Creative Writing Unit 1-4

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• Explore the ways in which psychic distance infers tone in writing.

• Explore the use of unreliable and reliable narrators in fiction.

• Create your own scene using character and active choices about point of view and narrative perspective.

​The details we include change according to the perspective from which we're writing.

​a place or position affording a good view of something.

"from my vantage point I could see into the front yard."

​The aspect of shifting perspective is called psychic distance, the distance readers feel between themselves and the narrated events of the story.

​1. It was early spring in Chicago, and a light frost still glinted on the lawn. A young woman stepped out of her front door.

This sentence gives a broad overview of the scene and creates a large "distance" between the narrator and the character. This amount of psychic distance is a common way to start fairy tales: "Once upon a time, there lived a king and a queen . . ."

2. Carmela Martinez had always disliked Chicago's lingering cold weather.

The second sentence is closer to the character's point of view, but the language is still rather formal. Can we imagine Carmela saying to her friend, "I have always disliked Chicago's lingering cold weather"? It seems unlikely (though some characters do speak more formally than others).

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3. Carmela took one step out the door and was already cold.

This gets even closer to Carmela's point of view by using just her first name and phrases that sound more like something a person would say aloud.

4. Still this cold? Unbelievable!

The last sentence puts us fully in Carmela's head. There's almost no psychic distance between the narrator and the character.

​A greater psychic distance with its big-picture view often uses language that feels more distant, suggesting an attitude or tone that's more coolly observant. On the other hand, a smaller psychic distance often uses language more closely aligned to a character's internal attitudes and voice, which can suggest a warmer or more personal tone.

​But psychic distance isn't the same as actual distance. Sure, a narrator who seems to be watching a character from far away usually suggests a large psychic distance. But psychic distance is really about how "close" the narrator and character seem emotionally.

​Her thoughts were a jumble. She would begin with a perfectly reasonable premise: Today I should have the car washed. Yet somehow she would next find herself lost in a dream of childhood, with her brother still alive, splashing her in the community swimming pool.

​Today she had to — today she was going to. It would come, the thing to do, if she just didn't force it. The car! Of course. Tommy with his sunburn, slapping the water — the car needed to be washed. And Tommy was still alive, they were children, it was the pool with the diving board, the one they called The Deep.

​The difference between a reliable narrator and an unreliable narrator isn't always black and white. Most real people are not 100 percent reliable (almost nobody can be all of the time!), but we continue to trust them unless they give us strong reasons why we shouldn't.

​Reliable narrator--

My sister and I never got along. When she called, I admit I didn't want to talk to her at first. I thought about making an excuse and hanging up, but then I felt too guilty.

​Unreliable narrator--

My sister and her filthy lawyers stole my money. Oh, I know what people say — that I forged our parents' will. But I know the real truth. My parents hated my sister just as I do, and they didn't want her to have a dime.

​It can be challenging to write from an unreliable narrator's perspective, but it can also be fun.

When you use an unreliable narrator, it can be difficult to communicate the real "truth" of the story.

Part of the fun of reading an account through the eyes of an unreliable narrator is the knowledge that you're not hearing the "real" story, or at least not in its entirety.

There are methods of expressing the truth even when using an unreliable narrator.

​Write the opening of a short story, introducing at least one main character. Use what you have learned about character and point of view to let the reader understand your character's personality and views on life. Your story opening should be at least one typed, double-spaced page.

• Show what your character is like, particularly his or her inner life.

• Establish a consistent point of view.

• Use psychic distance to show the relationship of the narrator to the character;
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• Suggest whether the narrator is reliable or unreliable.

​There are 25 Multiple Choice Questions. Each question is worth one point They cover all four sections very thoroughly.

The TST is several questions requiring a written answer. Some of them are multi-part questions. Total 50 points

​Write to ME in the Chat!!!


What does Vantage Point have to do with a story?