Writing In Retirement Blog

Point of View (POV) is one of the elements of every story and often it is the least discussed. Because the POV filters everything the reader learns in the story, it has a prominent position in storytelling. Through the POV used, the reader experiences the feelings, thoughts, and motivations of one or many characters depending on which POV the writer uses. The POV shows what the character knows, which is different than what the author knows. The POV used determines how the reader understands and experiences the story. Let’s take a look at the types of POVs that are acceptable in storytelling.

First Person POV

The first person POV is only seen in writing. No similar style of storytelling appears in theater or movies. This POV tells the story in the eyes of one character. It can be either the main character (First person) or a peripheral character (Peripheral first person POV) that tells the story only through their POV.  Because the story only contains one person’s POV, it can be biased and incomplete. It tells how one person experiences the story, not the “whole” story. Hint: The pronouns used in this POV are “I,” “me,” and “my.”

Second Person POV

The second person POV is seen the majority of the time in nonfiction or instructional manuals. However, it can be used in fiction when the author wishes to make the audience part of the story, such as in a story where the reader decides on the ending. The author is directly addressing the audience. Hint: The pronouns used in this POV are ”You,” “You’re,” and “Your.”

Third Person POV

The third person POV is the most frequently used POV in fiction. With the third person POV the narrator is outside of the story and relates the story to the readers.  This narrator is not involved in the story but tells of the actions and thoughts of the characters in the story. The author is talking about someone or something within the story.  Hint: the pronouns used are “he” “she,” “it,” and “they.” There are three versions of the third person POV.

Third person limited is when the POV is limited to one person’s thoughts and feelings. The main character can be the conduit through which the story flows, or the story can come through another character further from the Main Character which then becomes the narrator.

The third person multiple is similar to Third person limited, but instead of one person’s thought and feelings, the narrator follows several characters. There is danger in this as the author must make sure not to confuse the reader. The switching of POVs must be carefully engineered to avoid ‘head hopping.’

Third person omniscient is when the narrator knows everything and has full access to the thoughts and feelings of all the characters. The author is like a god who knows all.

 

Whichever POV you use you must be consistent. A good rule of thumb is to establish the POV you are using within the first one or two paragraphs. The POV you choose reflects how intimate the reader will become to the characters. Most important? Pick the POV that serves your story the best.

 

What POV do you use the most? Comments are always welcome!

Happy I Want You to be Happy Day!

Yes! March 3^rd is that sweet day dedicated to making another person happy just because … It doesn’t have to be a big thing like giving away a million bucks – although I wouldn’t say “No” to that! It’s holding the door open for someone who is having trouble with it. It’s making breakfast for you sweetheart. It’s buying lunch for the car behind you in the drive-thru lane. It’s doing something special for anyone really. The reason? Just because.

Doing something to make another person happy has an unusual effect – it grows and multiples. As you make one person happy, that person feels great and because of that – makes another happy and on it goes.  I can’t give all of you a hug, but perhaps a silly limerick, or two, or three by me will bring a smile to your face. Here goes!

Limerick 1

There once was a pretentious bookcase

That sat next to the fireplace

Alphabetically, the books were in line

In a way to show each spine

Haughtily showing its knowledge base.

 

Okay so how about this one?

 

Limerick 2

There once was a weekly blogger

Who impressed everyone with her swogger

It was out there in cyberspace

That her blog was a showcase

And she really was a good jogger.

 

And finally!

 

Limerick 3

Limericks are such fun!

You’ll smile like eating a cinnamon bun.

AABBA is the trail.

With that, you will never fail.

Try your hand at one.

 

I hope I have made you smile.

Happy,

I Want You To Be Happy Day!

Comments are always welcome. Share a limerick or two.

Dear readers, I was having difficulty getting my thoughts together today. Instead, I came up with this rather nonsensical poem. Enjoy!

ODE TO MY BLOG

By Marie Staight

It appears I am in a horrid fog

For writing my weekly blog.

I wonder if I used some dialog

I’d deliver a post for my blog.

Perhaps if I listened to a chorus of frogs,

Ideas would flow to my blog.

I know! I shall have some eggnog

So I can blog-gity, blog, blog, blog.

So sad I have no clever monologue.

To write today for this blog.

I shall instead write an epilogue

For this writer’s blog.

It appears it is the swirling smog

Around my head, that blocks my writer’s blog.

 

Comments? Always welcome!

 

 

 

Prompts are a wonderful way to strengthen your creative writing skills. They also serve as a conduit to stretch our imagination and write freely. Prompts come in many ‘flavors.’

• They can vary from explicit to vague;
• They can commence from a starting sentence or give you an ending sentence;
• They can list words that you must include in the story/poem;
• They can give you a cartoon or picture to spark your imagination for a story/poem;
• They can give you a setup for your writing such as a fill-in-the-blank character or setting;
• They can ask you to reword someone else’s work or expand someone else’s story, e., a different take on a fairy tale or morality tale.

There are as many variations of prompts as there are snowflakes. They give us a starting point – a place from which to build. Prompts remove any preconceived ideas because they present unexpected topics. We can then experiment from that point forward. After writing from many prompts, I have some tips for writing from them.

     1. Write the obvious: Write the less obvious.

A prompt can be taken exactly as it is written or you can look at it through a different lens and explore the less obvious. Say your prompt is to write about a ‘key.’ You could then concoct a story about the object that is a key. But looking at the prompt with a less obvious lens, the key could be the essential reason for doing something, or it could be the pitch for a musical number. Or you could write about the lock connected to the key. Before you plunge into writing, give some thought to how you want to interpret the prompt.

     2. Keep Writing

Once you start writing, keep going. The important thing is to keep the words flowing. If you hit a glitch, think “and then…” over and over until a thought forms, and you can go from there. Remaining open to your thoughts helps to reveal the story you want to tell.

     3. Don’t Edit

Stopping to edit can break the flow of your writing. I am a great proponent of using a spelling/grammar checker program like Grammarly to point out the errors after I have written the story. I also use the speaking function of WORD to listen to the story to edit the flow or to pick up less obvious problems in the prose, but I do this after I have gotten the story on the page.

      4. Use Sensory Descriptions

Use all your sensations in your descriptions. As we have discussed in other blog posts, giving specific sensory descriptions draws your readers into the story and has them experiencing what you are experiencing. Strong descriptions are not necessarily lengthy ones, but by using words which express the specific quality of the experience you want to explain, your descriptions will be clear and crisp.

      5. Be Proud Of Your Finished Project

The goal of writing from a prompt is to stretch your imagination and practice your ability to construct a narrative that makes sense. Filling a page with words that matter is a great accomplishment. Your story is unique to you, so don’t go comparing your work to another’s work – especially if you do your prompt reading in a group session. What matters is that you were able to construct something out of thin air and they were too. So revel in your accomplishment and be proud.

The adage of practice, practice, practice is an excellent one, especially in relationship to your writing.  I’ve put together five practical tips for improving how you can practice your creative writing skills.

1. Capture the ideas that you want to write. There is nothing like having an idea land in your head and realizing that it would make a wonderful story. The problem is that if you don’t capture that little bubble of a story. Pop! It is gone! So keep a notebook handy to write down those bubbles of ideas so when you sit down to write – you have something clever to write.
2. Research specific types of writing and then practice that: Improve your writing by focusing on one type of writing or improving one aspect of writing at a time. For instance, if you want to learn to write poems; research poems and then practiced writing poems.
3. Write outside your comfort zone: Step out of those things you feel comfortable with and try to write something different. When I first started to write, I thought I would never be able to write dialog, or a children’s story, or a poem, so I practiced those things, and now I enjoy all of that. Writing prompts are a wonderful way to push yourself to try new things.
4. Edit and Rewrite: First drafts tend to be messy. Proofreading is a must. But beyond that, first drafts are full of mistakes and read rough. Rewriting is the only way you can make your writing more polished and clear. Examining the content of what you have written and then strengthening words and phrases, or cutting out fluffy parts is all part of rewriting. Another way to look at rewriting is to restructure what you have written. To make the story read better restructure it by moving a paragraph or a sentence to another part of the draft. The more you practice the skills of rewriting the better your writing will be.
5. Welcome feedback and criticism: Having a writing partner or an editor helps you to concentrate on the parts of your writing that need improvement. Joining a writing group can be helpful also. Reading that which you have written out loud often helps you to recognize mistakes or things that are not clear.

 

Comments are welcome!