from the archives...15 February, 2008
I thought I might make note of something once drawn to my attention that in the end I found useful to my writing; in the beginning it was cause for frustration...It all began when my thoughts formed into this letter to a friend and fellow writer...
A fellow reader in an online editing group gave me some feedback, and while very thoughtful and much appreciated, I find myself more unsure about one particular issue in my writing than ever. I don’t know if I just never noticed, or if perhaps it is simply a difference in style of writing, one I am accustomed to while she is accustomed to another quite the opposite. Or, alas, I am completely missing something.
The question regards ‘character perspectives’ and that I change between them frequently, leading to confusion when reading. I tend to describe the sometimes-detailed thoughts of my characters during their dialogue.
Her idea is that when reading, you need to stick to one-sided thoughts and perspectives—any others being only what that same character perceives or sees outwardly.
What I understand is that when you are in the middle of a line of dialogue, and as long as the reader clearly understands who is speaking it, the thoughts are more a continuation of what that character is saying. Therefore, just as the dialogue switches from one to the next in a volley of words, so does the inner dialogue of the characters. For example, if Jane and Emily are having a conversation, it follows:
"Wow," said Jane. She was smiling, astounded by the blue sky.
"I agree," said Emily, thinking to herself that the sky was nice but preferred it more so at sunset.
"Except that the colors of a sunset is nicer." Both women smiled, sharing a moment of inner laughter.
"I’ll see you tomorrow," Emily yawned, already longing for her bed. It was getting late and her head was starting to feel heavy even though the sunset was an hour away.
"Goodnight." Jane waved goodbye and began to walk with a sigh at the thought of the following day and the busy events it held.
Alright, then, reader. As far as I can see, this makes sense. If the reader understands who is speaking a line of dialogue, it would follow, then, that the character is able to think something in the same sentence without confusion; dialogue moving to thought in the same flow. Obviously, it would be mesmerizing in the least if these thoughts came attached to every single line of dialogue as in the example, but you get the picture.
I once read that if you are switching perspectives, be generous to your reader and help them out by dedicating each character, in the least, their own paragraph. I am consistently conscious of this when I write. But when applying this rule to dialogue, I become muddled. I can only explain my own perception like this:
Assuming of course that the book is written in third person, there is a narrator, so to speak. The narrator watches from above, telling the reader a story of everything she sees and hears, the ability to see the thoughts of the characters included. I usually imagine the narrator as myself letting you, the reader, in to explore a deeper level with my characters, into their thoughts. I think this is where it differs between this particular reader and I. She wishes to hear the story from the characters narrative alone, not as an outsider overseeing things, assuming, then, that one character cannot, in fact, read the thoughts of the other.
As I continued to think about this contradiction, attempting to process my complete confusion, I hadn’t really noticed this before in anything I read (or wrote, if I am going to go deep on this one.) I don’t pick apart the novels I’m reading in this respect to know if most are written with "head jumping" perspectives or not or where these jumps fall in dialogue if they do. (Of course, I do pick them apart for other things!)
Perhaps I don't notice it because no one else does it. Therefore, the novels have not, as yet, confused me. ; ) Tell me then, wise reader, have I been completely missing something while lost in my own little writing world; oblivious to this major rule of writing I have been so consistently and irrationally breaking?
This may very likely be one of those "writing in my own head" things where since I obviously understand what’s going on by reading between my own lines, it makes complete and utter sense. Not, sadly to say, as easily said for my poor reader, merely attempting to follow along for pleasure’s sake.
In the end, I still have not found my answer. If I never do, and perhaps there is not one, but rather a matter of opinion and choice, I will, in the least, attend more notice on my characters and their inner thoughts, more specifically where they are placed.
I am not one bit annoyed with the reader who has brought this issue to light. I respect every opinion because it is just that. An opinion. And I asked. But even more so when that opinion is ‘critique’ and not simply a personal message of ‘oh, it was very nice.’ She has made a good point, brought an important issue in my writing, writing in general, to light. If nothing else, it has encouraged a new flow of words across my page, though I am still baffled in my attempts to fix it.....
(And, in case you had noticed and indeed were concerned with my ramblings, my head is, at present, stuck in the pages of Wuthering Heights with Heathcliff and Catherine, and also with Miss Fanny Price, as she wanders through her life completely unnoticed in the halls and pathways of Mansfield Park. So the form my own thoughts have been taking is one as influenced by the wise words of Emily Bronte and Miss Austen, herself.)
Tara
So there it was, and I did find some answers...up and coming...
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