Third Person Perspective

To be honest, this is my favorite kind of writing. It's easy and comes naturally--or at least for me. The thing about third person perspective is that you as the writer are the narrator. You get to know ALL of your characters. You're stuck in your character's minds and you decide what to do, not the main character deciding or others deciding for you. If you want to kill someone today, then do it. I tend to just write in this perspective, just because I'm most used to it and find it the most enjoyable. This perspective allows you as the writer to have more freedom in how the story is told. You may decide to change a particular character's thinking a bit, but don't go out and change it drastically. Remember to stay consistent. I believe writing in first person and third person both have their advantages and one, more than the other, will have its place in a story. It depends on what your motive is. What are you trying to say? And will it sound better in the third person perspective?

• Third Person Limited--narrator only knows the thoughts and feelings of a single character
• Third Person Omniscient--narrator knows all the thoughts and feelings of all characters 
• He, she, it, they 

If you want to know all of your characters then choose to write in third person omniscient. If this isn't a concern for you, then write in third person limited. Perhaps it's easier and more natural for you to just know one of your characters in and out. It might be confusing to know all of your characters, perhaps it's too overwhelming--understandable. Don't overwhelm yourself with your writing right away. Writing does get overwhelming the moment you're on a deadline, but if you're writing just for fun, don't stress out about it, have fun. 

Third Person Limited: Janie Smith, she doesn't know a thing about her brother, Johnny. If she only had a single idea what was going through his mind, things might make it easier for them to relate. She wants to know, but he won't open up to her. Ever since papa died, the family died with him. Johnny is cold-heart and broken, the opposite from Janie. She is open, willing to work through the disaster and open a new door. Her papa always told her to work things out, if only Johnny understood. 

Third Person Omniscient: The house was too quiet without Mary and Joe. They were the ones who always brought it to live, even on the rainiest days. A single tear slid down her cheek. Susan peeled her coat off, resting her lazy and tired body on the sofa. If only Mary and Joe were still around. Fall always had a way of tearing people apart, that's what Mary always said anyway. 

Find YOUR aspect of writing. I have covered each perspective so now that you have this down, it's time for you to choose your alley and get writing. If you have been writing for weeks already, congrats. But if you're still waiting for that perfect moment, wake up, the perfect moment never comes. You need to write in order to find it! I'll start a new "mini" series next week. 

Keep writing! 

Endless Ideas




Think! Imagine! Listen! Write!

 

I find it humours how sometimes the greatest ideas come to me during the strangest hour of the day. I have queer story ideas pop in my mind during the middle of the night, the ideas that stir me out of bed. Or I'll have book projects provoke my mind when I'm running on the treadmill, the kind of thoughts that require a notebook and pen. Then there are the times where I'm purely exhausted and a random sensation pops in my mind, the kind where I must fight to think of something else. At first these thoughts used to bother me, but I now realize that my mind is performing a normal routine. My mind is only telling me that something creative has sparked my interest. Do I choose to listen at all times? No, I fail this act all the time as a matter of fact. I'll be in class, reading books, listening to my teacher, in the shower, driving down the road, taking a brisk walk when the ideas strike me. I used to write the ideas down on my hand, the idea causes me to chuckle now. But if we all think about it, the greatest ideas come to us at an odd time of day. The time of day where we cannot but help to chuckle. We are either occupied or simply lazy to adhere to those thoughts. I used to be annoyed, more irritated. Those ideas had a quest, their own quest was to distract me until I listened to them.

Yes, I gave in and listened. I carry notebooks with me and jot down the idea when it arises. There are times where I will type a message in my phone and save it, only to look later on and remember what it was about. I'm thinking of storing a water proof template in the shower...I have to admit, I often think best at that time. My thoughts give me imagination, creativity, and energy to think new things. When we give our thoughts the freedom to creativity, something great can be composed. Choosing to ignore those ideas and putting them aside can be the greatest temptation, but also the greatest risk. We are hampering our mind, the thoughts that roam around. I have heard too many times from people who would love to write, who have the time, but no ideas. Their ideas have been killed, shut down, and put away.The first time an idea arises and you put it away and try to think of it later, it won't be the same feeling as the first occurrence. Stepping into this new realm, this new height of catching your ideas is one of the greatest tasks we can achieve. How we all love stories that captivate us, must I remind you that the author captured his thoughts first and then shared them? Wholesome ideas, thoughts that mean something great and powerful, are worth the time thinking. The thoughts and ideas that destroy the mind, are worth killing. We must be able to decipher between the two.

Words are food. Our words eat off our ideas, and the readers gain from the ideas. It goes hand in hand, quite complex, but in the same thought, understandable. Pen the words down, mark them in any way that you can. It may not make sense to anyone else at first, but you will know what you're thinking. Having that intimacy with our own mind seems ironic for we all believe that we know our mind. No, no we don't. Understanding the mind would mean you listening to the first ideas that come alive. Free your mind, give it space, more space so more can be thought of. Write from your soul! Think as you've never thought before! Explore with those imaginative ideas, the ones that form the being within you. Live your life to think of those thoughts...the ones that design a purpose and inspiration.

"Ideas can be life-changing. Sometimes all you need to open the door is just one more good idea."

~Jim Rohn