Vision and perspective would seem to be two sides of the same coin, but in the general world of writing, where words can mean so many things, I think the definitions part ways, dramatically.
Vision, in writing, I think can be best attached to how you see the story unfolding. Granted, for me, characters are telling me the story as I write it, but the vision is still sound. In Knights of the Shield, my vision was a slow transformation from an untrusting, rule-breaking, rude protagonist to a rules and regulations, polite, trusting and trustworthy protagonist by the end of the story.
How I got there was up to my characters, and MAN did they make it an effort sometimes. Still, my main plot line followed my vision as I intended it to.
Another way to look at it. (Get it? Vision…look at it?) I write with a movie camera in my head. I see shots and how the camera pans around for each scene I write. I visualize everything either before I write it, or as I do, with that mental camera always running. If I can see my characters and their environment, I can have a better understanding and control of how that scene is applied to the vision for my plot.
Perspective, to me, is the one thing that was successfully drilled into my creative writing head during my online courses with Lary Crews. Perspective is which character’s point of view is the voice of the scene. My instructor’s biggest beef is authors yanking their readers around the room by utilizing multiple perspectives in the same scene. I have read a few authors that can successfully pull it off, especially when the story requires it, but in general, I see Lary’s point and try to follow it religiously.
For example…
John looked in Mary’s eyes and tried to read what he was seeing. Mary saw the fear in his eyes and wanted him to know it was okay, though she couldn’t tell him why. John felt a sadness overcome him, wondering if Mary would ever allow him to be with her again. Mary couldn’t bear the thought of living without John, but for his own good, he needed to be separate from her.
Yank, yank, yank. A reader would begin to feel like a horizontal yo-yo reading this.
John looked in Mary’s eyes and tried to read what he was seeing. He could see her studying him, but seemed to be holding something back. His heart leapt, maybe there was a chance for them to be together, after all. She turned away, ripping his last hope from his heart.
All in one perspective, with a hint of what she might be thinking, or feeling, from John’s perspective.
There you go, vision and perspective, in a nutshell.