Class Notes; POV & Voice

When we write stories there are some questions that an author should answer before sitting down to write. Apart from using various techniques to brainstorm or come up with an idea to write about, we must decide:

• Which POV am I going to use?
• Which genre am I going to use to write my story?
• Who is my protagonist? What does my protagonist want?

Let's look at POV today.

Choosing a POV for your character: It helps to know basic ideas for your character before choosing a POV:
We want to answer this Major Question: Who is the story about?

--Someone who is most interesting
--Someone who is involved in the action of the story
--Someone who has the most to gain or lose from the event

1st Person POV: Main character is the narrator (good subjectivity, but lacks objectivity, limited to one character’s mind). This is the best choice when you have a single protagonist who is involved in telling the story from his/her own POV.

2nd Person POV: Main character is the “reader”, used through an objective and omniscient “I” narrator (difficult to maintain for a long time, reader must be willing to play the part, difficult to reach into reader’s mind). This is the best choice for experimentation.

3rd Person POV: Omniscient or Limited
Omniscient narrators can tell the story of many characters, but this can be confusing. The reader may not know who the story is about or whose conflict is important.
A limited POV allows the writer to focus on one particular character. The story told is the story of that character. Consistent POV gives a story coherence. Inconsistent POV confuses the reader.

Reliable narrators versus unreliable narrators: if a narrator is telling the truth or has good reason to tell the truth, we can trust the narrator at face-value. If the narrator is lying to us, or is a shady-kind of person, then we can't always believe what he/she says is true. As you write, consider whether or not the voice you are writing in can be trusted!

Vocabulary: PLEASE STUDY THESE TERMS!

Diction: word choice. Select words in your poem carefully to carry the most meaning. All words have a denotative meaning and a connotative meaning. Understatement, euphemism, and other rhetorical strategies may be used to affect a poem's diction. Speaking to your elderly grandparents uses a different diction than speaking to your "homies".

Voice: The agent or "speaker" speaking through the poem or story. Also called the "persona" or "narrator".

Tone: Often the attitude of your speaker or the voice. Identified in a poem or fiction by diction.

• Tone can be formal or informal depending on the diction a poet uses.
• Tone can be ironic, sarcastic, serious, pedantic, or hyperbolic depending on the voice a poet selects.
• Tone can be positive or negative or neutral. Selecting one of these tones can or should affect your diction.

LAB: After reading "Class Notes" & "Things I Did to Make it Possible", please select one of the following prompts to work on in the lab for your weekly writing submission.

A. Write "class notes" for the people in one of your classes (this one or another one). Where will each of your classmates be in the next thirty years? PLEASE change the name of your peers so that you make this FICTION and not just mean-spirited.
Alternatively, you may create a "family newsletter" like those given out during the holidays for a fictional family or even for your own family.  

B. Like "Things I Did..." make a list of ways in which your narrator accomplished something important to his or her life. You may change the tone and write something so insignificant to make a parody of this exercise as well.  

C. Alternatively, you may write a poem or a short scene instead of a fiction piece, if you'd prefer.

HOMEWORK: Please read the stories in the collection between pg. 133-163. Please prepare for our field trip to Geva to see Wait Until Dark by reading the materials I have provided for you. Please dress appropriately, bring a bagged lunch, and come to the Commons on Wednesday right after 2nd period.