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Sun May 05, 2013 2:40 am
RebeccaZeno says...



Okay, so I'm writing a novel and the mc is dying and in a coma. I want to write about things that happen while she is out, but the whole book has been chapter after chapter in her first person perspective. Can I change it to third for one chapter, or would that be bad to do with the story?

Any answers are welcome, even if it is your own thoughts.

Thanks :)
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Sun May 05, 2013 4:00 am
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Rosendorn says...



By all means, switch for one chapter for this draft. Do not worry about what you need to do to get the story out.

In later drafts, you can see about adding in her perspective more, or if you even need her perspective. But for now, just write the story as you see fit.
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Sun May 05, 2013 11:01 am
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Tenyo says...



Heed the wise words of the Rosey Unicorn.

Personally, I'm a huge fan of switching perspectives. One of my favourite novels, Across the Nightingale Floor is told in first person, even when the narrator is talking about events happening half way across the country.

Consistency is hugely important though. If you want to switch from first to third for a period of time or several times through the novel then go for it. If it's just for a single chapter then try to think of an alternative. If all else fails and there is something desperately important in that one chapter then you could do a 'when I woke up _____ informed me' job.

As Rosey said though, you never know where the rest of the novel is going to go, so write it first and figure out the techinical smush later.
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Sun May 05, 2013 2:30 pm
RebeccaZeno says...



Thank you very much, Tenyo and Rosey Unicorn. This is really going to help me, and I think I might end up switching to third a few times throughout the book like Tenyo said.
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Mon May 06, 2013 10:12 am
AlfredSymon says...



An additional tip, Rebecca! There are some things that matter in switching perspectives, two of which are the style and the voice. The style is what you need to at least try to preserve, and the voice is something you can change.

The style is something of a mark from an author, and to effectively present a POV-varying work, you need to make sure you still preserve your style. If you're target reader is a teen, and then the character you'll use to narrate is an adult, make sure that adult will still be understandable to teens. Audience targeting is really something to consider.

Voice is something to change. Another character means another personality, another likes and dislikes, another life. You need to keep up with all that!
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Mon May 06, 2013 8:58 pm
RebeccaZeno says...



Thanks for the tip, Alfred! I'll keep that in mind :)
"Don't give up after you've put your effort into trying"
"If you love someone, put their name in a circle; because hearts can be broken, but circles never end." Karen Amanda Hooper, Grasping At Eternity
  





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Mon May 06, 2013 9:18 pm
Rosendorn says...



On voice: don't worry about it for the first draft.

I'm completely serious. Voice can take awhile to get right, and for that period your characters sound the same. Unless you get extraordinarily lucky and they form with different voices (or, you've done enough study of character's voice to develop that along with the character as a whole), then just focus on getting the words written and make them sound different later.

Voice also tends to develop as you write the character. For now, just write it and when you go back to see if you'll even write more of that character (you might, or might not) you can determine their voice then. And once you have, write a lot from that character's perspective to see how their voice develops further.

But, for draft one, just get it written.

Some questions to help you develop voice when you get there, applicable for first or third person:

Spoiler! :
1- What is their frame of reference?

"Frame of reference" refers to something we all have. It is a collection of experiences, biases, bigotry or lack thereof, sense of humour, what's important to us, and mood. For example, if somebody prefers animals to people, they'll notice animals before people in any given situation.

2- What is their sense of humour?

If they have a very sarcastic one and let it go often, then you will get very sarcastic prose. If they hardly have any sense of humour and jokes go right over their head, then they won't make any and will be confused upon hearing them.

3- How much do they notice?

If they don't notice much of anything, cut out as much description as you can because it wouldn't be in character for them to say anything about it. With third you can be a bit more lenient with this, since it is a mix of the author and character noticing things. But for first person, you have to stick to their head and only write what they'd see.

4- What's their general attitude towards the current situation?

Somebody who's scared or depressed about a situation will use completely different language than somebody who is calm or happy about a situation. Each one of those moods will likely result in a totally different perspective on the scene.

5- How do they express their general attitude?

How much of it bleeds into the description. If they emote a lot, the prose will get more dramatic.

6- What's their personality in general?

Heroic and overdramatic, calm and clinical, use understatements like there's no tomorrow? That also determines how they will tell their tale.


And a voice development exercise I absolutely adore:

Spoiler! :
Pick one scene multiple characters take part in/observe. Proceed to determine how each would see themselves in the situation, what they'd feel, and what they'd do.

Make one objective list of things that absolutely happened. Do not consider character biases at all. Go into author-needs-to-keep-track detail with this, explaining absolutely everything that happened. This is not going to make it into the story itself. This is just so you know what happened.

Next, write out how the characters would see it. Did they only see a partial story? Were they part of it so missed something? An astute observer? Assign each character whose voice you want to develop a list of what they did during and know about the event.

Now determine how they would see themselves and how they'd describe the event. Would they have a clinical eye? See themselves as a hero and make their actions grander than they actually were? Use 100% bias towards the character, here, taking into account the voice questions above. You should have different scenes for every single character, and you can identify each character based on the scene you wrote. It should also be different from the notes, above.

If they look too similar, hone the voice more. You can have similar scenes, but there should be key tells between people that you can identify. Really focus on differences between characters to see what they'd do. Throw truth out the window. This is all about determining the character's truth.
A writer is a world trapped in a person— Victor Hugo

Ink is blood. Paper is bandages. The wounded press books to their heart to know they're not alone.
  





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Mon May 06, 2013 10:22 pm
RebeccaZeno says...



Wow, Rosey Unicorn, those tips are going to be saved forever. Seriously. Thank you so much for that. And it's nice because that is totally true, I'm pretty sure all my characters sound the same, and it's just a dull story when they are like that. :)
"Don't give up after you've put your effort into trying"
"If you love someone, put their name in a circle; because hearts can be broken, but circles never end." Karen Amanda Hooper, Grasping At Eternity
  





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Sat Jul 13, 2013 5:04 am
toomanykids says...



honestly, it's all just opinions.

if you dont know, that means you need to read 100 books. pick what you like.

then see what they did.

if you like mutiple voices, then it's fine

if you don't, that doesnt make it wrong
  





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Sat Jan 04, 2014 10:35 am
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superman7 says...



In later drafts, you can see about adding in her perspective more, or if you even need her perspective. But for now, just write the story as you see fit.
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