Empoword

Part One: Description, Narration, and Reflection 90 This is, of course, true for our lives more generally. In addition to our differences in knowledge and experiences, we also interpret and understand events differently. In our writing, narrative position is informed by point-of-view and the emotional valences I refer to here as tone and mood. point-of-view (POV): the perspective from which a story is told. • This is a grammatical phenomenon—i.e., it decides pronoun use—but, more importantly, it impacts tone, mood, scope, voice, and plot . 30 Although point-of-view will influence tone and mood, we can also consider what feelings we want to convey and inspire independently as part of our narrative position. tone: the emotional register of the story’s language. • What emotional state does the narrator of the story (not the author, but the speaker) seem to be in? What emotions are you trying to imbue in your writing? mood: the emotional register a reader experiences . 31 • What emotions do you want your reader to experience? Are they the same feelings you experienced at the time? A Non-Comprehensive Breakdown of POV Pronouns Description Examples: 1 st person Narrator uses 1 st person pronouns (I/me/mine or us/we/ours) Can include internal monologue (motives, thoughts, feelings) of the narrator. Limited certainty of motives, thoughts, or feelings of other characters. I tripped on the last stair, preoccupied by what my sister had said, and felt my stomach drop. 2 nd person Narrator uses 2 nd person pronouns (you/you/your) Speaks to the reader, as if the reader is the protagonist OR uses apostrophe to speak to an absent or unidentified person Your breath catches as you feel the phantom step. O, staircase, how you keep me awake at night. 3 rd person limited Narrator uses 3 rd person pronouns (he/him/his, she/her/hers, they/they/theirs) Sometimes called “close” third person. Observes and narrates but sticks near one or two characters, in contrast with 3 rd person omniscient. He was visibly frustrated by his sister’s nonchalance and wasn’t watching his step.