A lot has been written about Deep Point of View (DPOV) and I think I’ve read most of it in my efforts to create an emotionally fulfilling story. But there is a difference between reading about it and mastering it in your own writing. If you’ve found yourself at sea in that same boat, read on; I may just have located a bailing bucket.
Basically, DPOV and ‘show, don’t tell’ are different sides
of the same coin. By employing the DPOV technique you are showing, not
telling, thus eliminating author intrusion and delivering that emotional punch
we’re all after. The aim is for the reader to experience everything our
point-of-view character sees, feels, hears and smells, as he or she experiences
those sensations.
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| 'Good writing is supposed to evoke sensation in the reader - not the fact it is raining, but the feeling of being rained upon.' E. L. Doctorow |
The big question is: How?
I’m a huge fan of Jill Elizabeth Nelson’s Rivet Your Readers with Deep Point of View. It’s
a great introduction to DPOV, with tips, examples, and a wealth of exercises to
test your new-found understanding of the concept.
However Marcy Kennedy’s Mastering Showing and Telling in Your Fiction (from her 'Busy
Writer’s Guides' series) goes that little bit further. Only 52 pages long, it’s
jam-packed with practical tips on how to recognise ‘telling’ in your own
writing and a guide on how to make the
necessary changes (keeping in mind that telling isn’t always wrong). A
perfect blend of theory and practice.
Marcy guides you step by step through your work in progress
to find where you’ve been telling not showing, using lists of words in
different categories (e.g. telling-style dialogue tags, sensory filter words)
you should be aware of as indicators of ‘telling’. Genius.
When you purchase the e-book
it comes with a password enabling you to print these particular pages. Links to
recommended sites are also provided. At around $4.00, it’s a steal.
Do you, like me, experience problems with telling rather
than showing? I'd love to know if you've come across any other great books on DPOV or ‘show,
don’t tell’. Please feel free to share.
This week I’m:
LOVING my pink
giraffe-print onesie. Perfect for cold-weather writing.
LAUGHING out loud at this:
