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I've was watching The Dresden Files (TV show, not books) recently (Why was it cancelled? Why? *sob*) and in a brief break between episodes I got a random spurt of inspiration for a in-progress fic. I scribbled off the phrases before I lost my train of thought and then realised Huh. Wrong POV. The rest of the fic is 3rd person limited, and I'd written this in 1st. No biggie, easy to change.

But it started me thinking... why did I default to writing it in first person? There was nothing in the fic itself that required it. Then it dawned on me - I wrote it in the first person because I was watching a TV that is in the first person. Mystery solved.

Except The Dresden Files isn't written in the first person, since it's a TV show. I'm not sure it even makes sense to think about a first-person POV TV show, barring 'Blair Witch' gimmicks. But it does have a narrator.

I'm not sure when I started to equate the idea of a narrator in a show with first person narration in a book. On one hand, it makes sense; the narrator is (generally) talking directly to the audience using the first person. It (can) give the same direct insight into the main character's thoughts. I'm also tempted to say that shows with narrators also tend to be tightly linked to the storylines of the narrator, (versus, say, an ensemble show) but I'm making this assumption from a sample size of two (The Dresden Files and The Invisible Man). Not exactly a huge statistical pool. On the other hand, the show freely uses scenes where the protagonist is not present, although only when required for dramatic purposes (by which I mean it is usual for Harry to be present, unless there is a pressing, plot-related reason for him being there - having been kidnapped, for instance, and the show needing to show to audience how Murphy found him).

Regardless, I've found that watching shows with narration has the same effect on my writing as reading things in the first person - it shunts my brain directly into 'first person' mode.

What do you guys think? Is there an equivalent to (written) POV in TV shows, and is it a function of direction, camera-work, writing, or something else?

Conferences are exhausting. But they provide excellent freebies, so I guess it evens out *g*

And, since I was there ridiculously early today due to the parking situation, I even had some time to do a little Mini Nano-ing in the morning. Which is especially good, since a combination of my rush to get the photos done in time for pre-christmas book printing, other real life commitments (haircuts yay!) and conference-induced exhaustion, I've been very slack. This weekend is not looking up either - between fulfilling my Civic Duty (Ugh, elections), professional/work development functions (2 in one weekend!) and social stuff I've already committed to, I'm not sure when I'm going to sleep, let along write or finish those photos.

On a less whining note, thanks to everyone who voted or commented on my Crossover poll (over 100 votes!) - it generated some really interesting discussion. When I get some time (Hah!) I intend to go over the poll responses and see if any interesting relationships fall out, but it's going to have to wait for a bit.

Right. Time to type up my words from this morning, and see if I met my goal.

ETA: Typing up those notes kick started a flurry of high-speed writing - 1519 words in less than an hour. Which means this is the first fic of mine to officially break the 10,000 word barrier... *gulp*