Basics of viewpoint -- writng tip

Basics of Viewpoint

The best way to choose viewpoint is to ask yourself whose story or scene it is. Once you know who the story is about it’s safe to assume that most of the story will be told from that character’s viewpoint, either in first person “I” narrator, or third person “She or he” narrator.

There are several kinds of viewpoint. "First Person" is written with an "I" narrator, as if the story happened to you. "Third Person" limited, is written in third person, but limited to a single point of view. This is the viewpoint chosen for most short stories. Also most girl-in-danger stories are written in first person limited, while Harlequin and most genre romances are written in third person limited. In either case “limited” means limited only to the main character’s viewpoint. The reader cannot know anything the main character doesn’t see, think, or feel.

The reader should see through the main character's eyes, feel with the main character's heart, and think with the main character's brain.

One way to get emotion across for a character, when we're in another character's viewpoint, is to use body language to express the other character’s inner feelings. Describing body language the main character sees will get the other character’s emotions across to the reader, whether the observing character understands them or not. Remember the classic romance ploy where the heroine thinks the hero is mad because his teeth are clenched and the inevitable muscle in his jaw is jerking, but the reader knows it’s only because he’s in the throes of desire. We all read body language all the time. It does no good for someone to tell us, "I'm not upset at all," if their face is red, and their arms are crossed firmly on their chest, while one foot taps the floor.

In some third person stories, viewpoint can change from one character to another at scene breaks or chapter breaks, but it should not jump unintentionally from one character's head into another. Many well-published writers ignore this rule, but if there's a slip, reviewers will always notice...

Super Bowl Party - chicken wings

Ingredients:

Servings: 40

• 1/3 cup flour
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 2 teaspoons garlic salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4-1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 lbs chicken wings , tips removed

Directions:

1. Cut wings at joints.
2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
3. Be sure wings are thawed and dry them well with paper towels.
4. Combine flour, paprika, garlic salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper in a plastic bag.
5. Shake to mix ingredients and add wings.
6. For easy clean-up, line a large baking sheet with Release foil and melt the butter on it.
   
7. Add wings to pan and turn to coat.
8. Bake for 30 minutes.
9. Turn wings over and bake for 15 more minutes or until crispy and done.

A tasty way to make wings. You can dip them in your favorite sauce when baked or they are yummy as-is.

Reviews are mixed. Can I do this??? -- writing tip

QUESTION from the e-mail: I've always wanted to be a writer. Recently I finished my first book and got it published. Like most, I tried to promote it by getting book reviews. I got several three and four-start reviews, but many of the reviewers had a lot of negative things to say, too. Sure, they praise my story. They all like the action and suspense. But then they complain about my commas, and my "point of view," and my characters all talking alike. I went to college. I got good grades on all my term papers, so I ought to know a little about how to write. This negative stuff is hard to hear. Half the time, I don't even know what they're talking about. How can there be "too many semi-colons?" You use them when they're needed, right? Maybe I should just forget about this whole thing.

ANSWER: Good Reviewers almost always talk about both the positive and negative aspects of a book. If they don't, they are usually friends of the author who go and place a glorious, 5-star review just for friendship's sake. So first thing I know from what you said is that these are "good, honest, unbiased" reviews, not the kind you pay for. They looked for things to pick on as well as nice things to say. That's "fair and balanced" and tells folks right away that your reviewers are being honest with their praise.

Every first novel gets hit hard by reviewers. You should look up some of the early reviews on people like Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald. Having said that, no less an authority than Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., has advised fiction writers to avoid semi-colons. He says they're "just showing off," and he may be right. In term papers, the goal is to sound "scholarly" and authoritative. In fiction, the goal is to create a vivid experience for the reader. One of the best things any writer can do is not to let the words get between the reader and the action. I read a submission recently where the writer had used every fancy word he could think of -- almost as if he had gone through with the thesaurus and picked out every fancy synonym he could find. It was distracting. Worse, one became so preoccupied with the words (I picked up the dictionary more than once), that the story got lost.

From what you said above, you have done well with the suspense and action and the reviewers all enjoyed the experience you created. So don't let the negative stuff get to you. Instead, think maybe they were trying to tell you something and learn from it. Look at the grammar guide in the back of your dictionary and read the section on commas. Look up some articles on viewpoint. If you have a writers' group, bring these things up for discussion. And when you listen to their advice, remember they are all still learning, too.

I taught writing for more than 20 years. No one learns everything there is to know, and then starts out to write. It's a lifelong learning experience. The more you do it, the better you get at it. Simple as that.

Also, the rules for fiction are definitely different than for exposition. In fiction you need to write dialogue, and write it so it sounds like people talking back and forth -- not stilted or preachy, or awkward. It's okay to use poor grammar or cliches, in dialogue, if your character does. The character's word choices are part of who he is.

Using vernacular was widely condemned by reviewers when Mark Twain first did it. They ridiculed him up, down, and sideways. They assumed because Huck Finn said, "We was fishing," that Twain knew no better. In later editions, he put a disclaimer in the beginning of the book, just so they'd know it was done on purpose. Later, vernacular became a popular device and was widely overdone in the years between 1920 and 1950.

Readers, today, don't have the patience to fill in all those missing g's and such. But the rhythm of the speech may very well be different with characters from different places, or different levels of education, or different backgrounds.

Viewpoint, was the hardest lesson I ever had to learn as a writer. I have posted here about it before. It was doubly difficult because many best-selling authors -- authors whose books I admired -- ignored that rule altogether. Once I understood it, I found that some of them changed viewpoint in the middle of a sentence. First, you learn the rules, then you decide when to break them. The main thing is not to do it unintentionally. Many new writers drop the viewpoint ball a time or two. I know I did. The good news is readers won't notice. The bad news is, good reviewers always will.

So my advice is to cut yourself some slack. You're an intelligent woman. If there are things you don't know yet, then make it your business to learn about them. With writing, as with anything else, practice makes perfect.

Don't beat yourself up because of the criticism. Go write another book.

Cranberry Jelly - recipe

Joan Bramsch’s Home Made Cranberry Jelly

1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 package (12 oz) Ocean Spray fresh or frozen cranberries

In a saucepan, mix sugar and water. Stir to dissolve sugar. Bring to a boil. Add cranberries. Return to boil, reduce heat, and boil gently for 10 minutes or until jelly starts to gel: stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat and cool completely at room temperature - then refrigerate. Makes approx. 2 1/4 cups. Serve with hot biscuits or it’s equally good over vanilla ice cream.

Contributed by Joan Bramsch, author of With No Reservations...This sizzling romance features Ann Waverly, hotel executive, and Jeffrey Madison, an unkempt late-night arrival seeking a room. Though he keeps secrets he awakens in Ann a longing so powerful, she is stunned.

Catching UP!

Books that went to press, or went back to press, this week:

THE MISTAKE, by Bruce Castle



Galleys that went out, or went out again, this week:


DRAGON SPEAKER, by Ray Morand

THE WRITE HONOR, Anna Dynowski(e-books)

THE MISTAKE, Bruce Castle(e-books)



Work continued on :

SNOW ESCAPE, by Roberta Goodman


Still waiting after more than three months for approval from authors before going to press:

A GRANDFATHER'S GIFT, by Hugh Carter Vinson

COLLECTED STORIES OF VITOR URIBE, by Victor Uribe

What does a publisher do for an author? -- question from the e-mail

Question: What does a publisher do for an author? Couldn't I do that for myself and keep all the money? People tell me, "They just take your money and do nothing for you." How come you're not out there selling your authors' books?

Answer: The publisher operates a business and makes books ready for sale and distributes the files to sales sites. They collect the money from the sales sites and make sure you are paid what you are owed. That is not exactly "doing nothing." Remember, it costs money to operate any business, even on the Internet.

Business Costs involved include: Staff salaries and time, Internet web space, website design and upkeep, an operating web site store; a merchant bank account that will accept and process credit card payments, accountants, cover design, ISBNs, computer equipment and maintainance, printing (if POD is involved) shipping, postage and handling, too. Remember, the printer does not work for free and it costs upwards of $5 for every book we order them to print, including any and all proof copies. No printer gives out freebies.

Every book we publish costs at least $250 before it ever gets posted for sale on the Internet. Authors who ask a lot of questions, who complain about the process, who ask us to redo covers again and again, who change all kinds of things on the galleys because they thought of a better way to put something can raise that investment to $750 or more quite easily.

What publishers don't do, is promote, market, or advertise your books, except by making theme available for sale. Promotion is a time-consuming business and one that involves a lot of work. Some authors do a lot of promotion, some little, but the successful ones put in at least 3 to 5 hours a week in making sure people know about their work. Using social media, like Twitter, Linked-in and Facebook has proved to be a helpful way to do this for our more successful authors.

With more than 250 living authors, we don't have time to do promotion for all of them and it would be unfair to do more for one than another. All our authors are all talented. All their books are good. If we didn't believe that, we would not publish them.

No, Facebook doesn't allow you to sell on their site. But they don't mind if you post that your new book is being published, show an array of covers and ask friends to help you choose one, or mention that it's available on amazon.com or anywhere else when it finally comes out.

So what should a publisher do for you? Give you good, clean files so reader's won't laugh at you (and your publisher!) if a character uses a "pear of scissors" or "takes a peak" around a corner. A publisher should give you a good professional-looking product and make it available to as many on-line outlets as possible.

A publisher should offer your book for sale, collect the money, make sure you are paid for your sales, keep the accounts of what has sold, and pay you on time (we pay quarterly, but many do it once a year). Either way, that's a lot of work.

Most authors have a "day job." Few can live on what they make writing. Most of us write for no more reward than the fulfillment of having done so. I know I couldn't live on my sales, though I have twelve titles for sale. My "day job" is being a publisher and it keeps me so busy that I rarely find time to promote my own work on line. So I do understand when folks don't have time.

Many of you do work hard to promote your work, and for you, I am truly grateful. Most of you do the best you can and I'm grateful for that, too.

Tonya Ramagos's Teriyaki Chicken - recipe

Tanya Ramagos’s Teriyaki Chicken

4 boneless, skinless Chicken breasts cut into strips
½ green bell pepper sliced 1/4 cut
½ red bell pepper sliced 1/4 cut
½ onion sliced 1/4 cut
2 tbsp. Vegetable oil
Teriyaki sauce

In a large skillet toss and brown the chicken breasts in the oil over high heat, about 5 minutes. Add the bell peppers and onions; saute and toss until the vegetables are lightly browned. Add the teriyaki sauce; toss until heated through.

Contributed by Tonya Ramagos, author of, Forgive or Forget...Mackenzie Olsen's life seems to be falling apart.... Her mother has just informed her of her plans to elope with a man Mackenzie can't stand.