Tips and Truths with A.A.C. - Point of View

By Melissa Cobb

Where does the superstition of knocking on wood come from? Find out
in A.A.C.'s Random Truth of the Week!

Point of view is a basic component of every story, and it's important to have because if you don’t have a point of view, then no one is telling the story, which means there is no story. With that said, here are some tips on writing point of view well.

1. You, as the writer, need to decide from the beginning of your story whose point of view you are writing from. Is it going to be from the main character’s point of view? The main character’s best friend? An omniscient narrator? All of this is important to consider before you start writing because point of view needs to be clear through the whole story.
2.  Once you have chosen your narrator, think about how much that character knows about what is going on in the story. You don’t want to end up telling the reader something that character couldn’t know.
3. If you choose to write from the point of view of one of the characters in your story as opposed to an omniscient narrator, give that character a distinct voice. It makes the story feel authentic, and it will help the reader differentiate between the narrator talking and the other characters talking.
4.   Consider the age of the character whose point of view you are writing from, especially if it’s a child. You want him or her to sound realistic.
5. Keep in mind any biases your character has, such as people he or she doesn’t like or any deep-held beliefs he or she has. This makes your character feel like a real person.
6.    If you decide to switch between points of view of two or more characters, make sure they have distinct voices, and more importantly, make sure you keep the switches consistent. A good rule of thumb is to have one character narrate all the odd numbered chapters and have the other character narrate all the even numbered chapters.

Happy Writing!

Random Truth of the Week: The superstition that “knocking on wood” is supposed to keep away bad luck comes from when people believed spirits lived in trees because of the sounds they heard inside them. Thus, they would “knock” on them to get the spirits in their favor. However, what they were really hearing inside the trees were termites and other insects.