The Whimsical Muse

02 - Understanding the Point of View

Understanding the Point of View

An overly simplified definition of Point of View (POV) is to identify who is telling the story and how they are telling it.

First Person (POV) can be defined as someone telling you his or her story because the writer is using a narrative format of telling the story from their point of view, using pronouns that identify them such as I and me.

Second Person (POV) is similar in that someone is telling you the story, but it is not from the writers' perspective or point of view. It is more specific in that someone is telling the story but they are not a part of it. It is easily identified by the use of pronouns such as you, your, and yours because they are talking to you as the reader.

Third Person (POV) is actually split into two different forms of storytelling and uses the pronouns he, she, it, and they.

There is Third Person Limited (POV) which appears similar to First Person POV in the sense it is a story being narrated from the perspective of one person. This one person can be an outsider looking in or be from the point of view of the main character in the story.

There is also Third Person Omniscient (POV) which is a form of storytelling where there is one narrator who knows the thoughts and feelings of every character in the story. This narrator is not the writer nor any one character within the story. The key to this method of storytelling to understand that the story is essentially being told by various characters within the story. This point of view only works when combined with descriptive writing in the sense that the writer needs to point out any and all relevant details of the story.

Third Person Omniscient Point of View is an excellent way of telling a story, but it a treacherous path for new writers' for different reasons. One as evidenced by the fact that this narrator knows everything about every character. The biggest difficulty for new writers' utilizing this form of POV is knowing how to not reveal too much too soon to the reader. Just as your character should slowly learn about various twists and plots within the story as it moves along, so should it be for your readers. You need to keep them guessing!

Third Person Omniscient Point of View is my preferred point of view for storytelling for various reasons. One is because I don't want to be part of the story, I don't want the reader listening to me tell it from my own point of view. I would rather be the director behind the scenes where the actors tell the story through their feelings and with their own words. This point of view only works when paired with descriptive writing in the sense that the writer needs to be able to point out any and all relevant details of the story.

Another reason is that by its definition it is a method of telling a story where I as the narrator know all the thoughts and feelings of my characters. I like this because as I am writing I can reveal some of these thoughts and feelings as needed in order to create more depth in both the story as well as the characters themselves. Again, it is important to point out the need to use caution in revealing information. Pacing yourself according to where you are in the timeline of your story is essential in maintaining the plot!

As writers' we create a world filled with all manner of things, beings, and characters. We want our readers' to be able to visualize what we see in our minds as we write and to pull them into the story. We want them to fall in love with our heroes and heroines, and root for the two lovers who are being kept apart for whatever reason. We want them to hate or even love our villains and other 'bad guys' in the story. The way I see it, we cannot do this if we do not share the thoughts and feelings of our characters.

Whatever point of view you decide is best for how you want to tell/write your story, remember to remain consistent throughout the entire story. There is no one way to write a story. I simply chose to identify and elaborate on the most commonly used forms in literature.

Happy Writing!! Thanks for reading!!