As a writer who has always written non-fiction, I never really considered point of view. I learned about it in school of course, but it was not much on my radar. An author friend of mine told me that her fiction editors were very particular about consistent point of view. So, I decided it was time for a refresher. I checked out a couple of sites and settled on a post from The Beginning Writer. First Person makes sense - you, the protagonist, are talking. The Third Person however is a bit trickier. It can be limited, multiple or omniscient. Each has its pros and cons.
Since this discussion, I have been checking the books I am reading and also my own work. The book I am currently reading is The Storyteller's Secret: A Novel by Sejal Badani. The book has two storylines, like the one I am writing, so I thought it would be a good one to check. It turns out, the modern day storyline is told in first person and the storyline in the past is told in the Third Person Multiple. The interesting thing about first person, is you are really deep in the character's head. This offers a depth of knowledge which is really personal. You can't however know what other people are thinking. For example, the main character suffers miscarriages which leads to divorce. Is her thinking the truth, or would her husband tell a very different story? I find that I naturally write in Third Person limited. This means I "speak" with knowledge from multiple viewpoints, but I can't know everything. Omniscient can know everything, but at a higher level, which makes emotions and reactions more challenging to deal with. I wonder if this comfort zone comes from the years of enjoying reading and much of what I read was presented that way? Who knows. Whatever the reason, I invite you to look for the point of view when you are reading and writing. It is a fun new lens to look through. Share in the comments which point of view you prefer!
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This blog post was written for a great writers event in Dalkey called Dalkey Creates.
I arrived in Dalkey as an expat in August of 2016. I followed my husband’s work, and as such, was not eligible for employment without a good deal of hoops to jump through with the government, so I found myself with lots of free time in a whole new country. I had experienced this once before, in Belgium, where I met several expats, but never seemed to become a part of the local community. I determined to do better. Completely charmed by the beautiful seaside village of Dalkey, I began to think about how to meet people. As anyone who has moved to a new city, much less a new country knows, it takes effort on your part to integrate into a new community. My first stop was Dalkey Creates. As my family explored the many fabulous restaurants in town, I spotted the Dalkey Creates brochure. I have been a freelance non-fiction writer for many years, and thought volunteering to help at this festival might be a great place to start. Volunteering versus attending, mind you, because my main purpose was to meet the locals planning and supporting the event. What a grand idea! With a deep breath and heart full of optimism, I emailed the organizer, which set off a great chain of events. You never know what one email will do. Dalkey Creates organizer, Anna Fox, returned my email with a warm welcome. Yes, she would be delighted to have me volunteer. Perhaps we could meet for coffee to discuss? And so we did. We met at a local wine bar and art gallery, the Grapevine on Castle Street. We ended up talking for more than an hour. First Irish connection made! She explained to me that Dalkey Creates is part-funded by the Dalkey Business Group and Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council. The purpose of the festival began as a place to nurture, create and celebrate new writing. Dalkey was a great place to host, as it has been home to internationally renowned writers for generations. The greats such as James Joyce, Hugh Leonard, Samuel Beckett and Mave Binchy have gained inspiration for their works in Dalkey. At the heart of the festival have been writers’ workshops. They run over 2 days covering a range of genres, designed to inspire, motivate and support writers through the writing process. As the festival grew, they began to host a number of events, all taking place in locations around Dalkey which will inspire writers and non-writers alike, adding a junior programme, an open mike at Finnegan's and more. Sounded great to the writer in me! As promised, the event was well attended and the sessions were extremely informative. It was great to see excellent and talented writers, publishers and more share their wisdom and insights with attendees. As I hoped, I met several others volunteering to support and execute the event. Lots of great advice was given about living in the area and new friendships were forged. I managed to sign up to volunteer for the Dalkey Book Festival and volunteer at Dalkey Castle and Heritage Centre. Like many communities, there are key people who really get things done. I was so happy to meet some. It set the course for my life for many months. Best of all, volunteers, attendees and speakers left very happy! Having enjoyed the whole process so much, I volunteered to assist in the organization of the festival for 2017. Last year, the festival expanded even more to include creative storytelling in a variety of mediums – film, photography, music and more. Local students were involved again creating wheelbarrow gardens throughout the town. A storytelling bus experience, dance exhibitions and more made the Dalkey Creates experience even more fun for locals and attendees alike. Traditions come to mind this time of year. One of my favorite parts of writing with a historical timeline is the research. It is fascinating to see how celebrations have developed over time. The photo is courtesy of Dalkey Tidy Towns, who posted a series of photos showing the recent celebrations in Dalkey, Co Dublin in Ireland. Living history is an important part of the town due to the Dalkey Castle and Heritage Center. Would you believe Santa poofed like magic from the top of Goat Castle, to arrive in the heart of Castle street to the delight of the children and townspeople gathered there? What a lovely way to continue the tradition of Santa. The man in red is known as Saint Nicholas in Ireland. Much like in the US and the UK, Irish kids anxiously await his arrival on Christmas Eve.
The Irish also celebrate Saint Stephens Day. One of the highlights of the day is going to the races or attending a sporting event. What a great tradition for our horse loving friends. Perhaps the most interesting older tradition I learned about while in Ireland was the celebration of Epiphany on January 6th, calling it Women's Christmas. The concept is to give women a day off from cooking and cleaning and allow them to gather, relax and chat. I feel this tradition really honors those who make the holidays through al their hard work. My personal traditions come mainly from my Swedish family. We decorate with lots of tomte and straw decorations. Some of my favorite memories are baking pepparkakor (swedish ginger cookies). The smells are lovely and we roll out the dough and use a wide variety of cookie cutters to form the cookies. My favorites were the hearts and the mini gingerbread girl and boy. I remember myself as a child and my kids, on a stepstool, in those zip up jammies with footies. It makes me smile. I hope you and yours enjoy all your holiday traditions. Let me know what traditions you value! I find it funny how now that I have book ideas, I struggle with sitting down to write. I think it comes from a variety of places. The little voice inside saying I "should" be doing something else. A fear of failure: I love these ideas, but will anyone else? The enormity of it all - Ive written hundreds of articles, but a whole book? Let's just leap into the unknown and allow ourselves permission to sit down and write. Make it a part of your schedule. I think it is so OK to let yourself slide into the fantasy, or get powered up by the communications concept. Let 2019 be a year to explore the writing journey.
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Liza HollandAuthorI have always loved words and reading. I was that kid that had her nose in a book to and from school. The crossing guard saw me coming and stopped traffic so I didn’t have to look up! As I grew into professional life, I did lots of writing - published articles, newsletters, ads, white papers, reports, grants, op eds, blogs, you name it. Recently, I took what would up being a sabbatical to Europe. My husband was offered a great opportunity and we spent a year in Belgium and a year in Ireland. It was magical. I did so many things I never had time for, including joining a writing group. Having time to think, I came back to Kentucky with 2, count them, 2 book ideas. I hope to share the journey of the coming to fruition with you.Write something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
July 2022
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