Okay to follow up on what Casey was saying, and you may well know what I think on the O word from previous posts/arguments/rants, so I'm not entering that particular debate, but I have something else to throw out there.

I think writing from the characters POV is essential when learning to write better, personally, for various reasons, though I accept many published authors love playing God, but they are in a position of having developed to the stage where playing around with POV won't get them slush puppied.

So given that, for the sake of this thread, we agree that we are writing from, say, 2 characters POV all the way through the story, how about this chestnut:

Do you think that writing a chapter from a random characters POV in the middle of the plot, works, or does it really detract the reader, and ruin all the previous work, or can it be a useful tool to show something else happening concurrently which is important to the plot?

So, say if the previous 14 chapters have been alternating between Ray and Ashley (I mean Chucky and Sideshow Bob - soz, I've ended up mixing 3 threads in one), would it work to suddenly show a chapter from Ronald McDonald's POV, given that he will not be in the story again, at least not his POV.

Would appreciate thoughts and abuse, though I think I have decided what I am going to do, not being a pretentious philosopher, but I reckon the answers lay within us if we look hard enough.

I'm just interested in what people think, but more pertinantly, I'm a geek and just love the opportunity to discuss writing with like minded people.

Than'ya've'mush


DS
x

Davey, I think the proof of the pudding's in the eating on this one (like on most question of guideline following or fleeing). It would depend wholly on whether the writer's talented enough to get the reader into Ronald McDonald's PoV, and more to the point, really involved with him as a character, in the first sentence of his chunk. If R McD is already established in the story from other PoVs it ought to work okay - I'd never say don't do it. But you do risk readers feeling a jolt when you shift, if only because they've got used to the alternation between the others. And dozier readers may not spot the change immediately, and get confused. Which is why I'd say only do it if you can do it really, really well, and have confidence that your characters and how they're written can keep their grip on your readers whatever you do.

As always, if someone reads your work and tells you not to do something like this because 'it doesn't work', it's often because you haven't written it well enough or this isn't the right place for it, not because it's a no-no in a general way...

Emma

Thanks Emma, that's kind of what I was thinking. After some reflection, I've decided not to do it.

I was going to use it as a device in the chapter I'm writing now, but deep down I knew it was just taking an easy option. You're right, I think, it can be used well, but if the character hasn't been in the story much and is just being used as a short cut to move the plot on, there must be something wrong. So I've gone back to the drawing board and found a new device to do the same thing.

I think you're spot on about confusing the reader, and it would jar the story, as I've constructed the whole thing to be from 3 people's POV, so to do that now would be silly!

Thanks once again Emma,

Luv


Davy

You're welcome! I think this is key:

but if the character hasn't been in the story much and is just being used as a short cut to move the plot on,

Amazingly often, if something isn't working in a novel, the cure is either to do less (which sounds like what you've decided) or more (=develop R McD as an equal with the others). It's the half-heartedness of short-cut solutions that's disastrous, and the reader feels it too. In this case, they'd be thinking, 'why am I suddenly being bothered with this guy?'. So it sounds like you've come up with the right answer.

Emma

The 'fun' about nanowrimo is that I seem to have half a dozen characters fighting to tell the story - some of it is deliberate and some of it isn't. I wouldn't mind but sometimes they don't even bother to introduce themselves.

I'm just sitting back and letting them get on with it - may the best man or woman win?

It's going to be a challenge to edit!

sarah