Mom paused to admire the photos placed neatly in her scrapbook. Each one brought back memories and told an important story. Johnny on his bike—he had learned it was okay to fall, refusing to quit until he could ride his bike without training wheels. Susie with the lead role in the high school play—instead of becoming an actress, she had decided the life of a doctor would be better.
As Mom relived tragedies and triumphs, she noticed one consistent fact: she wasn’t in any of the pictures. If she hadn’t been behind the camera, she would have felt cheated. The value of any story comes from being a participant in what happens, a principle that Mom realized was important when she wrote.
Readers didn’t want to be observers. They wanted to be in the picture. Any time Mom showed the album to friends, their eyes went first to the places where they were included in the pictures. Since most readers weren’t there, how could she include them in the picture?
Mom decided to write with a viewpoint that put readers with her, behind the camera. They would follow her emotional journey. As active participants with her, not as observers, they could share her excitement and appreciate her struggles and victories.
Write from the main character’s viewpoint. Like standing behind a video camera, readers can then be participants in the emotional journey.
