Post #6: Perspective

Initially, I was going to combine this topic with the last post on the importance of point of view in fantasy writing. However, after some extensive research (aka. a google search), I have decided that it was a large enough topic to have its own blog post. Now, many people may get confused at the title of this post, didn’t we cover this already? No, we did not. When talking about perspective in fantasy novels, it is not the same as point of view. Point of view in writing is when you choose to write in either first or third person, perspective has to do with which character, or characters, you’re choosing to follow through the story. And just a warning, this post is going to be very biased… so don’t complain.

1 Perspective

Following only one character through the story is probably my favourite way to experience a book. Rowling’s ‘Harry Potter’, Cornwell’s ‘Saxon Tales’, and Forester’s ‘Hornblower’, all of these series stuck to only following a single character through the story line, to great effect may I add. When you only follow one character you get to experience events as they experience them. You get to be surprised when they are, hurt when they are, and even angry when they are. This helps the reader develop a deep personal bond with your chosen character that helps to keep them immersed in the story and truly care about the outcome. When using this method, it’s easy to tug at the heart strings of readers since the character is the one and only connection they have to the world that you created as the author.

Now, in an attempt to not be so biased, I will try to come up with some negatives. It’s not that I don’t realize there are downsides, it’s just that I think that they can be easily overcome through the use of inventive and creative writing. So, what happens if the reader doesn’t personally connect with the character that you create? Well, then… the book become unreadable doesn’t it. This is a do or die method, you either succeed or you fail when you commit to presenting your story this way, there’s rarely ever any middle ground. This means that your main character has to be likable, psychopath characters don’t really jell well with this method of storytelling in my opinion.

A Few Different Perspectives

This is often the more preferred method of storytelling in fantasy writing, the best example being the works of Tolkien. By using this method he was able to show the reader the different occurrences throughout his world without needing one character to be in multiple places at once, because that can often be quite problematic. Using this method, writers can present their plot more easily. The reader will be able to experience events that they wouldn’t be able to if they were only following the perspective of a single character. This can be used to build suspense as the reader will know that an obstacle is coming that the character is not yet aware of.

However, there are downsides to this. It can quite often feel that you are reading more than one book when writers use this method. And while that may sound great, multiple stories for the price of one, it can still be off putting. Some readers like to be surprised along with the character and not know things that the protagonist doesn’t. Also, the reader is always going to have a favourite character, and they are going to care less about the others. This makes some sections of the book less important for the reader.

Many Perspectives

This method of storytelling is not one that I have come across frequently as the number of fully developed characters that it requires puts more stress upon the writer than the other methods do. The most recent example of this is the ‘Game of Thrones’ series by George R.R. Martin. Some of you may have heard of this series since it’s gained some popularity over recent years. Unfortunately, most of this fame is due to the TV series and not the books, but I can see why. When there are so many characters being written about and developed, it becomes hard, as the reader, to keep up. And as I’ve said before, the reader is always going to have a favourite character and the more alternatives you create, the more time the reader is going to spend not reading their favourite aspect of your creation.

Now, a lot of people are going to disagree with me on this, and that’s okay, because this is all a matter of opinion… remember the comment about my bias at the beginning? Many people will say that this style makes sure that there is a character that every reader can connect with on a personal level, but for me it just creates a book that I can’t fully immerse myself in. I also want to clarify one thing, I think the style of writing that G.R.R. Martin used was the best choice in order to convey his complex political plot that spanned over multiple continents, it’s just not my favourite, so… please don’t murder me over it.

Conclusion

Perspective in a fantasy novel matters, in fact, it matters a lot. As a writer, you need to choose the number of perspectives that best allows you to convey your story and plot to the reader. Choose too few, and your reader will never have any clue what’s happening, choose too many, and your reader will know so much that there will be little point in them continuing to read your book. And like with most things, when it comes to writing, there is no right or wrong answer, so choose whatever suits you best and go write.

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