Empoword

Part One: Description, Narration, and Reflection 91 3 rd person omniscient Narrator uses 3 rd person pronouns (he/him/his, she/her/hers, they/they/theirs) Observes and narrates from an all-knowing perspective. Can include internal monologue (motives, thoughts, feelings) of all characters. Beneath the surface, his sister felt regretful. Why did I tell him that? she wondered. stream-of- consciousness Narrator uses inconsistent pronouns, or no pronouns at all Approximates the digressive, wandering, and ungrammatical thought processes of the narrator. But now, a thousand empty ⎯ where? ⎯ and she, with head shake, will be fine ⎯ AHH! Typically, you will tell your story from the first-person point-of-view, but personal narratives can also be told from a different perspective; I recommend “Comatose Dreams” to illustrate this at work. As you’re developing and revising your writing, try to inhabit different authorial positions: What would change if you used the third person POV instead of first person? What different meanings would your reader find if you told this story with a different tone—bitter instead of nostalgic, proud rather than embarrassed, sarcastic rather than genuine? Furthermore, there are many rhetorical situations that call for different POVs. (For instance, you may have noticed that this book uses the second-person very frequently.) So, as you evaluate which POV will be most effective for your current rhetorical situation, bear in mind that the same choice might inform your future writing. Building Characters Whether your story is fiction or nonfiction, you should spend some time thinking about characterization: the development of characters through actions, descriptions, and dialogue. Your audience will be more engaged with and sympathetic toward your narrative if they can vividly imagine the characters as real people. Like description, characterization relies on specificity. Consider the following contrast in character descriptions: A. My mom is great. She is an average-sized brunette with brown eyes. She is very loving and supportive, and I know I can rely on her. She taught me everything I know. B. In addition to some of my father’s idiosyncrasies, however, he is also one of the most kind-hearted and loving people in my life. One of his signature actions is the ‘cry- smile,’ in which he simultaneously cries and smiles any time he experiences a strong positive emotion (which is almost daily) . 32