In the last issue, I humbly introduced my Five Rules for Writing. Just as a reminder, these are (1) Write, (2) Finish what you write, (3) Edit what you write, (4) Submit what you write, and (5) Go write something else. I feel obliged to point out that these aren’t “casual tips” for me. They’re basically the canons by which I run my life as a fulltime novelist. I am forever either writing something or editing something. As of today, I have two active projects.

The wheel never stops turning, my friends.

With this issue, I would like to introduce the next step. I call these the Tent Posts of Fiction. Basically, they’re four decisions that I’ve learned to make before starting the first draft of a new short story or novel. Making these calls at the very beginning of what is, more often than not, an arduous process, can prevent the heartache of declaring, “I should have done this differently!” at the quarter, half, or (God forbid) three-quarter mark of a given piece.

So, with that in mind, here are my “tent posts.”

Person: Whether you choose to pen your story in First Person (I said this; I did that) or Third Person (he said this; she did that) can set the tone for the entire work. Either style carries its own pros and cons. First Person narrows the scope of the story, usually (not always) trapping the author in a single Point of View; however, it also makes it much easier to connect to the reader, who will often subconsciously relate to an “I” more easily than to a character name. Conversely, Third Person gives the author much more freedom from a narrative standpoint, since it allows for multiple Points of View that can enrich the story; however, it can also distance the reader, especially if the author stumbles into the “tell” versus “show” pit that is more common in Third Person than First Person. Of course, there’s also Second Person (you said this; you did that), but such a style is rarely seen in fiction and is, in my humble opinion, very hard to successfully pull off.

Point of View: The question I’m asked most often in class is “What exactly is Point of View.” In simplest terms, it’s the character or characters through whose senses (sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch) the reader experiences the story. A Single POV can tighten the narrative and keep both the author and reader focused within one character’s perspective. This can be done in either First Person or Third Person. Alternatively, Multiple POVs can expand the narrative and allow for multiple storylines, which can deepen the story telling. In most cases, stories with Multiple POVs are in Third Person, though there are exceptions. Then there is Omniscient POV, or telling the story “from above,” as if one were God looking down on the author’s universe. Examples of this include Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin and Stardust by Neil Gaiman, though in both these novels Omniscient POV is employed only part of the time. The largest problem with this style of POV is the barrier it tends to put up between the reader and story. It takes a skilled hand to really make it work. My recommendation? Use it judiciously, if at all.

Tense: Most stories, whether short or long, are written in Past Tense (I was; he or she did). It’s a tradition that goes back to the earliest works of fiction, and probably draws from the days when most storytelling was in-person, with the speaker reciting events as they occurred in the past. Telling a tale this way feels organic, and the reader accepts it without even thinking about it. It just, well, works. But there’s another way. Present Tense (I am; he or she is) can sometimes feel fresh and immediate, and is often seen in young adult and/or science fiction. The flip side is that Present Tense can be trickier to write. The author requires a strong understanding of tense structure, especially as it involves related events that occurred in the story’s “past.” In Past Tense, this is done using Past Perfect (I had; he or she had). Again, this feels organic and “easy.” In Present Tense, however, things are less obvious. Instead of any of the “perfect” tenses, when conveying events that occurred prior to the current timeline, the author employs Past Tense. Rather than bury you in examples, I suggest you consult novels written in Present Tense. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is a good example, as is Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk. Then there’s my stuff! Dragons and Rags, both by Yours Truly, employ Present Tense. (End of shameless plug)

Voice: This one is tricky to explain, so bear with me. Voice, in its simplest terms, is just the “way” that the story is told. It’s easier to convey this through example. Imagine your 1930’s-era, Raymond Chandler-esque hard-boiled detective is seated behind his secondhand desk in his grubby LA office when there’s a knock on the door. He narrates the story like this, “From the minute the faerie walked in, with her lacy butterfly wings, classy see-through gown, and skin the color of my favorite bourbon, I knew she was trouble…so I shot her.” As the author of this admittedly unlikely genre-bender, you’d have to decide if you want to tell this story in the style of a 30’s crime novel or the style of a high-fantasy fey adventure. That’s Basically, Voice is the way the novel will “taste” to your reader and, to a large extent, decides exactly who your target audience is. It is vitally important to have this firmly in mind before you start writing. Imagine getting even partway through your first draft and realizing you needed to tell the story a different way. Trust me: not good.

So, for whatever they may be worth to you, those are my Tent Posts of Fiction. Whenever I teach a creative writing class, which is becoming more and more frequent, I insist that my students come up with these four “posts” before they launch on whatever project they’ve chosen. Believe me, I don’t do this to be authoritative or pedantic. I do it because I know from bitter, personal experience, what can happen when you don’t.

That’s it. Now, as always, go write something!

Ty Drago
Publisher and Fellow Author
ALLEGORY

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