Non-threaded

Forums » Writing Workshop » Read Thread

Find proofreaders here, useful resources, and share opinions and advice on story crafting.

Perspectives

13 years ago

I'm writing a story about September 11 in the USA (WTC collapsed, for those of you who don't live in the US and don't know) but the story changes perspectives continuously throughout the story. I was wondering what you guys suggest for that to happen, because I want the reader to know what perspective it's changing to and I want them to know when the perspective is changing.

Perspectives

13 years ago

I dunno, septemeber 11th is a pretty touchy subject for a lot of people...Personally I would avoid it.

But as far as perspectives go there's a few ways. Some subtle, some not so much.

- Have each character use a different coloured text

- Have some sort of header stating who the character is at the begining of each page (or when you switch characters)

- Have the narration change to reflect the character (some characters would be more optimistic, others pessimistic)

- Refer to something that only that specific character could see or have access to. Have characters be in pairs, and simply refer to the other character at times (Like if Tiffany is always with Brian, then Brian will always be mentioned somewhere on the page so the player knows they are Tiffany). You don't need to use a person if you don't want, it could be their setting or maybe a personal item that they have that they would refer to often.

Perspectives

13 years ago

I would state who's point of view it was at the top of the page and change the narrative to suit their own philosophies and beliefs but this seems like something I'd enjoy to read.

Perspectives

13 years ago

Thanks for the help, guys. I think I'll just state whose point of view it is.

Perspectives

13 years ago
I like the changing of text color myself.

Perspectives

13 years ago
Yes, maybe I will do that instead.

Perspectives

13 years ago
Definitely don't avoid something because it's touchy.

Perspectives

13 years ago
Agreed, you delve right into that crap and you put your hands all over it!

Perspectives

13 years ago

haha, okay, I'm doing it, I'm doing it! :)

Perspectives

13 years ago

I agree. I also think you could use an avatar of sorts for each character. It wouldn't have to be a picture of a person, even a symbol would work. If each character has a unique way of talking, that would also help. You could have one character introduce the next if it works with the story.

BTW - I wrote a story a few years ago that touched on 911 but was mostly about a woman with a severe case of amnesia.

Perspectives

13 years ago

You know how sometimes poems and books will put the

 . . . (imagine the dots are bigger)

below lines when they're changing perspectives?  Maybe you could do something like that.