Cause and Effect / Character Emotion

Recent plot consultation:

Literary Fiction

Many POVs

Question:
Does my story have too many scenes?

Answer:

(We did not get to the end of his story during our session so I cannot answer the question.)

My comment however is to do what you can to make the scenes feel linked.

The tighter the story, the easier for the reader to follow. Every element of every scene contributes to the scene that follows and to the overall story itself.

Link scenes through the use of:

• Cause and effect
  
• The transitions you create using:

Thematic significance of the overall story
Similar themes in the scenes to be linked 
Similar authentic details in scenes to be linked

Also, be clear about the structure you're going for and be consistent. This is especially true for the POV. Each time there is a change in POV, you risk the reader putting down the book. 

We connect to one character and resist and resent leaving that POV. Moving into another can be off-putting. 

Be careful and make sure the first line in every POV switch is compelling in order to pull the reader immediately into the next character and not feel like they are missing the character they were just connected to.

Choosing POV

Today's consultation challenged conventional point of view and arrangement. Most stories revolve around a protagonist who is changed at depth over time by the dramatic action that happens to her. The story is arranged into chapters and told through either:

First person present -- I revel in the balmy ocean breeze 

First person past -- I reveled in the balmy breeze

Third person present -- she revels in the balmy ocean breeze 

Third person past -- she reveled in the balmy ocean breeze

Today's consultation revealed a story more about the transformation of a culture which is changed over time by the dramatic action that happens to the characters who live in the culture than to one particular character.

Some of the most difficult aspects of writing a story, be it a screenplay, novel, or short story, are deciding where the story begins, who's tells the story -- POV, and how best to arrange the overall flow the story.

We seem to gravitate toward a favorite way of telling a story. First person allows the writer and thus, reader closer access to the character. Third person allows the writer and thus, reader less intimate access to the protagonist from her point of view but more access to information beyond the character herself. 

What's your favorite?

Changing POV

Q: My current story has my two main characters. The P.O.V. shifts from one to another in alternating chapters as the chase continues to a surprising climactic ending. I have written a plot summary (chapter by chapter so I know where it is going) and what the arc of the story will be. I have completed three chapters so far, but would appreciate any tips you might share with me on plotting my story with a shifting P.O.V. in this way

A: A quick tip I can give you is this ~~ on your banner paper, draw two plot planner lines, one above the other. One each for the two major characters. Use these lines to plot out their individual plots. Develop a plot profile for each to help with their individual character transformations. This way you're ensured to have two deeply developed characters and are able to plot out their individual stories and how the two intertwine with each other.