The Journal: Minor Update and “Deep POV”

In today’s Journal

* Quote of the Day
* One astute reader
* From David Farland’s newsletter
* Topic: On “Deep POV”
* Of Interest
* The Numbers

Quote of the Day

“Hachette Books, an imprint of Hachette Book Group, bought my book in October 2017. They paid me $50,000 in the first of three installments constituting an advance against royalties. That first payment netted to around $29,000 after agent commission and taxes. This money was supposed to cover the cost of the time it would take me to write the book, as well as all additional research and reporting—to say nothing of the years of research and reporting conducted on my own dime before the book’s sale.” Emma Copley Eisenberg

One astute reader (Thanks, Bruce) emailed to ask me for the link to the article where I read about the new CDC determination re CovID deaths. I should have added it to yesterday’s Journal.

The link is https://www.wnd.com/2020/08/cdc-nows-says-94-covid-deaths-underlying-condition-6-covid-alone/.

One passage in particular in the article tickled me: “Based on what we’ve learned, we now understand that as you get older, your risk for severe disease, hospitalization, and death increases.” My first thought was “Recent studies indicate as a balloon rises, it gets farther from the earth.” (grin)

From David Farland’s newsletter for you fantasy writers: “Fyrecon! will be held online November 12-14, 2020. Fyrecon is a great value, far less expensive than most other conventions and workshops. Check it out at” https://www.fyrecon.com/.

Topic: On So-Called “Deep POV”

Another writer (Thanks, Tony) emailed to ask my opinion of an article on “Deep POV.” I’ve shared the link to the article in “Of Interest” below, but I admit I haven’t read it yet.

I’ve encountered the term “Deep POV” before though, and commented on it (at length) at https://harveystanbrough.com/pro-writers/deep-pov/.

You’ll find more at

* https://harveystanbrough.com/pro-writers/pov-point-of-view/ and

* https://harveystanbrough.com/pro-writers/on-building-suspense-and-creating-tension/ and

* https://harveystanbrough.com/pro-writers/take-your-time-part-3/ and

* https://harveystanbrough.com/pro-writers/what-writing-into-the-dark-really-is/.

And there are other posts. Just key “Deep POV” into the Search block on the home page at HarveyStanbrough.com.

I know. That’s a lot. But I suggest you get your favorite beverage, take a deep breath, and check out the links if you haven’t (or to refresh your memory if you have).

Put succinctly, as I replied to the writer who emailed me, “If you’re writing well in ‘limited third person’ or any other POV, you’re writing in ‘deep POV’.

In a nutshell, what many are calling “Deep POV” simply means describing every scene THROUGH the POV character’s (not the author’s) physical and emotional senses: so sights, sounds, smells, tastes and textures (for the physical senses), and mood (anger, remorse, joy, dread, etc.) from the emotional senses.

Note that one POV character might smell the “pleasant aroma” of pipe smoke in a library, whereas another POV character might recoil at the “awful stench” of the same aroma. Just to clarify, what you, the writer, think of the smell of pipe smoke doesn’t enter in. It’s all through the senses of the POV character.

Writing this way (through the POV character’s senses) is an excellent way to describe a scene AND to subliminally convey part of your POV character’s back story.

Here’s the gist: The secret of “deep POV” is to run every word in the story through the POV character.

Talk with you again when I can.

Of Interest

See “Men Are Not Women With Chest Hair, Part 2” at https://killzoneblog.com/2020/09/men-are-not-women-with-chest-hair-part-2.html. Great info to file away in your psyche.

See “Fact Checking Is the Core…” at https://www.thepassivevoice.com/fact-checking-is-the-core-of-nonfiction-writing-why-do-so-many-publishers-refuse-to-do-it/.

See “Printer Jam: Serious Supply Issues Disrupt the Book Industry’s Fall Season” at https://www.thepassivevoice.com/printer-jam-serious-supply-issues-disrupt-the-book-industrys-fall-season/. I can only chuckle. Reminds me of the Five Ps: Prior Planning Prevents P*ss Poor Performance.

See “The 19th-Century Nurse Who Was Secretly a Serial Killer” at https://narratively.com/the-19th-century-nurse-who-was-secretly-a-serial-killer/.

See “The story of a weird world I was warned never to tell” at https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-42951788.

See “4 Ways To Make Limited Third Person Into Deep POV” at https://lisahallwilson.com/4-ways-to-make-limited-third-person-into-deep-pov/.

The Numbers

The Journal…………………………………… 610 words

Writing of Blackwell Ops 8 (novel)

Day 1…… 1653 words. Total words to date…… 1653
Day 2…… 1043 words. Total words to date…… 2696
Day 3…… 1711 words. Total words to date…… 4407
Day 4…… 1221 words. Total words to date…… 5628

Total fiction words for the month……… 0
Total fiction words for the year………… 315283
Total nonfiction words for the month… 1220
Total nonfiction words for the year…… 138790
Total words for the year (fiction and this blog)…… 454073

Calendar Year 2020 Novels to Date…………………… 5
Calendar Year 2020 Novellas to Date……………… X
Calendar Year 2020 Short Stories to Date… 12
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)…………………………………… 50
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)………………………………… 8
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)………………… 208
Short story collections……………………………………………… 31