PERSPECTIVE

''Perspective in writing refers to the way writers communicate views and observations in their works. It is a literary tool that serves as a lens through which readers observe characters, events, and happenings. Writers can share their views overtly through a narrator who clearly speaks their mind, or they can take a subtler approach, filtering a character’s perspective through an omniscient narrator. Writing perspective, also known as point of view, concerns the method by which an author chooses to convey his text.''

Perspective

In a story, the point of view is the narrator’s position in the description of events.

An obstacle all readers, especially the novice is that of choosing the perspective: this hurdle is a question of voice and of who is telling the story (should the narrator be first or third person, close or omniscient?).

Do we need to also consider who is listening to this voice?

Perhaps they are listening to a confession or they need to know someone is lying. We may need to see something from multiple views to truly understand the impact of the scene, of the importance to the character/s, the plot, that there may be, for example, a bomb ticking real or metaphorically.

🔺'Curtis Brown Creative' - Plot and Story Perspective resource.

🔗Plot-Story Perspective Resource-1.pdf

Aims and Objectives

Perspective: making sure the voice we are writing in is the right one for the story: 1st, 2nd 3rd Or mixed
Which POV should you write in to tell your story?
Writing from different perspectives: we will discuss and explore the importance of the choices you make and the effect on every aspect of the story, the language, and why it is important to the story, the characters plus the style, voice and tone of your writing. Find examples and discuss.
How POV can also affect what the readers see and hear.
Plus, exploring unusual or unique perspectives.

Perspectives: why your initial choice needs to be right!

Write about a story where the voice of the narrator is important to your understanding of the story, the character conflicts and plot.
How could it be different and what would be the affect?

I decided to use 'The Catcher in The Rye' as my example:

In "The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield's distinctive voice is key to understanding the story, character conflicts, and plot. His colloquial tone reveals his inner turmoil and alienation, showcasing his dissatisfaction with the world and grief over his brother’s death.

Holden's voice highlights his internal and external conflicts, as he seeks connection while fearing intimacy. His judgments of others as "phony" reflect his struggles with authenticity and inadequacy. The narrative’s stream-of-consciousness style immerses readers in his chaotic mental state, making his New York journey feel both intimate and disorienting.

A more detached third-person perspective would diminish the emotional immediacy of Holden’s thoughts, reducing empathy for his isolation and complexity of relationships. An optimistic or guiding tone could shift the story from a troubled youth’s despair to a misguided character needing help, diluting the existential weight of his experiences.

Ultimately, Holden’s raw voice is essential for engaging with his pain and quest for identity. Any change to this voice would alter our understanding of him and reshape the narrative’s themes, underscoring the importance of perspective in storytelling.

What would be the best perspectives for theses genres:

Coming of age novels - First Person
Ghost Stories - Third person
Thrillers and suspense novels - First person - Singular Point of View
Romance Genre - Third person with some first person thoughts included in key moments.
Fantasy Genre - Third person

Pros and Cons

Research on-line and find definitions and the pros and cons of each PERSPECTIVE
Are there sub-categories within each perspective? IF SO what are they?
Find an examples of as many as you can that help you understand the purpose of perspective. You can also broaden this if you like to look at using perspectives and different POV’s in journalism if you prefer and feel this is more relevant to you.
Then discuss your findings and your experiences of reading and writing.

1st Person:
Pro - Personal Relationship with the Main Character
Pro - Focused View Point
Con - Limited Scope
Con - What if you didn't like the main character?

2nd Person

Pro: It Can Create Intimacy.
Pro: It Can Make Your Story Stand Apart.
Pro: It Can Create Excitement.
Pro: It Can Create a Strong Narrative Voice.
Con: Readers Aren't Used to It.
Con: It Can Be Repetitious.
Con: It Can Be Difficult to Write.
Con: It Requires Consistent Suspension of Disbelief

Third person

Pro - The narrator can tell the reader things the main character doesn't know, creating dramatic irony.
Pro - Provides a broad perspective on the story, which is useful for epics involving many plotlines.
Pro - You cannot be sure if the main character will survive the story.
Con - Far less intimacy between reader and main character.
Con - Narrator is reliable (this could also be seen as a pro).

Mixed Narration

Pro - You can unveil more of the story
Pro - It allows readers to see characters through the eyes of other characters
Pro - It can add mystery and intrigue
Con - Too many narrators can be confusing
Con - You run the risk of telling the same scene twice

Free Indirect Discourse

Free indirect discourse is a big clunky phrase that describes a special type of third-person narration that slips in and out of characters' consciousness. In other words, characters' thoughts, feelings, and words are filtered through the third-person narrator in free indirect discourse.
Imagine we have a story narrated in the third person. In this particular scene, the protagonist, Bob, is watching his cat, Dribbles, who is meowing urgently at him. A conventional third-person narrator might ‘report’ or narrate this as follows:
Bob looked at his cat, Dribbles, who was meowing at him. He wondered what the cat wanted.
This second sentence, ‘He wondered what the cat wanted’, is a simple statement or summary of Bob’s thought. We might report this slightly differently, as follows:
Bob looked at his cat, Dribbles, who was meowing at him. What did the cat want? he wondered.

Here, in that second sentence, rather than simply summarising Bob’s thought, we have it framed as the question Bob would have ‘asked’ to himself, in his mind. We know this is Bob’s thought because we have the helpful tag provided: ‘he wondered’. But what if we removed that tag, so that the thought was, as it were, floating free of the narrator?

Bob looked at his cat, Dribbles, who was meowing at him. What did the cat want?

This has now become free indirect style, because that helpful tag, a kind of ‘stabiliser’ which makes it explicit to the reader that what we are reading is Bob’s thought rather than the narrator’s question, has been removed. Instead, we’re left in some doubt (though not too much) as to whose question that is. Is the narrator still speaking in his/her own words, or has the narrator’s voice been co-opted by the character, Bob? Is the narrator now ventriloquising Bob’s inner monologue?

(Example - Plot-Story Perspective Resource-1.pdf)

Exercise

Now, take a piece of writing you have worked on in the past year and write it in a different perspective:

For this exercise, I decided to take the opening of a short story that I had previously written in third person, and convert it into first person. You can find the original piece of writing here: https://studentthanetac-my.sharepoint.com/:w:/r/personal/30079086_student_ekcgroup_ac_uk/Documents/BOSTON%20BANDIT.docx?d=w755d779deb544aeaae36c2cb24bc7e06&csf=1&web=1&e=7p5Q2n

'A Boston Bandit' in a different perspective

It was now 1pm. The entire communion of the Melrose Police Station had dropped dead. Just like that. All but one person. Me. My safety had become compromised, and it was my job to clean up the mess, before I became the mess myself.

The poisonings were not random, that much was evident. An abnormally precise dose of arsenic was infiltrated within ten cups of coffee, the cups which came across as a heartfelt gesture at first glance. Three Hundred milligrams of inorganic arsenic, enough to take out a grown man in mere hours.

Chief Detective Miller was the first victim. He shouted orders left and right, unintelligent requests to pick up the pace, in which I rolled my eyes in response as he huffed and walked away.

I did not see the label on the coffees though apparently it was a kind message scribbled on a post-it note. You wouldn’t think anything of it. Perhaps a receptionist in a rather good mood. It was Sunday, a day in which I would usually wind down and fill out endless amounts of paperwork. It hadn’t crossed my mind that such sly killings would happen in the blink of an eye. 10 coffees. Those coffees made my stomach churn just thinking about them. Thank God I wasn’t thirsty. Such lack of thirst that rescued me from one of the most prominent killing sprees in history.

Findings

As I switched perspectives for my piece of writing, I found that it was harder to write this particular scene in first person. Although I recognise that first person can sometimes improve the storytelling by adding a more focused viewpoint, this was not case with this exercise. I think that this narration sounded too much like a chaotic train of thoughts rather than an informative and ominous recount of the relevant events. This is why I wrote it in a third-person description, which I think sounds like an unknown narrator telling a story that has happened in the past. This immediately adds an ominous/creepy tone of mystery, which is exactly what I was aiming for when writing a crime story.

Surprise or Suspense

Free-write a scene in which a bomb is planted – try writing it from a first-person perspective and then a third person POV, perhaps from a multiple perspective
Experiment and see how the passages you write differ.
It is important to see how you show the scenes and what you want the reader to see and experience: surprise or suspense.
Perhaps think back to scenes you have read where you have felt similar emotions before writing

First Person Perspective

The night was thick with tension, the faint hum of the city a distant background to my pounding heart. I crouched behind the dumpster, the cold metal biting through my clothes. The alley was dimly lit, shadows flickering like ghosts as the streetlamp buzzed above. My hands trembled slightly as I pulled the device from my backpack, its weight a reminder of the gravity of my task.

I glanced around, ensuring the coast was clear. The plan had been meticulously crafted, every detail etched in my mind, but doubt gnawed at the edges of my resolve. I took a deep breath, steadying myself. This was for a cause, something greater than myself.

With practiced precision, I pressed the device against the wall, its adhesive backing sticking instantly to the rough surface. I felt a rush of adrenaline as I activated the timer, the faint beeping echoing in the silence. Each tick seemed to resonate with my heartbeat, counting down to something monumental.

I stepped back, allowing myself a moment to admire the setup. It was unassuming, just another piece of the urban landscape, but I knew its true purpose. I turned to leave, but a flicker of movement caught my eye. A couple walked by, oblivious to the danger they brushed against. I felt a pang of guilt, but had to remind myself that sacrifices were necessary for the greater good.

As I slipped into the shadows, a mix of fear and exhilaration washed over me. I couldn’t look back. I had made my choice, and now it was time to disappear.

Third Person Perspective

In the quiet of the alley, a figure emerged from the shadows, their movements deliberate and calculated. Clad in dark clothing, they crouched low, hidden from the prying eyes of the bustling city. The faint glow of the streetlamp illuminated their features momentarily, revealing a tense expression as they pulled a small device from a worn backpack.

With quick glances to ensure no one was watching, the individual pressed the device against the brick wall. The adhesive clung tightly, and they activated the timer, a soft beep marking the countdown. The alley remained still, the only sound the distant hum of traffic and the occasional bark of a stray dog.

As they stepped back to assess their handiwork, they noticed a couple strolling by, laughter ringing out like a cruel contrast to the gravity of the moment. The figure hesitated, a flicker of doubt crossing their face. Were the sacrifices worth the potential chaos? But resolve hardened their features once more.

With a swift turn, they melted back into the darkness, their heart racing with a mix of fear and exhilaration. The timer continued its relentless countdown, ticking away the seconds until a moment that would change everything. In the stillness of the alley, the device lay hidden, a silent harbinger of impending turmoil.

'The Christening' - Simon Armitage

Link to Poem: 🔻

Poetry Archive. (2020). The Christening - Poetry Archive. [online] Available at: https://poetryarchive.org/poem/christening/ [Accessed 23 Sep. 2024].

Using the Simon Armitage Poem: The Christening as inspiration, try and write a short piece from an unusual perspective.

From the Perspective of a Park Bench

I have sat here for decades, my wooden slats worn smooth by the weight of countless lives. People come and go, each leaving a trace, a whisper, a moment etched into my being. They don’t notice me much, but I see everything—the laughter of children, the sorrow in lovers’ eyes, the solitude of those seeking refuge.

This morning, a young woman sank into my embrace, her shoulders heavy with unseen burdens. She stared at the ground, lost in thought, while a gentle breeze played with her hair. I felt her heartache seep into my grain, mingling with the echoes of past conversations. Just yesterday, a child had raced by, gleefully chasing a squirrel, their laughter a stark contrast to her silence.

The sun shifted, casting shadows that danced across my surface. A man approached, his hands stuffed deep in his pockets, eyes scanning the park as if searching for something he’d lost. He paused beside me, his sigh a low rumble that vibrated through my frame. I wished I could comfort him, to tell him that life is a series of fleeting moments, each one valuable in its own right.

As the day wore on, I witnessed a couple arguing, their voices sharp and jagged, slicing through the tranquility. I ached to absorb their anger, to provide a space where they could reconnect, but they left in a huff, their words hanging in the air like a storm cloud.

Night fell, draping the park in a blanket of quiet. The moon peeked through the trees, illuminating the path where shadows once danced. In this stillness, I felt a sense of purpose—though I am just a bench, I hold stories, emotions, and memories. I am a witness to life’s ebb and flow, a silent companion to all who seek solace, a humble keeper of the human experience.

And so, I wait, ready for the next soul to sit, to share their moment, to leave a piece of themselves behind.

Tone

The perspective also effects the tone of a piece. Avoid the mistake of telling your reader what to feel. Instead, convey your attitude or emotion with carefully chosen words that create the perfect tone for your story. The language and techniques help the reader place the characters in a world.

In The Old Man and the Sea, his final published work, Ernest Hemingway effects a tone of loneliness, sadness, defeat, and discouragement (at least on the part of the boy). In third person.

But, you can also read into what’s not said and detect a tone of courage or expectation on the part of the old man. Who continues to fish day after day when they’ve caught nothing?

He was an old man who fished alone in a skiff in the Gulf Stream and he had gone eighty-four days now without taking a fish. In the first forty days a boy had been with him. But after forty days without a fish the boy’s parents had told him that the old man was now definitely and finally salao, which is the worst form of unlucky, and the boy had gone at their orders in another boat which caught three good fish the first week.

It made the boy sad to see the old man come in each day with his skiff empty and he always went down to help him carry either the coiled lines or the gaff and harpoon and the sail that was furled around the mast. The sail was patched with flour sacks and, furled, it looked like the flag of permanent defeat.

In Journalism:

Tone and language also help us understand the writer’s viewpoints/feelings/opinions etc.
A journalistic tone. This is a combination of a formal and objective tone; the focus of the piece is on reporting the facts. A journalistic tone informs readers of who was involved
In determining the attitude, mood, or tone of an author, examine the specific diction used. ... Other examples of literary tone are: airy, comic, condescending, facetious, funny, heavy, intimate, ironic, light, playful, sad, serious, sinister, solemn, sombre, threatening

Greeting Card Exercise

Imagine someone is choosing a greeting card: decide who it is and who they are sending it to. Describe the search for a suitable card from 1st person POV.
Now imagine the recipient’s reaction. Write a short dialogue or monologue on how the recipient feels about the card and the sender. How successful were you with the different perspectives? Can you extend this as piece of fiction/memoir or autobiography?

From the senders POV

As I stepped into the dimly lit card shop, a chill ran down my spine. The air was thick with the scent of aged paper, but today, it felt foreboding. I was on a mission, one fraught with tension: I needed the perfect birthday card for Mia, my best friend, but I also needed to convey something more—an unspoken warning.

With furtive glances, I scanned the aisles, the vibrant colors of the cards starkly contrasting the dread coiling in my stomach. The shop was quiet, with only the sound of my footsteps echoing against the wooden floor. I paused at a card featuring a lone wolf under a full moon, the words “Stay safe, my friend” printed inside. It felt ominous, but it was fitting given what I knew.

I pushed the thought aside, desperate to find something that didn’t scream danger. I picked up a card with a watercolor landscape, but the message inside felt too generic. I needed something that would resonate with Mia, something that would remind her of the bond we shared while hinting at the peril we faced.

Finally, I settled on a simple, elegant card adorned with delicate flowers. Inside, it read, “You are loved more than you know.” Perfect. It conveyed my affection, but I planned to add a note warning her to be cautious after what had happened last week. As I paid for the card, I felt a sense of urgency; time was running out.

From the recipients POV

Mia sat at her dining table, laughter and chatter swirling around her, but a nagging unease tugged at her gut. Birthdays were supposed to be joyful, yet the memory of last week’s incident loomed heavy in her mind. She tried to shake it off, but the feeling persisted.

As her friends presented gifts, a small envelope caught her eye—Jess’s handwriting. She felt a rush of warmth, but it was quickly overshadowed by apprehension. “This is from Jess,” she said, her fingers trembling slightly as she opened it.

Her heart raced as she read the card: “You are loved more than you know.” But beneath the surface of those words, she sensed something deeper. Mia’s eyes darted to the small note Jess had written on the back: “Be careful. I’m worried about you. Trust no one.”

The warmth in her chest turned to ice. “What does she know?” she whispered, her voice barely audible over the din of the party. The laughter around her felt distant, almost mocking. She clutched the card tightly, a sense of dread washing over her.

Mia looked around, her heart pounding. “I can’t shake this feeling that something’s wrong. Jess always knows. She’s like a sister to me, but what if…” Her mind raced with possibilities, every face in the room now a potential threat.

“Hey, are you okay?” one of her friends asked, breaking her train of thought.

“Yeah, just… thinking,” she replied, forcing a smile. But inside, she felt the walls closing in. Jess’s words echoed in her mind, and she realized that the danger wasn’t just a passing thought—it was real. And now, it was up to her to uncover the truth before it was too late.

Reading and Analysing like a writer

What crafting tools have we recognised ?

Some Crafting tools that I have recognised include exploring unique perspectives, mixed narration, exploring different senses in writing, and the importance of tone, including transferable skills in journalism.

Literary devices?

Metaphor, simile, imagery, show and not tell, persuasive tools such as repetition and humour, tone and genre conventions,

Word choice, syntax and other structural devices such as foregrounding.

And your thoughts, feeling and opinions as a writer and how this work impact on you and your work.

Learning about perspective in writing enriches my writing by enabling the creation of nuanced characters, enhancing narrative structure, and fostering empathy. It allows for the exploration of conflict and themes from multiple angles, which increases reader engagement. You can manipulate perspective to create suspense and develop a unique voice and style, ultimately making their storytelling more compelling and resonant.

Evaluation

This week's lectures have been very interesting to me, and have helped me to understand writing from different perspectives. we discussed and explored the importance of the choices you make and the effect on every aspect of the story, the language, and why it is important to the story. I wasn't familiar with the importance of perspectives in my writing prior to this week, so I initially struggled with the task in which we had to choose a previous piece of work and switch perspectives. Despite this struggle, I think it was important to have a go, as I eventually got the hang of it and understood why I wrote the story in the original perspective and how different the story would be if it was written differently. Overall, I think that these sessions have aided my learning and understanding of how perspective can affect a range of different elements in your writing, and have helped my creative process when writing pieces in the future.

Greg's

'The Catcher in The Rye' as my example:

Effective examples to choose and skillfully analysed to back up the points you make. Also highlights how important it is to have a unique voice when writing in 1st person.

I can't read your annotations of the extracts we looked at, so perhaps you could summarise your thoughts: what had the biggest impact on you and how did the writer achieve this?

'A Boston Bandit' in a different perspective

I like the first person voice - it is authentic and feels right for the story but I do see your point, and you sum up the exercise skillfully - strong reflective writing.

The bomb exercise: suspense or surprise

The first person doesn't really work for this exercise as it was supposed to be a surprise - it would be a surprise to the person who came along after your character had planed the bomb.

Both pieces are effectively written but do not meet the brief: 3rd person should be similar to the Hitchcock clip we watched in building suspense and tensions (hence the brief suspense or surprise); we know there's a bomb, we fear it will go off an kill someone, and we hope it doesn't happen, and can't bear to look but then booomb!

It is a tricky brief, but it is important that you understand the difference here between 1st and 3rd.

From the Perspective of a Park Bench

Beautiful, emotive writing - effectively written with a reflectively poetic tone

Great work!

Greeting Card exercise is fun - you definitely got into the spirit of the task and reaped the benefits of an intriguing suspense filled thriller -

Effectively evaluated - a wonderful blog full of imagination and demonstrating a good grasp of the skills and narrative tool.

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