Write. Read. Repeat.

The point of view (POV) that a writer chooses for their work is determined by several factors. Genre, or the type of writing, being the main one and how the context of the writing needs to be conveyed to the reader comes in second.

There are three main types of writing POV’s to consider. Which ever one you choose, you must keep it consistent through the whole piece. If you reach a point where you want to switch the POV, then you must do so for what is already written. This is a writing rule to maintain fluid reading of your piece.

Let’s take a look at the three main types of writing POV’s, why to use them, and when they can hinder your writing.

FIRST-PERSON POINT OF VIEW: When the context is narrated to the reader by the protagonist (central) or the narrator is close by to the protagonist (peripheral). Though both are first-person, peripheral POV gives a slight third-person feel to the writing. It is direct observation, but still using ‘I’, ‘me’, ‘my’, and ‘mine’ pronouns.

-BENEFITS: Most commonly used for autobiographies, memoirs, and fictional stories. First-person POV used in fiction bonds the reader and protagonist as they discover the story at the same time. It is also beneficial to a writer who wants to create mystery around their plot and characters as the reader only knows what the protagonist knows. Thus, overarching ideas can be kept secret, utilizing foreshadowing and engaging the reader to formulate their own theories. First-person also allows the reader to be in the protagonist’s head and be witness to the intimacy of their thinking as they venture through the story.

-DRAWBACKS: It can be beneficial, but having the reader only know what the protagonist knows, can be a difficult fact when trying to inform the reader about things outside of the protagonists immediate world. If you need to tell them about the larger picture that gives background information to your plot, that the protagonist does not know, then this can put your writing in a box, so to speak. As in, in order for the reader to find out, you must add the protagonist finding out into your story and this may change your set plot or timeline.

SECOND-PERSON POINT OF VIEW: This type of writing utilizes the pronouns of ‘you’ and ‘your’. Commonly reserved for non-fiction, advertisement, and instructional writing. It can, however, be used in personal pieces, like philosophical writing, when the writer is leading the reader by asking them to think about a certain idea or topical. The semi-rhetorical, meaning you can respond, but the context is made to stimulate internal contemplation. Just like that sentence did.

-BENEFITS: Second-person POV is best for instructional and persuasive writing as it puts the reader into the context, becoming immersive. It is also a very unique way of writing fiction, a novelty novel if you will. A way to submerge the reader in the story, making them a part of it.

-DRAWBACKS: This is one of the hardest POV’s to write fictional stories in. It can make the reader feel trapped as you are telling them what they do, how they think, and how they act. Many people do not like being told what to do, so this can become off putting for the reader very fast. It also posses the same issue of first-person where the reader only knows what they observe, making it difficult for the writer to introduce their overarching ideas.

THIRD-PERSON POINT OF VIEW: This is easier and more common way of writing fiction. Utilizing all other pronouns (‘she’, ‘her’, ‘his’, ‘him’, ‘they’, ‘their’, etc), this POV provides the most range for the writer to explore and describe the world, or worlds, they have created. The narrator acts as an over lord, able to jump from place to place and time to time. Time can slow to replay memories, or speed up with a summary of what happened in a week for example. This allows for multiple stories to occur at one dispute relative location. This type of writing has three subtypes:

A. Omniscient: the narrator can speak freely to the reader about events without forcing their characters into scenarios just so the reader can discover them. There is no limit (time, space, or character knowledge) of what the narrator can access in order to inform the reader.

B. Limited or Close: similar to omniscient, but the narrator keeps thoughts and feeling limited to one central character.

C. Objective: the ‘fly-on-the-wall’ narration of neutrality. The narrator relies on their observation of the characters without getting into their mind and thoughts.

-BENEFITS: Allows for the most flexibility and creates the most complexity in your story writing. You can have multiple stories lines running at once, regardless in they are in the same world or time as the others. Provides the ability to stop the current story to dive into a thought train or memory, without jeopardizing the main plot. Having a more authoritative narration, can prevent the reader from applying their own biases and prejudices to your storyline. You get to tell them how it is and by removing the narrators subjectivity, the writing becomes more concrete in its ideas.

-DRAWBACKS: Third-person can have the issue of dulling repetition. If a character is carrying out a set of tasks, adjectives and adverbs can become overused and clog down the writing. The writer must be skilled enough to change up sentence structure and length to keep the writing from becoming too ‘listy’ and boring. On the other extreme, the writer can have too much going on, too many storylines to the point that the reader cannot follow the main plot.

When researching for the fantasy novel I am attempting to write, I took a close look at how readers felt about reading in different point of views and how writers felt about writing them. I took a deep dive into writing forums where many of the posts were by writers (who are naturally readers) and discovered their answers were quite mixed. Many preferred to read first-person, but only ever wrote in third-person. I found this borderline hypocritical in the stance that they do not produce what they prefer from a product (a book in this case). Turn around to find out that non-writing readers are about even on first-person vs third-person preferences or enjoy both styles equally.

If you are a reader, which point of view do your prefer to read in? If you are a writer/reader, does your style of writing vary from what you pick up to read?