How to Write Point of View

By Kathleen Rowland

Point of View is one of fiction writing's most difficult elements to master and is vital for success. POV, the position of the narrator in relation to the story, is at the heart of writing romance. Aspire to write effective POV, and inspiration for your romance novel will follow. Authors succeed with Kathleen Rowland's "video camera on the head" technique. In this way writers look through their characters' eyes, use their voices, feel their moods, respond to human senses of taste, touch, sounds, smells, hunger, thirst, and time. With an imaginary video camera strapped on your head, you write only what is experienced from that character's point of view. Rowland's method gets your reader involved in your story by seeing/feeling the world from your character's perspective.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kathleen Rowland
• Release date: Feb 24, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311720580

Kathleen Rowland

Having blocks of time to write is pure luxury. Before, when raising a family and working as a teacher or computer programmer, tantalizing tales of dark deeds and people facing them swirled in my head. Lucky for me, I can write them now. My husband, a CPA with his own busy practice, and I are almost empty nesters. Isn't it terrific when kids want to become independent?

Book preview

How to Write Point of View

by Kathleen Rowland

Published by Smashwords

ISBN 9781311720580

Dedication

To all those who aspire to write a romance novel.

Point of view, the position of the narrator in relation to the story, is at the heart of romance fiction. Aspire to write effective POV, and inspiration for your romance novel will follow. You will succeed with my video camera on the head technique.

Let's fly your kite!

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Acknowledgments

The author acknowledges contributions from speaker Tami Cowden on her topic, The Complete Writer's Guide to Heroines and Heroes.

Hearts and flowers to cover artist, Carey Abbott.

CHAPTER ONE

My video-camera-on-the-head technique helps writers look through their characters' eyes, use their voices, feel their moods, respond to human senses of taste, touch, sounds, smells, hunger, thirst, and time. In a scene you write only what is experienced from that character's point of view.

Point of View is one of fiction writing's most difficult elements to master and is vital to romance fiction. Happily-Ever-After fiction is a 4.5 billion dollar industry, dwarfing literary fiction by millions. Literary fiction generates $446 million. Most romance novelists started out as novice writers, just like you. The lucky ones learned their craft faster with help from other writers. Why waste time making classic mistakes which keep you stumbling around in the dark? Ninety-nine percent of top selling writers received early rejections. George Orwell's Animal Farm, Gertrude Stein'S Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas, Steven King's Carrie, William Golding's Lord of the Flies, Jack Kerouac's On the Road, Mary Higgins Clark's Journey Back to Love, Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead, and Ernest Hemingway's The Torrents of Spring received letters of 'No thanks'. In some cases authors searched for different publishers, but most reworked common errors and resubmitted. With insight into how to write point of view, a writer jump-starts the journey.

Here you are, giving up precious time to work on your craft. Commitment means you will make it as a published writer or improve your writing. Overnight success doesn't happen overnight. There is no such thing. Writing requires time-- actually years to develop.

A best seller might take a decade to conceive, make its way to print, and sometimes to the screen. As you know, many successful romance novels become Lifetime movies or even make it to the big screen.

Knowing how to write POV is important. When considering your submission, the acquiring editor first reads the book's back cover blurb and then the synopsis, the full story about two pages. Both the blurb and synopsis are written bird's eye style in present tense. Editors must know if the story fits their line. Let's assume it does, and your story is captivating. The editor won't see POV problems until he or she reads the manuscript. What's the big deal about point of view?

Romance novels center around the love story of a couple, and their story unfolds from their points of view. Contrary to the popular song lyric, however, love is not all you need in the writing of a successful romance. Although your heroine and hero are at the center of the plot, the heroine's story tips the scale on importance compared to the hero's. Most of your readers are women. Experiencing the story through your heroine's point of view is how your reader falls in love with the hero. His point of view has merit because your reader wants to know what he is experiencing. He has to be appealing on his own merits.

Women make up 84 percent percent of romance book buyers, and men make up 16 percent. The average U.S. romance book buyer is between the ages of 30 and 54 years, and they have an average income of $55,000. Your reader is middle class.

As you write, imagine the video camera strapped on top of your head. My method gets your reader involved in your story by seeing/feeling the world from your character's perspective. Your heroine should be human with at least one fault but likable. Is she someone your reader can admire? Think about qualities you like in a friend. As your reader identifies with your heroine,