Point of View

Point of view (POV) is a starting point for how to tell a story. The choice of how to narrate your story will impact almost every sentence of it. Here are the four basic points of view.

First person – the main character is "I"
Second person – the main character is "you"
Third person – the narrator is watching from the sidelines
Mixed – a mixture of the above

Third Person: Limited vs. Omniscient

When writing in the third person, there are two variations.

Third person limited – The narrator only has access to what the main characters know or see. For example, the story might only be told using Alice's knowledge, or perhaps the first chapter might depend on Alice's knowledge and the second chapter might depend on Bob's knowledge.
Third person omniscient – The narrator knows things that none of the characters do.

Example: First Person

Here’s the opening paragraph of Confession by Jack London (1876). The word “I” occurs repeatedly.

There is a woman in the state of Nevada to whom I once lied continuously, consistently, and shamelessly, for the matter of a couple of hours. I don’t want to apologize to her. Far be it from me. But I do want to explain. Unfortunately, I do not know her name, much less her present address. If her eyes should chance upon these lines, I hope she will write to me.

Example: Second Person

Here's an excerpt from Asleep in Armageddon by Ray Bradbury (1948). The first paragraph is written in the second person, using “you” and “your”.

You don’t want death and you don’t expect death. Something goes wrong, your rocket tilts in space, a planetoid jumps up, blackness, movement, hands over the eyes, a violent pulling back of available power in the fore-jets, the crash…

The darkness. In the darkness, the senseless pain. In the pain, the nightmare.

He was not unconscious.

Your name? asked hidden voices. Sale, he replied in whirling nausea. Leonard Sale. Occupation, cried the voices. Spaceman! he cried, alone in the night. Welcome, said the voices. Welcome, welcome. They faded.

Example: Third Person Limited

Here’s the opening of Banal Story by Ernest Hemingway (1926). The descriptions are all written from the man’s perspective.

So he ate an orange, slowly spitting out the seeds. Outside, the snow was turning to rain. Inside, the electric stove seemed to give no heat and rising from his writing-table, he sat down upon the stove. How good it felt! Here, at last, was life.

He reached for another orange.

Example: Third Person Omniscient

Here’s the beginning of Work, Death and Sickness by Leo Tolstoy (1903). The story is written entirely from the omniscient view.

A legend.

This is a legend current among the South American Indians.

God, say they, at first made men so that they had no need to work: they needed neither houses, nor clothes, nor food, and they all lived till they were a hundred, and did not know what illness was.

When, after some time, God looked to see how people were living, he saw that instead of being happy in their life, they had quarrelled with one another, and, each caring for himself, had brought matters to such a pass that far from enjoying life, they cursed it.

What's Best?

First person, third person, and mixed point of view are common. For long works, it can be difficult to use first person the entire time, so in novels we are likely to see third person and mixed points of view.

For the third person, both limited and omniscient can reasonably be used. The writer need not be too strict about distinguishing the two. That being said, too much omniscience tends to get boring. If you're making grand statements about the world, do so, and then get back to developing the characters or advancing the plot.

Second person point of view is rare because it's difficult to do well. There are few famous examples, and it's quite likely you've never read a story using this perspective. If you are going to make your own attempt, plan on a lengthy revision process.

References

Bingham, H. (2024). Points Of View In Fiction Writing. Jericho Writers.
Bradbury, R. (1948). Asleep in Armageddon.
Hemingway, E. (1926). Banal Story. Men Without Women.
London, J. (1876). Confession.
Rodak, M., & Storey, B. (n.d.). Prose Fiction. Pressbooks. Retrieved 2024.
Tolstoy, L. (1903). Work, Death and Sickness.

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse