MESSAGE BOARD TOPIC #26

[Comicality]

If you say 'tomato', I might say 'tom-A-to' (Just kidding! I would NEVER say that!)...and how you say something or view something might drastically change from person to person. Same thing goes for the characters in a story. There are definitely two different points of view, since (for an 'erotic' story to work) there are two people involved.

 

Now, the dilemma has always been how to cleverly display both sides of this equation, giving the reader a full 3-dimensional experience while presenting both sides of the story simultaneously. One method that authors have used many times before, has been to tell these stories from multiple points of view. The question this week is....

 

= Do multiple, or constantly changing, points of view, add to the overall feeling of a story? Do they confuse the reader? Or is it simply another way of telling a story without any positive or negative effects on what you're reading? =

 

This is for writers also, who may want to experiment with this technique, or who have already incorporated it into their stories. And for readers....what are your thoughts on this? Are there certain ways to approach this situation that won't confuse or frustrate you? Or do you approve, and gain a better understanding of the story through different perspectives?

 

Whatever your thoughts, whether reader or writer, let us know what you're thinking!

 

The board is open!

[Gentim]

If you say 'tomato', I might say 'tom-A-to' (Just kidding! I would NEVER say that!)...and how you say something or view something might drastically change from person to person. Same thing goes for the characters in a story. There are definitely two different points of view, since (for an 'erotic' story to work) there are two people involved.

 

Now, the dilemma has always been how to cleverly display both sides of this equation, giving the reader a full 3-dimensional experience while presenting both sides of the story simultaneously. One method that authors have used many times before, has been to tell these stories from multiple points of view. The question this week is....

 

= Do multiple, or constantly changing, points of view, add to the overall feeling of a story? Do they confuse the reader? Or is it simply another way of telling a story without any positive or negative effects on what you're reading? =

 

This is for writers also, who may want to experiment with this technique, or who have already incorporated it into their stories. And for readers....what are your thoughts on this? Are there certain ways to approach this situation that won't confuse or frustrate you? Or do you approve, and gain a better understanding of the story through different perspectives?

 

Whatever your thoughts, whether reader or writer, let us know what you're thinking!

 

The board is open!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

To tell the truth, as a reader, I've always found it somewhat confusing to go back and forth between points of view within the space of a paragraph or two unless it's set off by some sort of dividing line (asterisks, dashes, etc.). When I'm writing, I usually have tried to give each person's point of view a chapter of its own ala "Kelly's View" from the series "Kelly's Problem", or when Comicality wrote a chapter of "New Kid" from Ryan's point of view so as not to confuse the reader too much.

 

I suppose that what really confuses me is when a writer not only jumps between points of view but also tries to jump between times in a story as I've seen a couple of authors do.

 

The best thing I can say is to give the author feedback. Especially if he is jumping between character's points of view inside a chapter. Sometimes it can be done effectively. Sometimes not.

[BillM]

In most of my stories I like to switch points of view not only so that readers can get a complete and effective view of everything but I like to have each character tell their tale from their perspective. I use asterisks whenever a view is changed so that there is no confusion. Oh, and I do all of this in chronological order so that readers dont have to shift back up to the top of the story to find out what the hell is going on.

[Crackerwriter]

I think it depends a little on the story itself.

 

Some stories lend themselves to further explanation or different viewpoints. In some cases I think it tends to over complicate the story.

 

Personally I've never bothered doing a story this way, prefering to write in the "fly-on-the-wall" style, which seems to work for me.

 

Mike