Phillip Williams - Author
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Starting book number one, I was supposed to just write a novel start to finish, not worrying about grammar or plot holes, etc. Then put it away for six months and return to it with fresh eyes to analyse. The act of finishing the novel supposedly giving me the power to know that I can.
Along the way though, I am teaching myself things that I would like to adopt as I write. This might be slowing the process down somewhat but I think it will be even more beneficial for me in the long run. Thus, I’ve started reading up on point-of-view writing techniques and how to build tension in my prose. I’ve watched a few videos on YouTube from the Author Learning Centre who interview established authors to get their perspectives. I’ve also read some interesting articles covering the subject. The general consensus that I gleaned from this was that a writer should stick to either the first person, or the third person. Only switching between the two if you know how to pull it off. A nod to the book Stone Cold by Robert Swindells. A great read that I would recommend. If you are new to the concept, then just briefly if you write in the first person then you tell the story through the eyes of the character; I did this, I did that, I am, etc. If you write in the third person then you are writing about the characters from an outside perspective; they did this, they did that, they are. There is also tense: past, present, future. I’ve yet to see a novel written solely in the future tense. I imagine that would be an incredibly difficult read. Basically, past tense is when you write about something that has happened, present tense is when you write about something that is currently happening, future tense when it has not yet occurred. You probably already knew that. So, to put all of that into context, I am writing my book in the third person in the past tense (and that last sentence was in the first person in present tense. Mind. Blown.) and I have found it a challenge to keep myself from doing what we authors call ‘head-hopping, where you are writing from multiple character perspectives in one scene. Ideally, I would like to limit this as much as possible because it makes it confusing for the reader. In chapter three, which I have just finished, I fell victim to this. Therefore, I will be going back and re-wording it. I still want to tell that scene from different perspectives but they don’t warrant their own chapters individually. So… what do I do to combat this? Easy, split it up. Compartmentalise. Leave a couple of lines with a spacer to indicate that the reader is about to change perspective. So, I am going to do that and I’ll let you know how I get on. Now, about building tension. How does perspective help with that? You can build tension by leaving things out. A good story doesn’t give you the entire thing on a plate. How many times have you been in touch with your insurance company to get a quotation and they’ve read out the terms and conditions to you? Have you understood everything and taken everything in first time? I very much doubt it, because it’s not interactive… it’s not engaging. Writing is about leaving things to the reader’s imagination and getting them immersed in the world you have created for them. The more you leave out, the more the reader will cook up their own stories in their heads and they will want to get to the end to find out what happened. Usually, they’ll do this to find out if their interpretation was correct. Another trick would be to anticipate what the reader might think, or manipulate it by pushing it in one direction and then flip it on its head and add a twist. Experienced writers add multiple twists. I’m likely to stick with just the one for now, though… although I haven’t figured out for myself what that twist will be just yet. I’m learning so much about my characters as I write about them. What I need to do is just slow down. I hope this has been helpful for you. Any thoughts? Anything to add? Let me know. Until next time!
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Hi, I'm Phil Williams. Welcome to my blog.
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