S1E9. Point of View (Or, Who In The World Ever Is Reliable?)

The Fanfic Writers' Craft

In this episode, Lani (@copper_dust) and Jo (@pebblysand)discuss point of view, a topic which was requested by one of our listeners, @turanga4. They explore the different types of point of view that exist in narration, the choices writers make in deciding to tell stories from a particular perspective, and debate the dreaded concept of head-hopping. They also touch on the sensitive subject of second-person narration, and question whether reliable narrators really even exist.
This week, we mention:

• Then we came to the end by Joshua Ferris - a novel told in first-person plural
• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, A Separate Peace by John Knowles, Merry Men by @copper_dust - stories where the point-of-view character is not the focal character
• Lolita by Vladimir Nobokov - example of a story told from the point of view of a very unreliable and unlikable narrator (please, check trigger-warnings/the topic of this book prior to reading it)
• the fault in faulty manufacturing & ce ne sont que des cailloux by @pebblysand - examples of an unreliable narrators, and of works where language and narration is affected by the identity and vocabulary of the narrator
• Life of Pi by Yann Martel & Room by Emma Donoghue - examples of how a different point of view can change a story

Your recommendations for this week are:

• Troy by Stephen Fry
• The Alexander Trilogy by Mary Renault
• He Said/She Said by Erin Kelly (tw: sexual assault) or anything else by Erin Kelly
• Ghostwritten by David Mitchell

You can find us online at:

• The Fanfic Writer’s Craft: tumblr ; spotify
• Lani (@copper-dust): tumblr ; AO3
• Jo (@pebblysand): tumblr ; AO3