Mastering Point of View [Paperback]

Sherri Szeman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 2001

Point of view is one of the most important elements in a novel, yet most writing books address the subject briefly, in a single chapter or less. Only this book focuses on point of view with the depth and insight the subject demands. Mastering Point of View walks writers through the difficult but essential process of understanding, choosing and using point of view in a novel. With examples from james joyce, Virginia Woolf, Jorge Luis Borges and many others, author Sherri Szeman illuminates the challenges writers face in deciding point of view and provides clear, straightforward instructions for overcoming them.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Sherri Szeman is the author of Only With the Heart. Her first novel The Kommandant's Mistress, which won the Janet Kafka prize, is being developed into a film starring Patrick Stewart. Her articles have appeared in The Writer and the 1997 Writer's Resource Book. She is a professor of English at Central State University and lives in Yellow Springs, Ohio.

Product Details

• Paperback: 218 pages
• Publisher: Story Press Books; 1st edition (August 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1884910521
• ISBN-13: 978-1884910524
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #192,858 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Name changed to ALEXANDRIA CONSTANTINOVA SZEMAN. (Formerly writing as "Sherri" because 1st Editor said name "wouldn't fit on cover of book", and subsequent editor/agent didn't want to "lose name recognition" of first book). Author of critically acclaimed and award-winning books: THE KOMMANDANT'S MISTRESS (a novel), Winner of the University of Rochester's Kafka Prize 1994 for "best book of prose fiction by an American woman" and chosen as one of THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW's "Top 100 Books of 1993". ONLY WITH THE HEART (a novel), on Recommended Reading Lists of Alzheimer's Chapters nationwide. MASTERING POINT OF VIEW (nonfiction on novel-writing). Two critically acclaimed & award winning poetry collections, each of which contains some poems from Ph.D. dissertation of original poetry, SURVIVOR: ONE WHO SURVIVES (1986). Poetry books coming soon: LOVE IN THE TIME OF DINOSAURS (UKA Press 2012) and WHERE LIGHTNING STRIKES: POEMS OF THE HOLOCAUST (UKA Press 2012). An award winning collection of short stories, NAKED WITH GLASSES (Grand Prize Winner 2007, UKA Press International Writing Competition, UKA Press 2012), etc. First three books being re-iussed under Alexandria Constantinova Szeman (formerly writing as "Sherri"): THE KOMMANDANT'S MISTRESS, REVISED & EXPANDED, 20TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION (2012), a novel, with discussion questions and original source material, including preface by author, coming as e-book & Trade paper. ONLY WITH THE HEART, REVISED & EXPANDED EDITION (2012), a novel, including discussion questions for book groups, teachers, & students; coming as e-book & Trade paper. MASTERING POINT OF VIEW & OTHER CREATIVE WRITING ELEMENTS, IN ALL GENRES; REVISED & EXPANDED, 10TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION (2012): will now cover all aspects of creative writing and all genres; coming as e-book & Trade paper. Additional creative writing exercise books coming as e-books in 2012. Follow Alexandria (f.k.a., "Sherri"), her books, and her characters on Twitter. URLs of Book groups & discussion questions for novels on website. New, original creative writing exercises daily - from forthcoming REVISED & EXPANDED MASTERING POINT OF VIEW & OTHER CREATIVE WRITING ELEMENTS: IN ALL GENRES, other forthcoming writing books - on Twitter @POV_CW.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Point of View--a Thorny Rose, April 7, 2004

By 

H. Grove "Errant Dreams Reviews" (Maryland, USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mastering Point of View (Paperback)

Point of view seems like it should be so simple. But when you start poking around you find it's so much more complex than you ever imagined--there's unlimited point of view, first-person, inner limited, second-person, outer limited, combo, multiple... and that's just the basics. Scared yet?

Point of view was one of those things that I just kind of closed my eyes and prayed about. I'd write a story and trust PoV to take care of itself. Sure, I had a decent sense for it, so usually things worked out okay. But I'm also sure that if I went back now, after having finished this book, I'd find a whole lot of mistakes that I need to fix. And you want to look like a pro who knows what she's doing when you send that story to an editor, right?

"Mastering Point of View" debunks common myths regarding what you can and can't do with PoV. Topics are divided into short sections that are labeled clearly; this makes it easy for you to find information at a moment's notice. Each chapter begins with the basics of its topic. Then it goes into the advantages and disadvantages to using each form of PoV--both to you and to your readers! You'll see examples, get a simple description of things to consider when choosing a PoV, find out about genres and situations each type of PoV is typically used in, and more.

"Mastering Point of View" is a comprehensive, simple, clear treatise on a murky and painful subject. It gets a little repetitive, but I've seen much worse. Every writer owes it to herself to read it at least once.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mastering Point of View, September 25, 2002

By 

Patricia Michaels (Witter, AR United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mastering Point of View (Paperback)

 The book, Mastering Point of View by Sherri Szeman, has been very helpful to me. I like the way she address each of the different points of view used in writing novels. She explains each Point of View and then shows excerpts from novels to demonstrates how they are done. I like the Tips she adds through out the chapters. The appendices are historical overviews dwelling on different types of fiction and are made interesting.
As a complete book on the subject of Point of View, rather than the short chapters one reads in other self help for writer's books, it is very well done.

19 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars The author means well, means well, means well..., June 26, 2002

By 

Oakbrook (Fort Lauderdale, FL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mastering Point of View (Paperback)

but is so busy endlessly repeating the few nuggets of information she has to offer that she never gets to the interesting parts. As a basic primer the book works, but all the worthwhile information could have been rendered in fifteen pages. The most frustrating part is that she doesn't seem all that well read, so instead of being able to show you how different authors make different POVs work, she repeatedly draws her examples from the same handful of books (including Ulysses--as if aspiring writers are going there). The result is a superficial treatment of something that could have been fascinating. Sorry to be so negative, Sherri, but I was excited when I saw the title and my disappointment is acute.