Writing from different points of view – the basics explained

It Depends On Your Point of View

 Whether your reader sees your characters through the narrators eyes or the character’s own depends on the point of view you choose to use.

The different points of view a writer can use are (There are others which a variations of these but we will keep it simple here):

First Person

I got out of bed and looked out of the window – there was a cat on the lawn. I glanced down at the dog, still fast asleep in his bed and thought, maybe not a good time to let him out – he hates cats.

Writing in first person you, as the narrator, can only see and hear what your character sees and hears. You will have deep access to the characters’ emotions but you will not be able to describe their facial expressions apart from ‘I smiled’ or I frowned’ (people don’t usually say, my brows knitted and my eyes narrowed). You will be able to describe other characters’ reactions to them.

Second Person

You get up and look out of the window – there’s a cat on the lawn. You look down at your dog and think, maybe not a good time to let him out – you know he hates cats.

Second person is difficult to write in a story for any length of time, but it is quite engaging. (As above, it is often used in articles like this but technically that is just breaking the wall between the reader and the writer – I am addressing you as the reader).

Third Person (close)

He got out of bed and looked out of the window – there was a cat on the lawn. He glanced down at his dog, still fast asleep in his bed and thought, maybe not a good time to let him out, knowing his dog hates cats.

In the third person close the action follows the main character. Think of it as a camera crew following them around but with access to their thoughts and feelings. Third person close can be extended to be more flexible; the camera crew can go off to film another character, the bad guy lurking around the corner, the detective’s sergeant sent off to collect evidence. When following a secondary character they do not usually have access to that character’s thoughts.

Third Person Omniscient

He got out of bed and looked out of the window. The cat strolled across the lawn and glanced up. Bet that lazy dog is still asleep, it thought. The man glanced down at his dog, still fast asleep in his bed and thought, maybe not a good time to let him out. The dog continued to dream of chasing cats across the lawn.

In third person omniscient the narrator can watch anyone they choose, they have access to their thoughts, motivations and back story. It is a very useful POV but has to be used carefully. If the action jumps from one character to another in short bursts the reader will rapidly lose track of who they are reading about and probably start to feel seasick.

Choosing a Point of View

Just because you start writing a short story from one point of view does not mean you have to stick with it. You can experiment with switching points of view. Maybe tell the story from two different characters’ first person points of view. Switching points of view can be disconcerting for the reader – there needs to a some indication (such as a chapter break) that it is changing.

I often go back and re-write a part of a story from a different point of view to see if it sounds better. If it does, I will rewrite the entire story in that one.

All Lessons

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