Writing Tips for Beginners

Has anyone ever read a book where the POV switches from one character to another or the POV is unclear?  I have, and at first I felt a little disoriented.  The POV should be clear from the beginning of your story and continue the same way throughout the story.  I loved reading Rick Riordan’s Red Pyramid.  This was a great story about Egyptian Gods.  But the story flip-flops POV between a brother and sister.  They tell the story to you in a way though that is cute and very likable. Rick pulled this off in a children’s book that not a lot of people can do.  

I have struggled with one of my stories switching POV, and now I have trimmed the fat.  Yeah, I did the hard thing and took out some parts where the POV switches to another character.  Some people might have liked it, but I didn’t want to confuse any readers.

After recently reading an article about Top Ten Mistakes new writers make I thought I would share some of them with you here:

•  No clear POV– Children tend to relate to the POV character in a story. This is the person they will root for. Make it clear right from the start whose story is being told. Even if you have two main characters (twins, for example), you need to pick just one of these kids to be your POV character. And, it should go without saying, when writing for children, make sure your POV character IS a kid – even if Grandma has a big part in your story.

•  Multiple POV’s – Unlike stories for adults, stories for children are generally told from only one POV. It isn’t difficult to maintain a single point of view once you get the hang of it. Just remember– if you are “showing” everything from your main character’s point of view, then he or she has to be present for everything that happens. I see stories all the time where the POV character suddenly leaves the room. Yikes! If your POV character wasn’t there to see or hear what went on, then we can’t see or hear it either.

This list goes on with other mistakes that have to do with other writing mishaps.  You can read more mistakes at:http://www.absolutewrite.com/specialty_writing/top_ten.htm

So long story short,  I had to do what was best for the story.  Editing is the hardest part of writing, but well worth it.

Happy writing!

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