More Points of View
To sort out any Point of View (pov) problems, I am working my way through The Cauldron Bubbles and finding it both easy and difficult. I’ve got pages where it runs easily but then a page where I have to think. In a way, I’m using the system my father taught me when we moved into a new house with a wilderness for a garden – ‘We’ll just get rid of the worst of the weeds,’ he said and we pulled out those that were knee high. When we’d finished he looked at it all and said, ‘It’s a lot better but tomorrow we’ll tackle the worst of what’s left.’ After several days we were forking up couch grass, which was the worst of what was left, to get ready for planting potatoes. The spin-off is that, as I clear up the pov issues, I am noticing bits where I haven’t made full use of the weather, or the smell of things, or just emotional impact, but, instead of being discouraged, I am seeing the challenge and determined to make this a ‘couldn’t put it down’ book. If it isn’t, I’ve learned so much from the exercise that my next village saga will be gobbled up by some unsuspecting literary agent. I can see them grabbing their colleagues and shouting – We must get this fellow on contract before MGM hear about him. That’s the power of positive thinking!
First, however, I must prepare the second 10,000 words to torture Lorraine Mace with. Damn, that has one of those things you’re not supposed to end a sentence with. … with which to torture Lorraine Mace.
I’ve mentioned village saga because that’s where I’m comfortable and I’ve always believed that any gifts we have are what lets us do things easily and we need to work to improve those rather than try to be someone else. I’d love to learn to play the clarinet but my attempts at piano lessons were not crowned with success and I write better than I played. Of course, writing is quiet and doesn’t upset the neighbours.
First third person point of view