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Saturday, August 4, 2007

A whole new point of view

I'm rewriting most of my urban fantasy novel, and retitling it as well. I need to change the setting, which in essence changes most of the plot. I've rewritten my synopsis, and now that I'm reworking the story, I'm considering changing the point of view. It will be a whole new book by the time I'm done and I'm excited about it.

It's not like I haven't written first person before. I have four completed novels, two of which are written in first person, and both of those are mysteries. My UF is half mystery, half paranormal/fantasy, so it feels natural to write it this way. For my other first-person manuscripts, I enjoyed the freedom of going deep inside myself, keeping it real and bonding with my character to experience something like a symbiotic relationship with her. In fact, I often found myself reverting to first person while writing the third-person version of my UF. I should have taken the hint then.

I've heard some readers say they won't read a book that's written in first person, and I can't understand why. It's a great way to get inside the story and be up close and personal with the character telling it. Personally, I like a story told either way, as long as it's not told from an omniscient viewpoint. Too distancing, IMO. Makes me feel like I'm reading the newspaper.

Anyone else have any thoughts on this?

1 comment:

chanceofbooks said...

I like both POV's. It just depends on the story as to what works. If 1st person works for your story, go for it:)