I’m in the process of changing my WIP, THE STINKING FLOWER, from first to third person point of view. A year ago this would have seemed an impossible task. Through my revisions and my drafts of query letters and synopses, I’ve learned more about my characters and my story. There’s nothing cozy or chatty about the world where my protagonist lives. Even when she’s with friends or her lover, the conversation turns to death and rape.
My first few drafts written in the first person point of view helped me with credibility and authenticity. However, when I stepped back from my story, I saw that my protagonist could more easily journey through a dark world if I wrote in the third person point of view. She separated from her creator.
My decision doesn’t mean that I’m not interested in other points of view and how they work in different novels. First person, present tense works for Hank Phillippi Ryan’s Charlotte McNally series because TV reporters come into our living rooms and report intimately on breaking news. The first person, past tense works in Roberta Isleib’s ASKING FOR MURDER and Rosemary Harris’s PUSHING UP DAISIES because the protagonists are defined in part by what they do. Roberta Isleib’s Dr. Butterman is a shrink and an advice columnist. Rosemary Harris’s Paula Holliday is a gardener. My protagonist changes in THE STINKING FLOWER because of the dark subject matter she has to confront.
I’m using multiple third person points of view in another novel I’ve just started. So far, it seems to work but maybe a year from now, I’ll change it.
Janet Evanovich starts ELEVEN ON TOP by having her main character introduce herself to the reader and talk about her previous work experience. According to many writers, editors, and agents that is a no-no. However, Stephanie Plum is a brand name and so she’s known as well as a best friend to many of Evanovich’s readers and therefore it seems natural for her to address the reader. As an unknown writer, I wouldn’t attempt that kind of intimacy with readers.
I’m reading Stieg Larsson’s trilogy. He’s been criticized for being too wordy, for jumping from one character’s point of view to another in consecutive chapters, and for telling and not showing, among other criticisms. I’m sure Stieg Larsson has his faults as a writer but I’ve enjoyed the first two novels and anticipate enjoying the third. By chapter three in the first book, I had faith that characters’ storylines would mesh. The novels are almost too long to fit into a paperback. Whenever I’ve changed a telling section in a chapter into a scene, the story expanded. Naturally, a novel doesn’t have to fit into a print category but, from a practical point of view, how many readers today delve into thousand page books?
Point of view, tense, style, they are all possibilities until a writer makes a choice. Perhaps when agents say they don’t like first person or present tense or there’s too much telling and not enough action, they’re just finding a way to reject a particular manuscript because it doesn’t appeal to their tastes.
How do you choose point of view and tense?
