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'I like third person'

14 October 2019

‘First of all, I'm always writing from a point of view. I decide what the purpose of the scene is, and at least begin with some purpose. But, even more important, from whose point of view is this scene seen? Because then the narrative will take on somewhat the sound of the person who is seeing the scene...

I like third person. I don't want to be stuck with one character's viewpoint because there are too many viewpoints. And, of course, the bad guys' viewpoints are a lot more fun. What they do is more fun. A few years ago, a friend of mine in the publishing business called up and said, "Has your good guy decided to do anything yet?"'

Elmore Leonard, author of 45 novels, including Fifty-two Pickup, The Switch, Freaky Deaky, Get Shorty and Cuba Libre http://www.elmoreleonard.com/index.php