The subject of Deep POV deserves a bit more. By using it, you’re not just deleting all those self-conscious references, “he thought, realized, felt, saw, etc.” You’re bringing the camera closer for the reader.
Writing Tip for Today: Take a look at you WIP (work in progress). Are there spots where your camera zooms out? Sometimes writers use a wide lens to establish the setting and then go to the character and thoughts, feelings, problems and motives. But beware: Few writers are skillful enough to sustain interest with a wide-out omniscient POV at the opening. The writing may be gorgeous, but in our culture, we’re programmed to look for the human interest. Consider these things:
In news articles, journalists used to write “from the general to the specific,” effectively opening with that wide lens, then narrowing to a person. These days, pick up any newspaper, and you’re more likely to see an article lead that goes from a person and then to a more general view.
A writer has only a few seconds to hook the reader. If you write a lovely long omniscient description of a place, the reader may be too impatient to stick around until there’s someone on stage.
Many times, readers want to BE the character. By utilizing the character’s deepest emotions in that character’s POV, a writer is more likely to engage the reader.
