Russell Cruse
  • Home
  • The Rothko Room
    • Writing The Rothko Room
    • The Rothko Room Characters
    • The Council
    • The Real Rothko Room
    • Rothko Room Covers
    • The Rothko Room Music
    • The Rothko Room Puzzles
    • Locations in The Rothko Room
    • Waifs & Strays >
      • Churchill
      • The Origin of The Council
      • The First Meeting of The Council
  • Books
    • Head Count
    • The Circling Song
  • Weblog
  • Comments
  • Ukulele Stuff
  • Weblog Selections

Peace Mission to Planetoid X

23/4/2011

1 Comment

 
So much talk about Point of View.  POV is what writers call it and many are obsessed by it to the point where aspersions on parentage and references to body parts are invoked during discussions of it and even threats to person are not unheard of.  On the off chance that you are a reader and not a writer, perhaps I should explain.

The accepted wisdom is that in any story, there must be an MC (no, not a Master of Ceremonies – a Main Character) and the MC is the one through whom the story is told.  Now, that won't be an earth-shattering revelation to most people and one would be forgiven for wondering why the  concept excites such passion amongst writers.  Well, as I understand it, in 1965 an American gent by the name of Dwight Swain wrote a book called “Tricks and Techniques of the Selling Writer”, which has been elevated to the status of a religious text in many quarters of the writing world. (He also wrote a number of other books including the wonderfully titled, “The Terror Out of Space” and “Peace Mission to Planetoid X” about which, curiously, one hears very little, these days.

Swain it is, apparently, to whom we must turn if we wish to discover the arcana of POV.

From what I can make out, like the founders of many religions, Swain's words have undergone something of a metamorphosis at the hands of his followers so that many now believe that it is tantamount to heresy for a story to have more than one POV.

“Head hopping”, they call it – when the action is viewed and interpreted by more than one character.  If the Swainites (Swainians?) spot this in a story, their inquisitors pounce and the unfortunate apostate is cast into outer darkness for all eternity.  Or ridiculed, which is much worse.

In order to cleanse their work of any such horrors, the Swainians (I think I'm coming to prefer the term) are very fond of writing in first person.  This is the equivalent of the cilice, the spiked chain worn around the thigh of the strict adherent to Opus Dei. Or the legendary Mormon body stocking.  It's uncomfortable but a sure and certain way to avoid slipping into sin.  For, in first person narrative, only the narrator's experience and opinion can be shared with the reader and (so the doctrine states) a relationship between the two is forged.  

 The third person with omniscient narrator is often frowned upon but can be tolerated so long as the writer is utterly subsumed by the “Voice”.  The “Voice” is not really the writer; it is the character played by the writer so, in first person, there is no problem but in third, God forbid the narrator should know anything more than what his characters experience.

Now, there is nothing wrong with this. It is a way of writing.  The trouble is that, for many and particularly for many Americans, it is pretty much the only way.  Why the Americans should feel this way, I can only guess but I reckon it has much to do with two things: first, a “screen” rather than a “textual” vocabulary.  The camera is the dispassionate eye, which for the most part, simply shows what is happening; second, the American belief in the sanctity of the individual that is, it seems to me, the unquestioned common thread in much American writing and cinema.

Most writers reading this will have learned little but to readers it may be news.  Next time you read a novel, perhaps you might spare a thought for the technique employed and wonder how much of it stems from the teachings of  the author of “Peace Mission to Planetoid X”

1 Comment
Michael D Scott link
22/4/2011 11:30:16 pm

Swain wrote a basic set of guidelines to enable extremely dumb writers to write books for even dumber readers. The equivalent of giving that advice to 'normal' writers is to advise Lewis Hamilton to mirror/signal/manoeuvre or Chris Hoy not to ride his bike without stabilisers.

You could argue that UK / European literature requires head-hopping and POV shifts to add depth to the story.

Third person omniscient comes in at least two flavours I call them 3PP (Third person passive) and 3PA (Third person active). 3PA is far and away the most fun to write, as the narrator becomes an active character. This allows for asides, commentary, and opinion.

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Follow this blog

    RSS Feed

    UK Amazon Kindle Forum's group-authors-bookshelf book montage
    UK Amazon Kindle Forum 222 members
    Somewhere else for those who hang around on the official Amazon Kindle Forum to slouch around.

    Our group-authors-bookshelf shelf



    View this group on Goodreads »

    Archives

    November 2015
    August 2014
    May 2014
    March 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    June 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011

    Categories

    All
    A Clockwork Orange
    Alice Cooper
    American Literature
    Andrew Mitchell
    Anthony Burgess
    Blogging
    Book Cover
    Cover Design
    Crossword
    Eastwood
    Editing
    Emperor's New Clothes
    English
    English Language
    Films
    Frazier
    Gary Barlow
    Godfrey Bloom
    Homeless
    Homeless Man
    Homophones
    Internet Down
    John Farris
    Julian Fellowes
    Kelsey Grammer
    Language
    Left-Wing
    Literary Fiction
    Lord Mcalpine
    Mark Rothko
    Nomophilia
    Nomophobia
    Patrick O'Brian
    Pleb
    Politics
    Prejudice
    Pretentious
    Promoting Literature
    Publishing
    Raimi
    Reliance On Mobile Phones
    Richard Matheson
    Self-publishing
    Semiotics
    Spin
    Twitter
    Without The Internet
    Writing


Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.