question about technique

[baltimoreandme.livejournal.com]

I am struggling with a technical problem - hopefully I can explain it in a way that makes sense.

I'm writing a story with a limited third person point of view - e.g. the entire narrative is funneled through the awareness of a particular character. However, I want to get aspects of other characters' views/personalities, etc. across to the reader that the main character would not necessarily be aware of. In other words, I want there to be more in what the main character sees/notices/hears than she herself realizes. And I'm struggling with how to do this.

Has anyone addressed this problem? Or - any recommendations of novels or short stories where this kind of thing is done well?

Thanks!

Comments

[delurfangs.livejournal.com]

is it wrriten from the point of view of the narrator telling things as they happen or is s/he looking back at things.
post a little bit of it and i will try to help more

[baltimoreandme.livejournal.com]

It's a third person narrative, so the main character isn't telling the story, but the story is told from her perspective - sort of looking over her shoulder.

The first parts of the rough draft are here (http://baltimoreandme.livejournal.com/26325.html), here (http://baltimoreandme.livejournal.com/28156.html) and here (http://baltimoreandme.livejournal.com/30912.html).

What I am concerned about is the character called Abigail - I want to give the reader a sense that what she is actually like is quite distinct from what the main character, Christine, thinks she is like, but as a result I think it's just confusing.

[diannefox.livejournal.com]

There are two solutions that I can think of:

1. You can write in 3rd Omniscient. The upside is that the reader sees more than just the main character's thoughts. The downsides are that (a) the reader sees everyone's thoughts, and (b) it's incredibly difficult to do well.

2. You can write in 3rd Limited, but not only from the main character's POV. In one scene, it would be the MC, and in the next (for example) it would be the romantic interest's POV. This allows for other people's perspectives without getting everyone's perspective, and you can pick and choose whose eyes you see through. You do have to be careful to limit yourself to only the necessary perspectives, though, and not throw twenty different POV characters at the reader.

Good luck!

[baltimoreandme.livejournal.com]

Thanks for your thoughts on this. Ideally, what I want to do is to keep the same limited 3rd person, without moving from character to character -- but do it in such a way that it reveals more than the main character realizes. My reasoning is that for mood and characterization and some of the bigger themes of the story, the whole narrative should come through the viewpoint of the main character - the story is in a sense about her inability to get out of her own head.

In a way, solving the problem I described may end up being a fun technical challenge -- if I figure out how to do it -- but I may well end up adopting one of the solutions you've suggested.

[samiface.livejournal.com]

If I could make a suggestion - you may want to have the main character noticing actions of the second character without being able to properly analyze them. For example: Christine keeps noticing that Abigails' eyes have been very red lately. She recommends a good concealer. In this way, you can exemplify not only that Abigail has been crying often, but also that Christine is too tied up in her own life to think there's anything wrong.

[baltimoreandme.livejournal.com]

Thank you -- that's a good idea.