[PREV - WHOS_ON_FIRST] [TOP]
February 19, 2005
Once upon a time, I conceived a simple,
universal rule about how fictional I'm the kind of
narrative should be handled. person that likes
simple universal
The rule is that all fiction must rules.
have a single point-of-view, and It's too bad I
you must stick to this "pov" In this case, like to insist
rigorously. the rule was on the rules
based on what actually being
The reader should know nothing I suspect is correct.
that the main character does a mis-reading
not know. of Blish/
WHOS_ON_FIRST Atheling
Identification of criticism.
the reader with the
fictional hero is Blish was complaining
central to the about writers that
function of the abruptly shift pov
story. from paragraph to
paragraph (or even
sentence to sentence).
I don't think that
a clearly indicated
shift of pov between
chapters (or even
scenes) would have
bothered him.
There's the question
of whether the
narrative is allowed
to jump around in A single pov in
time. a single virtual
moment?
The modern style is to Or is the narrative supposed
maintain a pretence that to be an account written down
the reader is riding along in retrospect by the main
inside of the narrator's character, in which case they
head from moment to moment. might even address the reader
directly.
Despite the vestigial past
tense, which itself is an Once that was
odd historical remnant of the standard
the older narrative style. narrative device:
Doctor Watson is
The modern style is a sitting down
pseudo-present tense, discussing why he
written in past form. feels he can now
tell the tale
which will follow.
The fiction of the
fiction was that the
A story author was pretending
thus to be presenting an
begun actual historical
rules document, something
out use written by a person
of an involved in the story.
omniscient
narrator.
The -- otherwise excerable --
Creative writing So there's critic Darrel Schweitzer named
classes seem to place a some virtue this well, calling it a story
lot of emphasis on the to it... with a "frame" in analogy to
choice of the "person" pictures presented in a frame.
of the narrative: first ALL_WRONG
person (past tense) and A framing narrative
third person (past around the narrative.
tense) being the two Second person is
most common choices. always discussed,
though it's rare.
"I walked down the street"; "You didn't realize,
"He walked down the street". did you, as you walked
down the street, that --"
(Or "She walked --"
of course.) Other, even rarer choices are
possible... a friend once
A point that often seems suggested as a joke writing
overlooked, though it seems a story in plural future tense.
obvious enough, is that all
these "persons" are connected. It struck me as very easy
to do... e.g. as a prophecy:
"I am telling "One day you will all rise up
you about him." and become The Great People --"
(or her)
There isn't any reason a
coherent narrative can't
switch between persons --
e.g. in using a framing Examples of contemporary
narrative, the story writers that make good
might start in first, use a shifting pov?
then shift to third.
Geoffery Household
comes to mind.
There's no shortage of
modern examples of the
kind of problem that
Blish/Atheling was
complaining about,
though.
The influence of the movies:
no one can resist rapid
cutting.
--------
[NEXT - THE_QUESTION_OF_ESSAYS]