A Writer in Yosemite, Part Three: Bonnie Hearn Hill panel talks point of view in fiction - By N.L. Belardes
Yesterday I walked in on Bonnie Hearn Hill as she talked fiction with a class. The energy was high and the laughter just as fun. She gave me a hard time and I was a bit bashful as I wandered to the front of the class, only because I didn’t want to steal Bonnie’s thunder… just kidding. She took off her shoes, kicked back and talked about advanced fiction writing tips…
I promised I wouldn’t write about “angry nipples”, so onto today’s workshop on ‘Point of View in Fiction’ as I attempt to blog as the panel speaks: Bonnie Hearn Hill, Irene Webb, Jeff Parker, and Andrea Brown…
BHH: It’s about whose voice you’re in and how the scene is focused. It’s how you see the story through a visceral camera. We all look at this room in a different way through our eyes… What POV does the panel prefer to write or sell?
IW: I love a really good first person narrative. I think it comes from my childhood… books about girls telling their story… generally speaking my favorite aren’t in the first person… suspense actiony…straight ahead storytelling.
JP: POV is real interesting and relevant to voice and storytelling. I really have to know the tone and atmosphere before starting a book. Sometimes I try a journalistic approach, and then maybe change to a first person…I’ll see how that feels… then after experimentation you know which one is best because it just feels right… it’s like a shoe and you go, “Yeah, this is it.” A third person you see what happens in a character they don’t see in themselves… a good work of fiction is very flexible and can have competing levels…
BHH: POV ping pong is not omniscient... When I read California Girl it starts in first person and then went on from other points of view… how did you do that?
JP: California Girls is structured now then, now, forward plot. The hardest part was to make the decisive lead clear… I led each chapter with a year to make it clear.
AB: I don’t believe in writer’s block… means you’re writing the wrong thing… try something else. Never tell anyone you have writer’s block. Makes you sound unprofessional.
BHH: How many POV for a first time writer?
IW: When picking up a manuscript by an unknown writer… if POV changes and verb tense changes, that’s a disaster. Simplicity is the best approach. What you want is the person to read your material, fall in love with the characters… if you’re trying to impress, you won’t get any of those things…
BHH: Sometimes best-selling authors see someone like Jeff Parker who does multiple POV very well… they learn a lesson publicly if they can’t do it… stick to one until you’re really comfortable.
JP: …if you’re doing it right you’re readers won’t notice it… if by page 300 they still haven’t figured out your POV, then you’re successful.
IW: I feel in adult literary fiction of any kind, first person makes it feel kind of small… like it’s a little story… doesn’t feel like it’s going to be a best seller. It’s the exception if it’s a first person novel that everyone’s talking about.
AB: You’re limited in first person. Think about a 500 page novel in first person. It’s limiting. Why not want to give yourself as much freedom as possible?
BHH: I think new writers are just looking for their voice when using first person… get your stride… get your voice… I personally could not write a whole book in first person. I would bore myself silly…
AB: Writers guide to crafting stories for children by Nancy Lamb… a great book for POV. Perspective of a story and the way a story is expressed…
BHH: Most books define but don’t tell you how to do a POV. Just knowing what those terms are isn’t enough…
If you want more info, there’s a CD of the entire Yosemite Writers Conference that will be available…
Matildakay reports:
A great literary weekend
What's your type?
The Mary Wong Lee Memorial Scholarship
Malcolm Margolin is Posh
Hanging out with the Pirates of Yosemite and setting the record straight
Kill Your Darlings
N.L. on Paperback Writer reports:
A Writer in Yosemite: Part One
A Writer in Yosemite: Part Two
A Writer in Yosemite: Part Three
A Writer in Yosemite: Part Four
A Writer in Yosemite: Part Five
A Writer in Yosemite: Part Six
A Writer in Yosemite: Part Seven
A Writer in Yosemite: Part Eight
I promised I wouldn’t write about “angry nipples”, so onto today’s workshop on ‘Point of View in Fiction’ as I attempt to blog as the panel speaks: Bonnie Hearn Hill, Irene Webb, Jeff Parker, and Andrea Brown…
BHH: It’s about whose voice you’re in and how the scene is focused. It’s how you see the story through a visceral camera. We all look at this room in a different way through our eyes… What POV does the panel prefer to write or sell?
IW: I love a really good first person narrative. I think it comes from my childhood… books about girls telling their story… generally speaking my favorite aren’t in the first person… suspense actiony…straight ahead storytelling.
JP: POV is real interesting and relevant to voice and storytelling. I really have to know the tone and atmosphere before starting a book. Sometimes I try a journalistic approach, and then maybe change to a first person…I’ll see how that feels… then after experimentation you know which one is best because it just feels right… it’s like a shoe and you go, “Yeah, this is it.” A third person you see what happens in a character they don’t see in themselves… a good work of fiction is very flexible and can have competing levels…
BHH: POV ping pong is not omniscient... When I read California Girl it starts in first person and then went on from other points of view… how did you do that?
JP: California Girls is structured now then, now, forward plot. The hardest part was to make the decisive lead clear… I led each chapter with a year to make it clear.
AB: I don’t believe in writer’s block… means you’re writing the wrong thing… try something else. Never tell anyone you have writer’s block. Makes you sound unprofessional.
BHH: How many POV for a first time writer?
IW: When picking up a manuscript by an unknown writer… if POV changes and verb tense changes, that’s a disaster. Simplicity is the best approach. What you want is the person to read your material, fall in love with the characters… if you’re trying to impress, you won’t get any of those things…
BHH: Sometimes best-selling authors see someone like Jeff Parker who does multiple POV very well… they learn a lesson publicly if they can’t do it… stick to one until you’re really comfortable.
JP: …if you’re doing it right you’re readers won’t notice it… if by page 300 they still haven’t figured out your POV, then you’re successful.
IW: I feel in adult literary fiction of any kind, first person makes it feel kind of small… like it’s a little story… doesn’t feel like it’s going to be a best seller. It’s the exception if it’s a first person novel that everyone’s talking about.
AB: You’re limited in first person. Think about a 500 page novel in first person. It’s limiting. Why not want to give yourself as much freedom as possible?
BHH: I think new writers are just looking for their voice when using first person… get your stride… get your voice… I personally could not write a whole book in first person. I would bore myself silly…
AB: Writers guide to crafting stories for children by Nancy Lamb… a great book for POV. Perspective of a story and the way a story is expressed…
BHH: Most books define but don’t tell you how to do a POV. Just knowing what those terms are isn’t enough…
If you want more info, there’s a CD of the entire Yosemite Writers Conference that will be available…
Matildakay reports:
A great literary weekend
What's your type?
The Mary Wong Lee Memorial Scholarship
Malcolm Margolin is Posh
Hanging out with the Pirates of Yosemite and setting the record straight
Kill Your Darlings
N.L. on Paperback Writer reports:
A Writer in Yosemite: Part One
A Writer in Yosemite: Part Two
A Writer in Yosemite: Part Three
A Writer in Yosemite: Part Four
A Writer in Yosemite: Part Five
A Writer in Yosemite: Part Six
A Writer in Yosemite: Part Seven
A Writer in Yosemite: Part Eight
This entry was posted by N.L. Belardes, on
Saturday, August 26, 2006.
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That really sounds fascinating. POV is something a lot of people don't think of. Then again, why would you unless you were teasing a story out of your brain?
This was a good session on point of view... a lot of great discussion and good information!
So much information this weekend to absorb.
A funny thing happened as I started digesting this entry. My eyes wandered, looking at the area around my desk, as if different characters were going to leap up and demand center stage.
That was funny.
Don't my "other" personalities know that only I can have center stage?! LOL. J/k... not really...
wow! POV is very important, huh?
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