Point of View
Point of view is the narrative voice or perspective from which a story is told, and subsequently how readers experience characters or events. When you write a story, you will have to decide who is telling the story. For example, the story could be told from the point of view of one of the characters in the story, or from a perspective of someone who knows all of the characters, but is not one of them. Generally, it is best to determine the approach that suits your story at the outset and keep to the same point of view throughout.
Listed below are some questions you could ask yourself to determine the best approach:
Who is telling the story? Or how many characters do I need to tell this story?
Would you like the reader to identify strongly with the main character and have intimate knowledge of their thoughts and feelings?
Would you prefer to talk directly to the reader and involve them in the story?
How much information do you want the reader to know?
Do you need the reader to understand the viewpoints of all the characters?
There are three primary types of point of view:
A first person point of view uses the 'I' pronoun. The first person narrative can provide greater insight into a character’s mind. This can create more empathy between the reader and the character, as readers have direct access to a character’s thoughts and feelings. However, this approach limits the character to only be able to report on what they would realistically know about the story from their own perspective. Example: I’m afraid of what may be waiting for me.
A second person point of view addresses the reader directly using the pronoun ‘you’, and is the most rarely used narrative voice. However, it can make the reader feel like they’re a part of the action and complicit in events by drawing them into the story. Example: You feel a lump in your throat as you take in the destruction all around you.
A third person point of view is where the writer is narrating a story about all the characters, referring to them by name, or using third person pronouns. Writing in the third person offers you more flexibility in being able to switch between each character’s story. It also enables the reader to have a bigger picture view and relate to all perspectives, as they’re following multiple characters and narrative arcs. This style of narrative also provides a more authoritative, reliable voice, since the narrator has nothing at stake. Example: They headed through the long grass on their haunches, sharp spikes tickling their sunburnt faces.
A third person point of view may be limited, objective, or omnipresent:
- A limited point of view focuses mainly on one character’s perspective in the story, regarding how they feel and what is going on around them, but it can also switch to other characters in separate sections, subplots, or chapters within the story. This allows the author to limit a reader’s perspective, and control what information the reader knows to help build interest and heighten suspense.
- An objective point of view is told from the perspective of a total outsider. In that sense, the narrator presents the story with an observational tone and they are not aware of the characters’ thoughts or feelings.
- An omnipresent point of view is considered all-knowing because the narrator has access to all aspects of the story and give their own opinions of events. They are aware of each character’s thoughts, feelings, observations, motivations and history - even if that character hasn’t revealed any of those things to the other characters.
While there is no rule that says you can only have one point of view, limiting these options enables the writer time to develop a unique voice for the main character/s, and the reader time to empathise with them. Just keep in mind that if you do decide to change the point of view, the best way to make this clear is by starting a new section or chapter. Don’t suddenly switch to another character’s point of view in the middle of a scene, as this can be confusing for the reader.