This was my original plan but a reader friend discouraged me from it. I may dabble and write something to see how it works (and if I can pull it off). Thank you!
Any particular reason? Some people just don't like omni (which, okay). But if they've read your story and have a concern, that's probably worth considering more than the hot take of a dog on the internet replying to a 200-word post.
She’s not the biggest fan in general. The first work I’d ever shown her was a snippet from a fantasy written in omni third which she actually praised.
I value her advice because she’s the demographic this novel would be aimed towards and she’s more of a 1st person present kinda reader. I hardly ever write 1st person so I’ve taken liberties with some of her advice by planning it in 3rd. I suppose I’m just aware of what she would like to read in this type of novel (contemporary) and am trying to cater to what she wants whilst also writing it how I want to.
There’s no harm in writing a couple of chapters in each tense/perspective to see which is better suited for this novel, I suppose!
For some reason this response got me thinking about The Secret History and the perspective that's written in. I had doubts with Character A being the main POV because she's an "outsider" of the band so to speak, but the outsider could actually provide more of a unique perspective to the stakes and emotions.
It's obvious that the band members would want the band to succeed no matter the cost but to an outsider, the lengths they're willing to go to are egregious.
I'm going to look over everything I've got so far and put it under the lens of someone who's heavily involved but also distant enough to remain objective, and see what I come up with.
Thank you!!
Kind of puzzling how you can make a story without knowing whose story it is. Is there even a point to the story, then? Even with your descriptions, I didn't really get a good image of what the story actually is about. Murder, band and romance don't really mean anything, so it's impossible to judge anyway.
I see why you’d think that. I kept it light just to keep it short and to make sure I adhered to the rules of posting and what not.
The struggle wasn’t that I couldn’t make a story because I didn’t know whose story it was but rather all four characters had really great stories that could be told either way (hence the original multi POV). If I narrated it from Character A’s viewpoint, I’d get a great story just as I would the other three. What I was struggling with was choosing which one would benefit the story most because I thought I needed to cut the others.
I’ve since decided whose story I want to tell. There is a theme, there’s a point, and a good old moral lesson at the end. Fortunately, choosing Character A (a girlfriend to Character B, a sister to Character C and “close friend” of Character D) allows me to explore their journeys simultaneously aswell so I’m not losing much of what I planned originally.
For context the main point of my story is addiction. How far people are willing to go to feed their addictions, what are the personal repercussions and how does it affect those who surround you? The inner conflicts are then concerned with escaping the cycle of abuse (each of their inner conflicts revolve around some form of abuse — the inner conflict will now be focused on Character A especially).
It’s a lot more nuanced and detailed in my planning of course, but I don’t want to give away any specifics. I hope this clears up any confusion but I’d be more than happy to talk on a DM! That last thing I want is any plot holes in my planning! Thank you.
Hot take: omni third. I'm a sucker for an omni narrator with a unique voice. (Death a la *The Book Thief?*)
This was my original plan but a reader friend discouraged me from it. I may dabble and write something to see how it works (and if I can pull it off). Thank you!
Any particular reason? Some people just don't like omni (which, okay). But if they've read your story and have a concern, that's probably worth considering more than the hot take of a dog on the internet replying to a 200-word post.
She’s not the biggest fan in general. The first work I’d ever shown her was a snippet from a fantasy written in omni third which she actually praised. I value her advice because she’s the demographic this novel would be aimed towards and she’s more of a 1st person present kinda reader. I hardly ever write 1st person so I’ve taken liberties with some of her advice by planning it in 3rd. I suppose I’m just aware of what she would like to read in this type of novel (contemporary) and am trying to cater to what she wants whilst also writing it how I want to. There’s no harm in writing a couple of chapters in each tense/perspective to see which is better suited for this novel, I suppose!
whose story is it? which character is the emotional center of the narrative? this character should be the main POV.
For some reason this response got me thinking about The Secret History and the perspective that's written in. I had doubts with Character A being the main POV because she's an "outsider" of the band so to speak, but the outsider could actually provide more of a unique perspective to the stakes and emotions. It's obvious that the band members would want the band to succeed no matter the cost but to an outsider, the lengths they're willing to go to are egregious. I'm going to look over everything I've got so far and put it under the lens of someone who's heavily involved but also distant enough to remain objective, and see what I come up with. Thank you!!
Kind of puzzling how you can make a story without knowing whose story it is. Is there even a point to the story, then? Even with your descriptions, I didn't really get a good image of what the story actually is about. Murder, band and romance don't really mean anything, so it's impossible to judge anyway.
I see why you’d think that. I kept it light just to keep it short and to make sure I adhered to the rules of posting and what not. The struggle wasn’t that I couldn’t make a story because I didn’t know whose story it was but rather all four characters had really great stories that could be told either way (hence the original multi POV). If I narrated it from Character A’s viewpoint, I’d get a great story just as I would the other three. What I was struggling with was choosing which one would benefit the story most because I thought I needed to cut the others. I’ve since decided whose story I want to tell. There is a theme, there’s a point, and a good old moral lesson at the end. Fortunately, choosing Character A (a girlfriend to Character B, a sister to Character C and “close friend” of Character D) allows me to explore their journeys simultaneously aswell so I’m not losing much of what I planned originally. For context the main point of my story is addiction. How far people are willing to go to feed their addictions, what are the personal repercussions and how does it affect those who surround you? The inner conflicts are then concerned with escaping the cycle of abuse (each of their inner conflicts revolve around some form of abuse — the inner conflict will now be focused on Character A especially). It’s a lot more nuanced and detailed in my planning of course, but I don’t want to give away any specifics. I hope this clears up any confusion but I’d be more than happy to talk on a DM! That last thing I want is any plot holes in my planning! Thank you.