This week’s challenge comes from the fabulous Carrie Elks:
Writing can be in-tense. Do you have a preferred POV (First, second or third person) and do you like writing in past or present tense? How about when you choose a book to read – do the tense and POV come into that choice? Have you ever written or read a book that breaks all your rules yet is so much better for it?
Tense is tough. I have tried to write in first person, but it seems I get me too much into the story. I find I can understand and define much more of my characters by stepping back into third person. Other writers are masters at first person and I envy them. I would love to be able to write in more than one tense.
I tend to choose books to read based on such ephemeral criteria as my mood. Good writing is just that and doesn’t matter to me how it’s done if it works. I never thought I’d be a fan of YA until “The Hunger Games” changed that. That realization opened me up to try new things and broadened my horizons.
Breaking the rules…? One of the masters of combining first and third person into a book is Susanna Kearsley. Not only does she change voice and tense, she changes time periods. It’s amazing. And even with such radical changes, she never takes me out of the story. It’s remarkable. Brilliant.
When I started writing, I heard much about ‘voice’. It took some time, but I found mine. Until then, I couldn’t tell a story the way I wanted. Now, I can and it’s an incredible liberation. But I also had to recognize my limitations. Just like life. We are all good at some things, but no one is good at everything. So I say—go with your strengths and don’t worry about the rest.
Let’s see what the talented Lyra Parish thinks…
I LOVE Susanna Kearsley. She writes such sweet and compelling romance – with a good dose of supernatural!