Writer's Cache I: Lesson 4

Lesson Four Assignment:

1. Pick a novel or short story written in third person. It can be one of your own or written by another author.

“Wait, what?” Carol’s best friend Eve looked across the cluttered lunchroom table. “What’d you just call it?”

“You know, the C.S. Lewis book The Witch, The Lion and the Coat Rack. Anyway…” Carol paused as Eve burst out laughing. Her friend’s face began to turn red.

“What?” Carol laughed along with her, unsure what had tickled her so much.

“Coat rack…” Eve gasped, trying to breathe through her laughter. “You mean wardrobe!”

Dawning comprehension lit her face brighter than a light bulb as we both collapsed into loud breathless laughter.

When we’d caught her breath, Eve smiled at me. “I can’t wait any longer. Eric proposed last night.”

“You’re kidding?” Carol hugged her with a delighted squeal. “That’s awesome. How did he propose?”

“We went out to dinner and he had a reservation for us. We went in and the live band started playing our favorite song and he got down on one knee in front of everyone and asked me. I thought I would melt into the floor!”

“Wow, that’s awesome. Have you picked a date?”

“Yeah, May 5.” Eve paused. “I want you to be one of my bridesmaids.”

“Me?” Carol leaned back, surprised. “But what about your sister? Or some of your college friends? I don’t know anything about being a bridesmaid.”

Eve laughed. “That’s why you have to do it. I need someone to chill me out from all the female hormones and drama. There’s already been huge drama between my mother and I over the bridesdmaids’ dress colors.”

“I’d love to but…”

“No buts, you’ll be fine.” Eve grew serious. “My wedding wouldn’t be the same without you.”

Carol tried not to feel a twinge of jealousy as she smiled at Eve. “Just tell me what I need to do.”

The months became filled with a flurry of fittings and arrangements for the bridal shower, bachelorette party, rehearsal and dinner, as well as all the other planning for the wedding. Before Carol knew it, she stood beside her best friend who looked elegant and far calmer than Carol would have been in her shoes. The priest gave an elegant but brief sermon.


2. Rewrite the first three or four paragraphs in first person.

“Wait, what?” My best friend Eve looked across the cluttered lunch room table. “What’d you just call it?”

“You know, the C.S. Lewis book The Witch, The Lion and the Coat Rack. Anyway…” I paused as Eve burst out laughing. Her face began to turn red.

“What?” I laughed along with her, unsure what had tickled her so much.

“Coat rack…” she gasped, trying to breathe through her laughter. “You mean wardrobe!”

Dawning comprehension must have lit my face brighter than a light bulb as we both collapsed into loud breathless laughter.

That’s how it has always between us. We tickled each other’s funny bone without even meaning to. We had a bizarre friendship based on shared perspectives and humor. We both disdained the business world and the way it operated but accepted it as a lesser evil than other fields. We often laughed at each other’s romantic forays and faux pas so when she announced to me one sunny Wednesday that she was getting married, I almost fell off my bench.

“You’re kidding?” I hugged her with a delighted squeal. “That’s awesome. How did he propose?”

“We went out to dinner and he had a reservation for us. We went in and the live band started playing our favorite song and he got down on one knee in front of everyone and asked me. I thought I would melt into the floor!”

“Wow, that’s awesome. Have you picked a date?”

“Yeah, May 5.” Eve paused. “I want you to be one of my bridesmaids.”

“Me?” I leaned back, surprised. “But what about your sister? Or some of your college friends? I don’t know anything about being a bridesmaid.”

Eve laughed. “That’s why you have to do it. I need someone to chill me out from all the female hormones and drama. There’s already been huge drama between my mother and I over the bridesdmaids’ dress colors.”

“I’d love to but…”

“No buts, you’ll be fine.” Eve grew serious. “My wedding wouldn’t be the same without you.”

I tried not to feel a twinge of jealousy and smiled at Eve. “Just tell me what I need to do.”

The months became filled with a flurry of fittings and arrangements for the bridal shower, bachelorette party, rehearsal and dinner, as well as all the other planning for the wedding. Before I knew it, I stood beside my best friend who looked elegant and far calmer than I would have been in her shoes. The priest gave an elegant but brief sermon.

3. What changes? Do you like the results better or not? Do you see places where you could expand to add the character’s attitudes and thoughts?
The perspective changes with the two different POVs but also, some of the elements that you can realistically include change as well. In the third person it was a little easier to include information about the history between the two characters but not very easy in first person (I cut it in that version). It could be argued that it was unnecessary for either version but I found it very difficult to add to the first person perspective and maintain that character's voice.

I think I like both perspectives for their own unique traits. I've never actually tried writing the same story from two different perspectives before, most of the time the perspective comes to me immediately (first person is difficult to pull off so almost everything I write is in third person). Either version would probably have ample room for showing a character's attitude and thoughts but it would probably be easiest in third person.