When you read words written on the sand, you normally would want to know who wrote them, wouldn't you? You'll have to agree with me that it's kind of a natural human response to language to seek out the source... the someone who created it. And one reason could be is that the feeling of someone talking to you brings a great satisfaction out of reading. You get to think and feel like the one who is communicating to you and you tend to see things from his perspective. And this sense of being one with the writer somehow makes you want to read further what he has written.
To take the other side of the coin now, let me invite you to consider the task of the writer in choosing how best to engage his audience in terms of point of view. Writers normally adopt a Persona, - a self for the purpose of addressing particular people in particular situations. And this speaker or character would take one of three points of view: - the First Person 'I' , the Second Person 'You', and the Third Person 'He, She, They'.
The narrator or persona is not necessarily identified with author or speaker, nor is the listener necessarily the reader of the piece of writing. But the 'I' speaker either plays a role in the events narrated or speaks directly to his audience and commands some credibility. When the writer addresses his audience as 'You', it is an invitation to a relationship with him, at least for the duration of the essay. And the Third Person point of view would refer to what are known in the trade as omniscient narrators who know everything that happens and know what all the characters are thinking and feeling. Now if you might just ask me, - my personal favorite in trying to engage my reader is the use of the 'You' persona. And why? Because I, myself, am automatically magnetized to a written work that invites me to share the author's thoughts and sensibilities. I find it effectively grabs my attention... I find it enthralling to be allowed to look into another person's mind.
Aside from Point of View, one other significant aspect in writing would be Voice - also sometimes called, Tone, or Style, or Diction. Human attitudes towards people, subject matter, or even to one's own self are conveyed with Tone. Among these attitudes could be included the following: - sincere, enthusiastic, angry, amused, ironic, pleading... and the list could go on. What is of interest here, however, is the fact that the ordinary meaning of words does not always indicate speakers' attitudes because a speaker, or a writer for that matter, may say one thing but mean another. Or meanings may be inferred either from context or from relationships of power and solidarity. Simple statements like 'Shut the door!' or 'It's raining!', for instance, may be given diverse meanings depending on the situations they were said, and who said which and to whom it was said. Would you care to play around with interpretations to those two utterances?
Both persona and tone are critical in writing. From your readings, you certainly come upon diverse versions of writings that convey same or similar contents; but certainly, as well, you get to recognize differences that make you decide which would be more interesting. In terms of persona, this, of course, rests on what particular subject matter it is or to what particular audience the text was meant for. But with these and your considering the use of tone, you surely will find that one is more arresting and compelling - which, in turn, could just give you a head start in being that engaging writer!
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