see here how, although the expression ‘point of view’ deceptively suggests
singularity, any focalisation is itself comprised of difference. The boy’s
perspective hinges largely on contradictions and ambiguities in the way
he thinks and feels about the incident. Many creative writing books stress
the need for a consistent (and implicitly circumscribed) point of view.
However, I believe that you are likely to obtain the most exciting results if
you explore the contradictions and ambiguities which make up a point of
view, even when—or perhaps because—they threaten to explode the
coherence and continuity of it.
One aspect of point of view, which also accentuates difference, is the
alternation between exterior action and interior thought (see Exercise 7).
Let’s see how this works in outline:
Example 5.13: External action and interior thought (outline)
external action: Showing a creative text to fellow students. Behaving
in a cool, self-possessed way.
interior thought: Unsure whether they are going to like it.
external action: Explaining the text.
interior thought: Unsure whether they will understand what the
objective is.In prose this could be developed in two different ways:
Example 5.14: External action and interior thought
(written as prose)
a) Jane handed round the photocopies to the other students in the
class. She expected them to think the poem was awful, and felt as if
she was turning red. She could hardly believe it when they all said it
was the most interesting piece that week.
b) Jane stood up handed round the photocopies.
What are they thinking, will I be exposed?The first example (5.14a) uses the third person all the way through. In the
second (5.14b) Jane’s voice is introduced to convey her thoughts, and
the italics show where the change from exterior action to interior thought
actually occurs. The first makes for a flowing narrative, but the more dis-
junctive use of the voice in the second example can be quite arresting.
Multiple focalisations
Exercise 8 at the beginning of this chapter asks you to show the same inci-
dent from different points of view or focalisations. It also suggests you use
98 The Writing Experiment