Thursday Review—Rivet Your Readers with Deep Point of View

by Lynn H. Blackburn

I love summer. I love the break from the routine and the slower pace. But it sure has messed with my writing and reading time.

I need to keep writing, keep honing my craft, keep reading (both in my genre and out of it)—but my little ones also need things. Things like food, clean clothes (which they think magically appear in their closets), trips to the pool, and play dates with friends.

So I picked a couple of super short reads for my summer “craft” books. For July, I chose Rivet Your Readers with Deep Point of View by Jill Elizabeth Nelson and I think you’ll enjoy this selection for several reasons.

1. It’s short (59 pages). I read it on my iPod Kindle app in one morning that also included cuddling with a sick little boy, building multiple towers out of a variety of blocks, doing laundry, changing diapers, and singing the same song eleven times.

2. It’s to the point. This little book is all about Deep Point of View. That’s it.

3. It has exercises. I love exercises. Not so much the kind that involve sweat and pain. But give me a nice worksheet and a freshly sharpened #2 pencil and I’m a happy girl.

4. It’s full of examples. I love examples. For example (from page 29) . . . 

• Shallow POV: She wondered how she would get through the next day. 
• Deep POV: How could she possibly survive the next day?

See the difference?

5. It’s fun to read. I’ve never read any of Jill Elizabeth Nelson’s work before now. But I’ll be checking out her fiction because I enjoyed her voice.

6. It answered some frustrating questions. Have you ever wanted to toss your laptop and drown your sorrows in a pint of Ben & Jerry’s as you try to eliminate words like wondered, thought, felt, and saw? Well, this little gem could improve your prose and your hip-to-waist ratio…all for $2.99!

What are you waiting for?

It’s your turn . . . what’s your favorite POV to read or write?

Don’t forget to join the conversation!

Blessings, 

Lynn

Lynn Huggins Blackburn has been telling herself stories since she was five and finally started writing them down. She blogs about faith, family, and her writing journey on her blog Out of the Boat. Lynn is a member of the Jerry B. Jenkins Christian Writers Guild and the Word Weavers, Greenville. She lives in South Carolina where she hangs out with three lively children, one fabulous man, and a cast of imaginary characters who find their way onto the pages of her still unpublished novels. She drinks a lot of coffee.