Third person. I use multi-viewpoint because it moves the plot along and gives me the opportunity to use a wide cast of characters, each with their own problems
Do you use present tense or past tense most in your fiction, or do you often switch tense for different stories, and why?
Always the past tense. I can't bear the present in novels as it stops me feeling I am rally there in the scene. I occasionally use the present tense in short stories if I want to instil a sense of urgency.
Pick one of your published stories. What combination of point of view and tense did you use for this story, and why?
THE WEDDING PARTY. This is the story of a middle aged couple getting married. I told it from the point of view of four guests going to the wedding. There's the groom's ex wife; his grown up daughter; the woman vicar; and the disorganised wedding planner. I did this in order to create a mystery about the bride and groom; we see their characters through the eyes of the guests. Wedding stories are usually about the couple and I wanted to be different. I also wanted the reader to get involved in four different lives that collided and networked with each other with some unexpected consequences. It was in the past tense.
To what extent is the vocabulary and manner of speech of the narration in this story different from your own everyday expression, and what does this contribute to the story?
In fact,the vocab and the speech is just like my own! However, I have recently had a historical novel accepted by Germany and Italy ('The Pearls') and I did a lot of research into the Victorian way of speech. It was vital to the story as it made it authentic.
Did you tell this story with one narrator or multiple narrators, and why?
THE WEDDING PARTY was, as I have said, written from four viewpoints so in this respect, they were the narrators with an overall narrator as an extra level when I needed to see my characters at a distance.
Did you make the narrator of this story a character involved in the main action of the story, or did you make the narrator one which is not a character in your fictional storyworld, and why?
I can't really add any more on this apart from the answer before.
What is one of your favourite fictional stories, in which you think is narration is written well, and how would you describe what makes the narration work so well for you as a reader?
All Anne Tyler's books. She has a wonderful combination of the overall, omniscient narrator and then gets deep into the characters.
Do you usually provide direct access to the thoughts of characters in your stories? If so, do you usually provide access to the thoughts of one character or multiple characters in a single story or point of view, and why?
Yes I do. I do this with all my mutltiple characters in order to get into their heads. But I don't do it for very long as it can bore the reader. I was given this tip some time ago.
To what extent does the narrative style of novels you read have an impact on why you read them, and why?
It matters a great deal. I need to be persuaded into the scene and into the heads of the characters. I can't do that if it's written in the present tense or if there is too much 'telling and not showing' by an overall narrator. I like to hear the characters' internal thoughts and also to see their viewpoint.
Author website: www.sophieking.info
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