Melissa Maygrove

Sorry to disappoint you if you were expecting a movie review. This post is about point of view & filter words. There are several things I'm a stickler about when it comes to editing. Eliminating filter words (or at least seriously scrutinizing each and every one) is at the top of that list. I didn't used to feel this way. In fact, CPs used to mark my mss up worse than a toddler with a crayon, chiding me — repeatedly — to get them out. Now that I've been writing and reading fiction longer, I've moved over to their camp.

"I don't write time travel," you say.  Really? You don't? If you're not careful with your verb tenses, you just might be. Okay. I'm messing with you.  But verb tenses are important. No matter whether we write in first person or third, present tense or past, we need to be mindful of mistakes in verb tense. It not only harms the clarity of the story, but it can be a jolt to our readers as well. Since most of the errors I see occur in first person, present tense novels, and I don't write in first person or present tense, I'm going to do my best with this requested topic. Bear with me.

Today I'm excited to introduce Christian fiction author Noelle Marchand who's joining us with a guest post on POV. Noelle is a member of both the RWA and ACFW . She won national and state awards for journalism as a student and sold three books before graduating from college (this month). Noelle is represented by Karen Ball of the Steve Laube Agency. Here's Noelle... Point of View: From Ordinary to Extraordinary The Basics It doesn’t take long to figure out the basic principles of POV. A simple internet search will yield a treasure trove of information. If you’re going to write for the Christian romance market like I do, it becomes even easier because most publishers prefer third-person limited. That’s a fancy way of saying they expect you to write in past tense, use internal dialogue, and construct the book’s universe only from what the hero and heroine (and perhaps a villain) are aware of through their memory, senses, or learned information throughout the story. If yo...