Monday, November 8, 2010

Who the Characters Aren't

All---

Last night I referenced a lesson from my work on the ambulance involving who's caught up in the drama-cane, and who's sitting in the eye.  Tonight, another lesson from my work on the ambulance.  Again, it's something I think we all know, but the ambulance has really driven it home (so to speak): who the important players in a scene are really depends on your POV.

Last night we had an ambulance run for a diabetic patient suffering from complications after smoking K2.  We are a basic life support unit.  Because the patient had symptoms of chest pain and showed signs of an elevated heart rate and blood pressure, we  called for advance life support assistance.

We're all involved in what could be written as one scene.  However, who the principal players in that scene are vary dramatically with whose perspective you're in.    See this cast of characters, and who they would see as the principal characters during the transport to the hospital:

Patient: EMT, paramedic, and assistant, whom he called guardian angels
Paramedic: Patient and self; the paramedic is in charge of the situation and focused on patient care
EMT: Patient and paramedic; the EMT is trying to watch the patient and respond to the paramedic
Assistant: EMT and paramedic; the patient is essentially invisible as all attention is on the two leads
Driver: self, driving the vehicle and interacting with the outside world; the back of the ambulance is invisible

The patient's attention is really, apart from his own pain and discomfort, focused on all of us and what we're doing -- or, more accurately, what he thinks we're doing.  The driver is focused on getting us to the hospital.  The EMT is concerned with the paramedic's instructions, and possible with the patient's airway.  The paramedic  is concerned with airway and breathing and her own role in making sure the pieces are all operating together.  I'm just watching the EMT and the paramedic, trying to anticipate their needs and respond to their requests.

So just a reminder: POV changes more who's telling the story and what they think is important about it.  It can even change big things like who is really moving the action of a scene.

.Nevets.

p.s. Apologies to the blogosphere that my work is keeping me from being quite as active reading your blogs the past few days, but I promise that I'm catching up as best I can!

10 comments:

  1. As a weary blood courier, I understand all too well how workload can sap your time and energy from blogging and writing, Roland

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  2. @Roland - Oh man, medical couriers and long-distance transport ambulance crews have it hard. I don't envy your schedule, your hours, or your tension. Keep up the good work on both fronts! :)

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  3. I loved reading this post and seeing the intersection of your work world and your writing world.
    I never get to hang out in an ambulance, so seeing the interplay of people was fascinating for me!

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  4. No worries on catch up with me C.N.

    I recently had an issue where I wanted to write from the famale perspective, but my story and other character said "No way!" The action was coming from the male, and thus I should write from him instead of the female support. I have found I tend to do that and need to break away- just because my story includes a female does not mean I should write from her POV.

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  5. what a great example! It's so true and it's something we often forget.

    CD

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  6. POV is important indeed. One of the fascinating aspects of being a writer is that you can introduce characters who seem bleak and insignificant. And hey presto, in the next chapter you can switch to their point of view and give them some insight the other characters didn´t have the least idea of.

    Sometimes I practise this by writing a flash fiction story from one point of view and telling the same story from another point of view afterwards. Sometimes the minor characters surprise even me.

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  7. POV is definitely something to consider when you're writing a scene--everyone is thinking something different and there are so many options to how a character(s) can be portrayed.

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  8. @Lydia - Glad you enjoyed the peek into the truck. :)

    @Summer - We do all have natural tendencies like that, don't we? Sometimes it's okay because writers should write to their strengths, but I do think it's good to stretch sometimes.

    @Clarissa - Thanks!

    @Dorte - That's a great a idea! I will have to do that sometime, at least for fun.

    @G'Eagle - Exactly! It's all a matter of options! The writer that realizes they have options and aren't a prisoner to the story is much better for it!

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  9. Obviously I am behind on blogs as well...

    Another great post, and a great followup to the one previous. I sure hope the driver's job is to get you to the hospital. Otherwise it might be a short or a very long, interesting trip. :)

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  10. haha Yes, if the driver were doing something other than getting us to the hospital, we would have what you might call, "a situation." :)

    That said, you'd be surprised how many times that doesn't click for people. We have family members come running up to the ambulance, asking the driver about the condition and prospects of their loved ones. The driver has to find some polite way of saying, "Well, I'm just driving the truck, but I know the guy wasn't dead when we loaded him in the back."

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