Lucid Writing Advice V

THE THIRD PERSON

Ah, the third-person, the voice that many find appealing and so write their stories with it. The third person is the voice that lets the narrator have fun in doing what it wants. It is carefree at times, but yet it gives us a thorough examination of any story. The third-person can do away with using I to many times, and we can actually hear and see the character’s name more often.

Yet with this voice there also comes hesitation. The third-person is a little limited when it comes to description. You don’t want to go in strenuous detail about description all at once or else your writing is pulling a ball-and-chain. You either explain a little here and some there, or fail to mention something at all. Here is a good example in this short passage:

Edgard sat in front of the table, sipping the red wine.

You may think that sounds right, but what if that was the opening sentence of a chapter or story? First, if your reader has a hard time picturing things, they may see Edgard floating because you failed to note that Edgard sat in a chair. They may see him drinking the wine form his hands because you didn’t tell us of the pretty gold chalice that the wine was in.

Second, we have an infinitesimal amount of description: red and nothing else. This writer may write more as the story develops, but who knows? If they don’t, and the story progresses at this rate, we all may get the sense of floating.

Like the first-person, you may find ‘he’, ‘she’, and even the character’s name appearing way too much. Let’s read a passage and then correct it.

Kenneth threw down his black cloak and rested his eyes on the small gray rock. With a quick jump he was on top of it in seconds. With a deep sigh he sat cross-legged and drained himself of all concentration. His memories fleeted in a thought, and his breathing slowed in a rush. With a blink his eyes closed shut, yet he was still alive.

See any problems? Well, I can’t or is that just me? See if you can slim down all the ‘he’ and ‘his’.

As much as these past articles have stressed not to do, then this topic is certainly one you don’t want to come up in your writing at any time. This is a complete, absolute, down-right pest to be avoided.

What is author interruption you might ask? Well, read this passage and see if you can’t tell what it is then:

Pam brushed the dirt from her dress angrily( she was really angry!). With a snort she picked up her bags and strode away from the bus stop. Going into the bus terminal she found it too dark to see anything but lighted cigarettes( it was really dark.) She pressed her bags close to her and took a seat.

See what I mean? All that writing in parentheses did nothing but made our reader stop, read its’ nonsense, and try and continue with the story until it appears yet again, and gain. Simply overlook those parentheses and you find out that this story isn’t so bad. If the fact that you the writer need to add you own feelings to the story at such an odd way, then the story isn’t doing what it’s supposed to do. A story should write itself, and the reader should be able to figure it out clearly. Keep this in mind never, ever, ever, ever, ever, deal with author interruption. It is just plan bad and makes your writing seem amateurish.

I guess this article should leave you with this in mind:

Author interruption causes only corruption