Establishing a singular point of view is critical when you’re writing or reading a story. This is the perspective that the narrator will take. It’s how you’ll understand whose view you’re experiencing the events from and its impact on the overall narrative.
Common Points of View
The
different points of view in a story can influence your perspective, and there are often three common POVs novels take.
First-person Point of View
The first-person point of view relies on a singular narrator. It uses the pronouns I, me, we, and mine. This narrator has to be present for all the action to take place, and you are only experiencing it from their perspective.
Because of this, it can be unreliable. You only know how the main character thinks and feels, which is not always true. The first-person POV can be biased, but you are supposed to experience the narrative from their perspective.
Young adult, science fiction, and memoirs often use first-person narration because it helps readers become immersed in the story. The story should captivate readers enough to make them suspend disbelief and get carried away by the plot.
Second-person Point of View
Second-person POV focuses on you, your, and yours. You want the reader to feel like a specific character, so you create scenarios to place them within their head. This can help them feel their motivations and empathize with their behaviors.
Second-person POV is less common in long-form novels. It’s employed in essays, poetry, short stories, and screenplays. In screenplays, it can help provide context clues for the actor. The second person allows them to get into the character's mind, understanding how they would react to a scenario and carry those motivations forward.
These are shorter, so it’s easier to sustain this removed point of view without feeling disconnected from the story as a whole.
Third-person Point of View
Third-person POV is often the most common point of view in novels. It focuses on she, her, hers or he, him, his. Authors approach the third person in two ways: third-person limited or third-person omniscient.
Similar to first-person, third-person limited follows one character at a time. The narrator is deeply familiar with the character’s thoughts and feelings. The character can change throughout the narrative so that you can get insight into multiple characters throughout the book. However, you can only see into their minds one at a time, unlike third-person omniscient, which can see all characters simultaneously.
The third person is an excellent perspective for most fiction, including romances, thrillers, and mysteries. The reader can experience the story from multiple perspectives and still be surprised by how it plays out. The author takes the reader on a journey the entire time.
Choosing the Right Point of View for Your Story
A
story outline can help you prepare for where the story will take you; however, some authors need help choosing the right viewpoint for their story. As you decide between the common types, here are some points of consideration.
Audience Knowledge
How much do you want the audience to know as they read? First-person narrators are limited to what happens as the character experiences it. The audience can guess what happens next but will only know once they read the story.
Third-person narrators may be able to share things that happened without the character’s knowledge. It can be said in an aside. For example, “Sally didn’t know it yet, but Ben had bought a ring.” You know Ben will propose, so it can be frustrating when Sally breaks up with him before he can.
As the audience, you know the thoughts and motivations of multiple characters, but you experience them as each character learns.
Immersive Experience
How do you want your readers to experience the story? If you want them to feel like they are the main character, the first-person POV will be best. This is a deeply personal POV. You are meant to feel what the character feels as they experience it—the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Third-person narrators can distance themselves from the narrative. It can help you root for multiple characters rather than getting connected to a singular point of view.
Feels Natural
Consider what feels natural as you’re writing. Don’t try to force a POV. Use first-person if you find yourself only slipping into one character's mind. Use the third person if you need multiple character’s POVs to tell the story.
Writing is becoming increasingly
popular as a hobby, so make sure you have fun with it. The more you write, the more natural it will feel.
Conclusion
As you choose your POV, maintain consistency. Don’t slip between multiple points of view, as this can be jarring to readers. You can always revise your earlier work if the story changes as you write. Your point of view will shape how your readers interpret your story, so make it count.
☰
