Why Write?

People write for a myriad of reasons. 

And I get asked quite consistently why do I write. 

My normal, go-to reason is because I'm not good at anything else. It is simple, relatively true, and either gets people to change the subject or they start arguing with me that I have other gifts. Which I generally just roll my eyes to.

I am aware that writing is not the only thing I am good at, but it IS the thing I'm good at that I enjoy the most. Even when I'm suffering from a belief that I can't even put a functional sentence together. 

What are words even? 

But writing, no matter what kind of writing I am doing at the moment, is one of those things that helps me clear my head. It helps me think things through. It helps me keep from becoming completely antisocial. 

I write this blog because what I have to say isn't unique to me. I know that. My journey, although it has different aspects that makes it MY journey, I hope that others stumble upon the blog and it helps remind them that growth at any time is possible. You can always work to become a better you. Whether it is in similar ways to me, in growing healthier mentally and physically. Or if it differs drastically. This blog is here to share my experiences. 

I write because I love stories. I always have. Stories help me express my ideas and they help me work through different things. Stories help me escape. 

I write because it's easier to express my thoughts through written words than spoken ones. 

I write because I like to create things and no matter how hard I try I can't draw or sculpt or really anything of that sort. Although I am getting better at looking at something and turning it into something tangible in front of me (such as the silhouette of a witch riding a broomstick out of cardboard at work), I'm a long way away from being able to consider myself "crafty."

I write to explore. Explore this world and others of my own creation. Explore my mind. Explore the different aspects that make other people who they are.

I write to see different sides of things. 

I write to continue learning. It doesn't matter what you write. You'll constantly be learning new things, about yourself, about others, about new things, about old things, about everything.

I write to have an excuse to step out of my comfort zone. Even if I am trying to grow as a person and get out of my comfort zone and I don't actually need a reason to do that, sometimes people look at you oddly. But if you add "hey, I'm a writer and I need to know what this experience is like," it adds some credibility to it.

I write to be able to make a positive out of everything. I mentioned not too long ago that I got my first jellyfish sting and was strangely excited about it. I was excited about it because if I ever wanted to write about a character who got something similar to a jellyfish sting, I'd be able to accurately. Anything negative that happens at all can be twisted into, this is a good experience to know what it's like so I can write more efficiently.

I write to keep my sanity. My mind is constantly working. It throws out so many different possibilities to anything and everything I might ever consider doing. It throws out different things that very likely won't occur. 

I write to write. It's fun. I enjoy it. I am pretty good at it (most of the time). That is really all the reason I need to do it. 

I don't write to make money (yet). Someday, I do hope to help pay my bills (or pay in the entirety) with my writing, but at this point I still just write because I enjoy it. 

Why do you write? Tell me in the comments!

Until next time,

Shelby

Choosing POV

There's so much to consider when planning (and writing) a novel. Or a short story. Or anything, really.

Of the many things you have to decide on Point of View is just one thing, but it can be foundational. Not only which POV but how many you use. 

Will you write within first person, second person, or third person? Will you stick with one person's POV or will you jump around between multiple different ones?

(Please note: This post contains affiliate links)

What are the different point of views?

- First Person: This point of view is when the narrator is telling the story from his or her viewpoint. It is easy to identify because the author uses "I" and "Me" and those sort of key words. 

     Some popular examples of first person POVs are as follows:

           - Divergent Series (Veronica Roth)

           - Red Queen Series (Victoria Aveyard)

           - Hunger Games Series (Suzanne Collins)

           - Assassin's Apprentice (Robin Hobb)

           - Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)

-Second Person: This Point of view is when the narrator is telling a story to the audience as though the audience is the main character. "You did this, you went to this place." I can't say I've ever read a novel from this POV, but with that said, many of the "chapter" or "episodic" apps on the phone are in this POV. It's almost as though you have amnesia and someone is trying to catch you up on your life.

      Popular examples of second person POV (according you goodreads) are as follows:
             - You (Caroline Kepnes)

             - If on a Winter's Night a Traveler (Italo Calvino)

             - Bright Lights, Big City (Jay McInerney)

             - The Fifth Season (N.K. Jemisin)

             - The Night Circus (Erin Morgenstern)

-Third Person: Third person is where the narrator is telling the story as an outsider looking in. Words such as "he" and "she" and "they" are common. This POV can be split even further.

     1) Third Person Omniscient: This point of view is where you can see into the head of any character. You (and the Narrator) are all-knowing. 

              -The Scarlet Letter (Hawthorne)

              - The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)

     2) Third Person Limited: If Omniscient means all-knowing, limited is as it sounds. You can still see into people's heads, but it is limited to one or a few characters.

               - All Souls' Trilogy (Deborah Harkness - I'm not sure if her newest book Time's Convert is in the same POV)

               - Harry Potter (J.K. Rowling)

              

How to decide on Point of View?

There are a couple things to really consider when trying to figure out which point of view you want to go with.

1.) Other novels in your genre: There are some genres that do better with certain POVs. By do better, I mean that are more popular POVs in certain genres. 

      - First Person is popular within Young adult. With Third Person Limited very close behind.

2.) How much do your readers need to know? This is important because the different Points of view each give a different amount of knowledge. First person gives it directly from inside one persons head. Third person limited can give you more outward knowledge and third person omniscient gives you everything. 

Other factors:

- How many Points of view? This is the question that tends to bog people down. It's a common question on different writing groups I'm a member of. I would say use as few as is required. The more POVs, the more likely the reader is to get confused. 

      As much as I liked the Red Queen series by Victoria Aveyard (Seriously, read it if you haven't: Red Queen, Glass Sword, King's Cage, and her latest and last in the series War Storm), by the final book, I felt as though she was using way too many POVs. I didn't need to see inside the head of Maven or Iris. Three would have been a nice number to stick it with, rather than five.

- How to choose who to have a POV? The first step to deciding how many points of view you should have is deciding who you want to focus on. The most important thing to remember is who you decide to show as the POV characters will likely connect with the readers moreso than any others. Be careful to only show those you want the reader to connect with. 

With all of this said, remember it is your story. Do what you want. Everyone will have an opinion of what you're writing, be it good or bad. 

Is there anything that helps you decide on what POV to use in your writing? Comment below!

Until Next Time,

Shelby

P.S. I'm trying out the Amazon Associates thing ("participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program"), so for awhile now at least, any links you see on my page will be connected to that, so if you purchase anything through the links, I should theoretically get a little bit of money through it. So if I mention anything you're curious about trying, please go through the link!