I highly recommend you purchase a copy of Rivet Your Readers with Deep Point of
View by Jill Elizabeth Nelson! It is a small book but a great help in mastering DPOV.
DPOV draws the reader into the arms and head of your character.
Mastering DPOV often eliminates most problems with show/don’t tell and italics.
Here are some
quick pointers:
♦ Never say he/she thought, felt, knew,
wondered, realized, decided.
Simply write what it is.
Wrong: He understood how much this would
mean to her. He knew she’d be worried.
Right: This would mean a lot to her. She would be worried.
♦ Don’t name the emotion, describe it instead.
Shallow: Jealousy flashed through me.
Deep: Heat boiled my insides. If that wimp
could win a trophy, where was mine?
♦ Describe
physical effects on the body:
Anger:
His hands formed into fists.
Nervous:
Sweat popped out on his palms. His throat closed.
♦ Ditch
Prepositional telling phrases (of, with, in)
Shallow: Desiree’s skin prickled with
pleasant excitement.
Deep: Shadows deepened. The place reeked
of ancient secrets. Desi's skin prickled.
♦ Don’t
use he/she saw, tasted, smelled, heard. Simply state what he saw, tasted, smelled or heard.
Shallow: He could see the tip of the dog’s
nose peeking out of the closet.
Deep: The tip of the dog’s nose peeked out
of the closet.
Shallow: He tasted bile.
Deep: Bile rose in his throat.
Do you have some tips to help master DPOV? Please leave a comment and share on your social media if this blog helped you.
Elva Cobb Martin
