My worst Point of View Journey yet happened just this past year (late 2024).
“This is gonna be great,” I said, cracking open my notebook and staring at the lump of papers. I had to whittle this mess down to a short story but I loved this story idea. It worked well.
But then I read it. Or tried to read it.
Every page felt off, in ways I couldn’t really figure out. I made endless red line strokes, circled entire paragraphs. I am not a perfect writer by far but it seemed so strange that I couldn’t find anything usable beyond the setting. I tossed my pens down, walked away to think it over.
This routine lasted four days. It felt awful.
Finally, I knew I had to simply start again on something else. I had a deadline and needed to submit the story by then. Edited and polished. I needed to do this.
I caught myself writing from the point of view of the little boy in my story. His oddness and everything usually were easy to write but it felt…stilted. The way when you lie and exaggerate and the story feels hollow.
Crumpling up my papers, I started again. This time, I took myself out of the equation in every sense. I didn’t act as bewildered as everyone else about this child as a narrator. Instead, I put myself beside the weary mother humouring her son and got her opinion.
And then the story grew and read true.
Lesson Learned
Point of View in fiction is one of the most important aspects to nail early on. You can save yourself so much heartache if you take the time to really think it through. This is also why you need to read back at times to see if you are actually changing your mind about who should tell the story and how. A messed up POV is aggravating to readers and oftentimes dull.
What is a POV?
Point of view is the story telling’s default mode. It is often told through three ways:
First person: think “I” “Me” as the dominant ways of conveying emotion. This story is told by the narrator about what has happening or is happening. Popular example: the Twilight books
Second Person: the second person is told as “You”. I rarely see this done well but it is effective for putting the reader front and centre, informing them as the narrator. It often has a feel of discovery.
Third Person: to simplify, this is told as such: “He sat on a bench. He got up from the bench.” there are different variations of third person, such as limited (narrator knows some things) or omniscient (narrator knows all). It is a popular way of story telling but does lack the intimacy of first and second person. It is, arguably, my favourite way of reading and telling a story.
So now you know what your choices are, let’s talk about the reasons why and why not, and when to use them.
First Person Point of View
Where I typically see first person POV is teen lit, romance, fantasy, and general literature. That’s not to say it can’t work anywhere else, it absolutely can. It will be up to you to decide if that works for you though.
Here’s some pros and cons about first person POV
Pros:
- Immersive experience: your reader is part of the story., It doesn’t matter if your character is a 99 year old man with Alzheimer’s, that character and the reader are on their journey together.
- Direct connection with the reader: in this POV, their emotions, their actions, are more closely entwined with the readers. Even in unreliable narrators, readers and characters can be attached. It is often why there can be such voracious response to some style of stories: the reader is part of it.
Cons:
- Limited perspective: This is the tricky part of first person point of view. It typically is at a cost of knowing much about any other character, outside of the main character’s perspective. It can limit the growth of other characters and form bias against them. It also can lead to the author leaning too heavily on the main character and not allowing enough growth.
- Can be unreliable: Unreliable outcomes are fun in fiction. In theory. But writing an unreliable narrator can often happen in first person, deliberately or otherwise, because you are subject to only their opinion. Good or bad. Think American Psycho. It can become to the point you actually struggle to tell the story the way it needs.
- When to use:
- Character-driven stories
- Confessional narratives
Second Person POV
So I will admit, second person pov is my least favourite because, for my writing, I find it useless. But it can work in mysteries, choose your own adventure, general literature, and children’s books easily.
Pros:
- Super immersive. Readers feel they are part of the story and the narrator takes them into the world. You can think of it like a DND game sometimes, with a DM directing you.
- Fun and memorable when it works. This is a fun way to tell a story where you can have Readers anticipating what happens next.
Cons:
- Can be clumsy. This is also a hard POV to master, as it can make storytelling clunky.
- Not as involved as other POVs. You won’t get other character insights or knowledge than what the narrator offers and you’re having to guess at motivations
When to Use:
- Children’s books of all genres
- Mystery novels
- Lit stories
Third Person POV
This is my favourite. There’s many variations on Third Person such as omniscient, limited, etc. I tend to use a combination of omniscient and limited. Part of the reason I heavily favour the Third Person POV is that I like to be able to see more than just a character. While the main character is important, the supporting characters are vital; this includes bias and prejudices which can help show more than tell.
Pros:
- Highly Objective. Being in third person perspective allows you to be more detached and objective to your story, while managing a complex plot or many characters.
- ****In terms of storytelling, you’ll find this is a very flexible point of view not limited by your own abilities. You can shift between characters and locations to get a broad scope of the story.
- This may seem odd but this is the most accessible to readers. The intimacy of first-person can be jarring, especially if violent or disturbing content is involved. This allows a more distant narrative to follow.
Cons:
- The distance you create can be a detriment to some readers who prefer to be intimately involved. They may want to experience thoughts and feelings.
- If you struggle with ‘Show, Don’t Tell’ this can be a difficult one to master. You need to rely on so much to tell the story, beyond the character’s thoughts
- Using “He Said, She Said” so much readers get annoyed. This is a common mistake made with this POV. It can disrupt the narrative to constantly use “said” tags. You need to get creative to fix this up!
When to Use:
- A complex plot: Often thought of as high fantasy, high scifi (space operas), or generational stories
- Multiple view points: if you have more than one ‘main’ character, choose this one if you want to maintain appropriate distance without character biases.
- When suspense/mystery is what you need to help hide elements of the conclusion/climax
It’s all in the POV
So that’s the simplified version of POV. But now you have the information about what the different types are (the core types commonly used), how do you know which one you want to use? You have a story you want to write, let’s go! Right?
Maybe. Remember my earlier story about struggling with POV. It is going to happen to you.
The standard advice I’ll give you is this:
- Decide on your story’s focus. Is it character driven? Is it plot driven?
- Who is your audience? Will you jar your audience if you write in second person when a story is commonly written in first? Will agents or audiences be willing to even try a different perspective and enjoy it? What’s the experience you want them to have? Intimate or more distant?
But the only advice I have ever had really work for me is to start writing. Write a scene in your character’s voice. Try out each perspective and see which one flows better. You might intend to be the narrator but then the story flows faster and easier as a first person narrative from your main character. Or another character (that happens!).
Perspective can make or break a story. Memorable characters are made from perspectives and how the author uses it to really develop the story itself. Realize you can experiment and have fun, and when you find that perspective that works, go for it.