A Matter of Perspective

 

One of the most basic lessons fiction writers learn is how to handle point of view. We’re told that it’s a vital aspect of story – if not the most vital – and that there are three basic types: First Person, Second Person, and Third Person (divided into Omniscient or Limited). We’re told a few more things. That First Person can be hard to control because your narrator could tell the story in any order he or she wants or veer away from the narrative entirely. That readers don’t like Second-Person stories and they don’t sell (which is bullshit; I received an acceptance for a second-person story today). That Third-Person Omniscient is even harder than First Person to control, and that readers prefer Third-Person Limited the most, as long as it doesn’t get too immersive.

I’m not here to dispute any of that. I am here, however, to tell you that there are three other points of view -- or perhaps a better word would be perspectives -- which writers may employ instinctively or learn to use as they gain experience, but which they aren’t consciously aware of. There may be creative writing teachers out there somewhere who are cognizant of these viewpoints and teach them, but I don’t know of any. I’ve learned them by writing a lot, trying to understand how I use them, and then trying to figure out how to clearly and succinctly explain to others how to use them. And as a matter of fact, I just figured out that last piece this morning – it was my Doc Brown Flux Capacitor moment – hence this blog entry. I’ve named these points of view Observer, Participant, and Experiencer, and they have more to do with how an author imagines characters as they write than they do with narrative voice. They’re about what happens in the writer’s head during composition that allows us to create the illusion of character perspective. And unlike the traditional three voices of First, Second, and Third Person, these other points of view can be used separately or in combination, depending on the effect you want to create. I’d even go so far as to say that these three points of view are perhaps more important than the three traditional ones because they describe what writers themselves imagine – or should imagine – as they write.

Allow me to elucidate . . .

Observer

Interviewers often ask me what’s the most important advice I can give to new writers, and my answer is always the same. People grow up being passive absorbers of media such as movies, TV shows, YouTube videos, etc., and these media make no imaginative demands on their audience. We don’t have to do anything but sit, watch, listen, and let information flow into us. Even people who read a lot still consume thousands of hours more of undemanding visual media throughout their lives. So when people decide to try their hand at writing fiction, they instinctively write from the viewpoint of a detached, passive observer, and their stories are dull and lifeless. “Writers need to write with a more immersive point of view,” I tell interviewers. “Their words need to stimulate reader’s imaginations.”

Observer point of view is different than just consuming media, though. With Observer point of view, the writer imagines themselves watching events play out before them, describing only what they see and hear.

There are times when the Observer point of view works well all by itself. Fairy tales, myths, and stories for preschool-age children are often written like this, presented through the detached voice of an unnamed narrator. One summer day, Busy Bunny was hopping along the main trail through the Forest of Fun, happily singing a song to herself. Little did she know that her pleasant day would soon become quite unpleasant, thanks to the arrival of Grumpy Goose.

Observer point of view can also work well by itself in experimental fiction, creating a distancing effect that keeps readers off-balance, especially when combined with a Second-Person narrative. But Observer point of view is best when it’s combined with Participant and Experiencer, otherwise you’ll end up writing a summary of a story instead of an actual story.

Participant

Participant point of view is when a writer imagines a character interacting with other elements in the story, such as the setting, physical objects, other people, animals, etc. The difference here is that the writer also imagines participating. Whenever an interaction takes place, the writer describes it with somewhat vivid detail, detailing the character’s physical response more than a mental one.

Bob gripped the shovel and chunked its blade into the cold, hard earth.

An Observer would write something like Bob started digging. The Participant point of view is more vivid, implying strength of touch (gripped), strength of impact (chunked) and cold, hard earth adds more detail to the sense of impact, and cold adds a sense of temperature. The writer’s imagination is now participating in what the character is doing, but only in a limited way. Participant point of view does sometimes dip into a character’s thoughts, feelings, and reactions, but only to a small degree, since the writer is primarily imagining themselves – via their character – doing the physical action.

Experiencer

Experiencer point of view is when a writer imagines themselves experiencing everything that occurs in a scene, especially what takes place inside a character.

A single bead of sweat rolls down Jane’s spine, causing her to shiver.

Not real, not real . . .

A high-pitched whine like buzzing mosquito wings drills deep into her ears. She winces, eyes narrowed, jaw tight, and fights against the pain.

Not real, not REAL!

“But it is.”

She doesn’t recognize the voice, but she hears the mockery in its words, feels the dark delight underlying them, and she knows she is lost.

This example is vivid, atmospheric, and impactful (even if I don’t know exactly what’s going on in this mini scene), but it’s entirely internal. Everything is what Jane is experiencing, and while this gives the reader clues to what is happening (or might be happening) in the outer world, the details occur solely in Jane’s psyche.

As effective as Experiencer point of view can be, the danger is that it can go so far into a character’s head that it becomes nearly unreadable stream of consciousness, the apex of which is a novel like James Joyce’s Ulysses – widely considered one of the most challenging texts ever created. (And certainly not a book most people would read for fun.)

Observer, Participant, and Experiencer combined

These writer-as-imaginer points of view can be used as the only ones in a story, but a blend of them is most effective. Here’s an example, broken down by type:

Observer PTV:

John sat on the kitchen floor, crossed his legs, and rested his hands on his knees. He looked at Marcy leaning against the sink, her arms crossed, a slight crease between her eyes.

Participant PTV:

“You’re angry.”

“No.”

“It’s obvious. You’re doing that little frown you always do when you’re mad.”

“Little frown? Don’t infantilize me, you arrogant fuck.”

Experiencer:

Her words hit him like a slap. He shouldn’t have said it – said little – but it had slipped out. Maybe he’d subconsciously wanted to provoke her, to goad her into losing that icy self-control of hers. If so, he’d succeeded, but he’d never heard such loathing in her voice before. Was this how she really felt about him? He feared it was.

He tried to speak, but his throat was tight and dry, and he couldn’t force out any words. Not that he had any idea what to say. Maybe it would be better if he kept his damn mouth shut so he could keep from making things worse than they already were.

Observer:

Marcy turned her back on him, gripped the edge of the sink, and looked out the small window into their backyard. She said nothing for several moments, then “Grass needs mowing.”

Encouraged by her neutral tone, John stood.

Experiencer:

He wanted to go to her, gently put his hands on her shoulders, lightly kiss the back of her neck in apology. But the pain in his head was intensifying, the vision in his left eye already beginning to blur.

Observer:

“Okay,” he said, and headed for the back door.

And when we put the pieces together:

John sat on the kitchen floor, crossed his legs, and rested his hands on his knees. He looked at Marcy leaning against the sink, her arms crossed, a slight crease between her eyes.

“You’re angry.”

“No.”

“It’s obvious. You’re doing that little frown you always do when you’re mad.”

“Little frown? Don’t infantilize me, you arrogant fuck.”

Her words hit him like a slap. He shouldn’t have said it – said little – but it had slipped out. Maybe he’d subconsciously wanted to provoke her, to goad her into losing that icy self-control of hers. If so, he’d succeeded, but he’d never heard such loathing in her voice before. Was this how she really felt about him? He feared it was.

He tried to speak, but his throat was tight and dry, and he couldn’t force out any words. Not that he had any idea what to say. Maybe it would be better if he kept his damn mouth shut so he could keep from making things worse than they already were.

Marcy turned her back on him, gripped the edge of the sink, and looked out the small window into their backyard. She said nothing for several moments, then “Grass needs mowing.”

Encouraged by her neutral tone, John stood.

He wanted to go to her, gently put his hands on her shoulders, lightly kiss the back of her neck in apology. But the pain in his head was intensifying, the vision in his left eye already beginning to blur.

“Okay,” he said, and headed for the back door.

This shifting between imaginative points of view is what my mind does when I write fiction. I’ve been writing for forty years, and I do this instinctively, without bothering to label the bits and pieces as I go, but in the end, I weave a tapestry of different levels of immersion in a story that hopefully brings my tales to life for the reader.

To learn how you use these points of view – Observer, Participant, and Experiencer – take a selection of your fiction and highlight each in a different color. The pattern you see will let you see how you interweave the points of view throughout your work, and if you see too much or one or not enough of another, you can try adjusting your proportion the next time you write. You can also take a selection from a writer you admire, highlight their Observer-Participant-Experiencer pattern, and see how they do it.

Yeah, First, Second, and Third Person are important tools, but Observer, Participant, and Experiencer points of view will help you imagine like a writer when you build a story, and that may well make them the most vital fiction-writing tools of all.

DEPARTMENT OF SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION

Forthcoming Writers’ Workshop with Apex Publications

On March 10 at 6 pm EST, I’ll be conducting a workshop on Managing Pace and Tension in Fiction. It’ll be 90 minutes long and it’s limited to 25 participants. You can register at the following link:

https://www.apexbookcompany.com/products/managing-pace-and-tension-in-fiction

My Next Horror Novel is Up for Preorder

My next novel for Flame Tree Press is A Hunter Called Night. It’ll be out May 9, 2023, and it’s available to pre-order now!

A sinister being called Night and her panther-like Harriers stalk their quarry, a man known only as Arron. Arron seeks refuge within an office building, a place Night cannot go, for it’s part of the civilized world, and she’s a creature of the Wild. To flush Arron out, she creates Blight, a reality-warping field that slowly transforms the building and its occupants in horrible and deadly ways. But unknown to Night, while she waits for the Blight to do its work, a group of survivors from a previous attempt to capture Arron are coming for her. The hunter is now the hunted.

Order Links

Flame Tree: https://www.flametreepublishing.com/a-hunter-called-night-isbn-9781787586345.html

Amazon Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/Hunter-Called-Night-Tim-Waggoner/dp/1787586316/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1668832377&sr=1-1

Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/Hunter-Called-Night-Tim-Waggoner-ebook/dp/B0BN6T1GTN/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1670004562&sr=1-3

Barnes and Noble Paperback: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-hunter-called-night-tim-waggoner/1142487192?ean=9781787586314

NOOK: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-hunter-called-night-tim-waggoner/1142487192?ean=9781787586352

Scheduled Appearances

Scarelastic Book Fair. Scarlet Lane Brewing. McCordsville, Indiana: February 28.

Authorcon 2. Williamsburg, Virgina: March 31-April 2.

Stokercon. Pittsburgh: June 15-18.

Where to Find Me Online

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