BOOK CLUB THURSDAY:MALE-FEMALE?

Welcome readers!

It's another Thursday and today's topic is all about Male-Female...point of views in point of views...

First of I'd like to address point of view definitions in general pertaining to fiction (although later I'll be mainly discussing romance genre books).

To simplify I'm paring down to the two most common/very basics:

Third-person point of view is when your story is being told to you by an outside narrator who is not part of the story. Characters are usually referred to by their names and by use of he/she. There are variations to this type of POV but the most common is omniscient. This is when the storyteller knows everything- including everything from the characters  in regards to their thoughts, feelings, perspectives etc.

First-person  POV is usually from one person only and done through the use of "I" and/or "me". The reader is limited in knowing only the storyteller's thoughts/feelings etc.

Recently, I've read fiction with multiple first POV's telling the story. I've also read a series(Brown and de Luca) from Maggie Shayne where the heroine's POV is first-person and the hero/rest of the book is third-person. Both styles were quite effective in the books and made for some interesting reading but I'm off topic. And I do HIGHLY recommend the Shayne series (I've blogged about them previously and will be reviewing the upcoming/next book in that series soon!).

In my opinion different POV's have their place in different types of fiction. However I will stand firm that in a true romance(not a work of fiction with romantic elements- and trust me there is a HUGE difference) the third-person omniscient works best. This style is the best way to get a full rich ROMANCE. Limiting POV from any characters in this genre can make for a dull story.

Many times romances are told with almost a 50/50 split from the hero/heroine. I say almost because there are usually secondary /supporting characters and we as readers often get glimpses from them(heck - why else would we be clamoring from more books in a series).

So let's take this another step. If I was to choose whose thoughts/feelings/perspectives etc I'd rather spend more time with in a romance, I can honestly say it's a toss up depending on how much I like each character. Also the type of romance that it is also plays into for me.  I also think spending -oh let say 1/4 of the book or less with either the hero/heroine is not a good idea because then how do you really get to know that character.

So what's your...point of view the topic? I'd love to hear. 

What did my best friends/fellow bloggers have to say about the topic? Find out now by visiting:


Ann@Romancing the Readers

Kare@The Many Faces of Romance





And check back next Thursday, 11Sept14, for  I LOVE AMERICA (military themed romances)








Comments

  1. As you can tell from reading my post that i'm the type that likes the story to start out with the man's thoughts.

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    Replies
    1. You've always been a fan of Male POV. We have had good discussions of that point.

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  2. Lots of good thoughts here. And I love the Shayne books, too. Good post!

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  3. I think that both M/F POV work good. Plus what I don't get is of the reader spends most of the book (3rd person) with only basically only one character, then why didn't the author write the book in first person OR split styles?

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