An Exercise in POV

       Have you ever struggled with a scene that refused to move forward despite your best efforts? Has your angst-ridden Big Black Moment fallen a bit flat? Here's a trick. Try switching the viewpoint character.

       This is especially useful for those life changing backstory events. Don't write about that childhood trauma from the viewpoint of the hero involved. He already knows what happened. He was there. Instead shift to your heroine's POV. Let her hear the pain in his voice as he relates the story. Let her see the anguish in his eyes and feel his withdrawal when she offers him a comforting touch. And don't have him blurt out all the sordid details in one full-page soliloquy either. Instead, have her interact with him, drawing the story in bits and pieces (as would likely happen in real life). Focus on his actions and her responses to his actions and you'll make the scene come alive ... for yourself, and for your reader.

       Don't believe me? Try these little exercises in POV. (Those on the Writing 101 loop may recognize them). The first come courtesy of a fellow member, who found it on another loop, but, unfortunately, can't remember who sent it.

   Part 1:   

       Describe a Room (no people, no dialogue). Take a few moments and describe a room in omniscient viewpoint, as if you were the narrator setting the scene. Can be any room. Your office. Your hero's living room. The room you're sitting in right now. (No, we are not grading down for spelling, grammar, or punctuation, so put those internal editors away and get writing already.)

   Part 2:   

       Describe the Same Room from the Point of View of Two People Arguing in it. Imagine the room from their eyes. Can you see how their heated emotions color their perceptions of their surroundings? How the use of action and motion allows you to describe the room in snippets, rather than bulk passages?

       To make it harder - and to provide you with more practice - write the first half of the scene in one person's POV. Then midway through the scene, switch to the other.

   Part 3:   

       Describe the same room from the POV of a burglar about to rob it (in the absence of the two people). What details does he notice that the others might not even think twice about? What does he think/feel about the objects in the room? The design/layout of the room?

       Note how each paragraph differs. Your characters thoughts and perceptions will color the words and phrases you choose to use in describing that room. This is as it should be.

       For those who wish to keep it a little closer to home, I've devised a combination character building/POV exercise.

   Part 1: 

       Show your viewpoint character making coffee. Can be hero or heroine, your choice. What are they thinking? How do they feel? What's happening in the room around them?

   Part 2: 

       Show your heroine watching your hero make coffee (or vice versa, depending on who made the coffee in part one). Are his actions mechanical? Routine? Uncertain? Does he use gourmet blend or instant? What does she think about that?

   Part 3: 

       Show the heroine watching the hero make coffee (or vice versa) the morning after their first lovemaking.

       Note the differences in characterization between parts one and two. Did your characters come alive? Could you hear their separate and distinct voices? Can you see how much fuller the scene became when you interspersed their emotions/feelings within the simple act of making coffee?

Good luck, and DO try this at home.