Today is the last day to join, so if you want in on it, be sure to read over the rules and PM Shakespearicles!OPWA: Episode Seven · 6:13pm May 15th, 2016
Overpriced Writing Advice
Where you can learn the stuff I paid thousands of dollars to have taught to me, for free.
...Or In This Case, I Share The Free Stuff I Find
(AKA "Blog share: Alternative Plot Structure and Deep POV")
No page break this time because this is such a short post. I decided that every once in a while, I'll need to do a post that comes right out and admits my ignorance. Today, I'm linking two blogs I came across in the last two weeks that really got me excited about writing. The authors did a good job discussing these things. I have no business trying to regurgitate their perfectly well-crafted lessons I just got through learning myself. Pretending to be some writing genius will only screw you guys over. I don't want to do that.
So! The two blogs I'm linking below, and some short thoughts on why I'm sharing each.
How to Write in Deep POV
from the blog She's Novel by Kristen Kieffer
Third person limited is a very popular POV, and it's one that most creative writing instructors will advise their students to try if they are complete beginners. It's easy for the reader to read, and easy for the writer to write. But Deep POV is a new take on third person limited that strives to get closer to its central character. As Kieffer puts it on her blog: "[...] the author must remove nearly all traces of authorship from the page." It's a form of writing that strives to connect the reader to the main character as closely as possible. It should feel like you are reading that character's thoughts and feelings without actually hearing them in the first person. This small degree of separation might seem detrimental, but it can actually make it easier for a reader to connect with the protagonist because they aren't having to put in the extra effort to imagine the character's tone and personality all the time. The identification of who the character is becomes more intuitive.
I've never tried Deep POV. To be honest, I've never even read a story with Deep POV. I've only JUST learned about it, pretty much. I can't advise you how to successfully write it. BUT, Kieffer does a great job of offering clear tips on how to pull it off. It's a trend in the writing world that has been growing, and if you want to try and spice up your latest story, this might be something you'll want to try!
10 Screenwriting Tips You Can Learn from The Breakfast Club
from the blog ScriptShadow by Carson Reeves
While the above post was interesting, it was this post that made me want to do this update for you guys. I wasn't even planning anything today, but AMC has been doing an 80s marathon in which they showed The Breakfast Club, and if you haven't seen this movie just... You are missing out. It's true that it's not for everyone, but there are very few people I have met who actually hate it as a film. It doesn't matter if you have no aspirations to write movies. Reading screenplays and studying films can help any writer strengthen their writing skills. Analyzing films is a very reliable way of developing your visual storytelling (Show, Don't Tell!) and plot structuring skills.
Anyway, as I was marveling at how awesome The Breakfast Club was, I realized: "Wait. Holy crap, this takes all that stuff I was talking about with plot structure and throws it out the window!" Mind you, I've always known there are alternative storytelling methods out there that can actually work. It's a riskier road to take, but if done right, it can be very successful. That's what John Hughes managed with The Breakfast Club. There is no central protagonist. No clear and singular story goal. There aren't even identifiable acts. Just a bunch of high school kids stuck at school for detention on a Saturday, and the things that arise from their interactions.
Reeves does a good job of breaking down why this story works. He manages to point out that while it appears to lack structure entirely, it still does have SOME structure. It's just playing by different rules. This approach really resonated with audiences back in 1985, and they still do to this day. I think for those writing casual slice of life stories that lack hard structure, this is something that might really work for them. Without realizing it, my SoL comedy fic, Nuts and Bolts, was employing a lot of the things that made The Breakfast Club work as a film. Not that N&B is somehow some great classic, but what I mean is, the things John Hughes focused on for his teen drama are the same kinds of things I focused on for my background pony fic. Character. Dialogue. Soft structure. It works!
And that's all I've got! Let me know what you guys think. 
I've always written my stories in Third Person Omniscient or Third Person Limited, but recently I tried First Person. I find it a lot easier to describe his (the protagonist's) thoughts, opinions, feelings and the like than writing in Deep Third Person. I only knew a limited amount about Deep POV, but I really never gave it any thought until now, after you bring it up for a OPWA.
3946066
Cool! I'm glad this post was of interest to you.
I like first person! It's fun, but I don't think every character makes a great narrator, if that makes sense. A novel I self published switched between two characters who had different POV styles: first person, and third person limited. I got positive feedback on that approach, but it was only because the viewpoints suited the characters of the story. Most of the time, I stick to third person limited just to be safe. Deep POV is something I think I'd like to try later, though.
3946108
I'd give it a shot myself, but I'm going to need some significant improvement on my writing and reading comprehension skills before I start something that deep.
That's why I'll just keep reading these posts.