POV Swap
by Kim Ripley

You've researched. You've interviewed. You've got a list of sources a mile long, and enough anecdotes to fill a multi-volume anthology. The piece starts to flow as you work it together--an historical account of a couple's home, and the architectural innovations that bring it up to speed with modern living. The story will not only highlight progress and modernization, it will glimpse the culturally rich lives of the fascinating homeowners, too. Art is featured, as are artists and display methods. Worldwide travels tell their own tales within this piece, with souvenirs throughout the home. It will undoubtedly be a writer's masterpiece when completed. And then you get THE CALL.

"We've got a little problem," the editor says. And that's okay. "Little problems" are a big part of freelance writing, and the professional writer solves those problems quickly and efficiently. This little problem, however, turns out to be rather large.

It seems Joe and Mary Blow (not the homeowner's REAL names) have decided that their privacy is in peril with any mention of the location of their home. They also feel their privacy will be forfeited pending the divulging of their professions or stories of their art collections. And last but not least, they have opted for the publication to withhold use of their real names.

How to proceed?

"I don't think we can go with pseudonyms--especially not Joe and Mary Blow," the editor tells the freelancer. "I think you'll need to re-work the piece, perhaps using an entirely different point of view---by Friday."

Huh?

This is when deep breathing techniques are helpful. Following that last exhale, it's time to take a course of action--and take it rather quickly. Where this article is concerned, there will be many obvious changes--starting with POV.

POV--or point of view has saved many a writer from disasters just like this aforementioned dilemma. The freelancer must first rework the article from a different point of view. In this case, the most logical place to turn was to the architectural designer and builder involved with the home's reonovations.

Many phone calls and interviews later, the freelancer sits down to tear apart the original masterpiece. Can anything be salvaged from the content written about the homeowners? Certainly. Quotes can be turned into simple text provided they aren't too specific. Some of the homeowner's statements actually helped create pointed questions for the architect and builder. In other words, the entire first article wasn't a waste.

Articles like this are never a waste. A worst-case scenario finds the piece filed for future use or reference. The best finds it reworked and refreshed with a very different point of view. This article--rather than the homeowner's description of preserving the history of their home, became the designer and builder describing the importance of preserving it, while describing the challenges and solutions to updating and maintaining the home. The result was certainly a challenge to the writer, but a successful one.

Try the following exercise:

Read a short magazine article. Any publication will do. Now rewrite that same article, based on a different point of view. For example, an article about a woman suffering from panic attacks may take on a new slant when written from her husband's perspective. What about her doctor? That could shed a completely new light on the subject. Use your imagination and practice changing the POV in your writing. Then when you're caught off guard by an editor requesting some changes to your article, you'll be experienced in yet one more facet of writing, and ready to do the job effectively.

Copyright 2003 Kim Ripley. All Rights Reserved.

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