Before I pursued publishing, I wrote stories and read books in two Point of Views: 1st person past and Omniscient.
1st Person Past I like sometimes….
“I walked up to him and slipped my hand into his. He smiled at me as we walked down the hall….”
Then there’s Omniscient, also called ‘head hopping’, where you’re in two different POV’s over the course of a page, or even a chapter. Read some old Danielle Steele’s or possibly old Harlequin’s, and you’ll understand what I mean. Maybe even Kathleen Woodiwiss or Johanna Lindsay. It’s been a while since I’ve read my old books, since they’ve been in storage for the past 12 years, and the last DS book I read was a couple of years ago, when I realized the POV had switched. A friend of mine published one of her books in Omni POV ten or so years ago, and I think I was the only one who actively ‘Loved’ it.
The experts say ‘write what you know.’ I saw nothing wrong with the way the books I’d read were written, so I wrote the same way. Imagine my shock in 2007 when I learned the rules had changed, and I’d written my first five books the wrong way!
“Readers will be confused…”
“You have your main character leaving the room, yet the conversation continues? Whaa-aat???”
Yeah….I’d envisioned a movie in my head as I was writing….
I fixed it…somewhat. Read Wild At Heart and see if you can spot the tiny Omni-moment, that I managed to slip past my editor.
What POV Don’t I Like?
1st-person-present. Made popular by That Book Which Shall Not Be Named and its sequels.”
“I walk up to him and slip my hand into his. He smiles at me and we walk down the hall.”
If that’s the kind of book you’re writing, and you want to promote it, that’s fine. But unless you’ve managed to write a fantastic blurb that makes me really, really, REALLY want to read it, then I’ll continue to applaud your efforts and wish you all the best.
I’ve read some 1st Person stories, and while they’re not my favorite, again, the above criteria applies. Hook me with a good blurb and some excerpts, and I might buy it. Or enter a contest to win it. Or even download it for free or for $.99. I’ll even buy the print version if I meet you in public if I open it up and start turning pages.
Want to know what others think of the POV Controversy?
Update On Mom and Roof:
Mom is happy to be home! She still has outpatient therapy twice a week, but she and Dad are settled back into their familiar routine. No word yet if she wants me to resume my monthly visits.
The roofers finished last Friday, and so far so good!
The Bad News:
My gmail account was hacked last week, and I woke up Feb 1st to over 100 emails from newsletters, Amazon orders, and other businesses I’d never heard of. Managed to change my password and contacted Amazon, since a $50 gift card had been claimed, thankfully NOT on my card! In fact, there were two cards on my account which weren’t even mine, so got them deleted and that PW changed too. Emails have slowed from one every minute to every five minutes to now probably four or five per hour. If anyone has further suggestions on how to fix this, I’m all ears. The last time this happened, my AOL account was hacked, AOL’s solution was to wipe out all my contacts. Thankfully, I seem to still have all my email addresses and old mail saved from cover artists, docs I’ve sent myself, and other stuff.
Molly's Musings/Kenzie's Korner 
I was writing in First person present. My book published in an anthology last year got good reviews but it was clear that the view was live or hate. And present made it worse. I am switching this book to past tense but know people still won’t buy simply because of the view. I am glad your mom is doing better. That is terrible about your email. I probably should put my contacts somewhere. I had that happen so bad on yahoo my account got frozen and I lost it. I am having some trouble here on gmail with spam getting through the filters. I hope you get yours figured out.
Thanks Cathy…..I’ve noticed the emails I’m receiving have slowed waaaaay down….they were coming in every minute, then every five or so over the weekend. Now, a week later, it’s about ten per day. Hopefully by next week, it will have been cleared up.
I share your dislike of first person present tense. It takes a lot for me to read a book written that way.
It was a strain on my brain too! The fact I managed to read ALL THREE (albeit, one chapter a week) is amazing.