 Drama: May 09, 2007 Issue [#1706] |
  Drama
This week: Edited by: Elisa: Snowman Stik  
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As the old saying goes, it's all a matter of perspective. Actually, it is a matter of perspective, and it's a matter many authors love to tackle. What is this matter of which I speak? It's point of view, one of the most intriguing aspects of writing. Point of view is not to be taken lightly, and the amount of time aspiring writers sometimes spend discussing the subject proves it. I figured I'd devote some time to it as well. This issue will cover third person point of view and its subtypes and what third person point of view can do for drama.
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point of view- the perspective from which a story is told
The above statement is the simplest way to define point of view, which is a more complex subject than we would normally think. Likewise, its role in a written work is both a lynchpin and not the most important aspect of writing. Point of view affects the way a story is told, not what happens in it. However, for many aspiring writers, it is a pressing concern. It is full of contradiction yet a vital part of any piece. How does a writer tackle this paradox? Lots of practice and time play the biggest roles, but understanding the many variants of points of view also helps. Thus, I have devoted my next few issues to this subject. For this month's issue, I am focusing on third person point of view, a popular perspective from which to tell a story.
Third person can be described in a nutshell as a story being told from the perspective of someone outside of the story's action. Within these parameters, the variants of this point of view can be set up in a Punnett Square. Why? There are two primary types of third person point of view: omniscient and objective. If I were to put these on a Punnett Square, I'd label them as M (the second letter of omniscient) and B (the second letter of objective). It would look something like this on the square.
M B
From those types, there are two subtypes: limited and total. To put limited on that square, I'll simply use the letter L. For total (which is really a way of distinguishing true omniscience/objectiveness from its limited counterpart), I'll use the letter T. How does the square look?
M B
L ML BL
T MT BT
There you can see the four most common variations of third person point of view: total omniscient, total objective, limited omniscient and limited objective. In elaborating on these variations, I'll simply divide it into two chunks, starting with omniscient.
OMNISCIENT
Third person omniscient point of view allows the author to depict all the actions and thoughts of one or more characters. I say one or more due to the subtypes. The biggest pitfall with omniscience is the ease into which an author can launch a rambling monologue of a character's thoughts. While that might be interesting to some extent, it will bog down the action and bore the readers. It's a fine line to walk, indeed. True omniscience means the narrator has access to all the characters' thoughts and knows of all the actions committed by the various characters. Limited omniscience, on the other hand, restricts the point of view to knowing the thoughts and actions of just one character. Here are two examples of the different omniscient points of view, one of each type.
The thunder crashed through the thick silence of the house. Brian's legs spasmed as he responded to the thunder. He sat up in bed and fixed his eyes on the miniblinds, waiting for another flash of lightning and wondering when the storm flared up. As another flash cast a wan glow in the room, he pondered how the two-month drought in the South Florida area had come to an end with this thunderstorm, yet it didn't seem like enough rain was falling.
In the living room, Constance put a kettle on the ancient gas stove and sat at the kitchen table. She listened to the rain do its tap dance on the roof of the trailer and thanked God it had finally arrived. Without the rain, landscaping work had been pretty difficult to come by, even thought the county did allow new plants to be watered for five days straight after planting. Thus, she had been scarping up change to buy bare minimum groceries for Brian and herself. The kettle's whistle interrupted her tired musings, and she went to shut off the burner on which the kettle rested. Another volley of thunder shook the area, providing a mini massage for Constance's feet. She poured the hot water into a mug prepared for tea and wondered if Brian had been woken up by Mother nature's ruckus. Hearing nothing from his room, she resumed her seat at the kitchen table and sipped her tea.
[third person total omniscience]
Rain continued to fall as Jada trudged to her car. She clenched her hands to her upper arms as she shivered. As she approached her car, she peeled her right hand away and attempted to shove her hand in her pocket to get her keys. Her hand did not cooperate, and she leaned against her car while struggling with the pocket. After a little fumbling, she retrieved her key and opened the door. When she tried to start her car, all she heard was a click. She coughed and slumped in her seat, unaware of the saliva sliding down her chin. As the rain battered her car, she tried to decide what to do. She had left her cell phone at home, and the nearby businesses had closed for the night. Who could help her at this hour? While she mulled her sparse options, she dropped off into a fitful sleep without dreams.
A tapping on the driver's side window stirred Jada, and she rubbed her eyes in an attempt to wake up. She looked out the window and saw a stocky man wearing a bright red parka standing next to her car. Still half asleep, she rolled down the window. the man glanced her over before his face twisted into a grimace.
"What on Earth are you doin' sleepin' out in yer car?" he asked, shaking his head from side to side. "You're jes' askin' for trouble."
"Sir," Jada replied, "it's a long story, but my car is broken, and I haven't been able to call for help."
"Perfect," the man replied. "I was just about to tow your vehicle."
[third person limited omniscience]
In the beginning of the first passage, Brian's thoughts are mentioned as he sits in his room, determining what was going on outside. From there, we switched to seeing what Constance was doing and thinking just mere feet away. The second passage shows the actions of both Jada and the man. However, we only find out what Jada is thinking.
OBJECTIVE
Like omniscient, third person objective point of view utilizes an outside voice to narrate the story. The difference between omniscient and objective is objective does not allow the author to explore a character's inner thoughts. This can be a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it can be difficult to maintain this point of view since the author might be tempted to get into a character's head to mine his or her thoughts. On the other hand, not being permitted to explore a character's thoughts makes it easier to show and not tell. It also gives the author a chance to more fruitfully develop actions that serve multiple purposes within a story. Total objective allows the actions of all the characters to be depicted. Limited objective focuses on the actions of one specific character. That said, if you opt for this point of view, choose your character wisely. Again, I shall provide examples.
Tony peeked out from underneath the mattress and noted the planks of wood sitting on his bathroom floor. He lifted a corner of the mattress up and stood up, hesitating at times. Once his legs were straight, he saw the extent of the damage. The roof had been ripped off, creating new skylights in the bathroom. Splintered parts of trusses littered the mattress and the bathtub, and tony had to dig through the wood to find his shoes. He tugged on the dusty sneakers before setting off to investigate the house.
"Tony! Tony?"
Tony looked up from his task, trying to determine who was calling him.
"Tony, where are you?"
"I'm right here!" he hollered."Give me a second."
With that, Tony stumbled out of the bathroom and wove his way through what was left of the house. He reached the master bedroom and found wood, pieces of the roof and many possesions on the floor. He knelt down to push soggy paperbacks and moldy shirts out of the way. After clearing a narrow path, he found his beloved Georgia and Caroline lying on their stomachs under the bed. Tony reached out for Georgia's hand and felt her tiny hand slip into his.
"Dad, what happened?" Caroline asked.
Tony knelt in silence, looking at his wife and daughter. He saw Caroline slide on her stomach to the edge of the bed before she stuck her head out. She stared at him, waiting for an answer.
"Dad?" she asked again.
"Sweetie," he whispered before a couple tears snuck out of the corners of his eyes.
[third person total objective]
With one last push, Yolanda heaved the hardsided suitcase into the back of her Blazer. She reached up with a rubbery arm and brought down the hatch before staggering to the driver's side door. Looking around, she saw two of the dancers that had been working that night but turned her head before they could spot her. As she eased herself into the driver's seat, her cell phone chimed.
"Who could that be?" she muttered under her breath before hitting the send button. "Malloy."
"Sis!" a shrill voice shrieked over the line.
"Yeesh, Soledad," Yolanda sighed. "It's four in the morning. What do you want?"
"David's dead," Soledad sobbed.
Yolanda slammed the phone against the steering wheel to keep from dropping it.
"Sis? Are you there?" she heard her sister yell.
She picked up the phone again, this time with a trembling hand. "Yeah, sis. Yeah, I'm here."
[limited third person objective]
With the first passage, we see both Tony and Caroline's actions, reflecting the total scope of objective point of view. In the second passage, we focus on Yolanda's actions, even though other characters are presented in the scene. We are only aware of their actions through how Yolanda acts toward the other characters.
Given these options, third person point of view is a reliable choice for drama and tends to work best for the most common subgenres, including historical and psychological. It is also an easier point of view to handle for longer drama pieces and tends to be the more common intended point of view for scripts. So...is third person point of view the best choice for a drama piece? In many cases, it is, but on the other hand, first person offers many options for drama as well. What are those options? Tune in next month to find out. 
Until next time,
(sig by me)
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Want some third person reading material? Here ya go! Omniscient and limited are represented in these selections.
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Much like the entire state of Florida, the comments area has been experiencing a bit of a drought. I've received a couple comments, but it's been pretty dry around here lately. I'd love to hear from more of you.
From Vivian  Elisa, I usually use third person omniscient, giving the narrator the most control over the story, characters, everything. If the writing requires a more limited scope, I'll use first person or third person limited. ~~ Viv
I actually have trouble with third person omniscient, but from what I can gather, the control aspect is why some authors like to utilize it. On the other hand, while the control is there, some writers (including my narrative technique professor) say it is one of the most difficult points of view from which to write. Is that statement inspired by the control factor? I'll have to think that one over. Once you have your footing in that point of view, though, I can understand why writing from it would be a writer's first choice. On the other hand, I tend to like third person limited because the narrator doesn't know every last detail, which can add some suspense to the narrative.
From likenion: hi Elisa,
i congratulate you a job extremely well done. sofar i have never considered time as an element in my work, but with these interesting and thrilling uses of time i'll just have to get started. your help and tips are invalueable and i'm looking forward to see what you are going to write about perspectives, because this is a very common topic among writing!
great job!
Thank you.  I'm glad you find my newsletters helpful. It seems I'm never running out of unique solutions for sticky writing problems. And yes, time is a very thrilling aspect in writing. That's one of the things that makes Heroes so addicting, since time and its intricacies are pivotal to the plot for all of the characters. It can be intimidating to look at time and its role in a story. I won't deny that. I have a few short stories in which time is not always linear, and it takes some work to keep it all straight when the pieces are still in their draft stages. On the other hand, time can do so much in a story even outside of fortifying a setting. It's a lot of fun once you know where the story is going timewise. That said, I hopeful this and my next issue on points of view prove just as helpful.
Coming up: information on the many facets of first person point of view. It's more nuanced than it may appear, and those who write in it frequently tend to defend it with unparalleled viciousness (or maybe that's just me). What are your thoughts and/or questions about first person point of view? This inquiring mind wants to know. 
And if you happen to miss or misplace a newsletter, feel free to stop by "The Drama Box" [13+].
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