Miss Sniz's Writing Blog

historical or contemporary?

2009-06-16T12:05:00.000-07:00

In fiction writing, there are contemporary and historical story lines. Generally, the research required for contemporaries is much more easily attained, and most daily life stuff doesn't have to be researched at all because we are living it. Not so for a historical.

I have five WIPs. (works in progress) One is a medieval. Two are Victorians. One is a time travel that takes place both in this time and in Victorian times, and one is a contemporary. The truth is that I really WANT to write the contemporary because it sees like it would be easier and I wouldn't have people pointing out historical mistakes (because there will always be someone more versed in a certain historical period than I.) But I keep running into a wall that tries to turn me towards the others because my VOICE really is stronger in historical stories. If you've ever read an author that starts out in historicals and you love the way they write them, then, after they have a name, they write a contemporary (probably because their publisher told them to), you might know what I mean. The way they tell a story just "feels" better either in historical fiction or contemporary fiction. Think of a children's book author writing a romance, for instance. So I have faced the fact that historical fiction is what I like to read and therefore I will be more interested in writing a historical book, even if I don't really enjoy research since I'm so impatient, and I have finally settled on one of my WIPs.

Let-down

2008-05-01T15:51:00.000-07:00

You know what I really dislike? When there's great suspense that keeps you reading to find out what is really going on or what happened in the past or what the mystery really is....well, you get the idea. And you are dying of anticipation and you force yourself to read the thing word for word to make sure you don't miss anything important, and then the end comes and it is so weak, or so ridiculous, or the answer is just hinted at, not even spelled out. Arggg.

I used to read all the time. Now I rarely have time to read, so if I invest the time, I have high expectations. I read a book by one of my favorite authors (who's a New York Times bestseller, BTW) and when I got to the end, I couldn't believe how weak it was. What a rip-off. It just seems like when a person becomes successful enough that they can make a living off their name alone, the quality of their work suffers. IMO, that happened with Paul McCartney and his music writing. Have you heard his last song? I guess when you are a Beatle, you don't need to put any effort into anything anymore. :-) Anyway, this author has written more than 40 books. The first twenty or so were great. Since then, I can tell the effort she puts into each one is less and less.

I watched a movie yesterday that was completely geared around a mystery. The entire thing was a mystery that made me keep watching, waiting for the answers to what could everything possibly mean. And when I found out, I was sooo disappointed at how weak and stupid it was. It is like all the effort is put into building suspense, and there is nothing left for the end to ensure that everything is tied up, makes sense, and actually challenges the reader/watcher.

What about the Matrix? I totally lost interest when I realized that a person could never REALLY understand what was going on.

When you write a story, I'm a total believer in tying up EVERY loose end and actually researching and thinking of a plot that might be a little out of the ordinary, something that someone couldn't just think of off the top of their head.

This is just a gripe post. Sorry!

Where to start

2008-04-18T07:02:00.000-07:00

A question I am asked consistently as a judge of novel-length fiction is whether the conflict is strong enough to carry a story of that length. Another is whether the story starts in the right place.
So how do you know where to start your story? How do you know if the scene is needed?

You can write a great scene with lots of conflict and emotion; so beautiful it makes you want to cry. But if it does not have any relevance on the current plot, it has no business being in your book.

Let me give you an example. A story opens with a woman in a stagecoach accidentally shooting the sheriff (she just grazes him) because she thinks he is a highway robber. There is lots of action. There is lots of internalization and conflict. It is a good scene.

At the end of the scene, the woman arrives in the little western town to discover that the aunt she idolizes, the aunt she hadn't seen since she was a kid and is now coming to live with, has become a prostitute.

So was the first scene necessary? Was there a hook that makes you want to read on to see how the conflict is resolved?

The stagecoach scene, while action-filled, really has nothing to do with the real conflict of the story. There may have been conflict during the scene, but it was temporary and had no relevance to the real problem at hand. It was resolved by the end of that scene and never appears again. We are introduced to the real conflict later, the conflict that will carry the story until it's completion.

So in that case, the story started in the wrong place. The stagecoach scene should be cut.

You may say that it is really hard to cut your words, your babies, the ones you sweat over and are attached to. Especially if it is a scene you really like. I know. I've been there. I'm there all the time. I usually end up cutting about 40% of my rough drafts. But it's necessary to sacrifice words, passages, or even whole scenes for the sake of the story.

Writing is hard. Anyone who says different isn't a writer.

Keeping the audience interested?

2008-03-24T10:40:00.000-07:00

How do you keep the reader interested in your story? The options are limitless. Let's say there's a mystery in your story. Do you let the reader in on the secret from the beginning, or keep it hidden from them to the end? I don't think there's a right or wrong answer. What do you like best? To "be in on something" the character has to find out, or to be surprised at the end? I like to be surprised, so I like to keep the reader from knowing more information than the characters do. Sometimes that is hard, but I keep trying to put myself in their place to keep myself on center. But be careful to make sure all IS revealed in the end. One of my biggest pet peeves is when an author hints about an event in someone's past that affects the story and I read the whole thing to find out what it is, but it is never really explained. I read a story like that recently where the author kept giving clues or memories of some awful event in the main character's past that made her act the way she did in the present, but at the end, the author wrapped it up with something like "The events of her past were now laid to rest and she was finally able to move on." Wha---???? That book went in the trash and that author will never be read again.

Another technique that goes along with the surprise element is to throw a brief glimpse or a clue into the story at the beginning, and the reader wonders all along what that has to do with the story. For example, in one of my stories, there is a murder of an obscure person in England, but in the next scene, we are in California where a rare painting by Rembrandt is discovered by a college art professor. Totally unrelated events where the characters aren't connected in any way. But they are in the story for a reason. Everyone who has read that opening tells me they are crazy to find out what the connection is, so they read on.

These are just two ideas for keeping a reader interested in your story, but keep in mind, everyone's different and although one person could love your writing, another could hate it, no matter what you do. That's the nature of writing.

Affirmation

2008-02-15T05:37:00.000-08:00

My husband is a writer. A good one. He writes trade articles for magazines, among other things. I think he assumed that since he's a good non-fiction writer, that writing fiction would be easy for him, and that what I do isn't that hard, despite the fact that I've devoted myself to honing and learning my craft for over three years. Yesterday, he wrote the story of how we met on his blog. Then he read my post about Ireland. Afterward, he told me that he realizes now how different and difficult writing fiction is. Is it wrong that it made me feel good to hear him say that?

Critiques - Helpful or not?

2008-02-10T05:25:00.000-08:00

Critiques are painful. Because a critique is, after all, CRITICAL, and when someone is telling you all the things that are wrong with the words that you sweat and cried over, it's hard not to be defensive. But, IMO (in my opinion) critiques are unparalleled in their ability to teach what you need to learn about writing in your genre. I learned about 80% of what I know about writing through critiquing the works of others, having my own work critiqued, and reading critiques on the online critique group that I'm a part of. My journey was probably pretty typical. I started writing for reals about three years ago. After I started writing something I considered worthwhile, I wanted someone to read it. I found several authors who have websites with "TIPS" sections and to my technique-starved mind, these were a gold mine. Then I found an online critique group! I was so green, I didn't even really know what it was, but it covered all fiction genres, (which is too broad in my opinion). The first time I got a critique from an eleven year old boy, I decided that group wasn't for me. After trying different ones (there are plenty out there), I found one that was a better fit, called RWCcrit. I found a wonderful critique partner through the group, a lady that I know I can send anything to and she will give an honest opinion. The best part of that is that she knows my style, knows my strengths and weaknesses, knows my story and struggles and loves me anyway, so there's no defensiveness.

Pantzer or Plotter?

2008-01-10T12:59:00.000-08:00

I'm a pantzer. Meaning I write by the seat of my pants, making it up as I go along. This is directly opposed to a plotter. There's pros and cons to both methods and I actually think it would be easier to write a novel as a plotter, but I've spent months and months trying to be one, and it has never worked. The more I plot, the more I analyze. The more I analyze, the more I doubt and rethink and second-guess until I am hopelessly snarled and not even sure what I'm doing any more or if I even want to write. A bloggy friend of mine, Thomas Kingsley Troupe , author of Patrick's Super Socks and other fabulous pieces of fiction that haven't been discovered yet, gave me some advice not too long ago that, for me, cut through all the millions of other pieces of advice floating around out there. He said write the story quick before you get tired of it. I usually get stuck half way through because by that time, I'm so tired of the story, I lose all interest. I'm trying to take his advice though. I don't have much time to write, but I get an hour in the morning before school, and if I'm not too tired (although I usually am) I get 1-1 1/2 hours in the evenings. Ever since Christmas break, I've just been writing and writing. I never know what's going to happen next, so I write to find out. The problem is that I kinda forget stuff I wrote 50 pages ago (actually I forget stuff less than 10 pages ago). That's one time it would help to be a plotter. Sigh. But I'm at a juicy part now. One of the characters just decided to kiss another one. Here I was, writing along with no thought of that, and this guy just decides he likes this girl and he's going to show her...NOW. Without even asking me, the writer. Like he was a real person or something. Oh wait.

Fonts

2008-01-07T05:36:00.000-08:00

What's up with the debate over fonts? If you submit your work to publishers, editors, or contests, the buzz is that they all like and/or expect your work to be in one of two fonts: either Courier or Times New Roman. If you write in Word like I do and keep a running total of word or page count, you will see there is a big difference between the two. Not in word count, obviously, but Courier uses up a lot more pages than Times New Roman. So a MS (manuscript) or WIP (work in progress) could have, say, 85 pages in Courier but only 69 in Times New Roman (that's a guess). When writing for yourself it doesn't matter, but the two contests I entered called for a synopsis and the first 15 pages. Well, there is a big difference over how much writing 15 pages includes depending on the font I use. I prefer Times New Roman, because I think Courier is an ugly font. Of course, when you are writing for yourself, you can highlight the whole passage and change the font into anything you wish...it is just as easy to change back when you need to. And when you submit something, it's amazing how you can manipulate it in Word so that it pretty much fits into the parameters you need. The exception is when you are working with word counts, not page counts...word counts are pretty black and white. But that's another entry.

2008-01-04T08:09:00.000-08:00

I'm finally finished judging the writing contest. I've judged seven contests now and I always forget how time-consuming it is, especially the entries that need a lot of work. And then there's the delicate balance between being helpful and being discouraging. I finally decided to highlight things in different colors that need attention (with a key to explain what the colors mean), then put a list of positives and negatives at the end. Then there the tons of judge's ratings and comments. It takes a long time. Have I said that? But I enjoy it because it keeps my writing muscles active while I don't have the time to devote to writing that I'd like.

Here's a few tips I pass along to new writers sometimes. They are all things I've learned from other writers and tons of critiques of my own work.

YOU DON’T NEED DIALOG TAGS UNLESS IT IS NECESSARY TO IMPART SOME INFORMATION OR THE SPEAKER IS UNCLEAR WITHOUT A TAG.
KEEP THE DIALOG REAL. DON'T HAVE PEOPLE WHO KNOW EACH OTHER WELL SAY THINGS TO EACH OTHER THEY WOULD ALREADY KNOW JUST BECAUSE YOU WANT THE READER TO LEARN SOMETHING. THAT IS CALLED INFO-DUMP AND IT MAKES THE DIALOG STIFF AND UNREALISTIC. LISTEN TO HOW PEOPLE REALLY TALK AND TRY TO EMULATE THAT.
DID YOU KNOW THAT THE WORD "THAT" IS ALMOST ALWAYS UNNECESSARY? BE CAREFUL USING IT AND ONLY RARELY USE -LY (ADVERBS) AND –ING (GERUNDS).
CAREFULLY CONSIDER THE STRUCTURE OF EACH SENTENCE. AVOID UNNECESSARY PHRASES AND WORDINESS (WHERE POSSIBLE, USE THREE WORDS INSTEAD OF SIX). AVOID PASSIVE SENTENCE STRUCTURE, WHICH IS DISTANCING. PASSIVE STRUCTURE MEANS THE SUBJECT IS BEING ACTED UPON. IE, THE BALL WAS THROWN BY THE BOY. ACTIVE STRUCTURE MEANS THE SUBJECT IS DOING THE ACTION. IE, THE BOY THREW THE BALL. WAS, WERE, HAD, ETC CAN BE INDICATORS OF THE PASSIVE VOICE, BUT NOT ALWAYS.
THE PACE OF THE STORY NEEDS TO KEEP MOVING WITH A GOOD BALANCE BETWEEN DIALOG, NARRATION AND ACTION. TOO MUCH OF ANY OF THOSE ELEMENTS CAN MESS UP THE PACE.
THERE’S DIFFERENT THOUGHTS ABOUT POV (POINT OF VIEW OR WHOSE HEAD WE ARE IN), BUT GENERALLY YOU SHOULD STAY IN ONE POV FOR AT LEAST HALF THE SCENE, AND USUALLY YOU SHOULD ONLY USE THE POV OF THE MAIN CHARACTERS. ASK YOURSELF WHO HAS MORE TO LOSE WHEN TRYING TO DECIDE WHAT POV TO USE. SOME AUTHORS “HEAD HOP” MORE OFTEN, AND THAT CAN BE ACCEPTABLE IF DONE SKILLFULLY, BUT FOR A NEW AUTHOR, IT CAN BE A RED FLAG TO AGENTS/EDITORS. REGARDLESS, JUMPING FROM ONE POV INTO ANOTHER FROM SENTENCE TO SENTENCE OR EVEN WITHIN THE SAME SENTENCE IS POOR WRITING AND SHOULD BE CAREFULLY AVOIDED.
USE EXCLAMATION POINTS RARELY, IF AT ALL, ESPECIALLY IF YOU USE THE PHRASE HE/SHE EXCLAIMED, WHICH MEANS THE SAME THING.

So there's my little opinions, written with confidence as if I am an expert. Sigh. Writing is like a puzzle, only it's a different design for everyone. Why can't there be black and white rules? I guess because then it would be math and not art! :-)

2007-11-21T06:21:00.000-08:00

I get to judge another writing contest. This will be my sixth time judging. I started judging after I placed in the first two contests I entered and now that I don't have the time to pursue a career in writing, it's one of the things that keeps my writing skills sharp until my kids are older and I'm not homeschooling any more. I keep telling myself "just wait, your time will come". It's not easy to remember that all the time, though. So in the meantime, I blog, I teach, I edit, I judge, I critique--all things that keep my writing mind active while I'm waiting. So I get the entries I will be judging the day after Thanksgiving. I always look forward to that, but I am always slightly disappointed that most of them are not "publish-ready". I guess I want to find a diamond...this must be what editors at publishing houses feel like.

Character arcs

2007-10-31T09:23:00.001-07:00

A story arc is the inner journey the character takes throughout the book. They start one way, and due to things they have experienced and/or learned, they are different by the end. Perhaps a young woman starts out being an immature, silly person and by the end, she has gained wisdom and maturity. HOW this occurs is why we read the story, why the story exists in the first place. The more at stake, the bigger the change, the bigger the character arc. Editors and publishers like big character arcs, but as with anything, it is harder to write a powerful character arc than you might think. The reason is that the more a person needs to change, the more annoying or immature or whatever they are in the beginning. But if the character is too unlikeable in the beginning, the reader may not care enough to stick around to see them change. Added to that, we need to maintain a "trueness" about the character and a consistency to keep them realistic.
Remember Scarlett O'Hara? She was a spoiled brat in the beginning, but we stuck with her because every once in a while, the author would reveal something vulnerable, some sort of weakness about Scarlett that made us identify with her. And she was strong...something we all wish we could be. Much about her personality didn't change very much throughout the story (she was consistently selfish), but here and there we see glimpses of her growth. Like when her daughter is killed or when Melanie dies, we witness her pain although she hides it from the world. And in the end, the author (Margaret Mitchell) left us with some hope that Scarlett did change, that her character arc had come to an end with Scarlett's last words, "I'll think about it tomorrow.". What was genius about this story was that Ms. Mitchell let the reader determine Scarlett's character arc for themselves.

GMC

2007-09-26T11:05:00.000-07:00

Question: What is GMC? Answer: Goal, Motivation, Conflict

What does he/she want? (goal)
Why does he/she want it? (motivation)
Why can't he/she get it? (conflict)

Answering these questions helps us clarify our story so we don't muddy it up with unnecessary information. It also helps us know our characters better and hopefully makes our writing tighter. Each main character should have a STRONG GMC.

Let's say our Hero is Tyler.
What does he want? Revenge for his parents murder by villain
Why does he want it? Because as a result, he grew up without love, homeless and penniless
Why can't he get it? The villain is a high-ranking government official. He's also the brother of the woman Tyler loves.

The character's goal gives a reason for the story to open. In the beginning, the reader should identify and understand this goal. If the reader personally agrees with this goal, all the better.

The character's motivation keeps him trying, getting in and out of scrapes and situations as he tries to reach his goal. By this time, the reader should care deeply about the character, care if he fails or succeeds. The reader wants him to attain his goal, not just because it's a worthy goal, but because they care about the character personally.

The conflict, or what keeps the character from succeeding, should be big enough that the reader can't imagine how the character could possibly succeed and they HAVE to read on to discover how it could possibly work out. (I'm talking about stories that have a HEA (happily ever after) ending, since those are the kind I like.)

Actually, since each minor character is the hero of their own story, try to give a nod to each character's own GMC. If there is a villain in your story, that person's GMC is just as important as the hero/heroine's GMC, especially because the villain's goal is usually in direct conflict with the hero's goal.

Full books have been written about this topic. I've merely scratched the surface here. But one of the best examples of strong, clear GMC is The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, both the book and the movie. (The movie is, IMO (in my opinion), very well done.) If you are interested in seeing GMC in action, I would recommend watching it.

It's time to get a new agent

2007-09-14T06:23:00.001-07:00

This is an agent and author. Writer humor!

Writing royal court

2007-09-13T15:28:00.000-07:00

I prefer to read fiction written in limited POV. That means that the POV is limited to one or two main characters. I find it helps me to really "get into" their heads, bond with them, feel I know them. When someone likes limited POV, or even singular POV (an entire story written from only one person's POV), they are considered POV purists. Part of me is one of THOSE people, but another part, the rebellious part, says do what's right for the story, no matter what, even if it means straying into the POV of other characters occasionally. This technique is called "multiple POV", which is different from head-hopping. It is deliberate and much attention is paid to staying in one POV for a while (at least several paragraphs). I DO NOT like head-hopping (switching POV every paragraph, sometimes every sentence) ever, ever, ever. In my opinion, there is no story that cannot be re-written or edited to be in limited or multiple POV, which (also in my opinion) would make it better. Those of us in the writing world have heard many times, "Story is King", but to that I add, "POV is queen." Well, lots of other things are important too, like GMC (goal, motivation, conflict), story arcs, turning points, first person vs. third person, grammar and sentence structure, overuse of certain words or dialog tags, pace, overuse of adverbs or gerunds, telling vs. showing, passive writing vs. active...well this list is endless. Since I like the analogy of all those things making up the royal "writing" court, I guess I'll use that. If anyone reads this blog, is there anything in what I've said that is unclear or that you don't understand? I'll answer if so.

POV - Head-hopping

2007-09-03T07:02:00.000-07:00

Head-hopping means that when you read a scene, you hop from one character's thoughts and POV to another's, to another's.

Here's an example from multi-published author, Julie Garwood: (a few words have been omitted for length). This excerpt is from an older work of Ms. Garwood when this technique was more accepted. I added a character list so that you can easily tell who is who.

Grey Eagle - Native American chief
Black Wolf - Native American warrior, son of the chief
White Eagle - six-year-old son of Black Wolf, grandson of the chief
Merry - wife of Black Wolf, mother of White Eagle, wants to adopt baby Christina
Christina - white baby rescued by Merry

In this scene, the tribe is deciding whether to allow the white baby to become part of the tribe

*(Chief's POV) Grey Eagle let the holy man have his way. He rested his hands on the folded skin and continued to mull over the problem while the warriors argued with one another.
*(omniscient POV) But in the end, it was Christina who solved the problem for everyone.
*(boy's POV) Black Wolf's son listened to the harsh debate over Christina's future. Though the boy was only six summers, he'd already shown streaks of his father's arrogant nature. He suddenly pulled Christina along with him as he faced his father.
*(omniscient POV) Christina hid behind her brother now, though she peeked out at the angry-looking man staring at her brother so ferociously.
*(chief's POV) The chief was the only one who saw the baby mimic Black Wolf's scowl before she pressed her face against White Eagle's knees.
*(POV is unclear) "Father," White Eagle announced, "a white woman saved my life so that I could return to my people." The boy's fervent words gained an immediate silence. "Christina is now my sister."
*(Black Wolf's POV) Black Wolf couldn't contain his surprise over the arrogant way his son dared to speak to him. Before he could form a reply, [words omitted for length], the little girl scooted to her brother's side. She pulled her thumb out of her mouth long enough to shout, "My brother." *(switch mid-paragraph into Christina's POV) Then she smiled up at him, waiting for him to continue this new game.
*(boy's POV) White Eagle nodded. He squeezed her hand to let her know he was pleased with her answer, then turned to face his father again. "My father," he announced in a firm voice, pointing to Black Eagle and giving Christina's hand another firm squeeze.
*(Christina's POV) "My papa," she bellowed, pointing her finger at Black Wolf. She then looked up at her brother to gain his approval.
*(boy's POV) White Eagle glanced over to look at his grandfather. When the leader nodded, Christina's brother nodded to her.
*(omniscient POV) It was all the approval the little girl needed. She let go of White Eagle's hand, turned, and scooted backwards. Without showing the least bit of fear, she fell into Black Wolf's lap.
Everyone watched the baby settle herself. Black Wolf visibly stiffened when Christina reached up and grabbed one of his braids. He didn't push her hand away, though, but turned to look at his chief.
*(POV unclear...could be Black Wolf's or the chief's) Grey Eagle was smiling with satisfaction.
*(Black Wolf's POV) Merry rushed over to kneel down in front of her husband. Black Wolf could see how his wife trembled. He sighed in acceptance. "Take our daughter to the tipi."
*(Merry's POV) Merry immediately reached out to take Christina into her arms. [words omitted for length] She really did try not to smile, but when she glanced up at her husband, she knew he could see her joy. And certainly her love.
Black Wolf acknowledged both with an arrogant nod.
*(Chief's POV) Grey Eagle waited until Merry had taken the children away. "Do I now have a granddaughter?" he asked Black Wolf.
"You do," Black Wolf answered.

There are different opinions about this technique. Today, the general preference is to stay in one POV per scene, or if there is two main characters, switch midway into the other's POV, where we remain for the rest of the scene. The reason being, it is hard to achieve deep connection with the character if we are always being pulled out of one head to go into another's, therefore making the character-connection with the reader more shallow.

That being said, some authors enjoy the freedom of being able to "see" the scene from multiple character's heads. The advantages are to be able to see every tiny thing in a scene, some of which are impossible for one character to observe; i.e. the author is not limited to one set of eyes and ears. For example, in the previous scene the chief was the only one who saw the child's expression before she hid behind her brother.

Unfortunately, this technique can be perceived as amateurish because most new authors write like this without knowing what POV is or what they are doing. The only way it really works is in the hands of an experienced author with a good grasp and understanding of POV. Even then, some people don't like it. After reading a scene like this, a woman I know described it as "giving the reader whip-lash". Personally, I prefer to read books that stay in one or two POVs per scene. But the story always trumps technique for me. This book of Ms. Garwood is on my keeper shelf because she crafts a great story that holds my attention to the end, regardless of POV.

POV - Omniscient

2007-09-03T09:31:00.001-07:00

Omniscient POV is simply "being God" as the reader. It means that we, as the reader, are told the action as if we are looking at it from above or on a TV screen. It is not channeled through a character's senses or viewpoint.

Point of View

2007-08-31T09:57:00.000-07:00

Point of View is a huge issue in the fiction-writing world. When I started writing three years ago, I didn't even know what it was. Over the last few years, I have learned that as well as many other writing "rules" or opinions or what-ever-you-want-to-call-them. But the more I learn about POV, the more layers and depth to it I realize there is. I'll start with a simple definition.

Point of View (POV): The perspective a story is told from. (i.e. Who's eyes are we seeing the world through?)

Callista stood at the window and stared at the white world outside, marveling how the sun brought out so many dazzling colors despite the stark black and white simplicity. The shape of a man emerged from the garage and began his slow trip across the yard. Soon, he was climbing the backsteps and pushing open the old farmhouse door. "The truck won't start. I'll have to hitch up old Bessie."
Callista shivered and stepped back as the frigid air gripped her ankles with icy fingers. Joe looked like a snow man, complete with icicles on his dark mustache. But he was still beautiful to her. She rested a hand on her rounded belly.
"Don't worry," he said. "I'll be back soon."
Callista bit her lip, then nodded. Reaching out, she wrapped her arms around him, snow-covered coat and all. If he said he'd be back soon with the supplies, he would.

Joe tried the key one more time. The stubborn engine whined a few times, then sputtered to a halt. Leaning his head against the steering wheel, he sat for a few moments listening to the sound of water dripping from the tailpipe.
He sighed deeply, allowing himself a short moment of weakness. What was he going to do? Callista was due any day now and he knew she trusted him implicitly to take care of her and make sure she was safe.
He straightened his shoulders, refusing to give up. Callista needed him and he would do his best to be strong for her.
He trudged through the snow to the house, smiling when he saw her watching from the window.
"The truck won't start. I'll have to hitch up old Bessie."
Her light blue eyes filled with uncertainty.
"Don't worry. I'll be back soon."
The uncertainty faded until her eyes were familiar pools of peace and trust. They'd always reminded him of the ocean on a calm day. As she enfolded him in her delicate arms, he rested his chin on her shoulder and prayed that everything really would be all right.

In the first example, we are firmly in Callista's head, or POV. We see the scene the way she sees it, we think her thoughts, we feel what she feels.

In the second example, we experience the same scene from Joe's POV. We feel his frustration, think his thoughts right along with him.

Two different perceptions of the same events. Two different POVs.

When it comes to POV, there are different terms and definitions, which I will describe in detail in later posts:

Head-hopping
Deep POV
Omniscient POV
Multiple POV
Limited POV
How to decide which character's POV to write a scene in
POV transitions

POV is, in my opinion, one of the most important elements in writing. The author should have a complete mastery and understanding of it to write effectively for today's market. It takes time and practice until you can manipulate POV effectively, but it is worth it. A masterful and skillful use of POV can add sparkle, depth, and realism to your work, and helps you create an emotional bond with the reader.