Category: writing

What Writers Need Most

by Miko Johnston

What would you guess? Perhaps a concept or workable idea. A grasp of proper grammar and punctuation. A good dictionary, thesaurus, or style manual. A viable marketing plan. A platform. A publishing contract. All important, but none of these top my list.

A while back, Jackie Houchin made an observation: “It’s no wonder that I’ve been asked by other writers if they could join our group – there is some great writing here.” As a founding member, I know this to be true, but it’s an incomplete assessment. As gifted as both present and past members may be, our greatest strength has been our support and encouragement of each other.

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Long before the Writers In Residence existed, a core group of us – mostly talented amateurs aspiring to getting published – gathered to share and critique our writing. We met through established writer’s organizations such as the late Alameda Writers Group and our local chapter of Sisters in Crime. Eventually we spun off and formed our own group. Gayle Bartos-Pool, Jackie Houchin, Bonnie Schroeder and I met through the AWG; Gayle brought in Rosemary and Jackie Vick, and the Writers in Residence was born.

Each month, one of us would send out thirty pages of a manuscript for critique, then we’d meet at a library to discuss it. We’d book the room for two hours and spent half the time socializing. We admired each other’s work, but we truly liked each other and over the years we’d become friends. Those library meetings changed to meeting for lunch at a restaurant, with critiquing on a “by request” basis. When we began, only Jackie V, Gayle and Rosemary had books published and Jackie Houchin, a journalist and reviewer, had her work printed in a local newspaper. Now the rest of us have had at least two books published, and as our membership changed over the years, bringing Madeline Gornell and Kate Thornton, then Lynda, Jill, Maggie and Hannah into the fold, our list of publications has grown.

That pool of writing talent led to a second critique group, comprised of former WinR Bonnie Schroeder, Heather Ames (an occasional guest contributor to our website), and myself. Our writing genres differed but our goals aligned. We met in person when we all lived in SoCal, then switched to online. Now we all live in different states in the Pacific Northwest, but we’ve continued our online critique group to this day.

I measure our success not only in quantity (of publications), but in quality. I can honestly say my writing has improved over the years in no small part to the WinRs and its online offspring. I believe the others in our groups have benefitted from the feedback and support we give, as well as the respect we have for each other. I’ve relied on my fellow WInRs for everything from back cover blurbs to beta reads to a simple “go for it”.

I can’t imagine accomplishing as much as I have without the help, support, and encouragement of these women. I’ve been, and continue to participate, in other writers groups, but it’s not the same. Whether because of those early years, struggling together, or the ensuing years when we’ve counted on each other for camaraderie, counseling and courage, we remain … strong, committed and together.

We’ve helped each other in other ways as well. On more than one occasion I’ve written about how much our posts have benefitted me, from the instructive series to the topical pieces that make me ponder aspects of writing. Readers, if you’re new to the blog I suggest searching through our archives for a wealth of information and suggestions on how to get ideas, start a story, polish a manuscript and overcome writers block – just put your query in our search box.

I hope those of you who follow our blog have benefitted from the posts we’ve presented for more than a decade. Some of you who visit us may have writing communities of your own that you’ve come to depend on. If so, how has it helped you in your writing, personally and professionally?  Or if you’ve ventured into writing solo, have you found community through the Writers in Residence? Let us know – we’d love to hear from you.

Miko Johnston, a founding member of The Writers in Residence, is the author of the historical fiction series, “A Petal in the Wind”. Her fifth and final book in the series is about to be published. She’s also a contributor to several anthologies, including the bestselling “Whidbey Island: An Insider’s Guide”. Miko lives in Washington (the big one) with her rocket scientist husband.

GROUP QUESTION: “Fave” Writing Book on Craft?

September Group Question: What book taught YOU the most about writing craft? What book would you RECOMMEND to other writers? 

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G. B. Pool: The book that taught me the most about writing was Aristotle’s The Poetics. I took a Philosophy course in college, and that was one of the books we read. Good ol’ Aristotle said there were Five Basic Elements in writing: Plot, Character, Dialogue, Setting, and the Meaning of the Story. I have covered each of these areas in numerous posts on Writers-in-Residence. I have also written a book on the very subject myself called The Anatomy of a Short Story, which covers those points. The points are good for short stories and novels. Without using each point in your work, you will be leaving a large hole in the story. So I thank Aristotle for his insight. 

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Jackie Houchin: My favorite book for learning the craft of writing novels (stories of any kind) is Save the Cat! Writes a Novel: The Last Book On Novel Writing You’ll Ever Need, by Jessica Brody. She has a series of “Save the Cat” books that might cover the genre you would like to write. The cover photo shows a cat hanging at the end of a rope. (I love it!)

The book reveals the 15 “beats” (plot points) that make up a successful story — from the opening image to the finale. It lays out Ten Story Genres alongside quirky, original insights (Save the Cat; Shard of Glass) to help novelists craft a plot that will captivate and sell. If you want to know how to START a novel or short story (and not a screenplay), this is a good book to buy. Yes, it may repeat things you’ve read in other books on writing, but it’s done in such a clever, easy-to-read way that you will learn easily.

And, NO, I didn’t buy the book because I like cats (although I do), but because of the easy-to-understand details on crafting a story.

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Miko Johnston: Tough question, as I’ve found many books helpful in certain aspects of writing. Two that stand out are Sol Stein’s How To Grow A Novel, which taught me, among other things, the importance of a great beginning, and Noah Lukeman’s The First Five Pages, which laid the groundwork for creating a great opening. However, I strongly recommend reading well-written books, regardless of genre, and studying the author’s techniques. That always inspires me to write, and to write better.  

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Bonnie Schroeder:  Stephen King’s On Writing taught me quite a bit. He certainly knows whereof he speaks.

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Patty Smiley: No book on writing has clarified the process as clearly as Jack M. Bickham’s Scene & Structure: How to construct fiction with scene-by-scene flow, logic, and readability. Bickham argues that readers are threatened by change, which you must introduce at the book’s beginning. Readers also want a story question to worry about. For example, in the opening scene of my latest Justice Bay mystery, A Cold November Murder, Emma McCoy discovers a murder victim in a remote rural field. She recognizes him from a chance encounter the day before but doesn’t know his name. The problem is, no one else does either. Discovering a dead body changes her life and raises a story question: Will Emma identify the victim and help find who murdered him? By the end of the book, the story question must be answered.

Each scene also raises a question. Bickham defines a scene as an action sequence that mirrors a play performed on stage. In each scene, the writer should include: 1) Scene goal. 2) Conflict: who opposes your character in this scene and why. 3) Plot twists that turn the story in another direction or deepen the conflict. 4) Resolution, i.e., an answer to the scene question, which should not be yes. Possibilities are no, yes, but… (I’ll help you, but I want a favor in return), No, and furthermore (Never come here again or I’ll call the police). A sequel follows each scene. The sequel includes the following, though it doesn’t have to be long: Emotion: how the character feels after the scene. Thought: review, analysis, planning. Decision: a newly selected goal. Action: leads to a new scene

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Linda Johnston: I know that this month we’re each supposed to tell the world about the books on writing that inspired us when we started out. Me? I really have nothing to suggest. I started reading, and writing, long ago to start my career. No book I read then particularly stands out. 

My advice to aspiring writers? Check out the books my fellow writers here suggest. And what I did then, and suggest now? Join writing organizations in the genre(s) in which you want to write and learn all you can from the other writers there.

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Thank you, ladies (members and guests) these suggestions are very helpful. I hope readers will learn from them and start writing quality books and stories for themselves.

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Here are a few more:

1. Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott;
2. The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E. B. White;
3. Into the Woods by John Yorke;
4. The Mindful Writer by Dinty W. Moore.

NOTE: We hosted a guest poster who wrote about helpful books. Here’s the link, in case we missed any good ones this time that you may be interested in. “Do Writing Books Help?” by Jacqueline Vick https://thewritersinresidence.com/2010/01/29/do-writing-books-help/

ONE MORE came in this morning:

Rosemary Lord: For me, Lynn Truss’s book immediately comes to mind: EATS SHOOTS AND LEAVES!  It’s a wonderful, humorous book about sloppy and careless grammar. 

It reminds me of the actor Michael Caine when, as a young actor in a play, he and another actor found themselves laughing hysterically at his reading of a line written: “What’s that in the road ahead.” He (intentionally) read it aloud as “What’s that in the road? A head?” 

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Reading For Writers

By Maggie King

“If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot.” – Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

Some writers disagree with Mr. King’s reading advice. They fear that by reading they’ll be influenced by other author’s voices, thus compromising their writing.  Mr. King has this to say about that choice:

“You may find yourself adopting a style you find particularly exciting, and there’s nothing wrong with that. When I read Ray Bradbury as a kid, I wrote like Ray Bradbury — everything green and wondrous and seen through a lens smeared with the grease of nostalgia. When I read James M. Cain, everything I wrote came out clipped and stripped and hardboiled. When I read Lovecraft, my prose became luxurious and Byzantine.”

Whether you agree or disagree with this renowned author’s view, you can’t deny his success.

Stephen King has more advice on the subject of reading in this article from VPM. His bottom line: “If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.”

Joyce Carol Oates, another prolific and respected writer, also encourages writers to read. I took a Masterclass course she taught and will never forget her suggesting that we read Ulysses! “If you read Ulysses by James Joyce, for example, chances are your vocabulary will improve (or, if nothing else, you’ll want your vocabulary to improve). Your work won’t necessarily come out sounding like his, but your process will be informed and elevated by him.”

More than once, I tried reading Ulysses and never made it past the first chapter. Ulysses was penned in the stream of consciousness style, a technique used to look inside a character’s mind and examine their every thought, action, and motivation. Other authors who used this style are Virginia Woolf, William Faulkner, and Toni Morrison. It is not a style that appeals to me, but I did enjoy Mrs. Dalloway. Perhaps I found the thoughts and actions Virginia Woolf gave her main character especially interesting.

But Ms. Oates is focused on James Joyce’s vocabulary, not his writing style. I didn’t get far enough in Ulysses to enhance my vocabulary. And she only offers this author as an example. She suggests studying the ways many writers compose their sentences, how they structure their stories, and how they handle dialogue.

As for James Joyce, I suggest reading The Dubliners, a fine collection of his short stories. They are not written in the stream of consciousness style. I took this on my trip to Ireland many years ago.

Masterclass offers courses on a variety of subjects. For writers, I highly recommend Joyce Carol Oates’s class on short story writing (I think her course works for novels as well). Here’s the link.

Many, if not most, writers read widely. Over the years, I’ve read classics, short stories, literary fiction, non-fiction, plays, bios, romance, and, of course, crime fiction. What I read is high-brow, low-brow, and everything between. Recent favorites are Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali, Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books by Kirsten Miller, Miss Marple, The Complete Short Stories by Agatha Christie, and Betty Hechtman’s series of crochet mysteries.

Writers, do you read widely? What are you reading now? What are your thoughts on the stream of consciousness style?

Short Stories vs. Long Stories

by Gayle Bartos-Pool

Here’s the long and the short of both…

Writers have a story to tell. Sometimes they want to produce a saga that covers decades in the lives of their many characters. Sometimes the story covers a shorter time period but lots of things happen during those days. There might be tons of details about the people, the places where the action happens, and deep diving looks into the who, what and why of the tale. This all takes pages and pages of description and dialogue that fill up a 250 or 300 or even a 400 page book.

Then there are the shorter stories that can be told in 20 to 50 pages. There will be just enough description to let the reader know a little bit about the few characters who appear in the tale. The long descriptive passages are reduced to a paragraph or maybe just a sentence. Just enough detail is left so the reader gets a rough idea about the characters, the location and the meaning of the story. As for the writer, he’s gearing these short stories to a reader who has enough imagination to fill in the gaps.

This is not to say that the reader of a long novel has no imagination. Far from it. The people who read novels want to experience every detail…basically get lost in the description and even find themselves walking down the streets of the old town mentioned in the story or watching the sunrise in some exotic locale where the main characters are talking. The description is so detailed that the reader can almost see the place for himself.

But readers have their preferences, too. Sometimes the reader has the time and the desire to get lost in a long novel. Other folks might not have the time, so they opt for several shorter stories whenever they find a few minutes to grab a cup of coffee and read.

Then there’s the other problem…

Too often people just don’t read. (Expletive deleted!) They wouldn’t think of picking up a 300-page novel, but they aren’t interested in the short story, either. What to do? What to do?

Sometimes just mentioning a book you recently read or even one you read years earlier that you really liked might pique the interest of a friend or acquaintance. If you’re trying to get a kid to finally read a book…try bribing them. Maybe $5.00 a book, but they have to tell you all about that book, not just the Editorial Review version on Amazon.

You could always start a Book Club in your neighborhood. Try including a classic book along with newer titles in the selection process. Since some of the latest books aren’t exactly Gone with the Wind, read a few and see if they capture your imagination.

Or…and here’s a challenge: Ask folks to try writing their own short story for the readers’ group and see what happens. They can read each other’s work. That will stimulate their imagination. One of my Christmas novels, Every Castle Needs a Dragon, is about a young dragon who works with Santa Claus and does just that: Lights the fire of imagination of kids so they read. Don’t we need to do that for kids and grown-ups alike?

So, try stimulating the reading urge in folks and even yourself. That’s how we learn stuff and enjoy the journey while we’re doing it.

Read and Write On!

Time Passes: How Long Do Writers Write?

by Linda O. Johnston

I know the answer most likely is FOREVER! But I’d love to hear here of any differences. 

Me? Well, I started writing my first book while in grade school, about, of course, a kid and a dog. Fortunately, I typed it out, and my mother saved it. I therefore have it in my stack of old stuff from my early days—though don’t ask me to get it out right away. I’d have to find it. 

I worked hard enough in my classes in grade school, junior high, and high school to do reasonably well. My favorite classes? English, especially if we had to write something. I don’t think I wrote a lot of stories of my own, but there were some. 

I went to Penn State for undergraduate school. My major? Journalism. And yes, I got to write assignments and otherwise. In fact, I worked in advertising and public relations for a while after graduation. 

Then came law school and the start of my legal career—and the beginning of my published novels. The first was The Glass Slipper, published in 1996. And that was just the beginning. 

I’ve been fortunate enough to have quite a few books published, and I just keep on going. But I’d love to hear from other published authors who read this. When did you start writing? When did you first get published? Are you still writing, and will you continue? 

And for those of you who are unpublished but hope to be published someday: Keep on going!

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NOTE: For some reason, our “old” blog site doesn’t often take comments from others. (We are not sure why.) But if you have an answer for Linda, you can email me (Jackie; I post these for Linda), and I’ll relay it to her. Photojaq@aol.com.

MISSING….

by Rosemary Lord

I really miss the writers’ conferences we used to have. We were lucky in California; we had at least 2 each year – sometimes more, lasting from Friday through Sunday. Sometimes starting Thursday.

They were usually in Culver City or Pasadena – occasionally downtown LA or in Long Beach.

Our Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America chapters would often pool together to present these. California Crime Writers Conference was another popular convention.

They took a lot of organizing. Planning would start at least a year ahead, sometimes longer. The writing community would be notified of the theme – there was always a theme. One of the Left Coast Crime conferences was called ‘Southwest Sleuths’, ‘Trouble in Tucson” another they called ‘Murders a Beach.’

Way, way ahead the organizers would start a Nominating Committee for attendees to vote on their favorite or best authors in different categories. The culmination of the conferences would be the Saturday Night Banquet, when awards would be given out for each category attendees had previously voted on.

Volunteers were sought – to do everything from greeting attendees, manning the check-in desks, monitoring each of the workshops and running the onsite bookshop where attending authors could sell their books. They’d thought of everything.

The buzz would start about guest speakers and who the keynote speaker would be. The late great ‘alphabet’ series author Sue Grafton was a popular choice.  Canadian writer Louise Penny another. Scottish-born Catriona McPerson was always a crowd-pleaser. They would speak at the evening events including the final night banquet.

The conference would open with a big breakfast event: a chance to see who was attending and catch up with long-lost fellow writers.

Each day, the schedule was filled with different ‘tracks’ or workshops and lectures.  There was usually a series of workshops on the craft of writing: guest writers and teachers on the ‘How To…’ aspects of actually getting something on paper. Then a Promotion Track. Once you’d sold your book and were about to be published, the lectures were on how to promote your book and yourself. This would include different publicity and promotion ideas. Do you need to hire a publicist, or can you do it on your own? That sort of thing.

Other tracks included Forensic workshops. I found these were the most fascinating. They dealt with actual crime scenes, secrets of the morgue and so on. Pictures of gruesome crime scenes – then a talk with the people that clean up all this gore. Who knew that was a job? “And what do you do for a living?” “Oh, I mop up the blood and clean up murder scenes…” How’s that for a party-stopper?

There’d be a workshop on how to murder someone – fun things like that. Discussions on the efficacy of different poisons – and how quick-acting they would be – or not. Painful deaths or a quick ‘you’re dead.’ We must sound quite mad – but when you get all these writers minds together, sparks really do fly! And amazing new thrillers and tales of murder and mayhem get spawned.

Investigation talks from FBI agents, detectives and private investigators would discuss their different approaches and what their work entailed. FBI agents and private detectives talked about their procedures and presented a mock-up of a crime scenes with questions and answers.

The Nick Harris Detective Agency enthralled attending writers with tales going back to their origins as the first detective agency in in Los Angeles starting in 1906. Would love to have been a fly on the wall then!

Agents from the police department would discuss police procedures and answer the writer’s many questions.

There would be field trips. One that I went on was to the city Forensic Lab, where we were shown investigations in progress on different murders. There was a set up with dummies and infra-red lights working out the trajectory of bullets in a dummy corpse. Another was a bench where a young victim’s clothes were set out for examination. Brown grocery bags were stacked with evidence.  Other field trips would be a tour of local murder sites and other fun things!

There would be workshops on historical novel writing, historical research and marketing the same. Aspects of writing novels set in foreign countries. Other ‘tracks’ would be on the publishing side of a writer’s world. Agents, editors, publishers would offer their expertise. Of course, the unpublished writers all hoped to get taken on by one of them. Everything a mystery writer or novelist could want.

One of the best things about these long weekends at the conferences is that we writers would all get together. Writer friends from all over the world would congregate for the weekend. A chance to meet authors of new books we’d read. A chance to compare notes, compare writing methods and swap ideas. We’d catch up with out of towners at the hotel bar – or over the New Authors Breakfasts served in the ballroom, where novice writers were introduced. At the lunches (served in the same room) it was a chance to sit with someone new, make new friends. The Saturday night Banquet was when everyone would dress up and applaud the nominees and winners for the Best First Novel, the Best Historic Novel, Best YA (Young Adult) Novel. And so on. And a grand time would be had by all.

And so, the Sunday morning departures were often bitter-sweet. Time to get back to the real world.

But that was then. It’s a different world today. The Covid shutdowns changed everything. Now the ‘conferences’ are on Zoom.

On the plus side, it’s a lot cheaper. No-one has to travel and people all over the globe can attend. But it’s not the same. Seeing familiar faces in a little square on your computer screen is not the same as the shrieks of joy when you spot an old friend, a fellow writer from far off lands that you haven’t seen for a year.

So, I miss all that razzmatazz of the in-person conferences. Whatever the cost.

And you can’t do hugs on Zoom.

GROUP QUESTION: What advice would you give to your younger writing self, or to writers who are just starting their careers later in life?

Hosted by Jackie Houchin

Once every 2 months or so, we ask our writers a group question. Those who can, reply below for your reading pleasure. Let’s see what they said this week.

G. B. (Gayle) Pool:

Even before I told everybody that I wanted to be a writer at age 12, I wrote stuff. When I was 8 years old, I stapled together newspaper clippings about the movie Lady and the Tramp. My mother kept it, and I still have it. It was technically my first book. But I kept writing things – poems, stories, ideas. It might have taken a while, but I finally completed a book when I was in my thirties. But I never stopped writing until that time. A little while after I wrote the book, though it hadn’t been published yet, I spoke to a kid who said he was a writer. I asked him what he had written. He said, so far, he hadn’t written anything. He was just thinking about it. Well, technically, he wasn’t a writer…yet. Because you have to write to be a writer. So write…something, anything. Put those words and ideas on paper. Hold onto them because they might be the basis of a book or two later on. But if the words don’t appear on paper or in your computer, you aren’t a writer. Writers write. Write On!

My first “clippings” book.

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Jackie Houchin:

Younger self (or mid-life ladies): get an MFA degree (Master of Fine Arts) focusing on Creative Writing (or Journalism, communications, etc.), at a local college (or online) if at all possible. I wish I had, instead of just plunging in “by the seat of my pants,” and writing this and that, making mistakes, giving up, then beginning again. I took a few free or low-cost courses and learned a little. I joined critique groups (like Writers in Residence used to be), and I wrote stories for myself that never saw the light of day. And I even wrote for a couple of local newspapers for a few years (That was fun – maybe I should have studied journalism!). I learned things along the way by trial and error. BUT I COULD HAVE learned them at the beginning, and become a Great American Novel Writer, or a Pulitzer Prize Winner by now. And so today … I’ve never published a book. (I did have a short story published after entering it in a contest, but that’s as far as it got). ***** DO BETTER, younger self!

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Maggie King: 

  • Read, read, read, especially the type of stories you plan to write.
  • Don’t let anyone discourage you. That includes YOU! 
  • Later in life is a wonderful time to write. Think of all the experiences you’ve had, the insights you’ve gained, the stories you’ve read. 
  • Above all, WRITE!

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Miko Johnston:

I can answer that:  I’d tell my younger self to ask more questions of family and friends, engage more with strangers in social situations, and especially to discreetly listen to others’ public conversations (much easier today in our cell-phone world). Having that ability can generate lots of character background, quotable dialog, and plot ideas.

Years ago, a friend had a brief but oddly humorous conversation with a woman in a SoCal movie theater restroom. Two years later, she heard that conversation used verbatim in the movie “Independence Day.”  

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.And that’s it for this time!

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The Moral Compass

by Jill Amadio

Defined in most dictionaries as a set of values and beliefs that guide decisions, judgments, and behavior and provide us with a sense between right and wrong, our moral compass can be cast aside for our characters.

While the compass points us north, south, east, and west,  the antagonists in our mysteries can be all over the map when it comes to ethical judgment. How joyful it is to imbue one’s killer with a single gold standard that can, perhaps, offer the reader a glimpse of dastardly deeds.

In one of my mystery series, the plot required the killer to unwittingly reveal herself about a third of the way into the book. I was pleased with my characterization of her. But the more I wrote her, the more I came to like her, and eventually I knew I had to switch the plot around – no small task.

However, the exercise provided the opportunity to keep her on as a permanent minor character in future books. I later reflected that she had served her purpose, which had eluded me initially but made the plot more complicated and thus, to my beta and alpha readers, more intriguing.

I also read that a moral compass can provide direction for trainees, business guidelines, and the direction a person, company, or organization wishes to take.

The term moral compass can sound a bit pompous, but if it is laid out clearly, its use can certainly give the reader an immediate understanding of a character’s motives. Or serve to befuddle.

I also read in my research that the first use of the term “moral compass” was in 184. Should I add that tidbit to my story, or simply brush it aside as a non sequitur?  I often hope that mystery fans take such a mention as a jumping-off point to do their own research, although going off on such a tangent can ruin the flow. One wonders who came up with the phrase, but I stopped reading after six words and never found out.

I don’t remember ever seeing it used in a book, but it could easily be woven into a memoir when describing relatives or friends. Come to think of it, after writing six memoirs and autobiographies and ghostwriting a further 14, the phrase would have been a neat addition to incorporate. On the other hand, my clients never brought it up, but I should have. I guess there are several other ways to indicate a person’s moral compass, but now it seems to me it was a question I missed asking.

In fact, the term sounds rather stiff, old-fashioned, and ultra-formal. On the other hand, it sounds erudite.

Would using it satisfy a writer’s need for acceptance as being profoundly intelligent?

Actually, it can be used as a matter of pride when composing a character’s assets. Giving him or her a moral compass, whether acknowledged or not, can be considered a plus or a minus. Lacking moral judgment, such as committing murder and thinking little of it, is a character flaw many authors give the people in their books. However, do we really need a moral compass to distinguish right from wrong?   

Of course we do! 

Word Pictures

by Jackie Houchin

“One picture is worth a thousand words,” or so they say. (Actually, it was first said by newspaper editor Arthur Brisbane.) And that’s what I try to do.

Six mornings each week, I go out early and walk a couple of miles before the sun is all the way up.  I leave before eating or anything else… well, I do throw out some bread and peanuts for my crow friends as I go. 

I listen to a Christian podcast or two via Bluetooth as I walk, and I usually walk in one of the 4 directions from my house. The routes get familiar, so occasionally I drive to a walking or biking path. 

I’ve discovered 10 Little Free Libraries in my neighborhood along the way, and sometimes I switch books between them (or grab one to read).

It’s cool. It’s quiet. It’s sometimes foggy.  I may see a familiar dog-walker or two, but mostly I’m alone. I LOVE it.

My eyes are constantly roving here and there as I walk.  I’ve been a photographer for many years, and my mind-eye connection often sees unusual, fun, or beautiful sights out of things you would normally pass right by.

Such as a tree with eyes. A big stuffed tiger hanging out of a child’s wading pool. Or a bright cerise rose poking up through a snowfield of dusty-white other-plant leaves. A tiny black crow sitting in the top branches of a wintry black tree skeleton. A silvery Jetstream arrowing straight up and catching the first beams of the sun.  A hidden shell. A mossy side of a fireplace. Wild daisies growing in and through a log fence. Weird oil leaks and stains on the asphalt that look like something to me, which I call “street art.”

I shoot these with my phone and post them online under “Early Morning Walking.”  With a mini-fun description, or possibly a “find me” puzzle, a story, or maybe nothing. 

(A recent post showed what looked like an above-ground aquarium to me with colorful “marine” plants and even a fish swimming among them. Some people could “see” the fish.  Others wrote comments of frustration at missing it completely. (See photo below) I have a writer’s artistic imagination, I guess.

Yes, my family calls me weird. But I enjoy my “visual creative-writing” in my daily walks and pix.

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See the fish peeking out? (Maybe squint a bit and use your imagination.) This is my above-ground aquarium. Heh, heh, heh. It’s become one of my faves!

POV from 4 Perspectives

By Gayle Bartos-Pool

Fiction writers have a choice to make as to “from whence cometh” the viewpoint of the story being told. In simpler words: Who’s telling the story? Of course, the writer is the one actually coming up with the plot, but the writer has a decision to make. Is the narrative to be written in First Person where the guy telling the story is, well, telling the story from his singular perspective or is the writer going to be more omniscient and relate the account from his own point of view? Afterall, the writer knows the entire sequence of events no matter who’s speaking.

I’ve discussed this topic before, but I thought I’d revisit it and take a closer look at the options facing the writer.

First Person – One POV with Strength and Limitations 

The writer does have total control over the narrative, but sometimes a story is better told if one main character lets the reader know what’s happening. Afterall, every human being is master of his own destiny, “Big Brother” notwithstanding. (Read 1984 to get the point if you don’t already know that book by George Orwell.) Outside events affect us all individually and we handle them one at a time or even several at a time when something major happens. It’s the same with a First Person character who has to deal with all the things that impact his or her life.

The First Person POV narrative lets that character reflect on how he handled things in his past and how that knowledge will help him solve the current problem. Knowing things about that character makes him more relatable to the reader. When I was writing my Johnny Casino Casebook series I “discovered” many things in Johnny’s past that explained why some things were happening in the present and also why he was who he was at that point in time. I, as well as the reader, gradually learned new things about the guy that moved the various short stories along. He didn’t just appear out of nowhere. He had a past and it impacted the current story that he was telling.

That earlier knowledge of the main character is also why I always write a biography about him or her so I know more about them and also why they would be doing what they are doing. There are tons of old movies that cover what’s happening at the time with no mention of the character’s past, but writing a book gives the writer and that main character an opportunity to tell the reader about their earlier life.

Take for example Gone with the Wind. The novel tells a whole lot more about Scarlette’s mother and other events that pre-date the story we see on the silver screen. The movie would have to be eight hours long to cover everything as written in the book. A TV series can give the main character a chance to tell some of his past when new characters are introduced sometime during the season. But a TV series can run four or five or even eight seasons so a lot of the character’s past can be revealed over that time period.

But that main character in a First Person POV story can “think” about something from their past that is impacting their present. Just a brief thought can explain why they feel the way they do because of that past episode in their life. And sometimes hearing from the character through his thoughts makes a deeper impression than just having a paragraph explain it. Just like a phone call from a friend who relates a personal story is far more impactful than a text message especially if they don’t spell everything out so “u can read it 4 yourself.” How impersonal.

And who’s better than the character himself telling the reader what he’s feeling inside. It’s sort of a friend to a friend conversation. You’re now part of his inner circle. And you’re seeing something that no one else sees since you’re reading that book alone. It’s up to the writer to dole out those tidbits a little at a time, gradually bringing the reader deep inside the story or should I say deep inside the heart and soul of that character.

That’s why when you write from the First Person POV you need to add those subtle touches that draw a clearer picture of your character. But you can also drop in some hard-hitting truths about the character that make him even more real. Stuff buried deep inside the guy that helped form his personality. And how about some deeper things that only he knows until he finds someone to share them with later in life…if at all. But the reader got to hear them and knows the character better because of those revelations.

That’s what you, the writer, gets to do when you write in the First Person POV.

The Second Person POV isn’t used very often because it uses “you” as the narrator of the story. “You” are the main character, and everything is happening to “you.” There are a few novels done in that style, but in those books “you” don’t really have your hand on the wheel. “You” are being driven around, but “you” have no control of the vehicle. It would be like a Tesla taking you someplace and “you” didn’t get to program the destination.

But what about a Third Person POV and the various options facing the writer. When the writer records what each character is doing as it happens and what each is saying at the time but not getting too deep into anybody’s brain and learning every private thought the characters are thinking, the story is slowly revealed by actual actions. All those hidden truths will be revealed near the end of the book when more and more things are uncovered as one character confronts another and the truth is exposed.

This is more like real life since none of us are mind readers. It can make it even more tense since we don’t know what the hero or other characters are thinking or what anyone might know about the other characters. Not that the hero in a First Person novel knows what the killer or anybody else is pondering or what brought any of them to that place at that time, but he does have insights that he shares with the reader. In a Third Person novel, only the writer knows the truth, and it is revealed slowly as we are nearing the climax.

This “peeling of the onion” as it were tells the story chapter by chapter, character by character, as each person reveals more about themselves and the facts in the story. That’s how real people live their own lives, learning new stuff day by day, encounter by encounter. It also lets everybody in the story have a story themselves. The writer has to let those individuals speak for themselves and not necessarily have the First Person character give a brief biography of each person he encounters. Not that he would be wrong, though when the main character misjudges someone and discovers his mistake later, we do get some great tension.

But Third Person POV allows the writer to let each character speak for themself and everybody, the main character and the reader, has to decide if it’s true or should there be more investigation (or reading) to discover the actual truth.

Then there is the Third Person Omniscient POV. That’s when the author is telling the story strictly from his own perspective and he tells you strictly what he wants you to know at any given time. It’s a much stiffer telling and not my favorite, more like what a lawyer would present in a court case, holding back some things until the right time. The Omniscient POV can do a flashback or take the reader in many directions as the story is revealed. They have done that in the movies when the camera can be somewhere nobody else could be, but it does tell the story. Seeing the past or even the future can help tell a story, but it takes something outside the realm of the characters themselves to get to those places.

So, there are several ways to tell your story. Which one works best for you?