There is more than one "point of view" and "perspective" an author can choose from when writing a novel. The most common tends to be third-person limited, where the reader knows only what one character is thinking, but is still a step removed by the use of the character's name, pronouns, etc., like: "Bobbi's mouth watered as she thought of the chocolate ice cream in her freezer." At any given time, the reader sees only into one character's head—but over the course of the novel, the POV character might change to provide different perspectives.

Another popular choice is a first-person narrative. This perspective slaps the reader smack-dab into the main character's brain, using "I" and "me", as in: "My mouth watered as I thought of the chocolate ice cream in my freezer." First-person, when done well, can draw the reader into the story and add tension, since the reader doesn't know what any of the other characters are thinking. Yes, I know some writers switch between first-person POVs throughout their novels, but I don't really like that. It seems like cheating, somehow.

Anyway, first-person is the POV I'm writing TOPAZ in, and third-person limited is what SENTINEL is written in. I debated switching TOPAZ to third-person limited because it seems to me in the genre romance category that everyone and their dog is writing in first-person. But in the case of TOPAZ it works—and I'd go so far as to say it's necessary. It keeps the reader in the dark, just like Faith. Using multiple, third-person limited POVs would give away some of the secrets of the other characters before they should be revealed.

But damn...it can be tough to write in.

It's extremely limiting. As the author, you can reveal only what your MC sees, feels, thinks. The other characters' true motives are concealed from the MC, and she can only guess what they're planning or thinking. Unless they're wordy and honest, which, let's be frank, doesn't make for a very good book.

It also puts a lot of pressure on your MC to be likable and engaging, since the reader is going to be in her head for the whole book. And...they're always "on", as in, there isn't a scene in the book without her. That's a lot to live up to.

Okay...now that I've intensified the demands on myself, back to work.


TOPAZ status: Posted the second half of Chapter 15 on the WD Forum last night and received some feedback that Faith's emotional reaction in the scene needs to be stronger. So I'll be addressing that today.

SENTINEL status: Still on the back burner, but I'm continuing to think of changes.