Welcome
Clarksville Christian Writers WorkshopTake Your Writing Deeper:Show Don’t Tell & Deep POV#CCW2016
WIFIHBCStudent A
Hi, I’m Hannah Conway• Kentucky Native• Army Wife, Momma &
Speaker• Author with Olivia
Kimbrell Press• Represented by The
Blythe Daniel Literary Agency
• “The Wounded Warrior’s Wife”
• “Wedding a Warrior”
WWW.HANNAHRCONWAY.COM
Sara R. Turnquist• Clarksville native• Wife, mother, “closet
writer”• Author with Clean
Reads• “The Lady Bornekova”• “The General’s Wife”
saraturnquist.com
#CCW2016
IcebreakerNEVER HAVE I EVER…
Take Writing DeeperA Show vs Tell & Deep POV discussion
Showing Vs. Telling
What is it?Tell: It’s simply telling the reader what is happening.Show: Creating a picture in the reader’s head of what’s going on, what the character is feeling etc without telling them.
Example:The Lorax:
ImageryActions/ReactionsDialogue
ExampleThe Lorax:
ImageryActions/ReactionsDialogue
When to Tell…Telling in the area of doing, action, description is Ok.Ex: She hung a left on South Bend and merged on to the 1-40 ramp.Ex: His eyes were mossy greenEx: His arm snapped—broken for sure, but he kept running.
When to Show…We want to SHOW emotion, and SHOW action that applied to the emotion
Avoid these Telling Words
FeltKnewThought
Components of a Showing Scene
SHARPS StakesH Hero/Heroine IdentificationA Anchoring R RunP Problem
5 W’s + 1 Emotion
[6] ClosingThank them for their time/considerationTell them what you are attaching
Only attach what is requested in their submission guidelines, if anything
Include your contact information here if it’s an electronic query
Break
Deep POV (Point of View)
POV 1st Person: Using “I”2nd Person: You (Rarely used…mostly in non-fiction)3rd Person: Name/he/she
Omniscient: Narrator knows everything…doing, feeling, thinking etc.Limited omniscient: Narrator only shows what character knows/thinks/feels
What is Deep POV?It’s 3rd person limited omniscient, BUT a step further
Mimics the way we/character perceive situations in real life
Narrator ONLY tells/shows things the character in the scene is consciously aware of
Example:In the moment with the characterWe see/feel ONLY what the character feels
Telling: He felt the bed shift beneath him, and wondered what was happening.
Deep POV: The bed shifted beneath him. What was happening?
What does Deep POV do?
Lets the character tell/show/share the story
Removes intentional thoughts/felt/other senses because we don’t intentionally think that way
Makes the narrator invisible
Why use Deep POV?It allows the reader to get close to the characterAdds emotional depth to the story; author disappears It’s an interactive experience for the reader
Do’s of Deep POVKnow your character & give her a strong voiceRefer to your POV character for intentional actions (use her/his name and he/she)Use “pointed” words like…this, that, here, there, sooner, laterInternalize everything! All details & descriptions come from character’s povLimit dialogue tags…. “he said,” “she asked”
Don’tsDon’t use passive voice: POV character is in the subject of sentence or clause whenever possibleDon’t refer to POV character directly when showing judgements, feelings, observations etc…Don’t “filter” your characters experiences….examples of filtered words are…thought, felt, saw, heard, realize, watch
Authors Who Do It Well!Joanne Bischof
Brandilyn Collins
Susan May Warren
Nicole Deese (1st person)
Tosca Lee (1st person)
Jerry B. Jenkins (1st & 3rd)
Questions?
Break
Breakout Sessions!1: Character Building 2: Marketing3: Writing/Peer Critiquing
Resources for You!Conferences
KY, Clarksville, ACFW in Nashville in 2016, google “Christian Writer’s Conferences”
Blogs from other established authors
Jerry Jenkins, The Creative Penn
HOW TO FIND USHANNAH
www.hannahrconway.comTWITTER: @hannahrconwayFACEBOOK: Hannah Conway, Author
SARAsaraturnquist.comTWITTER: @sarat1701FACEBOOK: Sara R. Turnquist, Author
Questions?
Clarksville Christian Writer’s GroupWEDNESDAY NIGHTS6:30 – 7:30 pmHilldale Baptist Church2001 Madison StreetClarksville, TN