Points of View
Point of View
Who is telling that story, anyway?

Choosing the right literary point of view can make or break your story. There are many different things to take into consideration when choosing a POV. While no POV is necessarily better than the other, some are more difficult to write or more suited to specific types of writing. When choosing what POV to use for your story be sure to consider the type of story you are writing and your level of experience.

Common POV

Third Person Omniscient

An omniscient narrator, as in more limited third-person forms, is also disembodied; it takes no actions and has no physical form in or out of the story. But, being omniscient, it witnesses all events, even some that no characters witness. The omniscient narrator is privy to all things past, present and future - as well as the thoughts of all characters. As such, an omniscient narrator offers the reader a bird's-eye view about the story. The story can focus on any character at any time and on events where there is no character. The third-person omniscient narrator is usually the most reliable narrator; however, the omniscient narrator may offer judgments and express opinions on the behavior of the characters.

Benefits:
    • Omniscience – The narrator sees all, hears all, and knows all. You have the flexibility to write about the actions, thoughts, feelings, and perspectives of every single character in the story.
    • Omnipresence – The narrator is everywhere at all times. If Bill is in one room and Tom is in the other, you can explore what is going on in both rooms.
    • Allows the writer to explore a variety of perspectives.
    • Allows the writer to share information with the reader that some or all of the characters may be unaware of.
Drawbacks:
    • Following too many characters at once can result in confusion. It's possible to let stretch yourself too thin while reflecting on the perspective of many characters.
    • Can result in less intimacy with a character.

Notes:
    • It's important to pay attention to which characters you are following and avoid getting lost. Some writers like to dedicate a whole chapter to following one character and then switch to another character during the next. Others prefer to dedicate paragraphs to following specific characters.
    • This POV allows for the most flexibility because of the omniscience and omnipresence of the narrator.
    • Choose this POV if you are new to writing fiction!


First Person Narrative

In a first person narrative, the narrator is a character in the story. This character takes actions, makes judgments and has opinions and biases. In this case the narrator gives and withholds information based on its own viewing of events. It is an important task for the reader to determine as much as possible about the character of the narrator in order to decide what "really" happens. This type of narrator is noticeable for its ubiquitous use of the first-person pronoun, "I".

Benefits:
    • Can be used to create a greater intimacy with the main character.
    • Allows for further character development as the character tells their story.
    • Allows the reader to know exactly what the character is thinking.
Drawbacks:

    • Can result in a very limited perspective, leading to dull story.
    • Forces the writer to give up omniscience and omnipresence.
    • Often used by fic writers who want to talk about their personal fantasies about sleeping with the other characters. (Which no one wants to read.)
    • Failure to follow the rules of first person narrative can render your work unreadable.
Considerations:
    • Although it is chosen by many beginning writers, first person narrative can be very challenging because there are strict rules that must be followed.
      • If your character did not see it for themselves or hear about it from someone else, you can not talk about it. If your narrator is an OFC and Tom cheats on her, then you can not reveal that fact until it is revealed to the OFC.
      • You can interject the thoughts and opinions of the narrating character, but never the thoughts and opinions of other characters. If your narrator is an OFC, then you can not discuss what Bill or Tom thought.
      • You must follow your narrator at all times. If your narrator is in Bill's hotel room, then you can not talk about what is going on in Tom's hotel room.
      • You must get in the mind of your narrator. The story must be told from their perspective not yours. If you see no difference between their perspective and yours, you might be guilty of writing a self-insert fic. First person POV should require careful thought about the narrator's perspective.
    • Be sure you aren't choosing this style because you want to share your fantasy about being with one of the characters. Seriously, very few people actually want to read that. Self-insert fic is almost always bad fic. (See Understanding Mary Sue for more info on self-insert.)
    • If you think you are going to need to switch POV in your story, then don't choose first person. Just go with third person. It's actually very annoying to see “Tom's POV” or “Bill's POV” at the top of your story. Just show us who's POV it is. Don't tell us.
    • Choose this style for its merits. Not because you think it's easier.


Uncommon POV

These points of view are much less common, especially in fanfiction. If you are an experienced writer you might want to try your hand on them, but it would be wise to research them well beforehand. This is included just to give you a brief overview of the other points of view that are possible.

Third Person Limited
Third person limited is where the narrator knows only the thoughts and feelings of a single character, while other characters are presented externally.

Third Person Objective
The author does not enter a single mind, but instead records what can be seen and heard. This type of person is like a camera or a fly on the wall. This is used by journalists in articles—it only gives the facts, from one fixed perspective. (This would not work so well for fanfiction for obvious reasons.)

Third Person Limited Omniscient
In this mode, the reader and writer observe the situation from the outside through the senses and thoughts of every character equally and without bias, although that focal character may shift throughout the course of any given narrative.

Second Person
Second-person narration is a narrative technique in which the protagonist or another main character is referred to by employment of second-person personal pronouns and other kinds of addressing forms, for example the English second-person pronoun "you". Second person is extremely challenging and not often found outside of very specific genres such as “choose your own adventure” stories.


Sources and further reading:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point_of_view_(literature)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third-person_narrative
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First-person_narrative
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second-person_narrative
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third-person_limited_omniscient
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narrator