Tuesday, March 7, 2017

ReFoReMo Day 8: Bridget Heos Tackles Voice and Point of View



Voice makes a story sing. But who best to “sing” your story? I found the voice for I, FLY when I realized Fly should tell the story himself. Conversely, I changed a PB WIP from first to third person to round out the flat-sounding narrative. To further develop voice, imagine who would tell such a story. (For MUSTACHE BABY, it was a cowboy.) Here are books beautifully sung in the first, second, and third persons.

First person
Big Red Lollipop by Rukhsana Khan, Illustrated by Sophie Blackall
Second person:
Little Baby Buttercup by Linda Ashman, Illustrated by You Byun
Third person limited:
Very Little Red Riding Hood, by Heapy and Heap
Third person omniscient:
The Sleepy Little Alphabet by Judy Sierra, Illustrated by Melissa Sweet
            Third person multiple view points:  
My Lucky Day, by Keiko Kasza

Bridget Heos is the author of the MUSTACHE BABY series, QUEEN DOG, I, FLY, and many nonfiction books. She lives with her family in Kansas City and visits schools all over America to talk about writing fiction and nonfiction.



149 comments:

  1. This is such wonderful food for thought. Grateful for these title recommendations in order to examine voice & POV. Thank you, Bridget! I love MUSTACHE BABY!

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  2. These all look like great mentor texts for voice and POV.

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  3. Bridget, thanks for sharing this information. Some of the titles are in my local library.

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  4. I need to experiment more with different POV. Thank you!

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  5. Thank you for the recommendations, Bridget! I love your approach by asking the question, "Who would best tell this story?" It makes perfect sense!

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  6. Thank you for this post and for the clear examples of each voice.

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  7. Can't wait to read these and really think about pov. I tend toward first-person (in fiction pbs), and I know I need to branch out more!

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  8. Thank you for the examples of first, second, and third person. This is helpful.

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  9. Voice is key! Big Red Lollipop by Rukhsana Khan is one of my mentor texts.

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  10. These sound great 👍 ice recently been struggling with voice in two manuscripts I'm currently working on. These may help.

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  11. Great examples of POV. Thanks for sharing!

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  12. I agree - POV can really change a book. Like "I, Fly" - what a great idea....

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  13. I love to play w/1st and 3rd person POV. TY for more examples!

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  14. Great post and mentor texts. My Lucky Day and Very Little Red Riding Hood are such witty ideas. Love them. Thanks, Bridget!

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  15. Sometimes I really wonder how to make my story pop and changing the POV can make a huge difference. Thanks, Bridget, for your thoughts on that and the examples you provided!

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  16. voice is key.

    And it's interesting how many of the titles have the word "little" in it

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  17. Writing in a different POV has really helped me hear the right voice for the story. Not easy to do but well worth the effort. Thanks for the great mentor texts!

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  18. Wonderful! Thanks for pointing out some great examples.

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  19. Thanks for all the examples of different points of view! This will be useful.

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  20. Thanks for recommending these books with different POVs. I tried writing a story in second person, then changed it to third person, and yet I think it may work best in second person. So I'll definitely be checking out VERY LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD to see how the voice sings and tells the story!

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  21. Thanks for sharing more fun mentor texts.

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  22. Thanks for the mentor text recommendations and for your thoughts on voice and point of view. It's a fun exercise to think, "who best to sing your story?" That's great! And I love Mustache Baby! Thank you for this post!

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  23. Very helpful POV examples, thanks!

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  24. Thanks for this great post about examining voice and POV to make sure you get it right! The mentor texts are perfect!

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  25. Such an important aspect of writing! Thank you for the great mentor texts!

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  26. Thank you for these examples of books with different POVs and voice

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  27. Thank you. This is very interesting. I haven't thought about rewriting my book in another POV. It may bring the number of words down. I feel like I'm back in school. Love it!

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  28. Thanks for highlighting these beautifully sung stories and reminding us how important POV can be, Bridget.

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  29. Thanks for the recommendations. I will go back and re-read them now based on the post.

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  30. Thanks for this helpful example of various POVs.

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  31. Thank you for making me aware of the different points of view again! I hadn't really considered what voice I was writing in as I told a story.

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  32. Thank you for sharing your thoughts on voice and POV. I look forward to reading your recommended mentor texts.

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  33. Excited to take a look at these different points of view. Thank you!

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  34. POV can certainly make or break a story... and sometimes it's just what you need to change to make the story SING! :)

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  35. Thank you for these examples of POV. Still waiting for the books I have on hold to come into our library. Looking forward to reading these selections.

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  36. Thanks for your selections based on POV. Also, Mustache Baby is a big favorite at our house!

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  37. Hi Bridget, thanks for the post. Your book I, Fly sounds adorable. Even the title makes me smile. :)

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  38. Can't wait to read and hear the difference in these suggestions. Thanks for the post!

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  39. Great list, Bridget. Voice is a tricky element to get just-right. Thanks for the post!

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  40. POV can really make or break a story. I loved reading your list of voices that sang! Thank you!

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  41. I love switching POV in a manuscript and giving it a new voice. Just hard to let go of the origina! Thanks for the encouragement.

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  42. Thanks for these POV examples. Loved My Lucky Day.

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  43. Thank you for the great recommendations concerning POV. We're big fans of your MUSTACHE BABY books.

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  44. Thanks for the great POV mentor texts - so true, WHO tells the story often makes all the difference between an ok story & a great one.

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  45. Thank you, Bridget, for sharing these examples of voice and POV :) Love your books!

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  46. Loved your post about which books to study for different points of view. Very helpful. Thanks, Bridget.

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  47. I like learning about successful examples in various POVs. Too often we read recommendations to avoid certain viewpoints, but the right writing and voice can make any POV successful for PBs.

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  48. POV is a tricky thing. I switched my current WIP back to 1st to 3rd to 1st again quite a few times. It's so true that you don't find your voice until you find the right POV to tell your story through. Thanks for sharing some texts that explore all of them!

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  49. Bridget,
    I've been enjoying reading the books you recommended. I do have a question. Why is Very Little Red Riding Hood in 2nd person? To me as I read it it looks like 3rd. Is it because the wolf uses 'you'? Wouldn't it be a combination of 2nd and 3rd?
    thanks for clearing this up.

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    1. It was a little jumbled before, but please see the changes above. Thanks for your patience!

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  50. I'm working on a draft right now where I'm going back and forth between 1st and third...lots to think about!

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  51. I'm currently struggling with POV. Thanks for sharing these helpful texts, Bridget.

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  52. As you stated, it is so important for the voice to sing in our stories. Thank you for the encouragement to consider a variety of POV, Bridget.

    ~Suzy Leopold

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  53. From Bridget:
    Thank you for reading the post! Please note that the descriptions should all be moved up one. It should read,
    first person: Big Red Lollipop
    second person: Little Baby Buttercup
    third person limited: Very Little Red Riding Hood
    third person omniscient: Sleepy Little Alphabet
    third person multiple viewpoints: My Lucky Day.
    Sorry for the confusion!

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  54. Bridget, I hadn't realized you were a fellow KC girl! We adore the Mustache Baby series. Thank you for this post.

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  55. Love your work, Bridget! I, Fly was a mentor text I mentioned last year in a post I wrote :). I also love What To Expect When Expecting Larvae--such a funny book. Thanks for the advice!

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  56. It seems the impact of POV cannot be underscored enough. Thank you for making book suggestions from these various viewpoints. I often take a nearly finished draft manuscript and re-write it in another POV simply for comparison purposes. Many thanks again for the insights!

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  57. So hard to change POV, but sometimes it's so necessary. Thank you for the book suggestions.

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  58. BRIDGET: THANK YOU for the WONDERFUL book suggestions with examples of different voices and POV. These will definitely help us learn how to make our stories "sing" -- and hopefully not off-key!

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  59. Great POV and voice books to review -- thanks, Bridget!

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  60. Thank you for giving us examples of each book and POV. It helps to write them in all three to see which is best!

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  61. I can't wait to read this list of books. Thank you for your post!

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  62. Great book suggestions to study POV. Thanks, Bridget.

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  63. Thanks for your post, Bridget. I love your book, "I, Fly". It's hilarious and the voice is perfect, so I really value your ideas.

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  64. Thank you for this helpful reminder to reflect on who is best to “sing” a story. I love your books “I,Fly” and “Mustache Baby.” Both are such great examples of voice and POV.

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  65. Thanks for the examples of voice.

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  66. Thank you Bridget for sharing this information on the example of voice.

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  67. Great examples, thanks so much for sharing!

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  68. LOVE Mustache Baby and your cowboy narrator. Thanks for these great examples!

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  69. I use your I, Fly book to demonstrate what editors mean by "something fresh and new." As a teacher, I know there are dozens of books about the butterfly's life cycle. But this one is so funny and so different, but accurate, that it will easily supplant the others!

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  70. I'm currently struggling with a story that won't cooperate and flow out onto paper. I just considered changing the POV yesterday. I feel as though this is a confirmation.
    Perfect timing. Thanks for that ��

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  71. Thanks, Bridget, for these thinking points on voice and point of view! I really want to do some research and writing exercises on these ideas. I see you live near Kansas City- I'm at Fort Leavenworth!

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  72. Thank you, Bridget for the list of books and the reminder to experiment with POV

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  73. A great reminder to try different POV's for a story. I've been thinking about this. Thank you!

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  74. Thanks, Bridget. It IS fun to experiment with POV--especially in the same story to see what happens!

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  75. I've just been playing with point of view in my story! Thank you for the reading list!

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  76. Thanks for the terrific examples on how using a different point of view can make a story sing!

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  77. Ooh! I love hearing YOUR point of view! Thanks for some great new texts for us to study.

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  78. It is amazing what changing POV can do for a story (for the better or worse). Thanks for the mentor suggestions!

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  79. I read a blog recently where an author posted multiple drafts of the same chapter. It included changes in POV from 3rd P. to 1st P., and it was amazing to see how the same info changed as the POV changed. Always good to keep in mind that experimenting with different POV can lead to other great things! Thanks! Liz Tipping

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  80. Thanks for sharing your book suggestions--they were all new to me. And thanks for your thoughts on POV. It's amazing how different a story looks from a different point of view!

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  81. Love the examples....I just read My Lucky Day...so funny...and the Big Red Lollipop's backstory was fascinating! (I was an older sister too!)....Thanks for the suggestions on voice and point of view.

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  82. Wonderful mentor texts. POV so important - thanks for the help in nailing it.

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  83. Thank you for these examples of POV and suggestions on how to choose voice!

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  84. Sometimes books pop in my head clearly as one or the other--sometimes it is not so straigh forward. Thanks for getting me to think about this!

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  85. Thanks for the helpful post and the reminder to experiment with POV. I really enjoyed Big Red Lollipop!

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  86. I love playing around with POV. Thank you for this reminder to get creative.

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  87. Thank you for sharing about POV! So many choices...

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  88. Interesting choices to help assess points of entry through change of voice. Nice examples!

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  89. Love these book choices and mustache baby is so much fun!

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  90. Thanks for the varied POV recommendations! Very timely for me.

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  91. I love your Mustache Baby books and bought the first one this past Fall to read to my kindergarten. Looking forward to these books as well. Thank you!

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  92. Great post with new examples of the many POV choices. Thank you!

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  93. Thank you for the clear examples of voice.

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  94. Voice is the secret sauce. It's elusive and (I'm convinced) takes some magical channeling fueled by giant pots of coffee :-) Thank you, Bridget, for providing great examples of POV and voice. Love the Big Red Lollipop! I'm looking forward to reading Mustache Baby and I, Fly now.

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  95. MUSTACHE BABY is my daughter's favorite book! Thank you for these great mentor texts!

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  96. Thanks for all the examples. I, Fly is one of my favorite examples of creative POV in nonfiction.

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  97. Great post and perfect teaching examples for POV. Thank you!
    Susan

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  98. I recently changed one of my manuscripts from first to second pov and now it sings! It's fun to see what different pov's do to a story.

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  99. Great thoughts and mentor texts on POV. Thank you.

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  100. Thank you for your post. It's so true that POV does change the tone of a story. Back to the library!

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  101. Thank you, Bridget, for your recommendations for each POV. My Lucky Day has long been a favorite of mine!

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  102. I love the idea of taking a book I've written and rewriting it from first person, just to see how it changes. Perhaps there are new insights to include in my original, even if I don't change POV at the end. Thanks!

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  103. I LOVED Mustache Baby (who didn't it?), Bridget! Thank you for a wonderful selection of books for examining POV. Now I just need to track them all down.

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  104. Important decisions to make for the writer. Thanks for sharing your journey in rewriting with a different point of view.

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  105. So many new books for me! Yeah! POV is important to storytelling. Thanks!

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  106. POV makes a big difference. Thanks for your suggested texts.

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  107. I love the question "Who should tell the story?" I will have to look at the POV's in my PB manuscripts.

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  108. Thanks for sharing your mentor texts. There are at least a couple I've never seen, and will make a point to seek out.

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  110. More, more, more...for this newbie to learn. Thanks for the great HELP!

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  111. This list will be very helpful to me in understanding different POVs.

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  112. This was a great post! We often talk about POV in our critique group and it's nice to have a nice of one from each format!

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  113. Thanks for choosing such a fun collection of books to expand our thinking about POV!

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  114. Point of view is so important in getting the right voice to tell the story. Thanks for the clear examples of each.

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  115. Thanks! I should try changing around pov on my wip to see if what I have is really best!

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  116. Great books to study for voice and POV ~ thank you!

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  117. Thanks for this list - MY LUCKY DAY is new to me, but I love the idea of multiple POV, can't wait to see how it's done.

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  118. Great mentor texts for POV! And a good idea to reconsider POV if your ms feels flat! Thank you Bridget!

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  119. This is perfect! Great selections.

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  120. Great examples of the different POVs. This is something I still struggle with. I appreciate the mentor texts!

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  121. Voice does make the story sing. Thanks for the great examples.

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  122. Thanks for the great examples. I've not read the lollipop story...yet. Looks like I'll add that one to my list!

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  123. These mentor texts got me to check POV on some stories that are stuck. Off to revision. Thank you for the inspiration.

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  124. Bridget, your post gave me the push I need to change my POV on a story that is falling flat with it's first person POV. My critique partners have suggested to write it in 3rd person and I definitely now will. At least I can see if I like it better and if it 'sings' the way I envisioned it to. Thank you so much for your insight.
    P.s. I love the Mustache Baby books. <3

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  125. Thank you for your suggestions to better study different points of view.

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  126. Thank you for sharing your experience with POV and for giving examples of mentor texts for each one.

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  127. I read most of your books. they all have a unique voice and style. thank you for being here on ReFoReMo

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  128. Bridget, I love your books and this post was a perfect reminder to play with POV to see what works best for each ms. Thank you!

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  129. POV is something I need to learn more about, so thank you for this post, Bridget.

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  130. All new books for me, Bridget...so happy to read them for POV. :)

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  131. POV books stretch my thinking and my writing. Thanks!

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  132. Very helpful advice for how to approach our own voices. Thanks for the title recommendations!

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  133. It's interesting how changing point of view can change the whole story.

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  134. I experienced how changing POV can bring a book alive with one of my own manuscripts. I not only changed from 3rd limited to first person, but I changed the POV character, making the old secondary character the main character. Thanks for the list of POV mentor texts. I love seeing how others handle it, and think it's fun to rewrite other people's books in different tenses and POVs. Is that wrong? Should I get a real life?

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  135. I love your books. Thanks for sharing this post.

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