Editing Scenes for Deep Point of View

Use Scrivener’s Custom Metadata to help you while editing scenes for deep POV.

Alfred Hitchcock once said,

The self-edit process leaves in the dramatic elements and removes the rest, enhancing the reading experience by connecting readers to the protagonist.

The dull bits include:

• Author intrusions that spoil the scene by telling rather than showing how the story unfolds from a character’s point of view.
• Revealing information the point-of-view character could not know.
• Unnecessary backstory that clutters the scene.
• The writer’s interjection of an opinion.
• Overused techniques, such as flashbacks.
• Excessive descriptions of research, characters, and settings.

Structure (Part 1D): Deep POV

To give readers a deeper experience, consider using Third-Person Limited, which is when an author sticks closely to one character but remains in third person. This style puts readers inside a character’s thoughts, feelings, and sensations, deepening the experience.

For authors writing in Third-Person Limited, a deep point-of-view edit explores several questions. For example:

• Has the scene unfolded organically from the point-of-view character’s perspective?
• Are there any author intrusions and opinions?
• Does the scene connect readers to the character’s thoughts, emotions, and senses?
• Are readers immersed in the character’s actions, sufferings, victories, and defeats?

Recommendations

For example, use Scrivener’s Custom Metadata to achieve Deep POV.

• Make clear the point-of-view character at the outset of each scene.
• Limit the point of view to one character’s thoughts and internal reactions for each scene.
• Use the POV character’s senses and body language to show feelings and reactions.
• Have the POV character reference self and other characters using realistic language.
• Likewise, limit perceptions and descriptions of self and supporting cast to POV character’s five senses.

For more insights on story structure and self-editing, check out the Trellis Method.

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