Tuesday, May 24, 2011

What Have You Learned Lately?

"You learn something every day if you pay attention." ~Ray LeBlond

I was recently out for brunch with my writer friend, Kim. We were talking about writing (duh) and what we've been learning lately about the craft. In between bites of her steak and eggs, she informed me that she is a recovering head hopper. She used to have trouble sticking to one POV and would hop from one character's head to another within the same scene. This is a no-no because it confuses the reader. The general rule is the only time to switch POV's is after a scene break.

Kim's been working with an freelance editor for the past few months who has been teaching her how to conquer her head-hopping tendencies. Therefore, Kim is a recovering head hopper.

As for me, in the past several months I have been learning more about the importance of character motivation. About how it's so vital to know my characters inside and out before I write the story. As a Seat-of-the-Pantser, I don't take a lot of time to outline and plot before I begin writing. But putting a motivation in place, a root cause of why my character does what she does, is essential. Only when these motivations are clear to me, can I create a well-rounded, believable character who leaps off the page and into the hearts of my readers.

So tell me. Which aspect of the writing craft have you been learning lately?



6 comments:

Joanne Sher said...

My newest focus/learning has been deep POV. Really getting into the character's head does NOT come naturally to me - but I'm definitely getting better!

Jessica R. Patch said...

I too am a recovering head hopper. But lately, I've been studying how to tighten my writing by eliminating unneccessary words. I did a find/search and I'm sure I deleted the word "very" about a hundred times! It felt like it anyway.

Lynda Lee Schab said...

There are definitely certain words we're each partial to, aren't there? I'm always amazed to discover how many times I use some of them - "just" is one of my favorites. :-)

Jo...deep POV really is an art. But mastering it does wonders in bringing the story/character to life.

Laura Frantz said...

Lynda, You have a beautiful blog. It's fun to catch up and see where your writing is taking you. You always leave the most insightful reviews so it stands to reason your own writing would be the same. Bless you today!

Lynda Lee Schab said...

Aw, thanks, Laura! I appreciate your comment! Thanks for stopping by. :-)

Anonymous said...

I just published my first book to amazon and this is the first I've heard of head hopping, I'll have to read back and see if I do this--