As we get closer to actually releasing our
anthology and going through the processes necessary to do that, so many things
keep popping up that only reinforce how difficult the world of writing actually
is. Our little group of four (we are
joined in this venture by a young friend) takes a giant step forward and then
finds a dozen or so reasons to leap back.
We have so much to still sort out but daunting as that may seem our
confidence doesn’t get hit as hard these days despite the steps backwards, but
we do take them. We accept now that we
have entered a complex, competitive, confusing and all too often confounding
world. We also accept it is by choice so
we need to suck it up, buttercup, or so the expression tells us.
Over the next few posts I will probably get a
rant up on various topics as they rear their ugly head but my current little nuisance
of a problem is the POV. I know I have
previously posted on the point of view
but honestly you could post forever and still find yourself tripping over this
particular problem, or at least I can. Reflecting
on weaknesses however is so incredibly important. No matter how well you know something in your
head it doesn’t necessarily prevent you making the error over and over again
and recognising this is an integral part of being able to call yourself a
writer.
Point of View impacts strongly on the text and
anything that impacts on the text impacts on the reader. A POV can interrupt the path to maintaining tension,
to fully understanding characters, plot and easily tears at the delicate
threads writers desperately weave to connect our readers to our stories. If I understand all this then why do I go
wrong? In my own head as I write I am positive who is
talking and what they are saying and how they are saying it and most of the
time it is pretty much okay. Yes not the
most descriptive word I can use but okay has a connotation for me. It implies deep down I know something isn’t really
right. I am scared to stop and think a little more, but am too honest not to
make a note of sorts. It means part of me knows I have to delve deeper and the word
okay keeps me honest. I don’t want to be
okay because I am afraid of a little hard work but damn it I wish I could
settle for just okay. I can’t so here I
am once again trying to find answers.
You see, I have come to the conclusion that the
problem is far more I first suspected and that this affects other things like
my choice of syntax, expression, world-building and let’s just stop right there before it becomes overwhelming. If I am aware of the mechanics why do I go
off track so easily? What causes it? I am sure so many of you out there suffer
the same frustrations. If I go back to the point of view and use it as the
general dogsbody for this post I find I understand me and the problems I
encounter a little better. It is really
hard to take the POV into account when writing the events, the plot, the
characters, and when creating dialogue. It all goes so fast in your head that
the fingers can’t keep up and seem to jot words down in ways you had not
intended. This makes things difficult
because the POV is so much more; it is about whose head you are in whilst
reading the story and if you as a writer get it wrong then what chance does a
reader have then in understanding those events, that plot, those characters and
doesn’t the dialogue just become a series of words? Add to this the mix of items that go into
writing and no wonder the frustrations hit harder and you wonder what you were
thinking to ever believe you could write.
This is the crazy part of this world. It is a cycle of confidence and doubt,
excitement and terror and let’s not leave out love and hate, two emotions that
are at war inside of a writer every minute he or she breathe. And now the real crux of this post reveals
itself. We have a deadline for release,
our own but still a deadline and so every fault in the manuscript becomes
glaring and holding a hammer to batter us with.
I had to step away and look at this as I was starting to feel consumed
with doubts, more so than normal. This hampers the thinking process enormously but
surprisingly it also cleared away some of the clouds. I realised something. I
am already three sentences ahead of where the fingers are still typing. I am jumping onto the proverbial bandwagon of
negatives because it is all really going to happen. The Point of View is just a symbol of
possibilities that can go wrong but so what when I am willing to look and
re-look, test the waters and take on board whatever is thrown at me. What then is
so terrible? Does it all sound totally
insane? It’s not. This is about remaining consciously conscious
of your reader at all times and wanting to give them your best. It won’t happen if we second guess every word
and run at the first sign of hey this is
serious and we are really doing this day.
So yes I stuff up the POV in my writing quite
often. However I also understand the importance of getting it right whether in
a narration or a dialogue. I have just
finished a book that I was misguided into reading but I like to give new things
a chance. The inanity of the
conversation of the leading characters in and out of their heads was too
much. Who cares what happened to
them? Their conversation was killing me.
It wasn’t merely contradictory and at times plain silly but they sounded just
like each other and if it wasn’t for the he
said, she said you would not know
who is speaking, and even then I was still confused. I have a voice and I use it gently where I
can to speak up so my role as a reader stays most vividly alive. All of you out there have voices and if I
make mistakes then yell out and be heard. I want to hear you because being a
reader is the greatest joy no matter the genre. If you do speak up you will have someone that
listens. My lovely group and I are publishing an anthology very soon and I (very
nerve-wracked) hope to follow that up with Unexpected Obsession, from my
Unexpected Series a few weeks later. Every
bit of input now ensures a better reading experience for you or at least that
is what I pray for most nights.