Deep POV: Getting in Character and Staying There by Kelly Irvin

Readers have told me that by the time they finish reading my novels, they feel as if they are part of the heroine’s family. Readers have written asking if the baby was a boy or a girl—as if he was born after the story ended. How does a writer do that? Take readers so deeply into a character’s life and keep them there so that they feel they’ve lived the story?

It’s craft, storytelling, setting, but it’s also something called deep POV (point of view). It’s not an easy technique to master, for beginning fiction writers or writers who’ve published numerous novels. I still have to work at it with every manuscript. How do I do it? Here are some tips for getting in character and staying there:

1. First eliminate filter words that separate a character from the reader. Put the reader in the character’s POV and leave her there. That means seek out and destroy these words: she said, she wandered, she decided, saw, heard, smelled, hoped, realized, watched, touched, felt, knew, remembered, decided, noticed. All telling words that keep the author on the page.
2. People don’t think: I thought, I realized, I saw. If you’re in deep POV, your character shouldn’t either. Let your character just do it without the signpost words. Show, don’t tell. What does the experience remind the character of? What memories are triggered by the scene’s event?
3. Eliminate emotion words such as anger, fear, anxiety. Again, show, don’t tell. “Fear ran through her,” becomes: “Jennie’s mouth went dry. Her stomach heaved. The hot dog didn’t want to stay down. Purple spots dotted her vision.”
4. Be careful with outward physical descriptions of the POV character. She can’t see her own face. “The man leered. Jennie’s face went red,” becomes “The man leered. Heat like a third-degree burn seared Jennie’s face.”
5. Word choice always reflects the character’s education and experiences. Their station in life. Dialogue should fit the character. How they talk. Internal monologue or how they think should also be expressed in words they would use. You have to know your character well and become her while writing.
6. Don’t use too many words or take time to describe something out of the ordinary. Only describe things your character would notice in the exact way the character will notice. In other words, write third person as if you’re writing first person. You can only see, hear, smell, taste, and feel what the POV character does. React with the emotions the character would have. Not your own. The emotional reaction can only come from the character. That is true of everything in the scene. Stay in character when talking about the other characters, setting, and object descriptions.

Remember these are tips, not rules. Write in your voice. And make your own decisions about when telling will move the story along and showing bogs it down. Follow your own instincts. Remember, it’s your story.

What has been the hardest aspect for you to grasp when it comes to deep POV?

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Two-time ACFW Carol Award finalist Kelly Irvin is the author of the critically acclaimed Amish of Bee County, Bliss Creek Amish, and New Hope Amish series. Her newest release is Beneath the Summer Sun, the second novel in the four-book series Every Amish Season from Zondervan Publishing. Her work has also appeared in four Amish anthologies, An Amish Market, An Amish Summer, An Amish Christmas Love, and An Amish Christmas. Kelly is a retired newspaper reporter and public relations professional who lives with her husband in Texas. They have two children, two grandchildren, and two ornery cats.

My Journey to Publication by Kelly Irvin

You may believe that you’re doing all the right things, but feel discouraged because you still haven’t received that elusive call from an agent or editor offering you a contract. On this Fortifying Friday, author Kelly Irvin shares her journey to publication. It’s a wonderful reminder that we need to trust God’s timing—he doesn’t forget us. Be encouraged by Kelly’s personal story. ~ Dawn

My Journey to Publication

by Kelly Irvin

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him.

Psalm 37:7 (NIV)

I’ve been a writer my entire life: junior high yearbook editor, senior high newspaper and yearbook editor, a University of Kansas journalism school graduate and then a print journalist for ten years. All along the way I knew I wanted to be a fiction writer, but I kept putting it off in order to pay the bills and start a family and fulfill all those other obligations.

I didn’t become serious about my novel writing aspirations until I turned forty-five and realized time continued to slip away. I worked full time in public relations and had two kiddoes in middle school. Still, I knew I couldn’t wait anymore. For the next seven years, I struggled to eek out time each day to write. I attended workshops, joined ACFW, honed my craft, entered contests, and joined a critique group. I wrote four novels. After three years, I signed with literary agent Mary Sue Seymour. Years went by. Still no contract.

Along the way, I prayed and I prayed. I kept telling myself God would hear my prayers. But inside me, a kernel of doubt grew and took hold. How could I expect God to bless me as an inspirational writer? After all, I’d taken a long hike off the path for the entire decade of my twenties. Never mind how hard I tried to be a good wife, mother, and Christian now. How could He forgive me?

Finally, one Sunday in 2009, I sat in my church pew and I told God how exhausted I was. I told Him I couldn’t do it anymore. I couldn’t be a wife, mother, PR professional, and writer, too. I asked Him to give me a sign. Did I keep going? Should I give up my dream?

Three days later Mary Sue called. My inspirational romantic suspense novel, A Deadly Wilderness, had sold to Five Star Gale, a mainstream publishing house that specializes in library quality hardbacks. It was like a big smack on the back of the head. God’s grace covers every inch of me. I can’t earn it and I can never be good enough to deserve it. I can only be supremely grateful for it.

The ruts in the road continue to be big enough to lose a buggy in them, but I enjoy the journey. Signing with Harvest House for six Amish romances was an unexpected and delightful new direction in this journey. To Love and to Cherish explores the theme of forgiveness, something I know about firsthand. A Heart Made New, which debuts in October, examines walking by faith and waiting upon the Lord. I’m blessed to know that these stories entertain, encourage, and edify readers.

As I write this, I discover another truth. Even if I weren’t published, I couldn’t stop writing because publication isn’t the destination. It’s part of the journey. Along the way I’ve experienced pure joy in the writing itself. I’ve traveled to new places and met wonderful people and made great friends I would not have had in my life otherwise. It’s about the writing journey, not the destination. If this can happen to an unruly, stubborn, stiff-necked woman like myself, it can happen to any writer committed to working hard, persevering, and praying. Go forth and write!

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A former newspaper reporter, Kelly Irvin is the author of the Bliss Creek Amish series from Harvest House Publishing. She recently contracted for a three-book spin-off series entitled the New Hope Amish. She also penned two romantic suspense novels. A public relations professional, she lives with her husband, two children, three cats, and a tank full of fish in Texas.

To learn more about her writing, visit www.kellyirvin.com.