Deep Point of View: How and When to Use it Effectively
By Tambra Kendall

Deep Point of View (POV) is close third person, a combination of first and third person omniscient. It is driven by the character's experiences and emotions.

When using deep penetration POV you see the scene through the character's eyes. You never leave his/her thoughts. Deep penetration is similar to first person giving the motivation behind an action. The character's attitude, at that moment is shown, not a memory of his/her feelings as they look back on what happened.

Deep POV is more than filling your story with internalization.
From The Elements of Fiction Writing Characters and Viewpoint by Orson Scott Card he describes deep POV: "Deep penetration is intense 'hot' narration; no other narrative strategy keeps the reader so closely involved with the character and the story. But the viewpoint character's attitude is so pervasive that it can become annoying or exhausting if carried too far, and the narrative isn't terribly reliable, since the viewpoint character may be misunderstanding or misjudging everyone he meets and everything that happens."

Card says that no one level of POV penetration will be right for the whole story. There needs to be a balance. You need to know when "hot" narration is needed and when to "cool" the scene with light POV penetration.
Deep POV is more than filling your story with internalization. Too much internalization can become a form of telling, slow the pace of the story and unravel tension.

Gina from the RWA Craft loop explained deep POV to me in this way: Check to see if your dialogue, tone of voice, body language, facial expression, inner body response, and/or physical reaction shows what is being told.
• Remove filtering devices such as s/he thought, decided, saw, watched, etc. They put a distance between the reader and the POV character. Once POV is established, you don't have to keep reminding the reader that they're experiencing the story through the POV character's eyes.
• Describe things how the POV character would describe them.
• In deep POV, a character wouldn't use her own name when referring to herself. Nor would she, except in very few cases call her parents by their whole names. A deep POV character's narration should contain thoughts that are natural to that character, and what is seen and described should only be things that character would notice.

Anne Frazier Walradt taught this in a workshop for RWA in 2002. Her suggestions began with Show, Don't Tell: Stay out of your character's head. Since I'm a visual learner Anne's tips made all the other posts clearer. She wrote:
• Insert the picture in your head into the head of your reader by reporting action and dialogue.
• Engage the reader by showing her the scene and awakening in her the emotions that your characters feel.
• Abstract words do not evoke in us the emotion they describe. They merely tell. " Nancy was scared. Terrified actually." To evoke the emotion you must create the sensory details that make it read vivid, authentic.
• Document the effect of the emotion on the character. (Her hands shook) The scene must be seen by the readers.
• The character isn't thinking about her feelings ("Oh, I'm so much in love.") She's thinking about what's causing her feelings. (I love his hand on my.whatever.")
• Your job is to convey the emotion by the meticulous choice of specific details that will evoke emotion in your reader.

Author Terri Prizzi says writing deep POV effectively means you must know your character very well since all things are filtered through the character's eyes and emotions. Gender, education level, life experiences all will impact how your character views the world. The fact that the character comments on anything should be a clue about this character.
Learning how to write deep POV takes some practice, but when used in the right way it will keep your readers turning the pages.

Using deep point of view brings the reader so closely into the story, he/she feels like they are experiencing everything the hero and heroine are. We want to keep the readers turning the pages, not wanting them to put the our books down.

Tambra Kendall joined RWA in 1994. She grew up reading historicals. Her favorites are Scottish and Medieval. Today she combines her love of all things Celtic with the love of paranormal.
Copyright © 2005 Tambra Kendall. All rights reserved. Used with permission.

Hugs to all,
Tambra Kendall
Cowboy of the Night-a Recommended Read!
Buy now from Red Rose Publishing
www.redrosepublishing.com

Labels: craft of writing, deep point of view, romance writing

Greg Howe used to be such a sweet boy, but a bad experience over seas has left him scarred and skittish.  Forced to return home to help out at the family Sugar Shack, Greg is confronted with his old friend Alex, who he hasn't spoken to in ten years.  The bitterness of their lost friendship fades away as Alex helps Greg struggle to cope with his pain, while rebuilding their old closeness...and something more.

To enter the contest, send a recipe that calls for maple syrup to jandrus@mac.com.  

Contest closes July 12 at midnight.

Now I'm off to enjoy my last day of freedom until September!

I'm leaving in a little while to attend the Lori Foster Reader/Author event.

The networking with industry professionals, readers and authors is going to be wonderful.

No matter where you are in your writing career, developing contacts with all the above mentioned people will serve you well.

Networking, marketing and putting yourself out there is what it takes in this business. Name recognition is important. I'm working on it. I'm focusing my efforts on the day Tambra Kendall and Keelia Greer are household names.

Don't wait until your contracted to begin networking.

Hugs,
Tambra

Out now Cowboy of the Night
a bestselling novella from Red Rose Publishing

Labels: Lori Foster, marketing, networking, publishing

So, I went to see the new Star Trek movie this weekend, and it was freakin' awesome! But that's not what this is about. The theatre we went to is in this tiny little town that is literally one of those blink-and-you-missed-it places. It's about 30 minutes drive from my hometown and it's by far the coolest movie theatre you could ever go to. Look here for more info

See, this place is owned by a guy who wanted to work in the movie biz, but for some reason, never got the chance, so instead, he started collecting film memorabilia and eventually, turned part of his house (I'm guessing he added parts to it) to make 6 small theatre rooms. Each one is furnished from an old movie theatre (pre-1950's I think) One of them is themed like ancient Egypt. Very cool. But before you even get to the seats, there's a maze of displays with old costumes, huge old cameras, movie posters and just a huge assortment of cool movie memorabilia.

Now, I've been to this place tons of times since it was THE place to go when I was a kid. This time though, I was suddenly like "Wow, this would make a cool basis for a story!"

It's strange how it happens. I admit I sort of drift through my days with my head in the clouds and most of the time don't pay attention to anything (Unless it's the kids poking at me because I still haven't got them a drink) so I'm probably missing a lot of good little story ideas.

The inspiration for "Something Sweet" came from driving past a rusty old maple syrup bucket hanging from a tree. My mind went...bucket...sugar shack...maple syrup...kinky!  BTW, this story is releasing June 18th from Red Rose Publishing.

It's been a crazy few weeks. First, I've been finishing my next paranormal for Samhain, called INFERNO, which is the long-awaited sequel to LORDS OF THE WERE. It's the story of Dante d'Angleterre, the vampire, and his further adventures in New York with his friend, the fey knight, Duncan, and a lone werewolf who's been sent to spy on him. Lots of action in this book - both in the bedroom and out of it! ;-)

Labels: Bianca D'Arc, New Releases, News, Sale

Brainstorming, Clustering and Freewriting: Methods to Unfreeze your Muse

Brainstorming: Breaking Down the Barriers

Brainstorming helps break typical thought patterns which lead to a boring, predictable plot.

Group Brainstorming

1. To do brainstorming you need to narrow down what the problem is first.
2. Try minor increments such as 10-15 minutes. If you happen to do this in a large group, you may need a longer time limit.
3. Have a person designated as the one who writes out the suggestions called out by the participants/critique partners.
4. No criticizing any of the ideas called out. Laughing is okay.
5. Examine the ideas. Which will provide a plot twist?

Individual Brainstorming

1. Decide what you need to brainstorm on such as character or plot.
2. As ideas occur write them down, but don’t analyze them. These can come as words, phrases or sentences.
3. After you’re finished see if you can put what you’ve written in groups.

Try each of these methods and have fun while doing it.

Clustering and Freewriting

Freewriting
Freewriting is similar to clustering and both can be fun.

For freewriting to work, a goal is needed before you start.

Example: A character’s name or what it means or how you envision this person. When freewriting you are supposed to turn off your inner critic and just write.

Freewriting is nonstop writing. You let your ideas flow in a steady stream and continue for the time limit you’ve set. Keeping your pen or pencil moving is the goal. Don’t punctuate and if you get a new idea write it and keep going. Try five or ten minutes.

Clustering
Clustering uses key words that are connected. Write a word in the middle of the page. From that word, begin writing other words that are associated. Circle the words then connect them with lines. A cluster begins to form. You can branch off other words too.

Example: Write apple in the middle of the page. Crisp, red, sweet and pie all come to mind. This can help when you need to expand on connections with words and the associations from this clustering chain.
After you have your clusters finished, you separate them into bite-sized, mini paragraphs, while elaborating on others.


Apple-sweet-juicy-pie-red-green-crisp-tart

Clustering has helped jump start my muse by focusing on one area when I needed clarification with description or layering with some of the senses.

Breaking up the writing process into manageable pieces keeps me from feeling overwhelmed and paralyzed. This might work for you too.

I hope some of these suggestions will help get your muse off and running.

Hugs,
Tambra Kendall/Keelia Greer

Out now from Keelia Greer: A Cursed Heart from Red Rose Publishing
Coming this month from Tambra: Cowboy of the Night from Red Rose Publishing

Labels: craft of writing, muse, writer's block

My turn to blog today and I actually remembered! Shocking, I know.

So... RT is next week and for those of you who plan to be there, be sure to look for me at Club RT, the ebook expo, and the big booksigning for goody bags galore! I'm also moderating the Demons Unplugged panel on Thursday morning and we'll have special goodies to give away at that as well.

For those of you who aren't going to RT, you can be part of the event in a way... I plan to collect some goodies at the conference and make up little prize packages that I'll give away on my blog after I get home. So remember to take a look the last week in April for your chance to win.

Other than convention plans, I've have a few news items to report. First, FireDrake is now in pint! Here's a taste:

Drake faces his estranged family and the dragon he left behind. He finds more than even he bargains for when a young prince is kidnapped and it's up to Drake, his childhood friend and rival, Mace, a warrior woman named Krysta, and two young dragons to track him down. Saving the prince will restore Drake's family honor, but it could also bond him with the dragoness, her mate, and the lovely Jinn warrior woman who loves them all. Dare he take the chance?

Second, Phantom Desires was just released in ebook formats. It's the third in my vampire novella series and all three of the stories, One & Only, Rare Vintage and Phantom Desires, will go into a single print volume sometime early next year. Here's the tagline for Phantom Desires:

This time, the creature under the basement is real. And dead sexy.

Cool, huh? ;-) Yet, it sums up the book really, really well! LOL!

Now for new sales - I just signed the contract for Grady's Awakening, book 4 in my Resonance Mates series. It'll be out in ebook later this summer and in print next year. I also got a verbal okay on a new series of military/psychic/menage (m/f/m) stories I'm calling the Gemini Project. More news on that as it becomes available.

For now, I'm looking forward to getting the cover art for my next release, Inferno. The sequel to Lords of the Were will release in ebook on June 30th (next year in print). Here's the blurb for it:

A forbidden union forged in love-and tempered in hellfire.

One last task and Megan will be free of the debt of honor owed by her family. Spying on Dante, a powerful vampire with questionable friends, sounds simple enough. But her mission is complicated by the fact she's got something every vampire wants-tangy, powerful, werewolf blood.

It's easy to capture his attention. The hard part will be getting out with her heart -- and soul -- intact. Not to mention her life, thanks to a crazed bomber.

Dante isn't the kind to forgive or forget easily, especially the grudge he holds against werewolves. Still, he is instantly drawn to the injured lone wolf in his care. When he and his friend Duncan treat her wounds, they discover something that marks her as much more than she seems.

The mark is a neon sign warning to be careful, but Dante can't help himself. He wants her and nothing will stand in his way. Not her species. Not his. Not the strange woman who keeps trying to kill him.

Not even the magical poison in Megan's blood...

Until next time,
Bianca
Come over to The D'Arc Side... http://www.biancadarc.com/

Labels: Bianca D'Arc, New Releases, News

I'm teaching The Basics of Romance Writing at Coffee Time Romance.

http://www.coffeetimeromance.com/board/forumdisplay.php?f=984

If you always wanted to write a romance, please join me for this two week course.
I have lots of information to share and I don't answering your questions.

Join Coffee Time if you're not a member and hop on over to my class. While at Coffee Time you can visit the Reader's Retreat where some of the Daughters of Circe are posting excerpts, holding contests and just having fun with our readers.

Hugs,
Tambra

Labels: coffee time romance, romance, writing basics

Hi everyone,

It's the first part of March and I'm reviewing the goals I've set for myself this year.

I finally pinpointed how to fix my hero's GMC (goal, motivation and conflict) in a novella series. I've got a specific house to submit this to so I'm really excited about it.

My Young Adult paranormal is finished (but needs polishing) and I've got a specific house for it, too.

Time wise I'm a little behind schedule. I didn't plan on so many physical issues. Ah well, such is life.

The upside this year, I'm going to the Lori Foster Reader/Author event in June. I'll get to see two of my crit partners as well as talk to some industry professionals. Networking is vital in this business but it's something I enjoy.

Despite the downturn of the economy, I'm very optomistic about the publishing industry. The continuing upward trend of ebooks is encouraging as well.

So, I'm focused on finishing up projects and submitting. Keep checking back on the Daughters blog and my weekly blog at Writers Gone Wild for news.

My latest story Cowboy of the Night, part of the Legends of Loving, Texas series will be out soon from Red Rose Publishing.

Hugs,
Tambra
www.tambrakendall.com

Labels: goals, Lori Foster, Red Rose Publishing, writing life

Just a quick update from me this time. Rare Vintage was released a couple of weeks ago and is doing very well. If you haven't gotten your copy yet, no time like the present! ;-)

I also just sold a new book in my paranormal series to Samhain Publishing. It's called Inferno and it tells the story of the bad boy vamp we first met in Lords of the Were, Dante. It's a super-hot book with menage and lots of action. It's also the long-awaited sequel to Lords of the Were - book 2 in my Tales of the Were series.

And be sure to check my personal blog every Thursday this month for a chance to win a free ebook!

Bianca
http://www.biancadarc.com/

Labels: Bianca D'Arc, New Releases, Sale