KN Magazine: Articles
My Favorite Points of View / Author Bill Hopkins
In the animated movie by American songwriter and musician Harry Nilsson, The Point!, the main character Oblio encounters a “pointed man” in the Pointless Forest. The “pointed man” has a few heads with pointy chins, and there are arrows jutting out of his hat and suit. He tells the oval-headed Oblio that “a point in every direction is the same as no point at all.” This is what comes to mind as guest blogger and author Bill Hopkins takes on the topic of points of view. Nailing down a point of view, or views, in your work is elemental to the writing process. And being strategic with your point of view will give your work pointed direction.
Happy reading!
Clay Stafford,
Founder Killer Nashville,
Publisher Killer Nashville Magazine
My Favorite Points of View
By Bill Hopkins
What is a point of view? One definition I like from Literary Devices is this: “Point of view is the angle of considering things, which shows us the opinion, or feelings of the individuals involved in a situation. In literature, point of view is the mode of narration that an author employs to let the readers ‘hear’ and ‘see’ what takes place in a story, poem, essay etc.”
There are several different ways to use point of view. Here are my two favorites.
FIRST PERSON
This is a story that is usually narrated by the protagonist. If you use this, then your first sentence–or certainly your first paragraph–should make it clear. “Sally whirled around and slapped me in the face.” You know that someone (the narrator) has incurred Sally’s wrath and he or she is going to tell the reader about it.
Advantages: First person allows the narrator to develop a distinctive voice that no one else in the story has (or should have). The reader will learn to like or at least understand why the narrator acts the way he does. He can ramble on about relevant points inside his own head without anyone else but the reader knowing what he’s thinking. The reader also witnesses the stress placed on the narrator and how that causes him to act in a certain way. The reader learns about the world of the narrator quickly.
Disadvantages: The narrator must be in every scene or he and the reader will be subjected to a lot of retelling by other characters concerning what happened off-stage. But even that may be skillfully handled so that the narrator doesn’t appear to be just a listening post where different folks come to tell their tales. Also, other characters and not the narrator must describe him or the narrator must slip in hints at his appearance. “Sally slapped me so hard that I thought my scrawny mustache had been knocked off my face.” And, please, avoid the cliché of having the narrator look in a mirror and telling the reader what he sees. Finally, avoid as many “I’s” as you can. “I went to the store. I bought some eggs. I took the eggs to Sally.” That soon becomes boring.
THIRD PERSON CLOSE
Third Person: An unknown narrator is telling the story. Generally, the narrator is never identified. Writers and readers have an unspoken agreement that this is a “willing suspension of disbelief” that someone witnessed and is able to tell the story. There are different kinds of third person. What makes my favorite version of third person “close” (other people have different terms for it) is that the narrator is in only one character’s head at a time. “Sally slapped him.” That would be the first line of a book written in third person (close or otherwise). Further on in the story, the reader realizes that the narrator can see into only one person’s mind. “He felt the stinging blow and didn’t like the look on Sally’s face.” In fact, third person close is almost a first person viewpoint using different pronouns.
Advantages: You can describe your character in the narration. As a reader of fiction, I rarely remember what a person looks like while reading the story. As a writer, my descriptions of people tend to emphasize oddities of their appearance or perhaps one or two nods to a physical description. Another advantage that draws me to this point of view is that you can still show the direct thoughts of the person. “Sally slapped him. That’s the second time she’s done that to him!” or “Sally slapped him. That’s the second time, he thought, that she’s done that to me.”
Disadvantages: You must be especially careful not to get into anyone else’s head. You must show us what the other person is doing to determine his reaction to what is going on or, of course, have the other person say something that presents his state of mind. This sounds easy, but it’s tricky. In one story, I had written about the protagonist and two companions doing something like “trudging dispiritedly” (it wasn’t really that bad). My most heartless editor (my wife, Sharon Woods Hopkins) pointed out that I was expressing the thoughts of the other two people as well as the protagonist, which, of course, I was.
Play around with different points of view. See what fits your protagonist the best. You’d be amazed how a character changes when you change that character’s point of view!
If you would like to read more about Bill Hopkins’ books please click here.
Bill Hopkins is retired after beginning his legal career in 1971 and serving as a private attorney, prosecuting attorney, an administrative law judge, and a trial court judge, all in Missouri. His poems, short stories, and non-fiction have appeared in many different publications. He’s had several short plays produced.
Bill is a member of Mystery Writers of America, Dramatists Guild, Horror Writers Association, Missouri Writers Guild, SEMO Writers Guild, Heartland Writers Guild, Romance Writers of America, and Sisters In Crime. Bill is also a photographer who has sold work in the United States, Canada, and Europe.
He and his wife, Sharon Woods Hopkins (also a published mystery writer), live in Marble Hill, Missouri, with their dogs and cats. Besides writing, Bill and Sharon are involved in collecting and restoring Camaros. COURTING MURDER was his first novel and his second novel RIVER MOURN won first place in the Missouri Writers’ Guild Show-Me Best Book Awards in 2014. His third novel BLOODY EARTH was published in November 2014. Visit him at www.judgebillhopkins.com or www.deadlywritespublishing.com
Submit to our blog! (Have an idea for our blog? Then share it with our Killer Nashville family. With over 24,000 visits monthly to the Killer Nashville website, over 300,000 reached through social media, and a potential outreach of over 22 million per press release, Killer Nashville provides another way for you to reach more people with your message. Send a query to contact@killernashville.com or call us at 615-599-4032. We’d love to hear from you. Thanks to Maria Giordano, Will Chessor and author Tom Wood for his volunteer assistance in coordinating our weekly blogs. For more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com or www.KillerNashvilleMagazine.com)
My Favorite Points of View / Author Bill Hopkins
In the animated movie by American songwriter and musician Harry Nilsson, The Point!, the main character Oblio encounters a “pointed man” in the Pointless Forest. The “pointed man” has a few heads with pointy chins, and there are arrows jutting out of his hat and suit. He tells the oval-headed Oblio that “a point in every direction is the same as no point at all.” This is what comes to mind as guest blogger and author Bill Hopkins takes on the topic of points of view. Nailing down a point of view, or views, in your work is elemental to the writing process. And being strategic with your point of view will give your work pointed direction.Happy reading!
Clay Stafford,Founder Killer Nashville,Publisher Killer Nashville Magazine
My Favorite Points of ViewBy Bill HopkinsWhat is a point of view? One definition I like from Literary Devices is this: “Point of view is the angle of considering things, which shows us the opinion, or feelings of the individuals involved in a situation. In literature, point of view is the mode of narration that an author employs to let the readers ‘hear’ and ‘see’ what takes place in a story, poem, essay etc.”There are several different ways to use point of view. Here are my two favorites.FIRST PERSONThis is a story that is usually narrated by the protagonist. If you use this, then your first sentence--or certainly your first paragraph--should make it clear. “Sally whirled around and slapped me in the face.” You know that someone (the narrator) has incurred Sally’s wrath and he or she is going to tell the reader about it.Advantages: First person allows the narrator to develop a distinctive voice that no one else in the story has (or should have). The reader will learn to like or at least understand why the narrator acts the way he does. He can ramble on about relevant points inside his own head without anyone else but the reader knowing what he’s thinking. The reader also witnesses the stress placed on the narrator and how that causes him to act in a certain way. The reader learns about the world of the narrator quickly.Disadvantages: The narrator must be in every scene or he and the reader will be subjected to a lot of retelling by other characters concerning what happened off-stage. But even that may be skillfully handled so that the narrator doesn’t appear to be just a listening post where different folks come to tell their tales. Also, other characters and not the narrator must describe him or the narrator must slip in hints at his appearance. “Sally slapped me so hard that I thought my scrawny mustache had been knocked off my face.” And, please, avoid the cliché of having the narrator look in a mirror and telling the reader what he sees. Finally, avoid as many “I’s” as you can. “I went to the store. I bought some eggs. I took the eggs to Sally.” That soon becomes boring.THIRD PERSON CLOSE
Third Person: An unknown narrator is telling the story. Generally, the narrator is never identified. Writers and readers have an unspoken agreement that this is a “willing suspension of disbelief” that someone witnessed and is able to tell the story. There are different kinds of third person. What makes my favorite version of third person “close” (other people have different terms for it) is that the narrator is in only one character’s head at a time. “Sally slapped him.” That would be the first line of a book written in third person (close or otherwise). Further on in the story, the reader realizes that the narrator can see into only one person’s mind. “He felt the stinging blow and didn’t like the look on Sally’s face.” In fact, third person close is almost a first person viewpoint using different pronouns.Advantages: You can describe your character in the narration. As a reader of fiction, I rarely remember what a person looks like while reading the story. As a writer, my descriptions of people tend to emphasize oddities of their appearance or perhaps one or two nods to a physical description. Another advantage that draws me to this point of view is that you can still show the direct thoughts of the person. “Sally slapped him. That’s the second time she’s done that to him!” or “Sally slapped him. That’s the second time, he thought, that she’s done that to me.”Disadvantages: You must be especially careful not to get into anyone else’s head. You must show us what the other person is doing to determine his reaction to what is going on or, of course, have the other person say something that presents his state of mind. This sounds easy, but it’s tricky. In one story, I had written about the protagonist and two companions doing something like “trudging dispiritedly” (it wasn’t really that bad). My most heartless editor (my wife, Sharon Woods Hopkins) pointed out that I was expressing the thoughts of the other two people as well as the protagonist, which, of course, I was.Play around with different points of view. See what fits your protagonist the best. You’d be amazed how a character changes when you change that character’s point of view!
If you would like to read more about Bill Hopkins' books please click here.Bill Hopkins is retired after beginning his legal career in 1971 and serving as a private attorney, prosecuting attorney, an administrative law judge, and a trial court judge, all in Missouri. His poems, short stories, and non-fiction have appeared in many different publications. He's had several short plays produced.Bill is a member of Mystery Writers of America, Dramatists Guild, Horror Writers Association, Missouri Writers Guild, SEMO Writers Guild, Heartland Writers Guild, Romance Writers of America, and Sisters In Crime. Bill is also a photographer who has sold work in the United States, Canada, and Europe.He and his wife, Sharon Woods Hopkins (also a published mystery writer), live in Marble Hill, Missouri, with their dogs and cats. Besides writing, Bill and Sharon are involved in collecting and restoring Camaros. COURTING MURDER was his first novel and his second novel RIVER MOURN won first place in the Missouri Writers' Guild Show-Me Best Book Awards in 2014. His third novel BLOODY EARTH was published in November 2014. Visit him at www.judgebillhopkins.com or www.deadlywritespublishing.com
Submit to our blog! (Have an idea for our blog? Then share it with our Killer Nashville family. With over 24,000 visits monthly to the Killer Nashville website, over 300,000 reached through social media, and a potential outreach of over 22 million per press release, Killer Nashville provides another way for you to reach more people with your message. Send a query to contact@killernashville.com or call us at 615-599-4032. We’d love to hear from you. Thanks to Maria Giordano, Will Chessor and author Tom Wood for his volunteer assistance in coordinating our weekly blogs. For more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com or www.KillerNashvilleMagazine.com)
My Favorite Points of View / Author Bill Hopkins
In the animated movie by American songwriter and musician Harry Nilsson, The Point!, the main character Oblio encounters a “pointed man” in the Pointless Forest. The “pointed man” has a few heads with pointy chins, and there are arrows jutting out of his hat and suit. He tells the oval-headed Oblio that “a point in every direction is the same as no point at all.” This is what comes to mind as guest blogger and author Bill Hopkins takes on the topic of points of view. Nailing down a point of view, or views, in your work is elemental to the writing process. And being strategic with your point of view will give your work pointed direction.Happy reading!
Clay Stafford,Founder Killer Nashville,Publisher Killer Nashville Magazine
My Favorite Points of ViewBy Bill HopkinsWhat is a point of view? One definition I like from Literary Devices is this: “Point of view is the angle of considering things, which shows us the opinion, or feelings of the individuals involved in a situation. In literature, point of view is the mode of narration that an author employs to let the readers ‘hear’ and ‘see’ what takes place in a story, poem, essay etc.”There are several different ways to use point of view. Here are my two favorites.FIRST PERSONThis is a story that is usually narrated by the protagonist. If you use this, then your first sentence--or certainly your first paragraph--should make it clear. “Sally whirled around and slapped me in the face.” You know that someone (the narrator) has incurred Sally’s wrath and he or she is going to tell the reader about it.Advantages: First person allows the narrator to develop a distinctive voice that no one else in the story has (or should have). The reader will learn to like or at least understand why the narrator acts the way he does. He can ramble on about relevant points inside his own head without anyone else but the reader knowing what he’s thinking. The reader also witnesses the stress placed on the narrator and how that causes him to act in a certain way. The reader learns about the world of the narrator quickly.Disadvantages: The narrator must be in every scene or he and the reader will be subjected to a lot of retelling by other characters concerning what happened off-stage. But even that may be skillfully handled so that the narrator doesn’t appear to be just a listening post where different folks come to tell their tales. Also, other characters and not the narrator must describe him or the narrator must slip in hints at his appearance. “Sally slapped me so hard that I thought my scrawny mustache had been knocked off my face.” And, please, avoid the cliché of having the narrator look in a mirror and telling the reader what he sees. Finally, avoid as many “I’s” as you can. “I went to the store. I bought some eggs. I took the eggs to Sally.” That soon becomes boring.THIRD PERSON CLOSE
Third Person: An unknown narrator is telling the story. Generally, the narrator is never identified. Writers and readers have an unspoken agreement that this is a “willing suspension of disbelief” that someone witnessed and is able to tell the story. There are different kinds of third person. What makes my favorite version of third person “close” (other people have different terms for it) is that the narrator is in only one character’s head at a time. “Sally slapped him.” That would be the first line of a book written in third person (close or otherwise). Further on in the story, the reader realizes that the narrator can see into only one person’s mind. “He felt the stinging blow and didn’t like the look on Sally’s face.” In fact, third person close is almost a first person viewpoint using different pronouns.Advantages: You can describe your character in the narration. As a reader of fiction, I rarely remember what a person looks like while reading the story. As a writer, my descriptions of people tend to emphasize oddities of their appearance or perhaps one or two nods to a physical description. Another advantage that draws me to this point of view is that you can still show the direct thoughts of the person. “Sally slapped him. That’s the second time she’s done that to him!” or “Sally slapped him. That’s the second time, he thought, that she’s done that to me.”Disadvantages: You must be especially careful not to get into anyone else’s head. You must show us what the other person is doing to determine his reaction to what is going on or, of course, have the other person say something that presents his state of mind. This sounds easy, but it’s tricky. In one story, I had written about the protagonist and two companions doing something like “trudging dispiritedly” (it wasn’t really that bad). My most heartless editor (my wife, Sharon Woods Hopkins) pointed out that I was expressing the thoughts of the other two people as well as the protagonist, which, of course, I was.Play around with different points of view. See what fits your protagonist the best. You’d be amazed how a character changes when you change that character’s point of view!
If you would like to read more about Bill Hopkins' books please click here.Bill Hopkins is retired after beginning his legal career in 1971 and serving as a private attorney, prosecuting attorney, an administrative law judge, and a trial court judge, all in Missouri. His poems, short stories, and non-fiction have appeared in many different publications. He's had several short plays produced.Bill is a member of Mystery Writers of America, Dramatists Guild, Horror Writers Association, Missouri Writers Guild, SEMO Writers Guild, Heartland Writers Guild, Romance Writers of America, and Sisters In Crime. Bill is also a photographer who has sold work in the United States, Canada, and Europe.He and his wife, Sharon Woods Hopkins (also a published mystery writer), live in Marble Hill, Missouri, with their dogs and cats. Besides writing, Bill and Sharon are involved in collecting and restoring Camaros. COURTING MURDER was his first novel and his second novel RIVER MOURN won first place in the Missouri Writers' Guild Show-Me Best Book Awards in 2014. His third novel BLOODY EARTH was published in November 2014. Visit him at www.judgebillhopkins.com or www.deadlywritespublishing.com
Submit to our blog! (Have an idea for our blog? Then share it with our Killer Nashville family. With over 24,000 visits monthly to the Killer Nashville website, over 300,000 reached through social media, and a potential outreach of over 22 million per press release, Killer Nashville provides another way for you to reach more people with your message. Send a query to contact@killernashville.com or call us at 615-599-4032. We’d love to hear from you. Thanks to Maria Giordano, Will Chessor and author Tom Wood for his volunteer assistance in coordinating our weekly blogs. For more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com or www.KillerNashvilleMagazine.com)
Writing a Cozy? Follow the Rules … And Mind Your Language / Author Penny Clover Petersen
Nancy Drew never cursed. She was always under duress in one manner or another, but she never let, even the occasional expletive, spill from her titian-colored head. In this week’s guest blog, author Penny Clover Petersen discusses what makes a cozy mystery, and the ongoing debate about the use of bad words.
Read like they are burning books!
Clay Stafford,
Founder Killer Nashville,
Publisher Killer Nashville Magazine
Writing a Cozy? Follow the Rules … And Mind Your Language
By Penny Clover Petersen
I began my first novel when I was fifty-nine. Being an avid mystery lover, I had spent most of those fifty-nine years inventing puzzling scenarios for the most trivial occurrences and envisioning dark motives behind the most benign actions. Cookies for a teacher? They are no doubt laced with something in order to avoid the afternoon’s math test. A package delivered late? You know the mailman is up to something, but what?
Poison pen letters, tripping over bodies lying by the side of the road, murder, mayhem, blackmail, all of these fascinating ideas rolling around in my head had me wondering if I were to write a mystery, what would I write?
When the mood finally moved me to get to work I took to heart the adage “write what you know” and figured that I know family, cats and dogs, suburban living, and cozy mysteries. So I determined that a cozy mystery involving two sisters, a goofy mother, and a hormonally challenged dog was something I could achieve.
Now, writing cozies is a bit tricky. The rules are pretty well defined. The first two are actually almost carved in stone and I think that we must adhere to them if we want to call a mystery a cozy.
Number one is all violence will be off-stage. Cozy writers do not depict grizzly murders. Autopsies are avoided. We don’t have psychotic killers torturing hapless victims in gruesome detail. As with many cozy writers, my victims tend to be obnoxious people that no one much likes who are conked on the head and found by the side of the road.
Number two is, of course, sex. That, too, must be off-stage. There are no steamy love scenes, no kinky aberrations. If sex enters into the plot, it generally is glossed over with only the incidental reference to “incredibly tall, slim men with well-cut graying hair and eyes the color of smoky quartz under wire-rimmed glasses.” Perhaps adding “kind of bookish and sexy — quite the studly muffin.” If the studly muffin and the leading lady ever do get together, it is definitely behind closed doors!
Number three concerns foul language. Agatha Christie, the mother of the cozy, did not use any off-color language in her books. But neither did anyone else writing at that time. It wasn’t a part of the culture.
Today, I think this is one rule that can be tinkered with. I have spoken with a number of cozy writers and this is a stumbling block for many of us. We want our characters to be somewhat real and the use of “language” in society has certainly become looser. For instance, my own everyday speech is not chockfull of colorful invective, but I do occasionally throw out a word or two my mother would not approve.
So what is acceptable in a cozy written in 2015? Of the writers to whom I have spoken, many have main characters that use the S-word. Many feel a leading lady is allowed to say, “Oh Christ!” or the like. Damn, hell, and variations seem to be acceptable these days.
But what of, as they say, the F-bomb? Now I don’t advocate throwing it around like confetti, but I do feel there are appropriate times that it might be used. As my children could tell you, if they heard me scream f….., they would most certainly know that I am really, really mad or have gone completely around the bend. And I feel the same holds true in a cozy. A crazed killer saying, “Oh gosh, I think I have to kill you now,” does not have the dramatic effect as something much more strongly worded.
A friend and fellow author, Austin Camacho, suggests leaving the cursing to the peripheral characters — the crazies, the villains — and keeping the leading ladies ‘cozy’. I tend to agree with this point of view. But I think purists probably wouldn’t. And so the question is, just how much is too much — and is it still a cozy?
If you would like to read more about Penny Clover Petersen’s books please click here.
Penny Clover Petersen’s first Daisy&Rose mystery, Roses and Daisies and Death, Oh My was released in December 2013 by Intrigue Publishing. In addition to writing, Penny enjoys spending time with her family, refurbishing old furniture, collecting stories and recipes for the ‘family cookbook’, and savoring new cocktail recipes. She loves historic homes and is a docent at Riversdale Mansion in Riverdale, MD. Her second novel, Roses Are Dead, My Love, will be released April 2015. Penny is currently at work on her third Daisy&Rose mystery. Visit her website at http://pennypetersen.com/
(Have an idea for our blog? Then share it with our Killer Nashville family. With over 24,000 visits monthly to the Killer Nashville website, over 300,000 reached through social media, and a potential outreach of over 22 million per press release, Killer Nashville provides another way for you to reach more people with your message. Send a query to contact@killernashville.com or call us at 615-599-4032. We’d love to hear from you. Thanks to Maria Giordano, Will Chessor and author Tom Wood for his volunteer assistance in coordinating our weekly blogs. For more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com or www.KillerNashvilleMagazine.com)
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