Changing perspectives

[TheEarl]

As just about anybody who's read my posts from the last week will know, I'm currently rewriting one of my old stories. What started out as a simple edit to correct a few errors has turned into a complete revamping. And now I need help.

The original story was in first person. I've rewritten the first two thirds of the original in third person limited and am currently rewriting the expanded last third as a new chapter. However the third chapter has turned out in third person unlimited. Can I get away with this perspective change?

The first 2/3 are written limited (mostly, with a few tangents to other characters) to the POV of Dawn. The last third is spread over the POVS of Dawn and Tara.

Normally I would dump the last third as not jibing, but the problem is that it's really good writing and I don't want to dump it.

Help me!

The Earl

 

[dr_mabeuse]

Third Person Limited

I'm not familiar with that term. When you say "third person limited" you mean that the narrator is external to the story but not omniscient? Or that he's recounting what he saw when he was there?

I'd have to see some concrete examples of what you're talking about to know if it would work. It seems to me that what you're telling would be very important in deciding if you can pull off a voice change. Give us a sample?

---dr.M.

 

[Pookie]

I don't mean to speak for TheEarl, but I believe what he means by third person limited is "third person semi-omniscient".

From Poison Pen's Guide for Amateur Writers of Erotica by Andrew Nellis, aka the Poison Pen © 1997:

In this case, while the author writes from the effective perspective of God, it is with limitations. For example, the thoughts and motives of the characters may not be available by the author. This perspective can be useful when trying to maintain some mystery in a story, since it allows characters to hide things from the readers without drawing attention to it.

Hope this helps.

 

[TheEarl]

The first 2 chapters of the new book are written mostly from the POV of Dawn.

"Dawn felt a shiver running up her spine"
"Dawn wondered what the hell she was doing"

These are just specimen sentences as I don't have my notebook with me. There is the occasional foray into another character's mind ("Willow smiled as she saw Dawn's reaction"), but these are limited. Most of the action is described from 3rd person, but focusing on Dawn.

The last chapter (almost completely new) is written from two perspectives: Dawn and Tara. You see inside Dawn's head for a bit, then you see inside Tara's.

Does anyone understand that? I'll come back later with examples once I've found my notebook, but I thought I'd better attempt to explain. pookie_grrl has got it almost exactly. In the first two I'm hiding every mind, but Dawns apart from a few paragraphs. In the last one, I'm not hiding anyone's mind. Can I get away with that?

The Earl

 

[Graymouse]

If you're pleased with the writing in the third part and don't want to ditch it, you might instead consider loosening things up in the first two parts to third person omniscient, unless it's necessary to the plot to hide a particular character's thoughts. I don't know. It's difficult to say without seeing larger segments of the story, or without knowing how long the first portion is--personally, I might hesitate to totally revamp an already revamped piece of writing if its more than thirty pages .

At any rate, this is one option if you don't want to dump the last part but are concerned about the switch. Truthfully, the casual reader here is probably not even going to care, although the more literary-minded will likely notice. Good luck.

 

[Whispersecret]

Earl, it's entirely possible to get away with it. In the romance genre, the one I'm most familiar with, the POV is often third person limited. And often there is a switch between both the hero and heroine's viewpoints, usually within a very intense scene, where it's imperative for the reader to see inside both characters' heads. Most of the time this is the first time they have sex. Obviously this is a pivotal moment in a romance novel.

It makes sense to experience the story through both character's eyes in that last part if it's the most emotional part of your story. Just be careful how you switch and that you make it clear that you have switched. It's gonna be tricky with both of them being female.

 

[deliciously_naughty]

I did it in Wesley's Woman to make the story deeper...some people loved it, others wrote critical feedback. If it's what the story calls for, I say do it.