Point of view — you don’t even know what it is until you start trying to write fiction. Then the questions start. Whose story is this? First person or third? Can I use omniscient? What about multiple points of view? How to handle point-of-view shifts? Does it matter if the viewpoint slip-slides? How does POV relate to narrative voice? This workshop explores answers to all these questions and more. In class writing exercises.
Topics include:
– Viewpoint choices
– How viewpoint changes the story and determines what the reader knows
– Deciding where you want the “camera” to tell your story – close or at a distance; fixed or flexible; one viewpoint or several
– Point of view options, advantages and disadvantages
– Sliding viewpoint and head hopping: How to get viewpoint under control
– How to add attitude to create a memorable and unique narrative voice.
