Dorthe Nors and the Power of Third Person Distance

Good Writing Podcast

How can the base-level choice of what perspective (first, second or third person) is used in a piece of writing be used as a way for a reader to gain perspective on a character?

Dorthe Nors’ novella Minna Needs Rehearsal Space (translated by Mishka Hoekstra) uses a close third person and a unique approach to paragraphs to allow the reader to read the titular character’s opinions in the same way that they read facts, and as you would probably guess, hilarity ensues.

• Minna Needs Rehearsal Space (2016) by Dorthe Nors and translated by Mishka Hoekstra
• An excerpt from the book, but not the one we discussed in the episode

Good Writing is a podcast where two friends read like writers and lay out craft for fellow writers to steal. Co-hosted by Emily Donovan and Benjamin Kerns.

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