Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Fanfic Related Improving one's writing

I've found that writing L&C fanfic is different than other kinds of fiction because we have two main characters--Lois and Clark. And as readers we want to know what both are thinking.

I used one POV in Divinity's Ends here where it's all from Lois's POV because she's dealing with her problem and I didn't think that it was necessary to see Clark's POV. Having said that, it was interesting to read the feedback on the boards where readers wanted to know what Clark was thinking. For me, that was an entirely different story.

Sometimes it's fun to challenge oneself and write a story from a POV other than Lois and Clark's. The fish is an example. So is using Perry or Jimmy. But that means that the writer needs to be doing a lot of "showing" since we can't get into our favourite characters' heads. Fun exercise though.

Schoolmarm, a request: This thread is getting cumbersome for my slow moving old computer. Would you consider starting a new topic for each new writing hint. Perhaps you could label it: Improve One's Writing: POV.

I'm really enjoying reading what the "professionals" say and what our readers say.

gerry

Now here's something weird...

I thought that, in most stories I've written, I've kept a 'neutral' POV. Not Lois's, not Clark's. Just what the watcher sees.

But, if I understand this correctly, writing introspection means that you're using someone's POV?

I guess I'll have to think it over. Maybe it'll help me write better introspection.
See ya,
AnnaBtG.

Anna, it sounds like you're talking about the omniscient POV -- where the reader can peek into any character's head at any time. It used to be a lot more popular... see Georgette Heyer for an example of head-hopping! <g> I think of it as sort of the writing equivalent of a TV camera -- instead of reading an actor's face and body language, you're reading the description of it. And the camera shows you every character.

PJ

So I'm not doing anything weird? Thanks for the encouragement, Pam!

AnnaBtG.

Going back to Erin's example of showing actions by the speaker to indicate who is talking:

That technique is often called "using beats." And by and large, it's an excellent way to avoid repititious attributions or flamboyant verbs to show who said what. Nevertheless, as with any technique, moderation is the key. If you put in a beat with every line of dialogue, you are likely to overwhelm the dialogue with action. And if the conversation you are showing is important, you probably don't want to do that. So again, you might want to have a beat every few lines or so, to help the reader visualize the scene and know who is speaking.

Schoolmarm

Regarding POV...

Use the POV of the character with the most to lose in a specific scene. Usually this is the hero or heroine (in most cases here, that's Lois or Clark). If the central character is not on the scene, use the POV of the most important character.