Using
Deep POV to step out of the Slush Pile
As a writer we get told a whole bunch of
things that we have to stay true to, if we want to catch that editor’s/agent’s
attention and not have to get picked up off the slush pile. Don’t get me wrong,
many great writers have been picked up off that slush pile but we both know
that it’s getting harder to get noticed.
Not too much back story or you slow the
pace; your characters need to be believable; your reader needs to be invested
in the story. You have to get the reader to have that emotional journey, and
the most important one of them all, show, don’t tell. It’s impossible to
remember all of this when you’re writing your story and to be honest, if you
did, you’d drive yourself nuts and never get past page five. You’re sitting
there thinking, this still isn’t telling me anything about deep POV, so here
goes, I’m going to show you an e.g of how I used deep POV in getting published.
I wrote Falling into Paradise in three
weeks but it took me a lot longer than that to edit the book. I couldn’t have
done it without my wonderful editor, but there were a lot of things I learnt
that helped. The concept of layering opened new doors to me and my writing
started making sense which resulted in a stronger book.
Deep point of view is when you go into
the character’s head and start writing from their POV, instead of the
narrative. You might say what are the benefits? Think of it this way. By going
into deep POV you can start writing actively and you can show things your
character sees and does and that added layer gives your
reader the key to your book and the characters.
E.g. when you meet Sophie you see a
woman who dresses up in expensive suits with a flashy car, so you think rich
doctor from a cultured background.
‘She
looked down and wanted to say she felt more like the prostitute from down the
road where she lived as a child than Catwoman, but it didn't seem appropriate
to share that much information with a man she barely knew.’
Now that little thought Sophie shares
with us tells us she didn’t grow up with a silver spoon stuck to her palate and
that is a very important thread in the story. I could have used a few
paragraphs to imply the same thing but saying that she grew up around a
prostitute has a lot more punch and power than anything I as a writer could
have narrated.
The other thing deep POV can do is give
your book sass. Throughout the book I use deep POV to deepen the characters and
their motivations and make it all real. It heightens the tension and makes the
story flow.I can go on about deep POV if you let me but I’d rather you ask questions and I am happy to answer them as best I can. Thanks for having me, it has been a real pleasure being here and I would be happy to answer any questions you might have about the book or about being a newly published author.
Cheers
Kamy
Kamy Chetty Around the Web:
Blurb - Falling Into Paradise:
A woman too afraid to commit. A man too hurt to love again. A passion
that refuses to be denied.
Sophie Redmond knew betrayal, she knew mistrust. She knew everything that was wrong with the world, until Damon Watson charmed his way into her life.
The rules she used to shield her heart were broken one by one, as Damon showed her compassion and kindness. When no one else believes in her, he shows her hope. But is hope ever enough?
Damon knew trouble when he saw it. He was the sheriff. He could spot it a mile away and Sophie was trouble with a capital T. What was it about this City Slicker doctor that made him want to forget everything but those whiskey brown eyes and that honey blonde hair spilled against his naked chest.
Can Damon put the past behind him and choose to love again?
Sophie Redmond knew betrayal, she knew mistrust. She knew everything that was wrong with the world, until Damon Watson charmed his way into her life.
The rules she used to shield her heart were broken one by one, as Damon showed her compassion and kindness. When no one else believes in her, he shows her hope. But is hope ever enough?
Damon knew trouble when he saw it. He was the sheriff. He could spot it a mile away and Sophie was trouble with a capital T. What was it about this City Slicker doctor that made him want to forget everything but those whiskey brown eyes and that honey blonde hair spilled against his naked chest.
Can Damon put the past behind him and choose to love again?
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