Writing Tip of the Day-POV

First Person is the most intimate POV. It tells the story from the internal viewpoint of the protagonist. Complete knowledge of the actions, thought processes and emotions of this “I” character are included, but excluded are events in which the character has no direct participation.

Writing Tip of the Day-POV

Multiple First Person presents the viewpoints of a number of different characters, each of whom acts as eyewitness to events. The effect is a story in which interpretation of the action changes depending on the mindset of each "I" character. An example is the novel written as a series of letters.

Writing Tip of the Day-POV

Philosophical First Person is a detached viewpoint in which a single character acts as eyewitness to events and the actions of the protagonist. The character may or may not play a central role in the story. A notable example is Dr. Watson, narrator of the Sherlock Holmes mysteries.

Writing Tip of the Day-POV

In Limited Omniscience POV the author explores the actions and reactions of a small number of characters, often as few as two. This viewpoint has also been called Multiple Third Person, and is a staple of commercial fiction.

Writing Tip of the Day-POV

Omniscient POV is a god-like perspective in which the author sees all, knows all. External actions and reactions of multiple characters are described at will, but the internal workings of their minds and emotions may or may not be given. It’s the least intimate POV, and the type used in much of classic literature. In this viewpoint, the author sometimes intrudes with personal opinions and philosophical musings.

Writing Tip of the Day-POV

There are six possible viewpoints from which a story can be presented, ranging from the completely impersonal Omniscient to the extremely personal First Person. The author chooses the view from which the story will be written based on how he/she wants the reader to experience it.

Writing Tip of the Day-POV

Viewpoint or point of view—shortened in our fast-paced society to the acronym POV—is the angle from which the author writes the story. POV controls the nature of the author's narrative. A change in POV can radically change the character of a story.

Writing Tip of the Day-General

Keeping a log of the daily progress of your book, jotting down the page and word counts for every writing session, is a good habit. It not only provides a gauge of your output but acts as a spur for more progress.

Writing Tip of the Day-Scenes

The white space sometimes left between scenes is known as a space transition. This is used when the scene to follow is written from the viewpoint of a different character or when it has little or no direct relationship to the previous scene. To indicate that the blank space is a transition rather than a manuscript formatting error, it's customary to center a symbol in it, usually a pound sign (#) or three asterisks (***).

Writing Tip of the Day-Scenes

Traditional subjects for the creation of transition paragraphs between scenes are: Time (An hour later...), Date (The following Sunday was...), Weather (It was still raining when...), Circumstances (His leg had healed before...), Emotions (She could hardly believe...) or Physical reactions (Her heart beat slowed as...). Others can be used with good results if you are aware of their purpose.

Writing Tip of the Day-Scenes

Each separate scene in a book is connected to the next by transition phrases or paragraphs which bridge the gap between them in a logical manner. These phrases or paragraphs may be utilitarian, or can be used to add extra entertainment or story value.

Writing Tip of the Day-Scenes

Traditionally a scene is written from the viewpoint of the character with the greatest stake in its outcome or whose thoughts and reactions will be of most interest to the reader. It's acceptable, however, to write the first portion of a scene in one viewpoint, and the last portion in another, if events within the scene change what’s at stake.

Writing Tip of the Day-Scenes

It’s usually best to write each scene from the viewpoint of a single character. Following this rule allows for greater exploration of character and eliminates the annoying habit known as “head hopping,” or jumping from one character’s viewpoint to another without sufficient reason.

Writing Tip of the Day-Scenes

There are no hard and fast rules for the length of a scene. It can be as short as two or three paragraphs or as long as a chapter or more. It can begin in one chapter and end in the next. Regardless, the average scene length for most books, particularly in romance, is 7 – 10 pages, or approximately half a chapter.

Jennifer Blake Newslettter-September

Greetings:

It was pleasantly cool—still T-shirt weather but not hot—when I walked the dogs this morning. Somehow it felt as if fall is just around the corner though I know it will be November before we really see it. A part of it was the slant of sun as it moves more to the south, also the drift of dead leaves caused by dry weather, the late wildflowers that are blooming and the buds showing up on the goldenrod. Whatever the cause, I'm ready. This has been such a busy summer: my husband and I were in Colorado in late May to open the summer house there; my two daughters, six grandkids and I cruised around the Mediterranean in June; I hosted a 10-day quilting retreat at the Colorado house in July; and then my husband and I spent a few weeks in the mountains to escape the August heat. Play time is over now, and the new book is calling.

Many writers swear that driving jump-starts their creativity, something about occupying the logical left brain with a monotonous task so the creative right brain can play with ideas. Riding while someone else drives works better for me! I plotted two books and jotted down beaucoup ideas for the work in progress during the drive home from Colorado last week. Maybe I should head out again, after all, when the aspens turn in October?

Book 3 of my medieval trilogy is progressing slowly but surely. I'm on Chapter 4 and putting 1000-2000 words on it every day. The goal is to finish the rough draft by Halloween. That will give me several months to go over the manuscript—I usually revise once for content and then run through it again to polish the language. The deadline for this story is April 1, however, so I had better stay on schedule.

This past month has seen several new publications, foreign and otherwise. ROYAL SEDUCTION, from 1983, was released in the Classic Reprint program from Sourcebooks; DAWN ENCOUNTER (book 2, Masters at Arms series) was published in Japan, and TRIUMPH IN ARMS (book 6, Masters at Arms series) was brought out in the United Kingdom, also in Germany as Im Wirbel der Gefühle. The brown truck keeps bringing more editions for the author copy book shelves, but I'm running out of room.

I've embarked upon a new endeavor. I'll be doing a monthly blog post in cooperation with other writers who work with my publishing house, Mira Books. A different Mira author will post every day, with my first effort appearing on September 9. To check out all the insights and happenings from this crew go to: http://community.eharlequin.com/content/mira-author-blog

I'm excited! My younger daughter is buying a house less than a mile from ours here on the lake. (You may remember that her husband was killed in a car accident in February.) She and her four children will be moving from Mississippi when school is out next year. It will be great to have her closer: someone to walk with, shop with, lunch with and, hopefully, work with on book projects. I'm also looking forward to more time spent fishing, quilting, traveling and keeping up with the grands.

With warmest wishes for better times and lovely fall weather wherever you live—plus a glorious Labor Day weekend coming up!

Jennifer

Writing Tip of the Day-Scenes

Many writers jot down a rough outline of the events and ideas for a scene before they begin writing. This not only helps keep the scene on track but eases the brain into the day’s work.

Writing Tip of the Day-Scenes

A scene, like a book, should have a beginning, middle and end. Reader interest should be hooked as it starts, held by plot and/or character revelations, etc., as it continues, and carried forward at the close by the promise of more revelations to come.

Writing Tip of the Day-Scenes

The purpose of a scene may be to illustrate an actual plot point, but can also be to display other vital information, to reveal character, develop the primary relationship, explore the emotional reactions of characters, expand a secondary plot, foreshadow coming events,and so on.