Creative Writing Prompt: Point of View

In this lesson, we considered point of view. One of the tactics I have been using lately in teaching creative writing is to always attach it to a concept of writing. I think I was largely just doing fun or quirky ideas before, but now I'm actually thinking about one thing they're getting out of the lesson (For example: character, plot, setting, dialogue, etc). It's pretty basic, but I think I get more bang for my buck this way: I give them something fun to do, but I also give them a concept from writing which will serve them well.

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Point of View

You may not realize it, but every story is written from someone’s point of view: that means that someone is telling the story based on how they see things happening. A narrator is the person telling the story.

You can have one of three different types of narrator:

The first-person perspective: the person telling the story is the person who the story is about. This person describes things that happen to them using the words “I” or “me” or “my.” This type of story has a lot of perspective on a person’s feelings, because they often share how they feel in the narrative. This narrator is a character in the story.

 The third-person perspective: the person telling this story describes what is happening to other people who are in the story using the words “he” or “she” or “they.” This type of story will usually have one person as the main focus, but the narrator will not know what their feelings are, so the reader will have to wait to see how the characters are described, or to read what they say in order to find out how they feel. This narrator is not often a character in the story.

 The omniscient narrator: the person telling this story also uses the words “he” or “she” or “they” to describe the characters and their actions. The word “omniscient” means “all-knowing.” The difference between this narrator and the third-person narrator is that the omniscient narrator knows what everyone is thinking: this narrator will often describes their thoughts and feelings so that the reader knows everything that is going on in the minds of the characters. This narrator is almost never a character in the story

(I can think of one really great exception: The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak has an omniscient narrator, who is the character of Death, personified. An omniscient narrator who appears in the text is probably going to be someone with supernatural or god-like powers in most cases).

When you write a story, it is important that you know from whose perspective you write: if the narrator is a character in the story, the story is told from their point of view.

It is also important that the point of view remains consistent: you don’t want to change from a first-person narrator to an omniscient narrator part way through.

Also, the point of view should make logical sense:

-          A story told by a princess will look different from a story told by a vampire: they will think differently about their actions and how they justify their thoughts and feelings.

-          You should ask yourself who and what your narrator is so that you can feel the way they feel: a story with an omniscient narrator should be pretty neutral. You don’t want your omniscient narrator to be too present. That is, you should not be able to notice there is a narrator when that narrator is omniscient. By contrast, a story told from the perspective of a shark should feel like a shark wrote it. Their thoughts should sound like shark-thoughts, and their actions should look like shark-actions.

Today you will practice writing from different points of view.

Pick one of the following Point of View Prompts:

Write a story about a dragon that saves a princess from a knight (You may use any of the following points of view: the perspective of the dragon, the princess, the knight, or an unnamed narrator). 

Imagine you live in a world where sharks swim in the forest, and you become lost in a forest overnight. Tell the story of what happens.

Tell a story from the perspective of a painting in a museum.

 A teenager has just discovered undeniable, 100% accurate proof that everyone around them is an alien. Describe what they do tomorrow.

 Imagine you are a fairy-tale villain (of your choice). Write about how someone wronged you in the past, causing you to become villainous.

 Tell the story of a lost button becoming reunited with its coat.

 You have picked up a rock which gives you the ability to know everyone’s thoughts and feelings. Tell the story of the first day you take your mind-reading rock to school.

Consider the following questions for the point of view that you choose:

Who is the narrator?

How do they think?

What are their goals and motivations? (What do they want?)

Why do they want what they want?

How are they going to get what they want?

Now, write that story! 

*** I ended up needing a bit of further explanation for a few of my young listeners. So I told the story of Little Red Riding Hood from three different perspectives. Not for the first time was I reminded that examples are often the trick!