Every writer seems to develop some individual quirks and talents that are almost so strong as to almost be a super power in their craft.  New writers, like me occasionally take some time developing their superpowers in the best way, at least that is my perspective.  (And there are many perspectives on PERSPECTIVE)

My use of “perspective”, is apparently close to but not spot on with a PhD in English level use of the term.  The word doctors seem to interchange perspective in literary circles with the term Point of View or POV. 

How in the world can you have an emerging super power when you don’t instantly remember that your perspective isn’t necessarily the same as your point of view and you didn’t instantly also remember the acronym for the phrase?  

It could appear that POV isn’t necessarily in my writer’s craft arsenal.  Well then maybe some of my attributes aren’t yet super powers as much as secret powers?  So secret that even the holder of the power isn’t sure it is more than a sort of natural tendency.

I feel it is my responsibility to say that what I think of as my favorite super power is occasionally one of those good news, bad news things.  You see, the writer in my head has the amazing secret power to see into character’s heads (oh wait, every writer who wants to can do that, not so much a super power as a “gotta do that” thing).  On the other hand, I feel like I have an ability to “Head Hop” better anyone I know.  Not a super power, more a super mistake you say?  Can it be true that the “beach read author wannabe” is in reality a “Lit Loser”? 

In my demented view, “Head Hopping” is a natural super power.  Head Hopping is the act of switching the perspective or point of view during the writing of a single unified section of writing.  It goes something like this:

READ AT YOUR OWN RISK, because this is supposed to be a BAD example (GET ADVIL NOW)

Bob was seething so hard he almost forgot to allow arrange his hatred into a discernable form that he could use to damage Sam in a physical and emotional thrashing.  Bob’s eyes did a rotten job hiding his anger as they blazed into the back of Sam’s head balding pate, a place that Bob was currently thinking would be a lovely spot for dispensing a hollow point bullet.   Sam’s head seemed to notice enough to cause Sam to turn around and lock onto Bob’s active loathing with Sam’s own radar of latent hostility.  Sam found himself standing, facing the moment and his thoughts were on his other latent issues.  More than anything, Bob realized he was mad as a rattle snake woken by hyperactive two year old.  “Damn, Bob was smoking with a surly gaze” though Sam.  Bob notice the latency of the visual exchange and realized he had nothing remotely holding him back except he couldn’t figure out how to express his anger in a physical manner without turning damned Sam on.  Sam knew in that moment, that he was happy to take any kind of beating he might get. 

Non-editor’s note here, THERE ARE SO MANY THINGS WRONG WITH THE ABOVE PARAGRAPH THAT EVEN I CAN’T LIST ‘EM.

I am trying to demonstrate flagrant, unconscionable and pretty prolific head hopping.  It is hard to write that way now that I have been working on keeping control of head hopping, but thank God, the power to be a massive head hopper still exists, or this blog entry wouldn’t work.  So for those who couldn’t stand to read it, (I don’t blame you) head hopping can leave a readers feeling as if they are being treated like ping pong balls in a giant Dyson vacuum. 

All in all, head hopping sucks.  The transition from inside one character’s head to another and perhaps another and yet another kills the flow of the writing and perhaps even confuses the writer into “trading thoughts”; the act of forgetting which action was done by which character and attributing a specific thought or trait from the intended character to one of the others in the paragraph and really messing with the story.  It also messes with the reader and what small bits of sanity a writer clings to.  Much like the prepositional phrase at the end of sentence, yet another literary faux pas.  (True, but how many of you could have spelled faux pas without your spell checker?)

You might ask, why would I even write work that shows anything but the complete mastery of the POV problem?  Because, for my style of writing, the POV switch is fun and effective when used in great moderation.  Ironically, head hopping has strengths that are the flip side of its negatives.  I like being a bit godlike in my writing.  I enjoy seeing into character’s heads and bringing the real (fictional) insanity out.  Seeing in the character’s mind and motivation is something screenplays don’t allow that novels do, so I will almost always do it. 

Effectively being in the head of multiple characters requires some very useful and difficult writing abilities/talents/secret powers.  First a writer has to be able to write (convincingly) in the multiple perspectives of very different characters and do it in a tone that is true to each character and clearly separate each mind from all other characters and still be readable.  That ain’t no easy task.  So clearly I am nuts; a bit on the edge and that begs the question of why let one of my several personalities pat myself on my own spine, (or the spine of my next novel)? 

To be honest, being crazy helps.  (Ah, the benefits of being a semi-multi personality lunatic.  It makes head hopping easier.)  Are any of those writer voices hollering in your head asking you what head hopping is?  Do those voices ask “Why does is matter (like the … Comma, Semicolon and Colon controversy that heats up so many English as a first language conferences)?”  Well, to some folks it does and some it doesn’t.  I found an interesting take on that question at Ray Rhamey’s 2004 blog, “Flogging the Quill” 

An executive editor’s take on “head-hopping” point-of-view jumps:

“I’ve ranted about "head-hopping"-sudden shifts in point of view while in the close third person-that I find in published works. But then I wondered-if they’re published, am I taking the wrong stance? So I surveyed a number of New York publishing pros-mostly editors, but agents and reviewers, too–and asked for their views. Here’s what the executive editor of a New York publishing house has to say…”

MY PERSONAL OPINION (as one of my personalities sneaks behind me for cover)? Do I agree with everything he says or reports there? 

Sort of.  There are so many style manuals for writing that give a sound thrashing to POV issues like head hopping.  The folks who write those are clearly more knowledgeable than myself.  But I don’t worry too much about the content of those books because my agreement is not really relevant.  It’s my story, my book, my art and for me, I see head hopping, in moderation, to be a style that I feel enhances character interaction in stories and my novels.

I will continue to do some head hopping intentionally and carefully, and many readers or commentators will hang their heads in disapproval.  To them I say, “If you are going to hang your head that hard, you might want to try a few yoga stretches to avoid injury, (unless you are one of those lock step judgmental, “Critical Bastards”; they can hang as hard as they want, don’t stretch, it will do me good).

Head hopping in an effective manner is a difficult thing to do.  A writer needs to REALLY know the characters inside and out so that the fictional folks end up really being their own voice in your head, (this works fabulously if you can head hop well).  For head hopping to work, generally the behaviors of your characters have to be pretty active and conflict oriented.

As a function of my creativity, I rather like seeing POV shifts as quickly as they can be reasonably be done.  I like having the snappy turns that happen now and then, I like the back and forth, I like knowing that I can do it even if I have some practice to get better at hopping.  I will learn to do that hop more smoothly and before I know it, even the Easter bunny won’t hear the hop coming and I think my art will be better.

In my first book “Dead Play”, I spend time in SO many people’s heads I most certainly practiced my hop a bit too often; perhaps not, because I haven’t heard complaints about it.  In my novel, “Intervention” I will only hop into the heads of three characters outside of the narrator.  It will be interesting to see how well I do it and how different the headsets of each of the three main characters are.  I am looking forward to using that tool more judiciously, but never giving it up.  I think everyone has thought, at one time or another, that they wished they could see in someone’s head.  As an author, I get to and I am going to use it. 

My advice, hop as little as you can and give very clear breaks when you hop so you avoid personal liability law suits, or very angry and red ink based missives from your editor or readers.

Perhaps, try to limit the number of minds you can see, I will be working on that and would be happy to hear from you if I hop too much.  I might not change it.  After all, it is my book, my rules, at least until I have my contract and my check; then I might change it.

Like any creative tools in writing, moderation is key; moderation almost to nil might work.  If you can write from just one head, that is ok, but frankly I am of at least two minds about it.  The upside is when my two or more minds start chattering, well, my head hop doesn’t violate anyone’s rules, it is really just me being CRAZY about writing.

Write On

PlotDog