Need advice on writting: Voice
By
Ashcraft,
Posted on: 2006-07-26 07:48 in Multi-Media Fan Creations
I have read many novels where the voice changes between chapters or even within chapters. A transition from a first person to an omniscient view isn't all that hard.
Just make sure you do not make the common rookie mistake and change voice within a paragraph. Persionally, I like a section break...like a double paragraph break in between. It also works best if you first sentence between switches makes it clear who the new voice is.
You might also use one of many different devices for your omniscient viewpoint...depending on your story. An "omniscient vewpoint doesn't have to be truely all knowing. Since this is a CoH story...the omniscient voice might be a future narator looking back on the story? Maybe a salty old detective? Or maybe it is a Crey supercomputer with microdrones collecting data on metahuman activities around the city. In any case, if you are going to be changing vewpoints...you might want to come up with a different flavor or speech patters for the different voices.
Those are just some suggestions. In any case, proofread your different voice sections seperately and then together with the whole narative.
Oh, and this is the section for posting questions like this. Just because most of what is posted is visual artwork doesn't mean that prose is any less appreciated or welcome. 
I have a few scripts where I've been toying with different perspectives. If you want to read them, PM me your email address and I'll send it out to you.
I have seen several different perspectives and voices used in a variety of ways. Sometimes, using a different style visually will do it, switching from normal font to italic for instance.
But definitely make sure that there's some form of break between your omnicient and your personal narratives, something as simple as *** could work, depending on how casual the writing style is and the content of other parts of your story. Wouldn't want to use that for more than one thing at a time.
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One of the better examples of perspective change each chapter is The Innkeeper's Song by Peter S. Beagle (and a damn good read, as well).
Don't try perspective changes a la Philip K. Dick...there are not enough drugs in the universe to replicate his technique successfully.
Best advice? Get writing, and get a good editor! 
The two biggest things to me when reading something with perspective changes is to understand exactly who's perspective is being used and having a clear understanding of why that perspective is used. If those two things are muddled then you have likely lost me.
I tend to write in a 3rd person limited omniscient. The limited-all-knowing-fly on the wall style. It pretty much allows you to worry less about keeping the perspective and moreabout he scene. You can allow the reader to know anything you like, without having to write it from inside the head. You can, but generally at least make a new paragraph, and make it clear you ahve changed the perspective from outside to inside the character's head.
Though it's entirely inappropriate for work or sharing online (content wise I mean), Poppy Z Brite's "Exquisite Corpse" used I believe THREE different voices. Two were first-person accounts from each of the main characters, and the third I believe (it's been a while since I've read it but I recall being impressed that I followed it perfectly) was a 3rd person omnicient. An excellent book - but *definitely not for everyone*. It was something that impressed me not only by the story which was being told, but by how it was *being* told.
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I'd suggest a 3rd person limited, that would allow you to focus on one character and thier thoughts and actions but also allow for easy transition to another viewpoint. This is the most common for multi-character focused novels. It's your story though so if it seems wronge just go with what feels right.
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I've written some fan-fiction, and read a lot more, coming over from a Baldur's Gate fan-fic site, The Attic .
It's ok to have different 'voices', or points of view, in a story, even within a chapter, but it's generally - I say again, generally - taboo to switch PoV in a scene. You can have a section break to switch PoV, but it gets very confusing to switch on the fly. That's not to say that it can't be done and still be grammatically proper. It is something even the pro's avoid doing, however. 
Use of the omniscient view is also difficult as you need to keep from venturing into anyone's thoughts when narrating this way. It gets to be somewhat more restrictive than just presenting from a characters PoV most of the time, such that writers tend to avoid the problem altogether by not writing omniscientally.
If you want to see some good fan-fic, check out the Attic, in particular, the serial called A Capella, by Silrana - 325 chapters of the Baldur's Gate saga. Excellent stuff. Anything by Oyster Girl or Darkrose is also very good. In fact, just about all of the writers there produce some good stuff, and the comments provided by the community there are very constructive and supportive, often suggesting better ways of presenting something.
Good luck!
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Thanks for all the suggestions, and encouragment. I will take a look at all the suggested reading.
This is a fairly long term project, but when finished I intend to post it here somewhere, or submit it to a CoH contest or something.
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I hope this is the right board to ask this question in, so here goes:
I am planning to right a short story based in the CoX world, and I need some advice on what voice(s) to use, and how. Basically there will be several Chapters in this story, each centering on a specific event, but with several key/lead characters. I'd like to give the reader the perspective of the lead character, as well as give a wider view of an omniscient viewer of the events. Also, like I said, the lead character may change, even within the chapters.
Are there any good examples of well done transitions from one perspective to another like this out there? If so can you link to them, or recommend some reading?
Thanks.
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