When you think of point of view, think of the “central intelligence” of your story – it is the thing that operates the eyes, ears, memory, and revelations, the thing through which your narrative is sifted and makes its progress. It is indicated by the pronouns that we use.

In first person, we use I/me. Generally, in this case, the protagonist is the first-person narrator. Any secondary characters (those that have a relationship with the protagonist and can relate to their experiences within the context of the story) or observers (witnesses that have limited or no participation in the story) are all filtered through the first-person narrator’s perspective.

In second person, the narrator is the reader. We do this by using second person pronouns – you/your. “You are constantly afraid that you will not be enough. The kingdom is fragile, fragile like an eggshell. A single strike and it will fall apart. Every battle, every dispute, you wonder: will this be it? Will this be the day you finally fail?” Second person is common in self-help books and anything giving directions. It is not common in fictional prose, but it does crop up from time to time. (If you’ve never read a second person story, “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid is a great example.)

Third person point of view uses the pronouns he/she/it/they. [NOTE: Most style guides now accept singular they.] With third person, we can get a more global view of what’s happening. The narrator and the main character are not the same person – they narrator is separate and therefore can comment on things that the main character may not know.

In addition to the above points of view, we want to consider which of the following makes the most sense for our story:

• limited – a narrator that follows only one person throughout the story; this narrator can witness the actions of other characters, but has access only to the thoughts of the main character
• multiple – follows more than one person throughout the story, allowing the story’s perspective to switch back and forth between individual stories/perspectives
• omniscient – the narrator can jump from head to head; they can witness the actions of as well as access the thoughts of any character within the story
• unreliable narrator – this is a narrator that cannot be trusted to accurately convey the story

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The next thing to discuss is the difference between point of view and perspective. Point of view focuses on the type of narrator used to tell the story – who is telling the story. Perspective instead focuses on how this narrator perceives what’s happening within the story (i.e. the narrator’s world view). In other words, perspective is how and through what lens the story is told (i.e. their culture, heritage, physical traits, personal experiences, etc.). When you have multiple narrators, you should have multiple perspectives. As Robert Evans notes, “There are three sides to every story: your side, my side, and the truth. And no one is lying.” (Did you have a sibling or a close family member or family friend you grew up with? Ask them to run through a memory you share – let them tell you how they experienced it. Chances are, they will have a different version of the memory from than you will.)

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Last, there is distance, which is the space between the narrator/main character and the event taking place – though it also refers to the space between the reader and the narrator/main character. Consider each of the following – the further down the list we go, the less the distance there is:

• It was winter of the year 1853. A large man stepped out of a doorway.
  • Henry J. Warburton had never much cared for snowstorms.
  • Henry hated snowstorms.
  • Geez, he hated these damn snowstorms.
  • Snow under your collar, down inside your shoes, freezing and plugging up your miserable soul.

Sometimes, it can work to hold the reader at a distance – but you need to consider what you may lose by doing so. A reader wants to be engaged by what is going on – if they feel they are being held at arm’s length, they may start to question why. They may start to wonder what the narrator is holding back. If you wish to do this, you need to make sure that it will pay off in a satisfying way.

If you are interested in learning more about unreliable narrators, consider Gilman’s “The Yellow Wall-Paper,” Thurber’s “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado” or “The Tell-Tale Heart,” Nolan’s “Memento Mori,” or Palahniuk’s “Fight Club.” In Salinger’s “Catcher in the Rye,” Holden Caulfield admits he’s “the most terrific liar you ever saw.”

Kurt Vonnegut said, ‘I don’t plot my books rigidly, follow a preconceived structure. A novel mustn’t be a closed system – it’s a quest.’ Others, like the author of Room Emma Donoghue, prefer to have a guiding base structure. She notes that ‘Some writers can produce marvelous plots without planning it out, but I can’t. In particular I need to know the structure of a novel: what’s going to happen in each chapter and each scene.’

While some folks work best by letting their story romp around the page (like Vonnegut), and some are planners (like Donogue), all need to have an understanding of the structure of a story. I think my favorite way of looking at it was stated by Khaled Hosseini – “Writing fiction is the act of weaving a series of lies to arrive at a greater truth.” You can weave however you’d like – but to have something that is functional, you need to eventually make sure the structure is sturdy.

When it comes to NaNoWriMo, even if you are a pantser, it is a good idea to have a general idea of the plot and structure of your overall story. This doesn’t mean you can’t make changes as you go – but this can cut down on writer’s block quite a bit.

If you are a pantser, you might benefit from Freytag’s pyramid – it can help you lay out a general arc for your story without having to nail down all the details that might make you antsy as a pantser.

If you aren’t a pantser, something like the 15 Beats or the three-act structure might be more your speed. If you are new to writing novels, or you’re a planner who has never done NaNo before, the 15 Beats will give you the most structure in advance. This breaks the story down into specific pieces – sort of like a paint by numbers.

The three-act structure is somewhere in between Freytag’s and 15 Beats. It can be helpful to sit with the Three Act Structure template when you are planning out your story – fill in your plot points so that you know what you are writing to and what scenes you will need to develop. (This does not mean you can’t change the story as you write.) How detailed you want to be is up to you.

The “Acts” Structure:

• Set Up –
  • Exposition: establishes main characters, their relationships, and their world
  • “the inciting incident” – later in the first act, a dynamic on-screen incident occurs – this is the catalyst that sets the protagonist’s adventure in motion
  • Plot Point One – sometimes, the inciting incident and plot point one happen in the same scene – think of plot point one as the spring board that launches your character into Act Two.
• Confrontation –
  • Rising Action – typically depicts the protagonist’s attempt to resolve the problem initiated by the first turning point, only to find themselves in ever worsening situations. (Part of the reason protagonists seem unable to resolve their problems is because they do not yet have the skills to deal with the forces of antagonism that confront them.)
  • Midpoint – A significant event should take place here, usually involving something going horribly wrong.
  • Second plot point – Give them some time to reflect on the story’s conflict here. The aftermath of the Midpoint crisis will force the protagonist to pivot from being a “passenger” to a more proactive force to be reckoned with.
• Resolution –
  • Pre-climax – this is where we get our first glimpse of the antagonist’s true strength, and it usually catches the main character off guard.
  • Climax – signifies the final moments of the story’s overarching conflict
  • Denouement – If the protagonist’s goal is not immediately obtained during the Climax, the denouement is where this should be achieved (or redefined, if their goal changed during Act Three). Along with this, the denouement should also:
    • fulfill any promises made to the reader (as Anton Chekhov notes, “If in Act One you have a pistol hanging on the wall, then it must fire in the last act.”),
    • tie up significant loose ends,
    • underscore the theme, and
    • release the tension built up during the climactic sequences of events.

For some of you, when writing your stories, you may be doing more than just inventing characters and their lives. You may choose to take on creating a brand new, never before seen world for them to live in. The biggest piece of advice I can give you in this endeavor is just to make sure your characters treat the world as natural – as normal. As A.D. Jameson notes, “In world-building, there isn’t any supernatural, not really — just a different order of the natural.” The world just IS. And your characters don’t know any other way. Of course, it takes a bit more than this, but we’ll get to all that.

If you are choosing to create a brand-new world for your story, you will want to make sure that you get to know it as well as, if not better than, you know your characters. Remember, the setting, your world, is more than just streets and houses – it includes weather, local customs, and even what your characters do for a living. All of things these may have different rules from what we know in the reality of where we live – but they still must have rules. You get to decide what those rules are – and then you have to be vigilant in making sure the story follows those rules.

So for this week, if you are creating a fictional world for your NaNo story, I encourage you to answer the following questions as they pertain to your world (being as detailed as you can, but know that you can add as you write the actual story). These questions come from a previous professor of mine (I am unsure where they acquired them from):

First, think about basic infrastructure. How do they eat? What do they eat? Who takes away the garbage? Who deals with their bodily wastes? How do they get around? What do the majority of people do to survive? Consider water. Without water on our planet, there wouldn’t be life on Earth. What is water to your world? Maybe your characters don’t need water like we do – but they need something. Also, remember that you are not just creating a society – you are also creating an economy. People don’t oppress each other for fun (well, some do, but that’s a conversation for another time) — usually, systems of hierarchy and oppression have an economic component to them. What’s their money? How is it used? How is it divided?

Again, give your world concrete rules – and make sure you stick to them. Nature in this new world may not act like it does on our Earth – so what does it act like? If your world has two suns that are up at different times and give off different colors, yellow during the day and blue at night, then any time light is referenced at night, it’s got to have a blue hue. The way that it becomes believable to the reader is that the narrator treats it like it is a matter of fact and is consistent. So whether it’s a magical system or a societal mores, be sure that once you establish a convention, you stick to it.

Under the umbrella of rules, you have a few systems to consider – such as magic, religion (if it exists in your story), social interactions, politics, just to name a few. Most fantasy novels involve magic – and rules for this are important. You can create whatever system you’d like, but you need to have some sort of system. Maybe it’s based on numbers – or plants – or words – or something else entirely. Maybe your characters are born with magic – or they have to study for years to become proficient. Whatever you decide, it has to be consistent – characters cannot deviate from the system you have created.

There are many other systems to consider, as well – What is the power system like? (Meaning in-group/out-group power dynamics, but also literal power – how do they keep the lights on?) What does their government look like? Is there religion? Multiple religions? What about art and entertainment? Is this a brand new world? If not, what are significant events from its history? What technology exists in your world?

You may also want to consider creating a map of this new world (and including it with the story, if possible) so that the reader can easily follow along where events are taking place. This can help your reader stay oriented as your characters move around your world.

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If you are creating a story in the world as we know it, or a historical version of it, you can ask/answer a lot of the same questions above. When it comes to historical fiction, however, you will want make sure you do the necessary research. The more research you can get out of the way now, the more you can then focus on writing in November. Immerse yourself now in that time period. Read books and watch movies that take place in those times/settings (nonfiction/documentaries are best). Go to a museum (if possible) and see artifacts from that time in person – make sure you take notes while you are there. Listen to music they would have listened to. Read archived newspapers (if available) that they would have read. If your story takes place after catalogs were in use, get hold of reprints of old catalogs. Old Montgomery Ward Catalogs will have descriptions of, and prices for, almost every personal item used by people of that time: hardware, books, stationery, toys, guns, toiletries, wallpaper, stoves, laundry equipment, saddles/harnesses. If you can, find an expert on that time/place.

Yes, use the internet – but be weary of the internet. There is a lot of flawed information out there. (Seriously – be cautious about information from places like Wikipedia.) Check everything you find against at least two sources. BUT don’t assume finding a piece of information in a lot of places means it’s factual – if a story or definition is repeated nearly verbatim in more than one source, there’s a good chance someone simply copied the information without verifying the accuracy. This is how a lot of bad information gets passed along and taken as “true.”

Regardless of the world you are using for your story, make sure you don’t let the setting overwhelm the story. The setting should be positioned behind the characters and events. It should add atmosphere and context – but don’t let it get in the way of the action. A little snippet here and there, in between the action and dialogue, is good. A three-page essay on how your artist protagonist prepares a canvas, with the characterization and events put on hold while you write it, will make your novel sound more like non-fiction. You want to make sure you do your research – but then keep most of it to yourself. Let it inform the story – don’t make it the story. For example, if it normally snows in December, you don’t need to detail the amount of snow they get – BUT your character will likely need to bundle up before they leave the house.

Remember, only leave stuff out because it doesn’t add anything to the story – not because you don’t know it or didn’t research it.

“If a writer of prose knows enough of what he is writing about, he may omit things that he knows, and the reader, if the writer is writing truly enough, will have a feeling of those things as strongly as though the writer had stated them. The dignity of movement of an iceberg is due to only one-eighth of it being above water. A writer who omits things because he does not know them only makes hollow places in his writing.” ~ Hemingway

Are you participating in NaNoWriMo this year? If so, the best way to set yourself up to be successful for it is to do as much planning as you can now so that when you sit down to write 50K in 30 Days, you can just go go go. One thing we can plan in advance are our Main Characters (MCs).

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All it takes is the outline of glasses and a lightning bolt for someone to think “Harry Potter” (using HP because it’s so widely read/watched – this is not an endorsement of the author). This is an example of characterization. When we create our characters, we want them to be recognizable – when they speak or when they act or when they think. There needs to be something about them that distinguishes them from the other folks walking around in our story. We also want them to be realistic (for their world).

The things we do to characterize our fictional folks need to make sense for who they are. This requires us to get to know our characters really well. Whether you are a planner or a pantser, character questionaries are a great tool to have in our toolbox. For one, it can help cut down on writer’s block. If you know your characters well enough, you’ll know how they would react in any given situation. I highly recommend K.M. Weiland’s questionnaire (linked below), though there are a lot of options out there. Feel free to make it your own – add questions as you see need.

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“My theory of characterization is basically this: put some dirt on the hero and put some sunshine on the villain.”  ~ Justin Cronin

In other words, no hero is 100% good, and no villain is 100% evil. Both are human, and those “human” pieces are what we call characterization. We reveal our characterization in two ways:

• Direct characterization. This is where we as the writer just flat out tell the reader something about the character(s). For example, in Harry Potter, the author flat out tells us, “The Dursleys had everything they wanted, but they also had a secret, and their greatest fear was that somebody would discover it.”
• Indirect characterization. This is where we show something about our character:

He’d forgotten all about the people in cloaks until he passed a group of them next to the baker’s. He eyed them angrily as he passed. He didn’t know why, but they made him uneasy. This bunch were whispering excitedly, too, and he couldn’t see a single colleting tin. It was on his way back past them, clutching a large doughnut in a bag, that he caught a few words of what they were saying.

“The Potters, that’s right, that’s what I heard-”

“-yes, their son, Harry-”

Mr. Dursley stopped dead. Fear flooded him.

^In the above instance, we get to see a physical reaction to the mention of the Potters, the Dursley’s deer dark secret. We feel it. We experience it with the character.

• When it comes to indirect characterization, there are five methods to use:
• Speech – What does the character say? How do they speak? Do they have any overused phrases or quirks?
• Thoughts – What is revealed through the character’s private thoughts and feelings?
• Effect – What is revealed through the character’s effect on other people? How do other characters feel or behave in reaction to this character?
• Action – What does the character do? How does the character behave?
• Looks – What does the character look like? How does the character dress?

Whether direct or indirect, we just need to make sure we are being true to who this character is. As you are writing your story, every time you put your character into a situation, ask yourself, “What would they do? How would they do it? What would happen next?” Then trust the answers. Never try to force a character to act in a way that’s not natural for them. If you cheat, your readers will know it. The character and the story will feel false. If you do things right, your deep knowledge of your character will be transmitted to your readers, who will feel like they’re reading about a real person.

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Everything they do has to come back to serving your character’s spine (I encourage you to view the video – “The Clues to a Great Story” by Andrew Stanton – there are captions and script available with the video). This is their motivation for absolutely everything they do. (This doesn’t mean that they won’t be tempted or pressured away from it, of course.)

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Last, remember to fight the urge to tell your reader “everything they need to know about this character” in the first few pages. Character can be revealed as you go, too. Let these pieces come out when it feels natural to do so.