The Power of Point of View: Make Your Story Come to Life

Point of view was the one element that mystified me most when I first began writing fiction. I received so much contradictory advice from instructors and writing workshops on the subject that I all but gave up trying to understand its arcane and ever-shifting rules. If only I had been armed with this marvelous guide. Without a doubt, the 265 pages of this impressive work offer the most comprehensive and understandable treatment of POV that I've had the pleasure to encounter. In addition to her in-depth analysis of the various persons and their permutations, Rasley provides exercises and suggested readings to demonstrate what she teaches. My favorite aphorism from the book: "You don't choose POV; it chooses you. Beginners and advanced writers alike should choose this book for their writing library.

I consider myself a fairly advanced writer. I've studied POV in writing courses and on my own, and it's a topic most writers tend to struggle with... and most tend to fall into the "safe" first person and third person, because they are easy, and easily understood. What Ms. Rasley has done is put together an exhaustive reference of OTHER choices, complete with examples and reasons why a writer might choose them to tell a particular story. To me, that is what makes this book worth every penny of the purchase price: demystifying the choice of WHO should tell a particular story. If I had to whittle my large collection of writing books down to just a handful, this is absolutely one I would keep!

Because I was looking for a book on point of view to recommend to a student of mine, I discovered Alicia Rasley had written one. I immediately ordered a copy and wasn't disappointed. This book covers everything any writer needs to know about point of view and covers it in language you can understand, no matter your skill level. A very good buy and HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

As anyone who has read her other books or taken one of her seminars knows, the hallmark of Alicia Rasley's teaching is that she gives you the tools you need to fix the technical problems that keep your writing from selling. A lot of writing books play to the fantasy that you're going to write something wonderful, but beyond some platitudes they don't give you much help in doing that. Not Alicia's. She gives you example after example, chosen from many different genres, that show you what works, and more importantly, what doesn't work, and why. She also gives you exercises that get you examining your current work in progress so you can improve what you've already written to make it stronger. Point of View is one of those subtle things that most beginning authors don't pay much attention to. But Alicia shows you that whether you are aware of it or not, you are constantly making POV choices as you write, and many of those choices weaken your narrative drive. She shows you how to make the right choices--ones that make your tepid prose more gripping and get the reader more involved with your characters. She also shows you how subtle changes in the way you use POV can heighten suspense or charge up the emotion in your stories. This is a book for someone who is serious about becoming a really good novelist. If the book isn't a top bestseller, it's probably because there aren't all that many people around who fit that category. Until you've actually written a manuscript or two and run into the problems this book solves you won't realize just how brilliant Alicia's teaching is!

Initially, I was hesitant in purchasing this book as I saw so many copies becoming available as "used". When that happens, either the book is lacking in content or its organizational style makes it difficult to read. Well, I am glad I purchased it because the book offers a very detailed look on Point of View as well addressing advanced particulars in mixing POVs, voice, and time. Almost every chapter is followed with a recommended reading list for further study as well as helpful exercises to emphasize craft. This is definitely a book that needs to be read more than once. Not because of level of difficulty but because of the amount of helpful information. Perhaps that is why there are so many copies available. Her book is not organized with boxes of summaries, lists, a lot of white space or diagrams. No space is wasted and perhaps for some this style might be intimidating as it seems (visually) like you are about to read a novel. Rasley is definitely an author to watch out for in terms of "Writing How-To's. I would love to see her write a book on Dialogue as there are so many duds out there. In The Power of Point of View, Rasley notes her personal preferences when writing herself, but does not allow her explanations of POV to be biased by that. She talks about Genre conventions, narrative distance, to individualizing POV. She uses a conversational tone in her explanations and makes learning POV easy to understand. My only minor pet peeve is that she did not include a bibliography at the end of the book to wrap up all the books that she has mentioned and recommended. Here is the Table of Contents: 1. What is POV 2. POV Choices and What They Communicate About Your Story 3. POV and the Elements of Story 4. First Person 5. Second Person 6. Impersonal Third Person 7. Personal Third Person - Single 8. Personal Third Person - Multiple 9. Individualizing POV 10. Levels of POV 11. Creating Alternative and Unusual Voices All in all, if you are ready for a full immersion of a Master Class in POV, then definitely get this one! If you are looking for just a basic primer to start off with on POV with some of the more advanced nuances explained in briefest terms, than check out Donna Levin's "Get That Novel Written". It has 2 excellent chapters on POV and Time.