Perspective
Perspective is defined as a particular evaluation of a
situation or facts, especially from one person’s point of view.
It’s all in a look.
Recently, I sat next to a German student during my flight to
southern California. When the plane was approaching
for landing, I pointed out downtown Los Angeles to the young man. For a moment, I thought I’d made a
mistake. Maybe the skyscrapers were
downtown Pasadena. No. It was downtown L.A. It wasn’t nearly as awe-inspiring as the New
York skyline.
Perspective.
Los Angeles is the most populous city in California and the
second most populous in the United States, after New York. The metropolitan area is home to nearly
eighteen million people. Yes, eighteen
million. It is surrounded by vast mountain
ranges, deep valleys, forests, desert and the Pacific Ocean. Let’s say there is something for everyone.
Perspective.
My sister lives in Inglewood, a community of 100,000 people. 109,667 to be exact. It’s a
much smaller city than Boise. Boise has
a population of 205,671.
I failed to mention that the city of Inglewood has a total
area of 9.1 square miles, while Boise occupies 64 square miles. Okay, so there are a lot of people packed
into the space. Inglewood borders Los
Angeles. The cities merge together. As a matter of fact, the people across the
street live in Los Angeles. That’s how
close she is to L.A.
Perspective.
Prince William and his bride, Lady Katherine, visited the
United States this month. I watched a
live broadcast as they exited the plane, were greeted by Governor Jerry Brown,
the mayor of Los Angeles, Antonio Villaraigosa, and other dignitaries. I saw them step into the Range Rover, sent
from England especially for their use during their California stay.
There had been accidents on two freeways and some intelligent
person decided the best way for them to get to their first event was to travel surface
streets. It was a spur of the moment
decision. There were several reporters
in station helicopters following the entourage.
At one point I realized, they were traveling past my oldest nephew’s
apartment. The best part of the
broadcast was seeing the reaction from the people the royals passed on the
street. Those people along the streets, of
course, had a different perspective than the television viewers.
When my other nephew returned home, I asked him if he had
caught sight of the royals. I explained
that they had traveled the surface streets.
His response, “That’s what caused the traffic backup.”
Perspective.
Imagine your character in that plane, landing in Los Angeles. How might they react to the visual? Imagine the royals landing. What things did they take note of. How would the scene unfold if the passenger
was a returning vet? What if that vet’s
boyfriend had dumped her? What if that
vet’s father was seriously ill? What if
she was returning home to clear her father’s name? How would those things affect her
perspective?
Have you played with perspective, written a scene from
different points of view to see which one works best? Think about it. How would you write that scene?
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