Wednesday, March 22, 2017

Creating a Page-Turner, Part Three
Getting Inside the Main Character's Head


To have the reader unable to put a book down, it's imperative to have them live the story with the main character(s). You partly do this by allowing the reader to be privy to their thoughts. They must get inside each character's head that has a point-of-view in the novel and know why they do what they do and how they're thinking.


For any important action a main character is involved with, there should be a reaction. If it takes place in another character's point of view, it can be an expression, gesture, or dialogue. If it happens in the character's point of view, he or she can share their thoughts about it.


It's also better to use deep point of view whenever possible, because it puts the reader in the action and doesn't keep them outside looking on as observers. In deep point of view, the character doesn't just tell about what's happening they live it. Here are some examples:

Not deep POV - He felt the pain immediately and afterwards saw the blood on the white snow.

Deep POV - Pain shot up him, and he fell to the ground, watching bright red blood spread over the white snow. His blood! 

Not deep POV - She felt like she would never be accepted and she would remain an outsider here.

Deep POV - Would she never be accepted? Would she always remain an outsider here?

Novels like this are not only more fun for the reader, but they're also more fun for the author to write. So, whether you're a reader or a writer, go have some book fun.



__________________________________

2 comments:

  1. Excellent tips, Janice. I'll share this on the Christian Poets & Writers media page on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Christianpoetsandwriters/

    ReplyDelete