Change of POV
I’m thinking of swapping the point of view in Shades from third person to first person. I figure, hey, since I’m planning on dismantling the beginning yet again, this is the time. The only head we’re ever in is Saeli’s anyway, so it won’t be as big of a switch as it could be.
The thing is, I’ve realized that the one character in the story whom I cannot seem to really connect with is Saeli. Everyone else has a self, a voice that I can feel inside. I can picture that essence and I have an instant grasp on that character; I have a snapshot of who that person is inside and where they are coming from. Everyone except my protagonist, that is. I think the only way I’m going to break into her head is to write from her head.
I actually don’t know if that will work, ultimately, for the story. There are a couple of places in my third person POV where I deliberately back off a little bit from Saeli, for artistic purposes and such. I never lose her, but sometimes I’m in her mind and sometimes I’m maybe a little further over her shoulder. I’ll lose that, but I may make up for it with more direct introspection from Saeli. I need to break her off from me. The problem is, she and I approach life in very much the same sorts of ways: we think things through, try to see it from every angle, we hesitate, we dither, we question every move we make…and we’re maybe a little bit too willing to take people at their word. She deals with Raphel the same way I would, if it was me in her shoes. (Because, you may remember, it was. Only maybe not so bad.)
She’s not really so different from me, but ultimately, she’s not me. And I, as the writer, need to grasp this difference and let Saeli be who she really is. First person would also fit better with the dark, introspective direction this story seems to be going in. I admit, I want it to be a bit more literary than the norm of what’s on the YA shelf right now.
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