Case of the Mundays
For this Munday, we invite you to examine point of view in your writing for your character.
Do you primarily answer prompts in first person, or do you mix it up with some third person every now and then (or maybe you write the majority of your prompts in third)?
Do you ever write prompts from the first person POV of a supporting character, instead of your protagonist?
What do you feel are the benefits or drawbacks of writing in your favored point of view?
I almost always write in third person, although I have written in first person, especially on some of the 100 summer drabble challenges. If I do use first person, it's from the PoV of my protagonist, although PoV from the antagonist would be fun.
The reason I favor third person is the reader gets a feel of how other characters in the book feel/see/do/want besides just the MC's PoV. I don't mind reading first person but sometimes it limits the reader on what the other characters are feeling or their insight into a situation without establishing dialogue. Of course, it depends on the author. A really good author will make you forget you are reading in first person, such as Kathy Reichs in her Temperance Brennan novels.
Here's something scary: learning how to write.
How have you approached growing and developing your craft as a writer? Have you taken any writing classes or participated in any writing workshops or writers' groups? If you have, do you feel it helped you? Hurt you?
What about books on writing? There's no shortage of those on the shelves. Have you ever read any, and if so, do you have any in particular to recommend? ...or any that your fellow writers should avoid at all costs?
What about writing advice-- have you heard any good axioms or quotes that you keep in mind when writing?
I would love to take a writing class, but I never make time. I have two shelves of reference books, everything from crafting plots and characters to grammar books to specific reference books dealing with a particular subject. Since my novel centers around hostage negotiators and the workings of hostage rescue, I have three books, written by former negotiators, on the subject. They have, by far, been my greatest acquisitions when referring to writing. I also have books on forensics, police procedures, and poisons.
I do remember quotes and sayings but try to avoid clichés. If I use a cliché, I actually point it out like having my character say, "Once bitten, twice shy, as clichéd as it sounds." I will also remember/write down scenes that I loved and then reenact using my own characters and plot.