Rivet Your Readers With Deep Point Of View (2012) - Plot & Excerpts
The problem that Ms. Nelson gives us is that her take on Deep Point of View being something different than regular Point of View as we know it, is only supported by examples from her own writing.Why has she not delved into the best of literature to find examples and show us that there, Point of View would fall flat or that great writers, other than she, use this technique. Were she credentialed and able to provide years of course work showing how this has been applied over and over by writers making break out books, then we would know that the adoption of these techniques lend something to prose.But we see rather that one can expend the effort and still have no idea if by doing so, you as an author have poured over your manuscript a few more times to add dripping observations of the senses into your point of view character, only then to find an editor who might give you LiM, Less is More.And by doing so, reverse all of the points that Ms. Nelson makes. Still, there are ideas in the work, just they need to be presented better, with reference to the masters. And they need to be taken with a modicum of perspective. Some tales lend themselves to what Ms. Nelson presents, and some, I think, do not. How I Came To Read This Book: I wanted to pick up some writing strategy and structure books awhile ago, and this one has pretty solid reviews on Goodreads plus it’s a booklet (read: cheap) so it topped up an order I was placing for free shipping.The Plot: The idea behind this book is to tweak your writing (or at least be conscious of it) across about 6 or 7 different points in order to make your writing more lively and action-based. The overall goal is to remove the invisible wall or distance the invisible narrator (that would be you, the writer) can sometimes put up, in favour of allowing your reader to absorb themselves in the character and the character’s world. The first couple of chapters are really basic explorations of voice, perspective and tense, but the bulk of the book delves deeper into various stylistic choices and provides you with little worksheets to test your abilities at deepening point of view. For example, instead of saying something like “I could smell her really strong perfume,” you might say, “A pungent, floral aroma wafted off her body and invaded my nose.” The book is very straightforward, with a few lines of explanation and various comparison examples to help you get the hang of lazy versus deep point-of-view. It’s worth mentioning upfront that virtually every ‘real’ example comes from the author’s own novels; whether this is because of licensing issues or self-promotion, I don’t know. It still helps get the point across but it may irritate some folks. The Good & The Bad: This is a very quick little manual that helps to illuminate common writing mistakes. It wasn’t that I didn’t know the rules she speaks about, but I think going through the process of reading this book and doing the exercises that I feel like I’ll be more conscious about them going forward. Case in point, I started reading another novel right after finishing this booklet and could find myself picking apart certain sentences or noticing some ‘rules’ being broken (ex: “I watched” was inserted unnecessarily). The first couple of chapters are really very, very basic but the rest of the book is pretty insightful. I just like the idea of applying these simple techniques to really polish off my writing.A handful of minor caveats that knock this one down a bit – one, it’s a short book that’s heavy on examples as opposed to theory, so if you don’t already have a modicum of talent this book won’t really help you. But for the price (I paid $5) it’s a worthy resource to have handy when drafting a novel. Two, the aforementioned samples primarily come from the author’s own writing. If self-promotion bugs you, look elsewhere. Three, some of the ‘better’ examples to me felt like purple prose – just a little overwrought in some cases when I felt like there were more subtle or lyrical ways to express things. Four, the book is primarily geared toward third-person narrative, although a chapter is wedged in there at the end exploring how these principles still apply to first-person. Finally, the author is a mass market mystery / action writer, so while I think these rules could apply to virtually any genre, some of the choices in the examples / worksheets feel geared toward that particular genre. Also, I wish a final summary checklist was included at the end – I’m going to make my own. The Bottom Line: Slim but straightforward, this workbook is a valuable little tool to have on a writer’s desk while polishing off those manuscripts.Anything Memorable?: Nope.60-Book Challenge?: Book #5 in 2014
What do You think about Rivet Your Readers With Deep Point Of View (2012)?
A slim manual packed with invaluable tips and advice. Recommended for all writers.
—Becca
A good resource for writers wanting to deepen their POV characters.
—chickletsmydear
