Wicked Lovely By Melissa Marr
Deep POV:
The very first thing about this book that caught my eye: Melissa Marr has mastered the ability to write in 3rd Deep. You'd be hard-pressed to find even one thought attribute in this novel! I know what a challenge it is to write in Deep. My last two novels have been written in 1st, but I do write in 3rd also and when I do, I write in 3rd Limited Deep POV. Her POV switches are clean with scene breaks in between and she has a strong voice for each POV character.
How I can use this in my own writing:
The levels of Deep POV are a technique I have used and a technique I've been challenged over time and again by other writers. Finding books that actually teach this method is about impossible. IMO, I think this is because the technique can't be taught and doesn't have certain hard and fast rules. Wicked Lovely gives you a full book with this technique mastered and is a gift ready to be opened for anyone wanting to study this style of writing. I'm tempted to write my next book in 3rd now.
World Building:
Melissa Marr took a new world and built it on top of our familiar everyday lives. How did she do this? She took the unfamiliar and focused our attention there. My first thoughts were this couldn't apply to me as I don't write fantasy, though it made me dream about trying to write in this genre. I was wrong and had I not stopped to think about it more would have missed a chance to improve my own writing.
How I can use this in my own writing:
In my current WIP, I am writing about a world inside of our own: a world where the creation of fiction dominates our everyday lives. I've already come to terms with the unfamiliar parts of my book and have been trying to make sure I make these scenes understandable. But I can do so much more than this, can I not? Why not make it outstanding, not just understood?
Now I've realized I have a way to use this technique in my current WIP, but what about my future stories? Well, why can't I dig and dig until I find one element to make my fiction world stand out from our normal, everyday lives? I can do this. It doesn't have to be fantasy to build a new world for our reader. It just takes imagination and I have plenty of that. True, I might need to do a bit of research, but in the end, my book will be outstanding.
Making the characters familiar to the reader:
This should by no means be taken as making characters that the reader can relate to. This is different. Melissa Marr gives you insides about characters that the other POV characters don't know. She does this with flair. In one section, we learn how a character does one thing while nervous. Several chapters later, a new POV character comes on stage and we witness this act through their eyes. The POV character doesn't know what the other character is feeling, but we do, because we were shown this earlier. We share a secret with the other character and this makes us, as the reader, a part of the story. Nothing pulls a reader like putting them into the story.
How can I use this in my own book?
Maybe the bigger question is why wouldn't I use this in my book?
There you have what I took away from Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr. Did it improve my writing? You bet. And it was an incredible story on top of that. Melissa Marr took her time and crafted a wonderful tale. Her talent shows and I'm thankful to have been given the chance to learn from her.
Do you have recommendations of books that use these techniques? The more we study, the better we become.
The very first thing about this book that caught my eye: Melissa Marr has mastered the ability to write in 3rd Deep. You'd be hard-pressed to find even one thought attribute in this novel! I know what a challenge it is to write in Deep. My last two novels have been written in 1st, but I do write in 3rd also and when I do, I write in 3rd Limited Deep POV. Her POV switches are clean with scene breaks in between and she has a strong voice for each POV character.
How I can use this in my own writing:
The levels of Deep POV are a technique I have used and a technique I've been challenged over time and again by other writers. Finding books that actually teach this method is about impossible. IMO, I think this is because the technique can't be taught and doesn't have certain hard and fast rules. Wicked Lovely gives you a full book with this technique mastered and is a gift ready to be opened for anyone wanting to study this style of writing. I'm tempted to write my next book in 3rd now.
World Building:
Melissa Marr took a new world and built it on top of our familiar everyday lives. How did she do this? She took the unfamiliar and focused our attention there. My first thoughts were this couldn't apply to me as I don't write fantasy, though it made me dream about trying to write in this genre. I was wrong and had I not stopped to think about it more would have missed a chance to improve my own writing.
How I can use this in my own writing:
In my current WIP, I am writing about a world inside of our own: a world where the creation of fiction dominates our everyday lives. I've already come to terms with the unfamiliar parts of my book and have been trying to make sure I make these scenes understandable. But I can do so much more than this, can I not? Why not make it outstanding, not just understood?
Now I've realized I have a way to use this technique in my current WIP, but what about my future stories? Well, why can't I dig and dig until I find one element to make my fiction world stand out from our normal, everyday lives? I can do this. It doesn't have to be fantasy to build a new world for our reader. It just takes imagination and I have plenty of that. True, I might need to do a bit of research, but in the end, my book will be outstanding.
Making the characters familiar to the reader:
This should by no means be taken as making characters that the reader can relate to. This is different. Melissa Marr gives you insides about characters that the other POV characters don't know. She does this with flair. In one section, we learn how a character does one thing while nervous. Several chapters later, a new POV character comes on stage and we witness this act through their eyes. The POV character doesn't know what the other character is feeling, but we do, because we were shown this earlier. We share a secret with the other character and this makes us, as the reader, a part of the story. Nothing pulls a reader like putting them into the story.
How can I use this in my own book?
Maybe the bigger question is why wouldn't I use this in my book?
There you have what I took away from Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr. Did it improve my writing? You bet. And it was an incredible story on top of that. Melissa Marr took her time and crafted a wonderful tale. Her talent shows and I'm thankful to have been given the chance to learn from her.
Do you have recommendations of books that use these techniques? The more we study, the better we become.