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Point of view (POV) is the perspective from which a story is told; the narrator's position in relation to the story. It is the perspective of the narrator, not the author. We may choose to tell our story in first person, using "I" or "we"; in third person ("he," "she," "it"), which can be limited or omniscient; or less commonly, in the second person, "you." Each method has its advantages and disadvantages. Deciding which point of view to use is a strategic decision. As a writer, you must choose which person will allow you to most effectively develop your characters and tell your story. Occasionally, an author switches the POV in the story, but this can be confusing to the reader. FIRST PERSON (Singular): It may help you to remember what 1st person is, if you link it to this egocentric statement: "I am the person of 1st importance in my life". Thus, the 1st person POV uses 'I' (or rarely, 'we', which is 1st person plural). The benefit of the 1st person POV, especially for fiction, is that it allows the reader to have a comprehensive identification with the main character (or occasionally with a minor character instead). The narrator is a character in the story, and the whole story is written through his eyes. This character takes actions, makes judgments and has opinions and biases. The downside is that this is also limiting as only the narrator's view can be told directly, with other characters being shown through dialogue or actions. The narrator can be the protagonist, or someone close to him (e.g. Dr Watson in Sherlock Homes), or a character telling the story second-hand. In autobiographical fiction, the 1st person narrator is the character of the author, (with varying degrees of accuracy). The narrator is still distinct from the author and must behave like any other character and any other first person narrator. THIRD PERSON (Singular) Third person singular, using 'he' or 'she, is most common for novels. There are variations within the 3rd person POV, such as omniscient or limited, which relate to how much the narrator can reveal of the characters and how much they know. A novel may have different characters, each with a limited POV, telling their story in different sections of the book. To recap: • I am (first-person singular); we are (first-person plural) • you are (second-person singular); you are (second-person plural) • he, she, one or it is (third-person singular); they are (third-person plural) If an author switches between one POV to another during a story, it can cause a lot of confusion, if it isn't done properly. Understanding point of view is seen most easily when you check who is doing the talking. cheap research papers
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