Leaping is skipping from scene to scene over periods of time, leaving out parts that are dull, irrelevant, or unneeded. Alfred Hitchcock once irreverently quipped that his films were just like life with the dull bits edited out. This is leaping, and its function in writing a young adult novel is to keep the story full and alive while moving it toward the climax.
Author-Controlled Time
The fact that an author controls the lives of his characters through the use of time does not give him license to overuse it. Flashbacks, flash-forwards, and foreshadowing are all methods of controlling time and are important tools in telling a story. For the young adult reader, use of these techniques should be limited and inserted in a story when there are no other alternatives. When they are used, great care must be taken to ensure continuity, consistency of characters, and well-defined settings. Readers at the lower end of the young adult age group find multiple flashbacks and other time manipulations difficult to follow. A story that follows a straight timeline from introduction to climax is much preferred over a convoluted, hard-to-follow route.
Developing a Timeline
If a story takes place over a significant amount of time, laying out the timeline on paper is a useful tool that will allow the author to place the characters in the correct setting, pace the story, and identify the essential parts that must be told. The timeline also allows the author to place and rearrange the scenes of the story, much like playing a game of solitaire, to achieve the most impact. It’s also a way of identifying those scenes that are weak or not needed in the story.
After you’ve got your cards laid out on the table, look at the sequence of events you’ve created. Does it make sense? Do the characters age and reach milestones in a realistic fashion? Consider how your timeline relates to your plot. Does it include all the main climaxes of your plot? Are there any events in the timeline that don’t occur in the plot? If so, you might want to consider leaving those out, as they’re probably not necessary to your manuscript.
SETTING AS A FOUNDATION
Some authors, especially those who write science fiction, may create stories that span long periods of times, sometimes hundreds or thousands of years. Building a timeline with the settings required for the story will create a believable history and foundation for the story. Over hundreds of years much of the setting will change, but much will remain the same. These similar threads running through time tend to be those aspects of the human condition that bind all fiction together. Many of the conflicts that society had to deal with when men sailed on wooden ships are the same conflicts of the men who sail spaceships between the stars. The setting and timeline provide readers with an anchor in reality that will make a story come alive.
The setting of your novel can be instrumental in shaping your manuscript’s tone if you handle it well. Remember the atmosphere you want to create, decide on what details will add the most to the feel you want to convey, and pick your approach. If you keep to those general precepts, your setting will resonate in the readers’ memory long after they’ve finished your book.
CHAPTER 7
TRYING ON
POINTS OF VIEW
In fiction the author never tells the story directly to the reader. Instead, he uses an avatar within the world he has created, in the form of a narrator. Where the narrator appears to stand in relationship to the reader as he tells the story is what is known as the point of view.
The point of view (POV) can be one of three forms—first person, second person, or third person—or their variants. Viewpoint can be thought of as a measure of the distance the narrator has from the story. In first person the viewpoint is told from the “I” position, so the viewpoint has a distance of zero because the narrator is the central focus through which all events are experienced by the reader. Second person is told from the “you” position, which makes the reader feel like he or she is a character within the story. Finally, in third person, the narrator is farthest from the action, standing to the side and taking a panoramic view of the scene to describe the action.
The viewpoint and narration make up a delicate construction where a break in consistency can completely lose the reader. Consistent, logical POV will keep the reader immersed in the story and help the reader identify with the characters.
Point of view is a term with two important meanings for a writer: “vantage point” and “opinion.” The first requires precise use of technique; the second, passion and artistry. Mastering the use of both meanings is crucial to creating a character and a story the reader will care about.
Let’s take a look at the different possible POVs. This will help you determine who should be telling your story and figure out how to approach first-, second-, and third-person narratives.
THIRD PERSON
Ninety percent or more of modern fiction is written in third person, usually in the past tense. This POV uses pronouns such as he, she, they, their, himself, and so on. The third-person narrator is invisible and not a character in the story, and serves the reader by showing the feelings and inner thoughts of the characters by describing the actions and the interactions of the characters. Three variations of third-person POV are used.
• Limited: This POV is sometimes described as the “over the shoulder” perspective. The narrator tells the story as if he were looking over the shoulder of a character, sometimes called the “viewpoint character.” This viewpoint character is often the protagonist, and the narrator follows him or her around for the duration of the story, looking at and describing the same things that the character sees. The narrator may be more observant than the character, but is limited to what that character theoretically could observe.
• Omniscient: In this POV the narrator can shift focus among characters with complete knowledge of everyone’s thoughts and of events that no single character would know.
• Objective: The narrator in third-person-objective shows only what is actually happening without the filter of the protagonist’s personality. It does not detail the thoughts of any single character. This POV is generally used to reveal information that the protagonist or other characters don’t know or realize. It is rarely used for an entire novel.
Advantages
• Provides the reader with a wide, sweeping view of the story from above.
• The reader can know what happens when the protagonist is not in the scene.
• When the protagonist is interacting with other characters, the reactions of those characters, including their thoughts, can be given to the reader.
• A reader may observe a scene from the perspective of different characters, allowing the reader to understand the scene better than any of the individual characters do.
• The feelings of any character or all characters can be explored as needed.
• The author can use simple descriptions to give the reader information that the main character can’t know but that the reader needs to follow the story.
• It can increase suspense since readers will know something is going to happen before the protagonist does.
• It’s not necessary to show the POV of all characters equally as long as readers see and understand enough of each character to identify and relate to them.
• It works well with a large cast of characters such as in fantasy novels.
• It can tell the story through the eyes of several equally important characters.
• It allows the reader to see inside the mind of the villain and know the plans he has for the protagonist without the protagonist knowing.
Disadvantages
• A writer must deal with the emotions and feelings of all the characters, not just one.
• Sometimes the focus can scatter as a result of dealing with too many characters’ perspectives.
• It is easy to lose the reader among shifting POVs in a scene or chapter.
• Poor use of third-person-omniscient POV can make the reader feel unconnected to the characters.
FIRST PERSON
This POV uses first-person pronouns such as I, my, or me to tell the story through the eyes, emotions, and experiences of a single character. In first person the narrator is a character in the story. As a character, the narrator takes part in the action, has opinions, makes judgments, and shows biases. However, the narrator must follow all the rules of being a character. For the narrator to know anything, he must experience it with his own senses or be told about it by another character. The narrator cannot interject his own thoughts into the story.
There are a number of variations to first-person POV.
• Protagonist/Subjective: In this POV the reader is told the story through the main character’s narration. This is the most popular variation of the first-person POV.
• Witness: Unlike the first-person-protagonist POV, the first-person-witness involves a secondary character who narrates the main character’s story as he observes the events occurring.
• Collective: The story is told in this POV by a group of characters acting as a group using the we pronoun.
• Reteller: This POV involves a character narrating the story as he has heard it secondhand.
• Objective: The first-person-objective is used most commonly in nonfiction writing such as newspapers or magazines and is seldom used in fiction.
Advantages
• The reader can develop an intimate relationship with the viewpoint character that can provide insight that would not be apparent to the other characters.
• A writer can create a unique, easily identifiable voice and personality for the viewpoint character, since he will spend most of his time with that character.
• The first-person POV allows the writer a greater focus on the feelings, opinions, and perceptions of a single character and how they affect the other characters.
• It allows the narrator’s character to be developed by the style of how he tells the story.
• First-person narratives are the easiest to follow, because the POV does not jump between characters.
• This POV can transmit to the reader a greater sense of urgency in a scene.
Disadvantages
• In first person the reader knows, sees, and understands only what the viewpoint character knows. He cannot enter the mind of any other character.
• The author can inadvertently speak with his own voice instead of with the viewpoint character’s voice.
• In first person the author must focus on the character’s behavior to tell what is happening in the story.
• The author may not be comfortable with the character’s actions in a scene, making the scene less effective.
• At times the author will be forced into a POV change or an awkward plot device to relay to the reader what is happening in the story that is beyond the reach of the first-person viewpoint character.
• First-person POV can make unfolding and revealing motivations of other characters difficult.
SECOND PERSON
This POV is a method of narration where the narrator speaks to the protagonist usually in present tense using the pronoun you. This is rarely used except in electronic role-playing games and chapter books where the reader chooses the direction of the plot or ending. For example:
“You have to get into the old house. If you choose to go through the window, go to page 10. If you choose to force the door open, go to page 20.”
Advantages
• Second person is useful for interactive fiction and in children’s picture books.
• It is sometimes used in a story for a series of imperative statements to a character.
• It works best in nonfiction.
Disadvantages
• Writing in second person can produce a story that is slow, clumsy, and difficult to read.
• Constant use of the word you creates a situation where the reader feels as though he is being addressed by the author and not the characters.
• The narrator draws attention to himself instead of the characters.
• It does not allow for empathy to develop between characters and the reader.
- AUTHOR WORKING -
Lauren Baratz-Logsted, bestselling author of books for kids, teens, and adults:
“A character arises out of incident. I start with an idea.
“My own pregnancy gave me the idea for Angel’s Choice, a serious YA book about a high school senior fast-tracked for Yale who discovers she’s pregnant. There might have been reports about teen pregnancy. I started thinking about my own life and girls who got in, quote, ‘trouble.’ And I started writing the story. I didn’t set out to write a YA novel, but then I started to realize, this is an authentically teen voice. It’s very present tense and immediate. YA books often give readers the impression that the author is saying: I am here now. The present tense often works. Teens want to feel it’s happening now. Not all the time and with every genre, of course.”
PICKING THE RIGHT VIEWPOINT CHARACTER
The viewpoint character is the character through whom the story is told. Often a writer will assume that only first person requires a viewpoint character, but third-person narration requires a viewpoint character as well. The perceptions of the senses and feelings of the viewpoint character will shape the reader’s experience of the action in the story. It also allows for contrasting emotions, since one character may view the same scene differently from all other characters in the story.
In adult novels the viewpoint character can change from one scene or chapter to the next. This allows the reader to see the world created by the author through the eyes of more than one person, strengthening the understanding of the plot. In young adult fiction it’s better to stay with a single viewpoint character, usually the character who is most impacted by the story. This allows the reader to develop a more sympathetic, personal relationship with the character.
Many writers assume that the viewpoint character should be the protagonist. This is often the case, but it doesn’t have to be. The viewpoint character should be the person through whose eyes the reader will see the majority of the action. Third person may work best if there is no compelling reason for a character to personally tell the reader the story. On the other hand, the story of a character whose unique beliefs, opinions, desires, judgments, and hopes color the story should be told in first person.
There are five major considerations when selecting a viewpoint character.
• The character should be sympathetic to the reader. The viewpoint character is a filter through which thoughts, feelings, and actions are translated to the reader. A character whom a reader can’t build a positive emotional bond with will not be able to successfully carry a story. Choose the POV that will communicate this emotional attachment to the reader most effectively.
• The viewpoint character must be present the majority of the time. It would be counterproductive to select a viewpoint character who will miss most of the action of the story. This would force the story to be mostly told through third-person narration instead of first. While occasionally shifting from first to third person in a story is acceptable, if most of the story needs to be told in third person because the viewpoint character is absent, the entire story should probably be told in third person.
• The viewpoint character must be actively involved in the story and not a chance observer. It’s not enough that the viewpoint character be present; the character must be a major player in the action. If the viewpoint character is carrying the load of the story and plot, it is generally a first-person POV or limited-third-person POV.
• The viewpoint character should have a personal stake in the outcome of the conflict. The outcome of the story must be important to the viewpoint character even if the outcome depends on another character’s action. In both first- and third-person POV an emotional commitment to the conflict is needed by the viewpoint character.
• The viewpoint character should have the longest story arc. A story arc is a plot that is resolved within the pages of the story. There should be
a long main plotline that may include several shorter subplots. The viewpoint character’s story arc should be the main plotline rather than the subplots of the other characters. If the subplots are numerous and important, the story would be best told in third-person-omniscient POV.
Once a viewpoint character has been chosen, an author should firmly establish the position of the character in the story. As soon as that character appears in the story, the reader should be introduced to his emotions, thoughts, and intents or motivations in order to establish a connection as early as possible.
Changing Points of View within a Story
A general rule is to use the same POV throughout a story, or at least use changes only when absolutely needed to advance the plot. The novel by E. L. Konigsburg The View from Saturday uses a changing point of view by effectively moving from the first-person viewpoint character to third person when a different perspective of the action is needed.
- ANATOMY LESSONS -
Jacqueline Woodson, Caldecott and National Book Award winner:
“I think all point of views work—if the writer has a good handle on why they are using whichever one they choose. With my novel If You Come Softly, I write in first person for Ellie and third person for Jeremiah. This is an obvious choice—Ellie has lived to tell the story and Jeremiah hasn’t. So I wouldn’t be able to put Miah’s in first person—he’s dead. I spent a lot of time rewriting that book because for a long time I didn’t know Miah was going to die. So it was in two first-person POVs, then first and second person. In Behind You I think Miah is always in second person—‘You do not die. Your soul steps out of your body’—because he’s dead and he’s talking about all of us, bringing the reader in to share this experience of dying and the after-death.”
Writing Great Books for Young Adults Page 8