Use the following writing prompt to inspire you to write a scene inspired by Columbus Day.
You are an officer on the Nina, sailing with Christopher Columbus. When you land in the New World, you are greeted by a native tribe speaking an unfamiliar language. You realize that you have sailed far from your original course. What do you see and how do you react?
As an author, one of the decisions you will need to make about your work is the point of view. Should you use first person? Third person? Which version of third person? There’s so much to consider!
One word of caution: never use second person when writing fiction. Using second person takes the reader out of the story by inserting the author’s voice into the narrative.
There are a number of reasons to use first person, including creating a specific voice. First person uses the pronoun “I” and is a subjective viewpoint in which the story is told entirely from one character’s point of view, usually the main character. We see other character’s reactions and filter their words through the lens of the main character. First person draws the reader in and allows for an emotional connection with the character. When writing in first person, you will want to ensure that you retain the character’s voice throughout. Do not allow your own voice to come through as the entire story will be told through your character’s point of view. An example is Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Herman Melville’s Moby Dick.
Third person allows for a more objective viewpoint. All characters are referred to with the pronouns “he,” “she,” “it,” “they.” After you decide you want to tell your story in third person, you will need to decide if you prefer third person limited or third person omniscient. Advantages and disadvantages exist with each.
In third person limited, the story is told through the eyes of the main character, and like first person, we only see what that character sees and know what that character knows. Third person limited allows for a little more freedom than first person in that the reader often knows more than the character does. This allows for dramatic irony. A classic example is Ernest Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls.
Third person omniscient allows the reader to know everything that is happening. In third person omniscient, the author will switch from one character’s viewpoint to another’s. This is effective when you want to include the thoughts of each character. An example is Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlett Letter.
Third person omniscient is the most difficult point of view to write and should be avoided if you are a beginning writer. It takes lots of practice to be able to write well from multiple viewpoints.
Which point of view do you prefer? How do you decide which one to use? Share your thoughts with us!
Use the following writing prompt to get you in the mood for Halloween and inspire you to write something great!
You and your significant other visit a corn maze to celebrate the arrival of fall. You enter the maze and get separated from your partner. You become hopelessly lost. As you turn another corner to try to find the exit, you see a shadowy figure in a long, white dress turning the next corner ahead of you. You decide to follow her, thinking she might know the way out. Do you catch her? What happens if/when you do?
Alliteration is a stylistic literary device that refers to the repetitious use of sounds in words that are closely connected. This repetition may occur at the beginning, middle, or end of the word and may involve consonants or vowels. Alliteration is used in both prose and poetry, but it is often most effective in poetry due to the rhythm it creates.
Repetitious consonant sounds are called consonance. Consonance is found in the following lines from “T was later when the summer went” by Emily Dickenson using the letters c, p, s, t, and w: ‘T was later when the summer went/Than when the cricket came,/And yet we knew that gentle clock/Meant nought but going home./‘T was sooner when the cricket went/Than when the winter came,/Yet that pathetic pendulum/Keeps esoteric time.”
Repetitious vowel sounds are called assonance. Assonance is especially used in poetry to add rhythm or alter mood. The following is an example using the letter e from “Bells” by Edgar Allan Poe: “Hear the mellow wedding bells,/Golden bells!/What a world of happiness their harmony foretells.”
Writers use alliteration to call readers’ attention to a particular passage. The use of alliteration creates a musical rhythm, slows down the pace, and sets the mood of that passage. In “The Fall of the House of Usher,” Edgar Allan Poe uses d and l sounds in the opening sentence, “During the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day…” in order to slow down the pace and create a melancholy tone. The repetition of the letter s in a work can conjure up images of snakes, hissing, and deceitfulness.
Alliteration is related to onomatopoeia because both engage the sense of sound. In onomatopoeia, the word imitates the natural sound of something, such as “bam” or “giggle.”
Do you use alliteration in your writing? Do you find alliteration more effective in prose or poetry? Share examples of your favorite passages of alliterative sounds in the comments below.
Fall has arrived! Use the following writing prompt for inspiration.
You and your significant other take a road trip to enjoy the fall foliage. You’ve rented a cabin for the night. Just as you’re about to fall asleep, you hear scratching on the window in the next room. What is it, and what do you do?
