy, employ the Omniscient Narrator mode. So were these writers outright wrong, or their works of lesser merit because of this approach?
Personally, I am inclined to think the preference for Closed Third Person may be more the shadow of fashion rather than a matter of writing substance. The important thing, as Ursula Le Guin notes in Steering the Craft, is for an author to employ the method knowingly as to “how” and “why”, so the shift in point of view is seamless and the writing carries the reader with the change.
The example Le Guin uses of writing comprising just such “effortless but perfectly clear” point-of-view shifts is Virginia Woolf’s To The Lighthouse. And if it’s good enough for Virgina Woolf…
What about you, dear readers, do you have a point of view (he-he) on this matter?
I see the strengths in both 3rd person and 1st person–although as my tastes shift, I think I really need a good voice to pull off 1st person and not get me upset.
Some novels seem to like to switch between the two for different characters, which I think is an interesting strategy
It is — and also hard to pull off successfully, I think…
The one which can either make or break a novel for me is first person present tense. If the narrator doesn’t have a strong enough voice or the plot isn’t captivating enough it can get very tiresome!
That may be a similar issue to what I see with the (admittedly rare) use of Second Person or Third Person Plural (altho’ even more so in the latter two cases) — what can work well for a shorter piece starts to flag when extended to a longer work, such as a novella or novel.
Very true. I can’t actually imagine reading a ‘serious’ piece of writing using Second Person. It seems like it should only be used in role-playing games and choose your own adventure stories.. but my experience outside of these is limited so I may be proven wrong!