Talk:Points of View - Revision history

ShadowWolf: an answer (not necessarily correct)

2009-06-09T11:42:02Z

an answer (not necessarily correct)

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	'''Past vs. Present Tense.''' Perhaps you could explain why some writers use past tense ("The horse walked up the hill") and others use present ("The horse walks up the hill"). (Neal Stephenson seems to use present tense almost exclusively these days, for no reason I can perceive except to drive his readers up the wall.) Alternately, this might be a subject for a whole new essay. —[[User:Robotech Master\|Robotech Master]] 06:16, 9 June 2009 (UTC)		'''Past vs. Present Tense.''' Perhaps you could explain why some writers use past tense ("The horse walked up the hill") and others use present ("The horse walks up the hill"). (Neal Stephenson seems to use present tense almost exclusively these days, for no reason I can perceive except to drive his readers up the wall.) Alternately, this might be a subject for a whole new essay. —[[User:Robotech Master\|Robotech Master]] 06:16, 9 June 2009 (UTC)

			:Past tense is part of the natural storytelling voice - it is, after all, what is used in verbal storytelling. Present Tense is much more difficult to master telling a story in (as or more difficult than using a passive voice and getting it right) and once you do, you are likely to not switch back. I actually suffer from a problem where I mangle the tenses during the initial writing just because one tense is better than the other for getting certain elements setup properly. That gets fixed during the editing process, but... -- [[User:ShadowWolf\|ShadowWolf]] 11:42, 9 June 2009 (UTC)

Robotech Master: /* A good discussion, but could be improved */ clarification

2009-06-09T06:17:24Z

A good discussion, but could be improved: clarification

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	'''Third-person limited (one character) vs. third-person limited (multiple characters in turn).''' This is a compromise between third person limited and third person omniscient: the writer concentrates on one character at a time, but switches off characters with chapter or scene breaks. This enables writers to give each of the characters some time in the spotlight in terms of revealing what kind of person they are from "inside their heads."		'''Third-person limited (one character) vs. third-person limited (multiple characters in turn).''' This is a compromise between third person limited and third person omniscient: the writer concentrates on one character at a time, but switches off characters with chapter or scene breaks. This enables writers to give each of the characters some time in the spotlight in terms of revealing what kind of person they are from "inside their heads."

	There is sometimes a tendency in writers doing third-person limited (multiple) to change horses in mid-stream—starting in the viewpoint of one character, then ending from the viewpoint of another. This is to be avoided.		There is sometimes a tendency in writers doing third-person limited (multiple) to change horses in mid-stream—starting a scene in the viewpoint of one character, then ending from the viewpoint of another without a scene break to let the reader know they're changing gears. This is to be avoided.

	'''Past vs. Present Tense.''' Perhaps you could explain why some writers use past tense ("The horse walked up the hill") and others use present ("The horse walks up the hill"). (Neal Stephenson seems to use present tense almost exclusively these days, for no reason I can perceive except to drive his readers up the wall.) Alternately, this might be a subject for a whole new essay. —[[User:Robotech Master\|Robotech Master]] 06:16, 9 June 2009 (UTC)		'''Past vs. Present Tense.''' Perhaps you could explain why some writers use past tense ("The horse walked up the hill") and others use present ("The horse walks up the hill"). (Neal Stephenson seems to use present tense almost exclusively these days, for no reason I can perceive except to drive his readers up the wall.) Alternately, this might be a subject for a whole new essay. —[[User:Robotech Master\|Robotech Master]] 06:16, 9 June 2009 (UTC)

Robotech Master: A good discussion, but could be improved

2009-06-09T06:16:33Z

A good discussion, but could be improved

New page

== A good discussion, but could be improved ==

There are a couple of points you might consider addressing:

'''Third-person limited (one character) vs. third-person limited (multiple characters in turn).''' This is a compromise between third person limited and third person omniscient: the writer concentrates on one character at a time, but switches off characters with chapter or scene breaks. This enables writers to give each of the characters some time in the spotlight in terms of revealing what kind of person they are from "inside their heads."

There is sometimes a tendency in writers doing third-person limited (multiple) to change horses in mid-stream—starting in the viewpoint of one character, then ending from the viewpoint of another. This is to be avoided.

'''Past vs. Present Tense.''' Perhaps you could explain why some writers use past tense ("The horse walked up the hill") and others use present ("The horse walks up the hill"). (Neal Stephenson seems to use present tense almost exclusively these days, for no reason I can perceive except to drive his readers up the wall.) Alternately, this might be a subject for a whole new essay. —[[User:Robotech Master|Robotech Master]] 06:16, 9 June 2009 (UTC)