by Elizabeth Maria Naranjo
Every story is unique and deserves careful consideration as to how it should be told. Writers have several points of view to choose from—first-person, second-person, third-person, omniscient—but should also explore different forms and techniques to find the narrative style that best matches their story.
For example, you can write in third-person from multiple points of view in alternating chapters. Or first-person point of view in a series of vignettes. Or even second-person point of view in verse (why not?). For my piece “From Autumn to June” I chose first-person point of view but wanted something more intimate than my narrator relaying the story to an unknown audience for an unknown reason. So I tried something new—the epistolary form, which is a narrative told in letters.
Immediately I sensed the difference. My protagonist's letters were so intensely personal that my heart ached writing them. I was immersed in her voice to the point where she felt real and not at all like fiction. It was a heady experience, and a strangely effortless one—from first to final draft took only one month. It’s as if the story wrote itself, and a big part of that is because I chose the right point of view and narrative style before starting.
The epistolary style can also be useful if you’re using a more traditional format and become stuck. With third person especially it’s easy to lose touch with characters because you’re writing them from a distance. If that distance gets too wide, a good way to zoom in is to open a separate file or notebook and have your character write a few diary entries. Not only will you capture her voice again, you’ll probably learn something about her you never knew.
Diaries are where we spill our secrets, after all.
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Elizabeth Maria Naranjo is the author of The Fourth Wall (WiDo Publishing, 2014). Her short fiction and creative nonfiction have been published in Brevity Magazine, YA Review Net, The Portland Review, Superstition Review, Hunger Mountain, Motherwell, Mothers Always Write, and a few other places. Elizabeth lives in Tempe, Arizona, with her husband and two children.
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Would you like to participate in Friday "Speak Out!"? Email your short posts (under 500 words) about women and writing to: marcia[at]wow-womenonwriting[dot]com for consideration. We look forward to hearing from you!
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Every story is unique and deserves careful consideration as to how it should be told. Writers have several points of view to choose from—first-person, second-person, third-person, omniscient—but should also explore different forms and techniques to find the narrative style that best matches their story.
For example, you can write in third-person from multiple points of view in alternating chapters. Or first-person point of view in a series of vignettes. Or even second-person point of view in verse (why not?). For my piece “From Autumn to June” I chose first-person point of view but wanted something more intimate than my narrator relaying the story to an unknown audience for an unknown reason. So I tried something new—the epistolary form, which is a narrative told in letters.
Immediately I sensed the difference. My protagonist's letters were so intensely personal that my heart ached writing them. I was immersed in her voice to the point where she felt real and not at all like fiction. It was a heady experience, and a strangely effortless one—from first to final draft took only one month. It’s as if the story wrote itself, and a big part of that is because I chose the right point of view and narrative style before starting.
The epistolary style can also be useful if you’re using a more traditional format and become stuck. With third person especially it’s easy to lose touch with characters because you’re writing them from a distance. If that distance gets too wide, a good way to zoom in is to open a separate file or notebook and have your character write a few diary entries. Not only will you capture her voice again, you’ll probably learn something about her you never knew.
Diaries are where we spill our secrets, after all.
* * *
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Would you like to participate in Friday "Speak Out!"? Email your short posts (under 500 words) about women and writing to: marcia[at]wow-womenonwriting[dot]com for consideration. We look forward to hearing from you!
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