Point-of-view is the most important technique we have as fiction writers. This includes memoir writing. Everything in story arises from point-of-view: most powerfully motivation and, ultimately, story line.
I believe you can have a wonderful story without a complicated plot.
I don't believe you can have an interesting, much less wonderful story if you have all kinds of twists and turns of plot but the characters are skeletal. One of the reasons Stephen King became such a huge success is that he changed the horror genre by writing fascinating, fully developed characters about whom the reader cares. And he has dynamite plots. Now that's a great combo.
In a nutshell, point-of-view says to the reader...
"Dear Reader, this is whose story I am telling. This is the person (or persons) I want you to care most about. This is the person (or persons) whose mind and heart you are going to get into."
A reader wants to care about the characters. It’s one of the reasons we read novels ... Read More
I believe you can have a wonderful story without a complicated plot.
I don't believe you can have an interesting, much less wonderful story if you have all kinds of twists and turns of plot but the characters are skeletal. One of the reasons Stephen King became such a huge success is that he changed the horror genre by writing fascinating, fully developed characters about whom the reader cares. And he has dynamite plots. Now that's a great combo.
In a nutshell, point-of-view says to the reader...
"Dear Reader, this is whose story I am telling. This is the person (or persons) I want you to care most about. This is the person (or persons) whose mind and heart you are going to get into."
A reader wants to care about the characters. It’s one of the reasons we read novels ... Read More