Point of View (otherwise known as P.O.V.) is how a writer approaches the telling of a story – it’s “who” tells the story, and authors have several choices:
- FIRST PERSON: The narrator is the main character (usually), and tells the story while in the story. “I was running to the store to get milk when suddenly…”
- THIRD PERSON LIMITED: The narrator is telling the story, but is not the main character, and may not be in the story at all. A “limited” 3rd person narrator can only tell what he sees and hears, “He was running to the store when suddenly BANG! he was rear-ended!”
- THIRD PERSON OMNISCIENT: The narrator is outside the story and can even share characters’ thoughts and emotions. “He was running to the store thinking about how good it felt to drink cold milk, when suddenly…”
- SECOND PERSON (NOT RECOMMENDED): characterized by the pronoun “you.” “You were just thinking to yourself, ‘Wow! I’m thirsty,’ and you realized you really wanted some milk…”
Each POV has certain pros and cons:
- First person POV has the tendency to bring your reader into the story, to force him or her to sympathize with the main character. In essence, first person POV makes the reader “walk in the character’s shoes” more than the other POVs.
- Third Person Limited vs. Third Person Omniscient: it depends on what you’re attempting. Being able to share a character’s thoughts and emotions is handy at times, and gives you (the author) the ability to share memories and gives readers deeper insights into characters’ personalities, but sometimes authors get carried away and readers get bored with it. The biggest advantage of third person POV in general is that in longer works, you can change focus from one character to another with more ease than first person allows.
- Second person is a bit trendy, but it’s an awkward POV for storytelling. It tends to feel like cousin Joey telling stories at the family get-together or the local bar. The most popular narratives written in this POV are the choose-your-own-adventure books that debuted in the 1980s and were popular for a few years.