Point of view (POV) can be a confusing beast. Some writers are POV purists, while others hop from head to head like a bad case of lice. As with any construct in writing, one must know thy rules before thee break them.
POV is the character with whom we walk through a story. Sometimes the character isn’t even on the page, such as a narrator. But we still need to have a sense of who is experiencing the happenings on the page. Movies don’t have the same confines, as we get to see anything the camera shows us. There are many shades to each category, but generally, POV choices include:
First person – A story told by a character using the first-person pronouns of I, me, my, mine, et cetera to describe the events as this character lives through them.
I’m the one that suffered when George wrecked my bicycle. I walked thirteen blocks to get to work that entire month. My cube mate said I needed a better excuse for being late. So I told him I was too busy burying the body to make it on time. He left me alone after that.
Second person – rarely used in fiction. Even more rarely used well. Uses the pronoun of you and all its derivatives as the writer narrates events to you, as if you were a character in the piece.
You’re the one that suffered when George wrecked your bicycle. You walked thirteen blocks to get to work that entire month. Your cube mate said you needed a better excuse for being late. So you told him you were too busy burying the body to make it on time. He left you alone after that.
Third person – the most common POV in fiction. Uses the many third-person pronouns, including, he, she, they, and them.
She’s the one that suffered when George wrecked her bicycle. She walked thirteen blocks to get to work that entire month. Her cube mate said she needed a better excuse for being late. So she told him she was too busy burying the body to make it on time. He left her alone after that.
I’ll discuss these individually in later segments, once my head stops spinning. I like to write in third-person, because I use more than one POV throughout the story. But I enjoy reading first-person stories because of the intimacy of the perspective.
What about you? Do you have a preference? Bright Lights, Big City was a successful second-person POV novel, anyone read that?
p.s. Photo by pcgn7
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi! Just visiting from the Day 19 of 31DBBB Blog Frog post! Great write-up on POV!
It’s a topic I struggled with in the early days. Thanks for stopping by!
Stopping by from SITS. I used third person in my first fiction piece in a long time for the Red Dress Club a couple of weeks ago. Otherwise, I usually do first person – like in my most recent piece for Mama Kat’s workshop. I have so enjoyed strengthening my writing muscles through workshops like those. It has been a blast!
There’s a lot of steel-sharpening-steel when I work in concert with others. Always pushes me a little further. Thanks for coming by!
I like first and third. I try to switch off but it also depends on the story your telling. Visiting from the SITS girls! Happy Saturday!
Story dictates everything. Happy Saturday back! It’s over a 100 deg. here . . . Thanks for commenting.
Your blog is great. I really admire people who knows how to write great texts. I’ll show your blog to my daughter. She is studing English at College and wants to be a writer. I’m sure she will love to read you.
I appreciate the kind words. Thanks for taking the time to read!
Love this breakdown – it’s amazing how much people forget between high school and now! I’m a fan of first or third person – but I would very much like to see a good 2nd person point of view book so I’ll check out the one you suggested – thanks!
I’d love to hear your review on that book, if you read it. Thanks for your feedback. Take care.
I like the breakdown, thanks for sharing and thanks for visiting my blog earlier. Another 31DBBB Blog Frogger. Angela
Thanks for coming by. Take care.
I enjoy writing in 2nd person when it works, but you’re right about it being hard to use, much less use well. I think I’ve written one short story (really more like flash fiction, maybe?) that successfully used 2nd person.
I like using 1st person even if I write from multiple characters perspectives because it helps me get in their heads better.
That said, I tend to like to read 3rd person most of the time, but sometimes 1st person works for me.
You’re right about 1st person. You really get to travel with someone. I’m going to expand this series when I get some room, to point out the pro/cons of each mode. Flash fiction is a good use for 2nd person. That and recipes
Thanks for your opinion!