The Writer's Guide to a Good Story

Importance of Point of View

l'm sure that you've heard people talking about "First person" or "Third person" and have had people explain the difference to you. If not, l'm going to tell you now.

'First person' point of view- Basically referring to stories using pronouns such as "I' "We" "Us."

"Third person"- Mostly you won't see any 'I"s in here. The narrator of these stories is always an outsider, instead of a main character.

Now obviously, whoever is telling the story varies greatly. You might have it told from the point of view of an 8 year old boy, or a 60 year old woman.

To Kill a Mockingbird, for example, is told from the point of view of a 6-year old girl. Think about it. This book focuses greatly on issues such as racism and capital offense, yet the story is told in a very simple way.

Even with Junie B Jones (Anyone remember that?), the books use elementary-level vocabulary not just because the books are meant for young children, but because they're told from the point of view of a kindergartener.

My point is, word choice and description in your story can depend on who is telling it. You wouldn't expect say, a businessman or a high school student to tell a story in the same way.

Another thing I want to touch bases with here is past and present tense. As I said before, a lot of you probably know what both of those are.

Past tense-verbs such as "Ran" or "ate" or "Jumped"

Present tense- "I run." or "I walk" or "I twirl."

Basically past tense tells us the story as if it happened during an earlier time, and present tells would tell us that the story is happening now, at this moment. This is important because you have to take this into consideration as you're writing.

Are you telling your story from the point of view of a 60-year old relating details from when he was 4?

If a person is filling you in on their childhood, that's when you know that you tell your story using the same word choice and describing things the same way that a grown person would.

If you were writing in third person, think of someone reading a book, telling a story about other people rather than about them.

The word choice may not necessarily relate to the viewpoint, but the things that go on in your story will still relate to who the story is focused on.

An alien may find a chest-of-drawers fascinating. They may describe it as a "wondorous item the shade of brown, split into several different sections." While your average earthbound person might describe it as, well, a chest-of-drawers.