DIFFERENT WAYS TO DEVELOP THE SAME STORY ~ SOME TRICKS , TIPS AND TECHNIQUES
( ASSOCIATE EDITOR , DYLAN THE DOG , SUGGESTED USING THIS EXCERPT FROM WRITERS TRICKS OF THE TRADE - THE BOOK )
Beyond who tells the story , point of view ( POV ) is an important option because it sets a tone and also determines how the storyline is revealed .
LAUREL MURPHY AWOKE IN A STRANGE BEDROOM TO THE TERROR OF BEING DRUGGED , BOUND AND GAGGED . ALL THIS BEAUTIFUL TEENAGER EVER AIMED FOR WAS A CAREER AS A PROFESSIONAL BALLERINA . INSTEAD HER DREAM WAS CRUSHED WHEN SHE WAS KIDNAPPED , SOLD INTO A BROTHEL RAPED AND
BRUTALIZED AND FINALLY LEFT FOR DEAD . CONTRARY TO WHAT THE KIDNAPPERS THOUGHT , SHE DIDN ' T DIE . AS LAUREL MANAGED TO REBUILD HER BODY AND A NEW LIFE , DEEP WITHIN HER SOUL SHE DEALT WITH THE NEED FOR REVENGE . THEN A CHANCE MEETING CHANGED EVERYTHING . SHE WILL GRAB YOUR HEARTSTRINGS AND NOT LET GO . INSPIRED BY TRUE EVENTS .
( THE NAME OF THIS BOOK MIGHT CHANGE DUE TO THE PAGES AND PAGES OF BOOKS CALLED
BETRAYED .)
THE CHOICE IS YOURS
Many authors say writing in first person is not only scary , but gives them a “ boxed-in ” feeling . It doesn ’ t have to be that way . I know — been there , done that . Although , third person is definitely the most popular , sometimes a story begs to be told in first person .
I ’ d always written in third person until I looked at the manuscript for Betrayed . I ’ d worked and reworked it at least four times over a period of several years . Somehow I never seemed to get it quite right . That day , in a “ head-slap ” moment , I realized it literally begged to be told in first person and that posed a problem . The mere thought of writing in first person caused my heart to palpitate and my vision to go double .
Even worse , once that option grabbed me , I couldn ’ t shake the reality that unless it was in first person the reader would never feel the impact of my protagonist ’ s gut-wrenching tragedy or soaring elation .
I felt a huge headache coming on . I ’ d never tackled this most difficult of POVs , and worried how my protagonist could possibly see things that affected her life profoundly . The answer — she couldn ’ t ! Not unless those scenes were so contrived the reader ( if it ever got published ) would slam the book shut in disgust while muttering , “ Yeah . Right . That would never happen in a hundred years .”
If you belong to a writers group , ask for suggestions . You are bound to get many . Fortunately for me , one suggestion offered by Jo Wilkins , who was then the president of Henderson Writer ’ s Group , solved my dilemma .
She suggested writing the protagonist ’ s point of view in first person , and the chapters owned by other significant characters in third person . This allowed them to fill in the blanks and relate the back story because the protagonist couldn ’ t share what she didn ’ t know . I gave it a try and discovered that the
WINTER 2017
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WRITERS ’ TRICKS OF THE TRADE