HOW TO USE PERSPECTIVE WHEN WRITING YOUR STORY
Remember the game we used to play as children? “I spy with my little eye”. That’s how you use perspective when you write your memoir! You write what you observe, experience, feel, and anticipate.
MARLANTES IS A PRIME EXAMPLE OF BRUTAL, HONEST, FIRST-PERSON WRITING
Karl Marlantes is a Vietnam War veteran. His book is dedicated to his brothers-in-arms, but, this article, is a brilliant example of “how to”: how to write brutally honest; how to examine things from your own perspective; how to make what has happened to you, matter to readers.
“I wrote this book primarily to come to terms with my own experience of combat. So far – reading, writing, thinking – that has taken more than forty years. I could have kept my thoughts in a personal journal, but I took on trying to get these reflections published so that I could share them with other combat veterans. Perhaps, in some way, I can help them with their own quest for meaning and their efforts to integrate their combat experiences into their current lives.” Thus starts Marlantes’ bestselling book, What it is like to go to war.
WHAT IS PERSPECTIVE?
Perspective is the method or point of view a writer uses to tell his story. When you write from a first-person perspective, like our example in Marlantes, it is immediately personal. You will use “I”, “me”, “my” and “we”. It draws your reader right into your world and gives legitimacy to the fact that you are narrating a true and compelling story.
Perspective is extremely important because it will establish your own, unique writing “voice”.
POINTS TO WATCH OUT FOR WHEN YOU WRITE IN THE FIRST-PERSON VOICE
First-person narrative can provide intimacy and a deeper look into a character’s (your) mind. At the same time, you can only narrate what you/the narrator realistically perceive, understand, see, or experience, according to a Masterclass article on perspective.
For example, if you write about your entering a room full of people… you cannot see what is happening behind you. You can only tell what your eyes are seeing. You might sense the reaction of someone behind you, you can speculate about the surprise you caused by entering, or you might hear a glass shattering or a gasp, but both you and the reader are dependent on seeing through your eyes.
You are a participant, not an observer. The narrator lives the events, just like a real human will. So, you cannot see yourself moving through the space and describe that! You might glance in a mirror and give a fleeting description of yourself, but mainly your narrative will be about doing, seeing, and experiencing.
HOW DOES MARLANTES DO IT?
When Marlantes returns to America as a Vietnam War veteran, he experiences disgust and hatred. Here is a snippet of how he describes it:
“I passed a nice-looking woman who looked up at me and quickly looked away. I sighed inwardly as I continued down the narrow aisle… About five minutes later I saw her get up and come down the aisle. She was looking right at me, lips pressed tight. She stood in front of me and spit on me. I was trembling with shame and embarrassment.”
DON’T DESPAIR! IT TAKES PRACTICE
Sometimes when we write, we become so involved in the unfolding of the story, that we lose track of the perspective of the main character/narrator.
But you, the storyteller, have a lot to work with. Your eyes, for example. Eyes look both inward and outward. You reflect upon what you see. You perceive your environment and fellow humans through your eyes. Think of eye contact and what happens in that split second. Eyes have brows, lashes, colour, convey emotion, and “talk”. You want to incorporate all those elements in your writing.
As a writing coach, I would love to assist you in uncovering your unique “I” / eye way of telling your story!