Stylistic Ideas

Soliloquy

I have a hard time writing staying in first person.  I really like using it for exposition on emotions, thoughts, and subjective commentary; but, when it comes to action and dialogue, I fail and need to use third.  So my idea of using soliloquy is meant so solve this difficulty.  I will be able to write in third person, as I am wont to do, but I may shift into first person when such is advantageous.  It will be marked like this:

What is going on here? Mark thought. Chelsea couldn't possibly be breaking up with me...


So the section will begin a new paragraph as though it were dialogue.  Punctuation will follow dialogue rules as well.  The actual soliloquy will be in italics while tags and descriptors will show in normal type.

Poetry

I have a hard time writing scene descriptions, especially ones that start a section or chapter.  My idea is to replace the 'staging' with poetry.  So, rather than starting the book with, "The sun was bright in the sky..."  I would start with,

Tracks of cloud do lie,

Across the ocean sky,

And golden rays descend,

For hours without end.

...

After the poem I will go into prose for action, practical descriptions, dialogue, etc.

Shifting Focus

Their is talk about the virtues of the two third person vantage points: limited and omniscient.  I like elements of them both and also first person.  I like the observation of limited.  I like the freedom and insight of omniscient.  And I like the subjectivity of first.  I also like how some authors do a shifting first, as in the Animorphs series.  I would like to experiment with a modified third called 'third person, fixed'.

Fixed would function as both thirds: outside of characters and using he/she for description.  It is technically a third omniscient, but selectively so.  Combined with my soliloquy idea (above), fixed would follow a single character at a time, so I'll be able to jump like in Animorphs.  Also, it will be omniscient in that it will be able to show us what the focus character is thinking via soliloquy.  But it will be limited in that, apart from observation, other subjective details will be hidden.

...

This is what I have so far.  Right now, I'm developing an idea for "plot sarcasm."  This is where I'll seek to shake things up by going against standard story mechanics (i.e. the good guys don't always do the "right thing," or the secret information  that they work so hard to get is false).  But this seem to have more to do with content than style, so I'll leave it for a later post.