Hey writers!
So, here's another rumination: why can POV switch in film but not in short story? I was watching The Quiet Man (and I love that film) but the priest Ward Bond kicks off the story with a voiceover but when Shawn Thorton (John Wayne) sees Mary Kate Danaher for the first time, the camera switches to his perspective.
Is it because film has the great asset of the visual? It's easier for a viewer to understand a perspective jump in film than reading it in story?
I actually think it's the audio that helps a film. For example, most of Goodfellas is from Ray Liota's viewpoint/perspective but in the middle it switches to his wife's for about ten minutes, which is easy to tell because the voices of the narration have changed.
ReplyDeleteAlot of books switch POV really well. Poisonwood Bible is one. Apparently Chekov does it (i've read of him doing it, but haven't yet run into the story where it actually happens). I say go fot it, I think it's absolutely doable.
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