Creative Writing Tips: Point of View

Today I thought I would share some insights into writing with a certain point of view. For the most part, your options are first person (I, me, we, our), third person (they, he, she), and the very rare second person (you). Third person can have certain levels depending on whose mind the reader can hear during the narrative. There is Third person omniscient (can hear everyone's thoughts), Third person omniscient limited (can typically only hear one person's thoughts), or Third person limited (can not hear anyone's thoughts, you are a fly on the wall).

When writing a story, the point of view does not seem to be that big of a deal, but how it is written can have a profound impact on the story. Basically, whatever point of view is used limits or expands how much the reader knows. First person and Third person omniscient limited are similar in that the reader can hear a person's thoughts. However, first person narration is limited only to where the one character goes and sees. A limited point of view can help keep the suspense or mystery of story. A Third person omniscient could go see what the bad guys are talking about. Another reason for using First person is that the feelings and emotions of the one character are the most important in the story, and knowing how Bob the Bartender is feeling is not important.

If you do decide to go Third person, what level you take it can also be important. Perhaps the feelings of one character is the most important, but you do not want to limit the view by only what he sees or hears. Third person omniscient limited would work well for this. If the inner turmoil of characters is important to the story, then Third person omniscient would be best. If the inner thoughts of the characters do not come into play, and you need to move from character to character in different scenes, Third person limited is best.

Switching between points of view can be jarring. Even switching between characters of First person can be jarring. If you do decide to switch, it must be clear when the switch happens, and there must be a plausible reason why the switch happens.

I typically write in the third person omniscient limited, unless it is a short story, and then it is typically in first person narration. My short stories are usually a glimpse into a person's life and their experiences. Because it centers around one person, I find first person works well. For longer stories like novels, I write in the third person so that I am not limited to where I need to go within a setting to tell the story. If you are having trouble deciding which to write in, think of the things you might miss out on if the story was not told in first person, and think of things that you miss out on if the story was not told in third person. Often times, it will just feel right in the way you tell the story.