Changing POV Like You Change Underwear

Hopefully most writers change their underwear more often than they change POV in their story. A recent inquiry asked whether changing from 1st person POV (the dreaded "I" voice in the publishing world--lots of agents/editors don't like it) to 3rd person POV (the "he/she walked and talked" voice that everyone loves) was acceptable.

Can't say that I recommend it, because it TENDS to jar the reader out of the story, but there's no rule saying you can't do it. Like all writing do's and dont's in the publishing arena, you have to choose which ones work for you, which ones don't. I wouldn't even call them rules, but hints as to tactics a lot of writers tried to pull off but didn't, so agents and editors came to discuss the tactics as no-no's.

To be fair, I recently read a book called "Infamous" by Suzanne Brockmann that changed POV from the start from 3rd to 1st and back again. The 1st person POV was a ghost, the great-grandfather and assumed outlaw of the hero. So the story was basically told from his point of view overall. Though jarring at first, I got used to it (though it's still not my preference). In the end, the quality of the story helped me overlook the POV and other writing issues (more editing, please, for less dragging scenes).

If your story is absolutely made BETTER by switching POV's then by all means go for it. The point is to be thoughtful of why others have not pulled this trick off, why they've made a bad name for it--then avoid their mistakes.

Good luck, Angels.
Your Editor Devil

Back from cross-country trip....

For those who have not taken my 11 Edits class and have a manuscript (whole or partial) ready to edit... I'm teaching it again, this time for the Carolina RWA group. Here's the information:

*** Permission to Forward Granted and Encouraged ***
11 Edits You Must Make to Look Like a Pro
Instructor: Christine M. Fairchild
When: November 1st- 15th, 2010
Cost: $10 for HCRW and Carolina Romance Writers members/ $15 for non-members
Deadline for Registration: October 31st
To register: http://www.heartofcarolina.org/onlineclasses/classreg.html

This editing class includes tips and tricks you won’t find in books or other classes. We'll look at common line edits differently, and we'll discuss conceptual edits, such as character arcs, that will help your book be the great read it's meant to be.

The goal of the course is to give you some editing advantages that you would get if you hired a skilled editor to improve your manuscript. This is not a copyediting class, but what we call developmental-editing. Editing emphasis will be placed on 1) tight scene structure and 2) no unnecessary words.

The edits you’ll learn will help you:
* Strengthen character development.
* Tighten and intensify dialogue.
* Polish character introductions.
* Improve pacing, voice, and style.
* Create greater emotional response from readers.

This is a self-paced class. Whether you apply the edits to an existing MS during the course or not is up to you.

Bio: Christine M. Fairchild has over 20 years of experience as a writer and editor. Though trained as a journalist, she spent the last two decades working for publications (XFiles, SciFiMall.com), technical giants (Microsoft, AT&T), and consumer product companies (DHL, Hitachi). She now helps fiction writers improve their use of language, timing, and perspective to deepen their work. Christine has written 2 historical fiction women’s fiction manuscripts as well as a Romantic Suspense. As a writer, editor and ghostwriter, her experience ranges from novels to screenplays to non-fiction, from science fiction to romance to memoir.

To register: http://www.heartofcarolina.org/onlineclasses/classreg.html