Outside Perspective

Welcome to the second focus article in our series covering Points of Views! Last week we talked about First Person, but this week we get to delve deep into my personal favorite point of view, Third! This article excites me because for the longest time I've been tweaking and refining my prose in this style. So sit back friends! Recline in any chair you like with a hot cocoa and a weighted blanket as we explore Third Person Point Of View!

Imagine a funnel. At the base is a single thing, the basics. Third Person is when someone uses pronouns like she/her, he/him, so on and so forth. It's inherently removed from the characters and tells the story as an observer. (John does this, John does that). It doesn't allow the same emotional connection and revelation that first person does, but with more plot centered books, Third person is the best way to go. This isn’t to say that a well-written book in first person can't be action-oriented, or that a well-written book in Third person can't be character oriented. I usually write novels that are character driven and in Third person, but this where the funnel expands into two areas of distance. In Third person, you can have Limited POV and omniscient POV. Limited POV serves to connect the reader to the character in the way that First Person does. The character knows only the immediate surroundings and reveals that to the reader through the lenses of the character’s worldview. Sometimes the prose is supported by italicized thoughts which give the reader an even more detailed view of the character and what they're thinking and feeling. Limited POV also helps to maintain mystery of a plot, as the reader only knows as much as the character. Omniscient POV is found in most classic fiction such as Lord of the Rings, Narnia, Jane Austen's writings etc. These are in their simplest forms, stories. The author is speaking directly to the reader and guiding them by the hand through the lore and the world. J.R.R. Tolkien expertly uses humor in his books to jeer or jest about the subject matter. This is different to Informational Books, or Self Help books because although those speak directly to the reader, they do so by crossing into First Person territory “I know you're thinking … but if I were you, I wouldn't do x, y, and z.” Sometimes Third person Omniscient can bleed into Second person which we'll talk about next week.

Back to our funnel, at the tip we have Third Person Point Of View, then as the funnel size increases it breaks into two categories, Limited POV and Omniscient POV. The next size increase holds my tips for writing each of the two. Omniscient POV requires a consistent distance from the character, else the quick switch between characters thoughts and emotions can be jarring and confusing for the reader. This is called head hopping, like in the Sims, only the difference is that head hopping feels overwhelming as there's so much to keep track of. In Omniscient storytelling it's important to make everything as concise as you can. Since you as the god-like narrator can see everything, you need to decide what's important information and what's not. The reader is relying on you to not fill the story with unnecessary fluff. This is also important to remember for Limited POV but it's harder to add fluff in Limited POV. The fluff will come more in dialogue or conversation that doesn't affect the plot. Not that every conversation should be an Earth-shattering discovery, but if you can remove it and nothing in the book changes, it's better off removed. 

Those are just a few pointers, but there's many more! If you'd like to ask me a question or subject an idea for an article feel free to email Umsteadkaylee064@gmail.com. Until then, friends, never stop dreaming and chasing after your dreams! Stay tuned!

“I waited for the plot”: Deep Dive into First Person Point of View

Think of the last time you sat around a campfire and told scary stories, or perhaps listened to one. Did the speaker personify the character through personal pronouns such as “I” or does the speaker tell of a person? The use of I and Me are first person pronouns and today I’ll be leading you all through what that means and how to use it effectively.

If I take you to a piano and ask you to play it, it would be fairly simple. All you would need to do is tap a key. Piano is, as many musicians describe it, the easiest instrument to learn, but the hardest to master. In the same way first person is popular in modern writing because it’s easier for the writer to connect to the character if they’re speaking as one, but it's also the hardest to master because without good prose, first person can become boring and monotonous. First person can be written with past or present tense, depending on if the writer intends to frequently use narrative exposition. Now, the word exposition might scare you, but narrative exposition is essential to good prose. There are three main components of every story, action, dialogue, and narrative exposition. Narrative exposition are the paragraphs elaborating on a character's backstory or word building. Too much narrative exposition leads to info dumping, but in moderation it balances the action and dialogue. It's the story part of a book that helps convey the theme or deeper meaning. In First person, narrative exposition is heavily influenced by the characters preferences and opinions. The character's worldview is most evident here through the adjectives and color they paint the world in. It’s harder for most people to write third person so vividly. 

First person focuses on connection, but it’s easy to fall in love with the word “was.” Don’t do it. If every sentence was structured with the word was, or is, or anything ending in -ed it’s like coffee. A little bit consistently is okay, but chugging a gallon of caffeine will wreck your intestines. “I walked to the store. I waited for the clerk to take another customer's order and I was infuriated by the waiting.” This snippet is an example of repetitive prose with no varying degrees of interest. Remember, you have three main tools in your toolbox, Action, Dialogue, and Narrative Exposition. In the above example we had three back to back action lines, but if we said something like “I walked to the store but had to wait in a mile long line. ‘Why are there so many people?!’ I curse. On a Sunday morning at 8 AM, it was a crime for the store to be so busy. At least open a few more registers for crowd control.” This has variety from action, to dialogue, then action, then narrative exposition. The variety will keep your reader intrigued and ready to read more. In my previous article Active vs. Passive voice I explain the dangerous quality of was and is. Unless there is no other option, it should not be used. “I was walking” isn’t as strong as “I walked”. The same thing applies to present tense. “I am singing” is weak in comparison to “I sing”

First person is useful for connection and mystery as the reader only knows what the POV character does. My favourite examples of this style are Agatha Christie’s mystery novel, The Murder Of Roger Ackroyd and Rebecca Yarros’ fantasy, Fourth Wing. Thank you for joining me in my Homestead, next article we’ll be continuing the series with a similar look at third person. Until then, stay tuned!

Creating Points of View

    Think of a car crash. The collision occurred at 9:50 at a busy four-way intersection between a white convertible and a blue Honda. There are three people beside you and multiple others scattered around the sidewalk on all sides. You ask your friend “What did you see?” Knowing that the cars collided and one flipped over. Your friend responds “The sedan got some serious air time!” Well we know from what you saw that it was a convertible, not a sedan, and that it didn't fly in the air. Someone across the road thinks that the Honda hit them on purpose, another thinks it's the convertible's fault. How did everyone see the same crash, but have all these differing perspectives and beliefs? 

    Today we'll be discussing Point Of Views and kicking off my 4-week series detailing the different types of POV’s that you can write a book from. There are three main ones, First Person, Second Person and Third Person. We won’t be discussing either of these three today in depth but instead laying the foundation for the series. So kick off your shoes, get comfortable as I lay the foundation of what is a Point of View and how do you use it to your advantage to enhance the content of your novel. 

    Looking back to the days before Christ, when they communicated with stories, the most common way to communicate the story with the audience was to speak or read it from the third person. Third person is an outside perspective and uses pronouns like “he,” “she,” and “they.” For example – “Sarah fed the birds while her sister played with the dog.” Then once the Greeks discovered that acting like the character instead of just speaking about them was more effective and entertaining, theatre switched to First Person, which utilizes pronouns like “I,” “we,” “us” as well as the regular he/she/they pronouns. 
For example – “I asked her to water the plants, but the little diva refused.” Lastly, Second Person is utilized more in everyday conversation and is usually paired with First Person. It’s a direct communication to the audience through the word “You.” Although there are three different types of Point of Views, the main choices utilized in novels are First and Third.

    Now that we have the framework we can discuss how to create a POV. From the introductory example with the car crash, we can see that even though the surrounding pedestrians witnessed the same collision, they all took something different away from it. The answer seems simple, “Because they’re all different people with different personalities and experiences that create a different worldview.” To that I say – Exactly! In the same way we in the real world have different takeaways and childhoods, so do your characters. One character might look at a little girl and call her a saint, another might call her the devil incarnate. This difference creates a voice that’s distinct to the character. These voices might overlap, but your job as the writer is to make sure they don’t repeat. A thesaurus is a phenomenal tool for this. If you have a tennis ball, it’s yellow, but there are ways to say yellow that aligns with the character. “The mustard tennis ball inspired his appetite,” or “the tennis ball was so vibrant it would be lost forever if placed in a sea of sunflowers.” Get creative and really dive into what your character values and what they want. The first character wants food, the second likes flowers. These small details may seem insignificant but they’re essential. You’re not just creating a character. You’re creating a living, breathing life form with hopes, dreams, ambitions, dislikes. Does your character love paranormal films? Put it in the book! Does your character hate apple pie? Put it in the book! Without overcrowding the pages and drowning out the plot, make sure to put as many personalized details as you can into the substance of the book because it’ll make the characters feel real to the readers. 

Thanks for coming in to learn! Until then you can follow any of my socials for updates on my novels and projects. As always, stay tuned, Friends!

Plot twists: Making Your Reader Gasp

You've made it to page two hundred of a three hundred book. The major plot points are resolved, the characters successful. The world is safe and the villain imprisoned. Everything is all set up for a happy ending, but you know by that chunk of pages left in your right hand that it's deceptive, that something is amiss. Anxiously you wait for the reveal, the kickoff to the climax and finally-!

One hero betrays the others.

The revelation jarred you out of reading and you had to set the book down to process. Suddenly so many things make sense and as you look back on the rest of the book, you see things now that didn't make sense before. The lead up. 

Hello everyone and welcome to another Friday article! After a long work week I'm honored to be able to invite you into my Homestead and give you rest. Here's a weighted blanket and some hot tea. Settle in as we discussed how to make any plot twist shock your readers. 

 There are many types of plot twists in books today and not all of them occur before the climax of the book. Plot twists are the most essential tool for keeping your readers on their toes. It adds a level of excitement when your reader expects one thing and gets another, but this trick must be used judiciously. Too many plot twists can make your writing seem chaotic and confusing. Plot twists, like communication, is a circle. An action occurs, the book transmits it to the reader, the reader receives it, then keeps reading. If you move on too quickly, or don't follow through on a plot twist it can confuse your readers. Don't leave your readers behind, they want to love the story! A recent book I'm enjoying, Powerless by Lauren Roberts, does an excellent job of giving the reader expectations and twisting them on their head in the first 50 pages. Spoilers ahead. For those who haven't read it and want to avoid spoilers skip to the all caps below. Kai Azer is portrayed as a stone cold executioner with no feelings of sympathy for his victims. He's depicted as having a strong moral compass and enjoys bringing justice to criminals. One of his introduction scenes is going to take an Ordinary from her family and kill her for not having magic, as is their law. The little girl accepts her fate and Lauren Roberts builds tension until the moment the dagger comes down. And the ropes fall loose from the girl. This plot twist expertly intertwines what we know about Kai with what we are still learning. It tells us that although we know the executioner, there is a character underneath that is still human. Let's dissect what Lauren Roberts did.

Our first impression of Kai was clearly given to us. There is no second guessing and he leads with his blades. Everything Lauren showed us supported this idea. When Kai took the little girl, we expected to see him ruthlessly dispose of her, but he spared her. Why? Characters, like us, are full of contradictions and opposites. This is what creates the internal conflict that drives the story. Kai knows he has a job to do, but he can't hurt a child. [SPOILERS ENDED] This makes the reader think and thinking is the highest compliment a reader can give you. Good writing will stay with you. It'll invade your thoughts when you hear a phrase, it'll come back months later as a memory. This is why we write plot twists, to keep the reader engaged and keep the plot unpredictable. A predictable book is an unfinished book. Your goal as a writer is to create conversation. Make the readers so excited that they buzz and tell everyone they meet “You have to read this book!” Because that will boost sales and increase popularity. The ultimate goal of writers isn't who can sell the most books, but who can touch the most lives. That's why you want to keep the reader engaged and drooling over your writing. And the best way to do that is through plot twists.

Thank you for making it this far! Next week will be another special article as we take a deep dive into the second of the three protagonists of The King's Actors, Ava Charlie Evans, the child actress whose deepest desire is to be loved. I can't wait to see you there and until then, stay tuned!

Trope or Cliche?

 Most Fantasy and YA novels read pretty similar, but why? If the stories are completely different and the magic system is creatively unique, why is there the overwhelming feeling that you've read this book before. The answer is simple; tropes. Welcome to the Homestead, where I serve writing advice and your mama's cooking in digestible articles to read on the fly. Whether you're at home or in a restaurant, welcome to today's article about what is a trope, which ones are popular, how to ensure your novel doesn't use something overly cliche and if it does, how to twist it into something incredibly creative! Let's get into it.

There are hundreds of different tropes in the world, some more common than others but first, let's boil down exactly what is a trope. A trope is a reoccurring theme, character personality, or plot device. Writing a book without any tropes, while not impossible, isn't easy. With such a saturated market most ideas have already been used and labeled as “A trope”. A trope is close to a cliche, except one is still popular, whereas the other has been overused and now is considered cringe. Common popular fantasy tropes include One bed, Enemies to Lovers, The Chosen One, Not like other girls, Ancient Prophecy, Forbidden Magic, Tragic Backstory and so many more. For a complete list, Google is a good resource, so is Reedsy, they have articles with lists of popular tropes. 

When using popular tropes it's important to not use them in a way that's boring or predictable. Reading is supposed to engage your brain and make you think. If you hand the reader all the answers in the first 50 pages, why would they want to finish the other 250? The more creative the better. If you use a trope, there needs to be a twist, something that makes your book stand out. For an example, a twist on the “Chosen One” trope could be that the chosen one was chosen to be the villain. Even though they love their friend, they're fated to schism apart and hate each other. This is where your imagination will be your greatest asset. 

When I start a novel, I list all the tropes I'm planning on using and try to reverse them, or think of how I can make each trope more interesting. Some tropes will be harder than others, for example enemies to lovers. There's not much you can do with that one. They were enemies and then they were lovers. Pretty self explanatory. But you could use a different variation of that trope; Friends to lovers, rivals to lovers, lovers to enemies. An example of a reversal could be the one bed trope. Maybe the bed is beside an open window and it's pouring rain. Now they have to sleep on the floor. One floor trope, Haha!

A harder example would be the “not like other girls” trope because its opposite is the “Exactly like other girls” trope. Since it already has a reversed trope, we need to find a grey area in between the two that's both creative and refreshing. Maybe she's not like other girls because she's a completely different species, then you can add in the fish out of water trope. This is what I did with Chestnut in The King's Actors. The possibilities are endless and as long as you can imagine it, you can write it! 

Thank you all for stopping in! Next week I'll be teaching you about how to write a compelling plot twist. Until then, stay tuned!

Fishing Out Words. Three Words to Remove for Better Prose

 “I just wanted a really big hamburger. I was starting to get hungry. Why was this taking so long? I waited as I scanned the area” Alternatively “She just wanted a really big hamburger. She was starting to get hungry. Why was this taking so long? She thought. She waited as she scanned the area”

If what you're writing sounds like this,you’ve come to the right place, my friends. Welcome to the Homestead, the cozy home for writers looking to improve their craft. If you don’t know me, I’m Kaylee Umstead, author of The King’s Actors, and I have spent the last six years developing and researching my craft. I’m here today to share my advice to new writers that I wish someone would have told me when I first started. Today we’re heading down to the lake to fish out words that are hindering your writing from evolving from good to irresistible! I highly advise you to look up “words that weaken prose” because there are a lot that I won’t have time to cover today, but I wanted to highlight my favourite three.

Now that we’ve baited the hook and tossed it in, let’s talk about our first fish; “Just”. Just is one of those words that is filler. It’s fluff. We can get rid of it. We don’t need it. Instead of writing “I just really wanted a hamburger” which could be mistaken for a character moment, would be stronger if you simply said “I craved a hamburger” It’s one less word, yet makes the sentence not only more concise, but more interesting to read. If a writer wanted to make this a character moment, something I do for my characters (because I personally don’t curse) is attribute a curse word to each of them, tailored to their personality. Rex has an arsenal of alternatives he switches between, but Chestnut just has one that I can add in front of the sentence to make it feel closer to the character. 

Our second fish is “Really”. This is one of the greatest hindrances in descriptive paragraphs. “The leaves were really green” is undeniably much more boring than “The leaves shimmered a vibrant green”. The difference between the two is that I attributed an action and an adjective to the leaves that went beyond a be verb, “were”, and the bland adjective, “really”. This fish is the difference between “Really happy” and "Ecstatic"; “Really wanted” and “craved”.

The third fish is one that often gives writers trouble. It’s an essential element to the story, but if overdone can be detrimental to the prose. Pronouns. He, She, They, I, Us, We– whatever point of view (POV) you are writing in, pronouns are one of the most important components of a sentence, else you’re left with “Steve ran. Glinda talked. Arthur asked” which, after any length of time becomes excruciatingly redundant. A balance is in order to make sure that your writing doesn’t sound like the first sentence of the article. Just as saying “Steve ran. Then Steve sat. Then Steve went to play baseball” is redundant, so can the pronoun be. My general rule of thumb for a well put together paragraph starts with a name, is followed by a pronoun, and ends with a description/action. Sometimes I break from this pattern, but it’s a good formula to practice to stimulate those brain juices. Disclaimer: your writing will sound equally as stiff if you use this formula without varying it. For example, let me create a makeshift excerpt. 

Daniel stilled once a loud thud resounded around the cave. “Please say you just finished a seven course meal.” His whisper reached the length of his sword, then tapered off into silence. Troll breath warmed the air and by instinct Daniel swung his sword, slicing into the leg of the beast.

Here we see the name, “Daniel”, the pronoun “His”, and the description of the breath followed by the action of the swinging sword.

That concludes our fishing session! We can close the lid of the cooler and skin these later for a nice home cooked meal. When seared and left to bake, Just becomes irrelevant, Really becomes a stronger adjective, and the fat of excess pronouns melts right off. Thank you for visiting the Homestead! Next week we’ll discuss another mistake new writers can make that hinders their prose, Active vs. Passive voice! Stay tuned, friends!

How Active Voice Improves Your Prose

 Hello! Good morning, or evening, and welcome to this week's article, How Active Voice Improves Your Prose. If you're new, Hi! I'm Kaylee Umstead, author of the book The King's Actors and after six years of intensive research and study on improving my prose, I'm here to cut out the middle man and make your writing journey easier by sharing what I've learned! Here at the Homestead, I strive to equip new writers with the tools needed to make their novel shine. Today we will discuss the importance of voice, more specifically, active versus passive voice.So without further ado, let's get into it.

You probably remember learning about active and passive voice in English class as a kid. Us pre-covid students sat in desks all tightly fitted into rows and recited the definition “Active voice: The subject performs an action, Passive voice: the subject is acted upon”. If this is familiar, like me, you probably thought it was silly and once you took the test, promptly forgot about it. I'm going to reteach it to you today in a way that's applicable to you and your writing.

Passive voice in modern writing is one of the red flags that a writer is just starting out. Sentences like “The ball was rolled by Alex” or “Alex was rolling the ball” are sentences weighed down by the word “was”. Passive voice doesn't excite the reader's imagination and leaves them feeling bored and uninterested. Your writing should be so gripping that the reader struggles to put it down. Chapter after chapter they flip, just waiting for what happens next! Now most authors believe “I'll hire an editor and they'll fix all that for me.” There are different types of editors, developmental editors which focus on plot, characters, and construction, and copy editors who focus on the grammar and spelling of the materials. Neither of these changes your words. However if you hire a line editor, they focus on sentence clarity and construction, but can be expensive. Now that we've determined the problem, the question is, if passive voice will undermine my prose, what will enhance it?

First we need to remove the sticky words, words that keep together a sentence. You have the important words like nouns and verbs, and then the sticky words that keep them together. These are words such as conjunctions, linking verbs, or participals. If there are too many sticky words, you have a cluttered mess. Instead of saying “Alex was rolling the ball" we can improve it by saying “Alex rolled the ball”. It's incredible how much a small change can impact a sentence, but I promise that the switch to Active voice is worthwhile. Active voice is structured as “subject does something”. It can be used for inanimate objects like leaves or buildings. “The building stretched tall” versus “Stretching tall was the building” (alternatively “The buildings were stretching tall”). By using Active voice instead of Passive voice, we can strengthen our prose into lyrical genius. 

Thank you for stopping in, friends! Next week I'll be explaining what is a trope, which ones are popular, how to ensure your novel doesn't use something overly cliche and if it does, how to twist it into something incredibly creative! See you next week, but until then, stay tuned!