Point of view

As a writer point of view is in each sentence. It combines with descriptions, characters, actions, dialogue to make up the whole story no matter what the length. Each tiny piece has its own strength making its contributions to the completed work.

My computer screen background is a series of photos including the one taken on a beautifully warm day at the boatyard around the corner from where I live. In a way it is an analogy to writing of how examination of the different parts make up the whole.

That cat's contentment in the sun shows. The tree has not begun to bloom. Sadly no photo can capture the smell of the lake water or the feel of the slight breeze tickling my cheeks as I stood there hoping the cat wouldn't move. Those things need to be captured in words.

I loved the colours: the blues, the reds, the rusts, the browns...

I captured a moment in a photograph that made me happy. But if I continue with the analogy of this being a story I need a main character and that is the cat.

So by cropping the photo I focus in on the cat.

What if I came in even closer to the cat? If this were a movie there would be soft music.

Was he dreaming of a mouse? A bird? Did he think that maybe if the sun was any hotter he'd have to move? The lake, the table, the yard the environment around the cat has disappeared and it is just a cat sleeping in the sun on slab.

If the photo were a story focusing on the twigs takes a twist. Instead of a spring day, it could be a winter day. What about the shadows cast on the wall? Are the roots of the tree healthy or are they fighting being part of a closed in garden? But what about the cat's point of view. When the tree blooms, will he enjoy its shade?

Looking through the fence toward the lake, the cat is no longer a part of the story. Maybe the car is. There could be a driver that owns a boat that he doesn't want to sell, but he has too because he's getting a divorce. Maybe he has parked and is taking his boat across the lake to see his lover. Maybe it is a stolen car.

The new point of view is a rust-coloured building, a semi-grungy yard. There is no lake, no cat. There is a sense of being unable to get to the building. Except with the miracle of cropping, the house has moved closer. A person could yell loud enough to get the attention of anyone inside. If someone came out the person behind the three blue bars still has protection.

One photo can create many different scenarios, many different point of views. If I were teaching a writing class, I would ask my students to each choose one of the parts and do a story, and one student to do it as a whole.

But I'm not teaching, I'm playing with a photo before I start my day, that will include writing. And why not?

.