DEEP POV Lesson 2 – Let’s Get Started

Hello again! Welcome back. Today we’re going to start down the DEEP POV road. We’ll look at some examples and hear what some other authors have to say about going DEEP.

One thing I’d like to point out is that we’re not looking at writing in DEEP POV all the time. Scenes or partial scenes that have lower emotion for the characters might be written in simple third person. But as you transition into sections where the characters are in high emotion, that’s the perfect time for DEEP POV.
So don’t panic. You don’t have to be writing DEEP all the time.

DEEP POV is anchored in the here and now of the story. It is the perfect opportunity to show Action/Reaction/Emotion on the page. Did your eyes just bulge, your head start to throb? Did your internal dialog sound something like “HUH?” Never fear. This class is not about Action/Reaction/Emotion (better known by the term Dwight Swain coined “MRU” – Motivation/Reaction Units). If you’re cool with this, then read on. If not, then take just a quick moment and read KM Weiland’s discussion of MRUs here.

Okay, moving on. Let’s see what some authors and editors say about DEEP POV.

Beth Hill, from The Editor’s Blog:
What the first-person POV accomplishes with its I narration, deep POV accomplishes with third-person he or she narration.
Thus readers see scenes through the viewpoint character, feel story events as that character does. What that character sees, the reader sees. What the character feels or thinks, the reader knows.
And the reader knows automatically that what is being reported are the thoughts and feelings and the intentions of the viewpoint character.

Kristen Kieffer from ShesNovel.com:
Have you ever read a story where you feel completely one with the point of view character? It’s as if you are that person. You are living their life, pursuing their journey. You even forget that you are reading a book and that an author lives behind every word. You are simply enthralled by the magic in the pages.
That is an awesome experience, is it not?
Novels like these are often written using a technique called Deep Point of View, or Deep POV for short.

Rhay Christou, Novelist and Creative Writing Instructor:
Deep point of view is intense. It not only represents the sights, sounds, and actions filtered through a POV (point of view) character but goes deeper into emotions as well as a character’s unique worldview. In deep point of view the character owns the page and the author becomes nonexistent. Deep point of view allows the reader to live vicariously through the actions, reactions, and emotions of a character.

Hopefully you’re convinced of the power of DEEP POV. If not, here are some examples from the Queen of DEEP POV, Suzanne Brockmann:

From The Unsung Hero

From Forever Blue

And this is one of my favorites. I love Max’s response to the milk being sour – pondering running to the corner store in his boxer shorts.

Okay, that’s all for today. In the next lesson, we’ll dive into some of the rules for writing DEEP POV.

In the meantime, I’ll be around to answer questions. If you want to discuss what you’re reading here, post a comment and let’s do that. And remember, the offer is open to take a chunk of your WIP and rework it. We can do it as a group if you want. Just email it to me at jaxmhunter@gmail.com and we’ll go from there.

Until then, you know the drill. BiC-HoK: Butt in Chair, Hands on Keyboard.

Cheers, Jax