tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post7652640158058908158..comments2024-03-20T02:26:46.482-04:00Comments on Joanna Bourne: Technical Topics -- Scene Breaks, Chapter Breaks and Hiatuses Jo Bournehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457862962618886252noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-73201781813577020262014-02-12T09:29:29.271-05:002014-02-12T09:29:29.271-05:00Hi Beth --
I'm the same as you in 'inhabi...Hi Beth --<br /><br />I'm the same as you in 'inhabiting the POV'. When I'm in there, I'm IN there and I don't expect to pop out again. <br /><br />Probably why I only change POV at the end of a scene or chapter.<br /><br />That said, I do think a transition can be abrupt and yet 'work'. A skillful writer can do ANYTHING.Jo Bournehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13457862962618886252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-64266859906151560922014-01-22T22:03:49.996-05:002014-01-22T22:03:49.996-05:00Great post, Jo. Though I must be one of the few re...Great post, Jo. Though I must be one of the few readers in the world for whom the secret hand-off in the middle of the scene tends to backfire. In well-written POV, I inhabit the head of the POV character. It is therefore always an unpleasant shock to find myself placed without a by-your-leave into the head of another character. The "neutral" paragraph serves as no warning, because I don't know it's neutral. I continue to read as if it's in the POV of Character A. And then suddenly I'm in the head of Character B and I'm all bewildered about how I got there and where I missed the change, and I go reading back and there's nothing in the "neutral" paragraph to clue me in...<br /><br />I would imagine most readers don't care. But if a writer is going to change POV mid-scene, my preference is for it to be between one paragraph and the next, a sharp severance followed by a fresh new vista, and then I'm not left wondering how I got into B's head. :)<br /><br />I'm weird, I know. Bethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08504439129670380071noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-55720323684055681662014-01-17T19:08:47.043-05:002014-01-17T19:08:47.043-05:00Hi Joanna --
(nice name, btw)
We learn by thinkin...Hi Joanna --<br />(nice name, btw)<br /><br />We learn by thinking about what somebody's said. Can be anything. Right. Wrong. Totally off-topic.<br />I keep hoping something I say will set off a lightbulb. <br />Jo Bournehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13457862962618886252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-82919353512271873122014-01-17T15:00:57.076-05:002014-01-17T15:00:57.076-05:00Jo:
I always enjoy your blog posts, and they'r...Jo:<br />I always enjoy your blog posts, and they're very helpful to those of us struggling through these things. Plus, the humor keeps it light.<br />JoannaJ Byrdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04535140703224584723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-76336072719587425302014-01-16T19:13:40.383-05:002014-01-16T19:13:40.383-05:00Sometimes first drafts have short scenes. This te...Sometimes first drafts have short scenes. This tends to solve itself in later drafts as we 'see' more and add description and internals and more dialog maybe.<br /><br />Or, at least, that's the way it works with me.Jo Bournehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13457862962618886252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-2934717756052087552014-01-16T17:42:12.886-05:002014-01-16T17:42:12.886-05:00"Hiat." I like that verb, although I see..."Hiat." I like that verb, although I seem to be mentally pronouncing it "hiate." I think I've been doing it too frequently lately, but it's still the first draft. One of the many things I need to fix. Some days it seems as if I write more notes to myself than anything else.Lillian Mareknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-65060021575181175822014-01-16T09:54:20.058-05:002014-01-16T09:54:20.058-05:00I find the 'off-handing' technique to be a...I find the 'off-handing' technique to be an 'advanced technique'. <br />(That's my sekret phrase that means 'I can't do that'.)<br /><br />But I do think if somebody's on their early WIPs and the beta readers keep saying "You're head hopping" it probably helps to fall back on hiatus and chapter breaks to switch POV for the next ms or two. <br /><br />Switching in the middle of a scene without jiggling the reader is like herding kittens.Jo Bournehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13457862962618886252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-67722198007762968822014-01-15T17:56:38.582-05:002014-01-15T17:56:38.582-05:00In my Kalen Hughes books, I would "off hand&q...In my Kalen Hughes books, I would "off hand" the POV switches mid scene all the time. It's the most natural method to me. But when I changed publishers, that switch drove my editor nuts, so I started using breaks. Isobel Carrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03153722955365985930noreply@blogger.com