Sanderson 2012.3 - Point of View

Brandon Sanderson’s 2012 Semester at BYU: Creative Writing, Lecture 3

This video is a mirror of the materials posted by user writeaboutdragons. I’ve linked together the parts of the lecture into a single video, and provided some notes with timestamps below. Enjoy!

*Notes*

0:12 / Introduction to prose
Professional prose is about viewpoint, description, and learning curve

1:10 / Basics
Basic viewpoints are first person, third limited, third omniscient
Basic tenses are present and past (they are very interchangeable)
- Default in market fiction is probably past
Omniscient is falling out of favor; don’t use it unless you have a good reason to

14:26 / First person viewpoint
First person is very common in children’s / MG / YA
- Easier to get to know the character
- Gives you the ability to use an “unworthy narrator”
- Let’s you cheat on info-dumps
It can be easier to start out writing, particularly if you have a good voice
Brandon references this time-travel short by Desmond Warzel: http://www.tor.com/2011/08/31/wikihis...
Hard to do more than 1 or 2 POV characters without getting very confusing

32:31 / Third person viewpoint
You can do a large cast better
You can paint scenes a little better because it is not centered on character
Best viewpoint to hide things from the reader
Gives you the ability to use a “throw-away viewpoint” from a 1-off random character
Sometimes it is easier to relate to a character in 3rd because 1st feels like someone (not you) is talking to you

40:02 / Descriptions given in voice
Editors want the character to jump off the page through the descriptions
Every line of description should be filtered through the character’s eyes

41:30 / Basics of description
It is easy to overdo descriptions, try not to
Use more than just sight

45:13 / Learning curve
Every story takes some effort by the reader to get into / learn the book
New names and places create a barrier to entry in a book
Shorter and more concrete descriptions reduce learning curve
Dole out information only when it becomes strictly relevant

53:27 / Pyramid of abstraction
Concrete language is the base of the pyramid and should be most common
Abstract language is the top of the pyramid and should be less frequent
To be concrete, you want to choose a precise word that also serves character, or setting, or tone
- Example: instead of “wooden bed” ; “oak bed” ; “log bed”
Make your sentences accomplish multiple things
Adding senses other than sight makes things more concrete