{"id":32808,"date":"2016-07-21T06:30:29","date_gmt":"2016-07-20T18:30:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/?p=32808"},"modified":"2016-07-21T20:23:03","modified_gmt":"2016-07-21T08:23:03","slug":"guest-post-kim-falconer-on-narrative-point-of-view-plus-a-giveaway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/2016\/07\/21\/guest-post-kim-falconer-on-narrative-point-of-view-plus-a-giveaway\/","title":{"rendered":"Guest Post: Kim Falconer on “Narrative Point Of View” Plus A Giveaway!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introducing Kim Falconer:<\/h3>\n
\"KimFalconer\"<\/a>

KimFalconer<\/p><\/div>\n

Kim probably needs no introductions for many of you, but I am going to introduce her anyway, for those of you who may<\/em> not have met her before. \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n

I was privileged to meet Kim at Worldcon (Aussiecon 4) in Melbourne in 2010 and since then we have become friends-in-writing and fellow Supernatural Underground<\/a> authors. Kim writes urban fantasy<\/a>, paranormal romance<\/a>, YA and epic science fantasy novels<\/a>.<\/p>\n

You can find out more about her at AvaSykes.com<\/a>, the 11th House Blog<\/a>, and on FaceBook <\/a>and Twitter<\/a>. She posts here at the Supernatural Underground on the 16th of every month and runs Save the Day Writer’s Community<\/a> on Facebook and GoodVibeAstrology.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Kim’s latest release is the urban fantasy novel The Blood In The Beginning,<\/em> which I know has a bearing on her topic choice of Narrative Point of View<\/strong>. So please join me in welcoming her to “..on Anything, Really”<\/em> today.<\/p>\n

The book giveaway details will follow the post.<\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

Narrative Point Of View<\/span><\/h2>\n

by Kim Falconer<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Blood<\/a>Hi Helen, and everyone here on the blog. I\u2019m delighted to write a guest post today, offering some practical thoughts on the topic of narrative POV.<\/span><\/p>\n

POV is short for point of view<\/em>, or literally, “the position from which something is perceived.\u201d The primary options in literature are: 1st<\/sup> person: I am telling this story<\/em>, 2nd<\/sup> person: You are telling this story<\/em>, 3rd<\/sup> person: She is telling this story<\/em>. <\/span><\/p>\n

It seems simple, but any POV you choose comes with certain constraints. Like naming a character, making a choice involves commitment. For example, if your protagonist\u2019s name is Sally, you can\u2019t suddenly start calling her Adele, at least, not without good reason. The same thing goes for POV.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re using the first person point of view \u2013 \u201cI hear voices,\u201d (present tense), or \u201cI heard voices,\u201d (past tense) \u2013 and suddenly move to another POV \u2013\u201cThe officer wonders what the voices mean,\u201d (present tense) or, \u201cThe officer wondered what the voices meant,\u201d (past tense) \u2013 you\u2019ll need a good reason, and skill, to pull it off. It\u2019s not generally done, or done well, unless you\u2019re Charles Dickens or perhaps Stephen King.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"POV-Tutorial\"<\/a>

POV — it’s all about perspective<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Anyone who wants to brush up on POV options can duck over to Youtube and watch my 3 minute tutorial on the topic \u2013 \u00a0Point of View<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Any perspective is easy to stay in, once you commit. Think of it as the angle of the camera, and keep asking,\u201cCan they see this? Can they know this?\u201d<\/em> Sticking to an established POV is a skill gained with practice; realising how the POV shapes the story can be illusive.<\/span><\/p>\n

Why does that matter? POV influences everything, from the world building to the characters, and even the hidden, or not so hidden, connection between reader and author. The choice of POV, often made unconsciously, without a second thought, carries more weight than most writers care to believe. At least, that\u2019s how it was for me, until I saw the light.<\/span><\/p>\n

When I wrote The Blood in the Beginning<\/em><\/a> I started out with the same POV I\u2019d always used, 3rd<\/sup> person limited, past tense, the she heard voices <\/em>POV. \u00a0Why? It was familiar. I knew how to do it, and it would allow for a wide scope of character perspectives, resulting in a larger scale story-world. It was a logical choice, because I didn\u2019t know where the story was going yet. It gave me room to explore. I also chose it because the genre, Urban Fantasy, allows it.<\/span><\/p>\n

That last point should probably be first. Genre fiction carries with it a level of reader expectation. Yes, you can break the rules, but no, you don\u2019t really want to, unless you\u2019re Gabriel Garc\u00eda M\u00e1rquez, or King, or Dickens, in which case you can do whatever you want. But publishers might be cautious about acquiring an epic fantasy written in the second person, or a smorgasbord of 1st<\/sup> and 3rd<\/sup>, so it pays to know your genre as you set out. There are exceptions to everything, like those 2nd<\/sup> person choose your own adventure books<\/em>, but in general, I don\u2019t recommend it.<\/span><\/p>\n

With plenty of UF written in the 3rd<\/sup> person, like Stacia Kane\u2019s Downside Ghost<\/strong> series, Magic Street<\/strong><\/em> by Orson Scott Card, Neil Gaiman\u2019s American Gods<\/em><\/strong>, and Cassandra Clare\u2019s Mortal Instruments<\/strong>, I wasn\u2019t exactly going out on a limb, doing the same. But \u2026 it didn\u2019t work! Five chapters in and the story wasn\u2019t developing the way I\u2019d imagined. I struggled with why, and eventually it occurred to me.<\/span><\/p>\n

The story didn\u2019t need crazy amounts of scope that covered fifteen generations with thirty plus characters spanning every continent. The Blood in the Beginning<\/a><\/em> tells the story of a lone gal in a tough town, a streetwise woman with strengths, fears, high hopes and the penchant of attracting supernatural trouble. I wanted the reader to be inside her head, feel what she felt, while it was happening. So, I started over, in the 1st<\/sup> person, and the story broke like a barracuda\u2014fast, dangerous and hungry.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Ava<\/a>

Ava Sykes — a lone gal in a tough town…fast, dangerous & hungry<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

Is Ava Sykes reliable enough to tell her own story? In the end, I think she is, and I\u2019m glad I took the risk. For the emerging and seasoned writers out there, I encourage you to experiment with POV and see how changing it allows your story to grow in new ways.<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019d love to hear your thoughts in the comments, perhaps on your favourite POV to read and write, or on how many POVs I\u2019ve used in this short article. I\u2019d really like to know if anyone has read a novel in the 2nd<\/sup> person recently.<\/span><\/p>\n

Thank you Helen!<\/span><\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

The Giveaway:<\/h3>\n

Thank you<\/em>, Kim. As I always say when you post on the Supernatural Underground — another great post, as always! \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n

By the way, for those of you who would like to find out more about The Blood In The Beginning<\/em><\/strong>, Kim has a wonderful YouTube trailer here:<\/p>\n

The Blood in the Beginning<\/a><\/h2>\n

\"AvaSykes_BookTrailer\"<\/a><\/p>\n

To celebrate the release of The Blood in the Beginning<\/em><\/strong> and Kim’s guest post here today, I am giving away a copy of the book to one lucky commenter.<\/p>\n

I am sure you know the drill off by heart, but just leave a comment (on anything, really… \ud83d\ude09 ) and you will go in the draw to win the book.<\/p>\n

Comments must be made here on Kim’s guest post, with one entry allowed per commenter. Entries will close on Saturday at midnight (NZ time) with the draw being made (by Random.Org Integer Generator) and posted on Sunday 24 July — go to the top of the masthead to find the result.<\/p>\n

\"Blood<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Introducing Kim Falconer: Kim probably needs no introductions for many of you, but I am going to introduce her anyway, for those of you who may not have met her before. \ud83d\ude09 I was privileged to meet Kim at Worldcon (Aussiecon 4) in Melbourne in 2010 and since then we have become friends-in-writing and fellow […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,26,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32808","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-funstuff","category-guest-blog-posts","category-other-writers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32808","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32808"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32808\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32832,"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32808\/revisions\/32832"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32808"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32808"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32808"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}