where do you start?
5 Mar 2008 12:01 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kaigouThe drawback of a multi-POV story, it seems, is that you could conceivably consider the story to be three stories in one, since each character is going to have his/her own take on the big picture. Now that I've started to (finally) settle down on each character's share of the story -- and his/her perspective and role in the catastrophes -- I'm left puzzling out one basic but crucial detail.
Who gets the first shot?
In a multi-POV story, how do you determine who starts the story? Have you successfully written (or read successfully-written) stories in which a lesser character jump-starts things before it moves to a major character? Or do your best recollections of story-starts focus on those stories in which the character who ends up with the greatest amount of focus is also the one to begin (and possibly end) the story?
...
She considered letting the tea-tray eat the annoying man, since she hadn't a single charm that might work on badge-carrying Americans, and it was too early in the day to offer sake. Drowning guests in alcohol held no propriety until at least mid-afternoon.
Who gets the first shot?
In a multi-POV story, how do you determine who starts the story? Have you successfully written (or read successfully-written) stories in which a lesser character jump-starts things before it moves to a major character? Or do your best recollections of story-starts focus on those stories in which the character who ends up with the greatest amount of focus is also the one to begin (and possibly end) the story?
...
She considered letting the tea-tray eat the annoying man, since she hadn't a single charm that might work on badge-carrying Americans, and it was too early in the day to offer sake. Drowning guests in alcohol held no propriety until at least mid-afternoon.
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Date: 5 Mar 2008 06:56 pm (UTC)It's from The Ghost and Mrs. Muir -- the scene where Captain Greg tells Lucia (while she's sleeping) that he's going away that everything was a dream -- that she wrote the book by herself.
I like it because sometimes I feel like my characters are talking to me like the ghost of Captain Greg.
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Date: 6 Mar 2008 12:04 am (UTC)(I'm not really a romantic kind of person -- my idea of romanc is fixing your bathroom shelves for you -- but I will confess I adored that movie in college. Other folks were watching, I dunno, old Disney movies and eating ice cream, while I watched GnMM, Slaves of New York, and LA Story. Sans ice cream.)
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Date: 6 Mar 2008 03:16 am (UTC)Guess that's why Captain Gregg has always been one of my favorite heroes -- he's got that "fix it" attitude -- plus he doesn't let Lucia be a ninny. He's kind of "everyone's as competent as they want to be" kind of guy.
Yeah... "I found the perfect guy. He's fictional, but you can't have everything." (Name THAT movie.)