Psychic and Reader: Synonymous terms?

Being psychic isn’t all that different from being a reader.  That’s right.  If you read, you’re a psychic*.  😉

Think about it.  When you read a book, you’re in the head of the person or people you’re reading about – usually.  Especially if it’s in first-person point of view.  (Of course, there are always exceptions to writing rules.)

Up until lately, I generally wrote in third-person  limited.  (Still a big fan!)  But, my last novel was first-person.  My current WIP started out that way until recently.  I wanted to add in another point of view, but first person and multiple points of view would be rather confusing.  I whined and complained and finally decided to change my first five chapters to third person limited.  I’m still upset, but it’s what’s best for my novel.  I discuss that in another post.

Back to being a psychic.  As a reader, the way the author writes their stories is important.  We want to know the characters’ thoughts.  We want to know what actions they’re going to take, how they feel about other characters, etc.  Then, we want mystery.  Who’s the killer?  What’s gonna happen now?

See, a psychic doesn’t “know” everything.  They “know” enough about the person to make us believe they can tell us our future.  Isn’t that what we want to achieve with our stories?  Give the readers enough to believe that they know how our character will react to a situation but enough that they still want to know them.  That sentence may seem jumbled and confusing.  Sorry.  My point is this.  Whatever point of view you choose, does it make your reader feel as if they know your characters or are they distant from them?

I like to connect with other characters.  I want them to feel believable, and I want to be duped into believing I know what they’re going to do next.  I also like to be surprised by their actions.

Choose your point of view wisely for our readers are psychics, or at the very least, like Shawn Spencer in Psych.  😉

James Roday in USA Network's Psych

*As a disclaimer, I don’t believe in psychics’ abilities to tell us our future.  I believe they are phonies, but sometimes, they make for a good story.  That’s all.  Oh and all pictures were googled.