The Voyeur in the Sky: Third Person POV

The most widely used of the points of view

Rebecca Mikkelson, Editor-in-Chief Authors 4 Authors Publishing

Last week we talked about second person POV, and why it’s more suited toward Choose Your Own Adventure books than novels. Today we’re going to be finishing up with third person POV, the most widely used POV.

What is Third Person POV?

Third person point of view is the most commonly used point of view out there and is identified by the he, she, they, and it pronouns used within the prose. Unlike first and second person points of view, there are more than two ways to write in third: close/limit, distant, multiple, and omniscient.

Third Close/Limited

Close/Limited third person point of view is when the story is told within the head of the main character without using the I and my pronouns that first person point of view uses. It’s a technique that takes the best of both worlds in that you can draw your reader in closer than you would with the other third POV techniques, but you don’t run into the pitfalls you would in first where you have difficulty describing the main character. You’re giving your readers the distinct voice of the character rather than the writer. As with first person, though, you are limited to only the main character’s point of view.

You might be wondering how close/limited would read in comparison to distant, so let me give you an example:

She walked into the bar, looking for her date. Great. There were already a ton of people there, and she didn’t recognize over half of them. How on earth was she supposed to find John now? He said it was a party for both of their friend, the liar.

Third Distant

Third person distant takes you out of the main character’s head and puts you straight into the narrator’s. The narrator, while telling the reader the main character’s emotions, will generally have a more objective or factual feel than a personal tone.

I’ll use the same example from above, but write it in distant third:

She walked into the bar, eyes scanning for her date. Her mouth turned downward. There were several people there, the majority of whom were unfamiliar. The crowd would make it difficult for her to find her date. She would need to talk to him about who was invited since she scarcely saw her friends.

Third Multiple

With third person multiple, you now follow different characters in the plot and allow them to tell the story in their own voice rather than solely the main character. The writer, for example, can tell their story from both the main character and antagonists’ point of view so the reader now knows both sides of the story and how they interact with each other. Third multiple can be combined with both close and distant points of view. If you are going to tell a story in multiple points of views, it’s essential to make a clear indication of the shift so there’s less chance of the reader getting confused. A few ways this can be accomplished is by naming which point of view you’re in at the head of a chapter, or using a scene break and starting the new scene with the name of the character whose POV you’re shifting into.

Third Omniscient

Omniscient is the hardest of these techniques to master because it is sometimes indistinguishable from writing in third person limited or multiple. You might recognize it as the way many of the classics are written, like Anna Karenina or Pride and Prejudice. There are two ways that you can write in omniscient—subjective and objective. The first is when the narrator has a distinct voice while still being able to tell the reader the thoughts and emotions of all the character. The narrator is felt rather than implied. With the latter, objective omniscience, the narrator becomes invisible, and you see the scene play out as you would if you were a fly on the wall, and it does not delve into the thoughts and emotions of the characters as the narrator does in subjective. Think of objective omniscience like watching reality TV, except it’s written and usually has an end goal in mind.

Head Hopping

You can be guilty of head hopping in any of the third person point of view techniques, not just omniscient, though it is the easiest to slip into when trying to write omniscient. It’s very easy to do when writing multiple if you’re switching POV anywhere other than a scene or chapter break. What differs from omniscient and head hopping is that head hoping has the individual tone of a character rather than the objectiveness of a narrator when speaking on a character’s feelings and emotions.

Conclusion

No matter what way you choose to write in third person point of view, practice and being able to objectively identify when you break a rule are key to making your story as clean as possible.

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It’s All About You: Second Person POV

The least used Point of View

Rebecca Mikkelson, Editor-in-Chief Authors 4 Authors Publishing

Last week we talked about First person POV and how it can put the reader in the narrator’s shoes and make them experience the writing in a deeper way. This week we’re going to be talking about second person POV.

In Your Own Little Corner, In Your Own Little Chair

Second person point of view is one of the least written in POVs because of its difficulty not only to write but to market. It exclusively uses pronouns you, your, and yours in the prose to address the reader directly and make them into a character themselves. The point of view is akin to first person point of view in that it draws the reader in more deeply than third person point of view, which puts distance between the reader and the characters.

Novels written in second can be compelling if they’re done right, and the reader will feel the emotions more intensely because they’re being told what to feel, but it is a very difficult point of view to master. One shining example of a successful second person POV novel is Jay McInerney's Bright Lights, but it is the exception to the rule. More often than not, editors and publishers alike will tell you not to write a novel exclusively in second POV because it can ask more of your reader than they’re willing to give, and thus, you alienate your reader.

You Can Be Whoever You Want to Be

On the flip side, and the end of my Debbie-Downer rant on second person point of view, Choose Your Own Adventure style books are a very successful way to use second person point of view. Often these are bought for children who will read them until they’ve played out every possibility, but more recently, it’s coming back into style for adults. In a world where daily life is consumed with politics, drama that happened at work, and drama that’s happening at home, sometimes adults just want to escape the fact they have to adult where it’s peopley outside.

If I were ever to tell you to write in second person POV, Choose Your Own Adventure books would be the direction I would steer you in.

Conclusion

While it isn’t a very often used point of view, second person POV can be successful, though rarer than the other points of views. If you’re considering taking on the challenge, my recommendation would be to go the Choose Your Own Adventure route.

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Me, Myself, and I: First Person POV

A First Choice

Rebecca Mikkelson, Editor-in-Chief Authors 4 Authors Publishing

Last week we went over the kinds of POV. This week we’re going to be talking about first person POV in greater depth for both the reader and the writer to understand if this is the kind of POV they want.

What constitutes first person POV?

First person POV is defined by dictionary.com as: “the grammatical person used by a speaker in statements referring to himself or herself (first person singular) or to a group including himself or herself (first person plural).” In other words, it can easily be recognized by the types of pronouns used in the prose, namely me, myself, I, we, our, and us.

What are the advantages to first person POV?

That’s a very easily answered question: because we already speak in first person POV. It’s one of the easier points of view to write in because it comes naturally, no matter your skill with language. Not only is it a natural extension of yourself, it is an effective tool to bring your reader into the story and have an immersive experience starting at the first sentence. Another advantage is that you’re stuck in a single point of view. This allows you to really develop your narrator with a far more intense relationship to the reader than you would in second or third person point of view.

What are the disadvantages to first person POV?

The two biggest disadvantages that I’ve found in writing first person POV are that the writer has more difficulty describing the narrator and is stuck solely in the narrator’s mind—that is, unless it’s a multiple first person POV book. You can certainly tell a beautifully crafted and compelling story in the point of view in a single person, but that generally is the case of a seasoned writer honing their craft.

Now, for descriptions of the narrator...that issue is a tricky one. When we describe ourselves, it’s not nearly as flowery as the way a writer would describe their characters. For example, if I were to describe myself, I would tell you I have brown hair and blue eyes and leave it at that. If I were writing myself as a character, I would say: “I have long flowing dark golden brown hair that swishes against my lower back as I walk and penetrating blue eyes that pop out against skin so white it glows in the moonlight.”  The first description is pretty standard information, whereas the second description sounds like I’m trying to score a date with someone who called the wrong number and has never seen me before. The writer has to find the perfect balance of sneaking in descriptions without making their main character sound vain or awkward.

Is first person POV right for me?

If you enjoy reading or writing something that you can self-insert into the work, then it absolutely is the POV for you. Everyone has a different experience when they read first person; some people can’t get enough of it, and other want to escape into the lives of what others are doing like they would in third person POV.

Conclusion

No matter what point of view you write in, you must know the rules for writing in it and stick to them, no matter how frustrating it can get.

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The Kinds of POV

Points of View: what are they?

Rebecca Mikkelson, Editor-in-Chief Authors 4 Authors Publishing

Last week we finished up our Genre series. This week we’re starting a new series on points of view (POV) to help readers and writers to find the POV they’re most comfortable with.

One of the biggest issues that a new writer will have is choosing which point of view to write in and how to stick to it. It’s an ongoing struggle even seasoned authors deal with in their rough drafts. Today we’re going to be going over the kinds of points of view, but we’re going to be limiting it to first, second, and third person points of view for the sake of ease in this overview.

First Person POV (Me, Myself, and I: First Person POV)

First person point of view is the one most writers start with because it comes the most naturally. We speak in first person point of view almost exclusively—except perhaps those who enjoy referring to themselves in the third person. (I’m looking at you, Elmo.) The POV can be easily identifiable for the reader as a work that uses personal pronouns such as me, my, I, myself, we, and our in the prose rather than solely remaining in the dialogue.

While it might seem the easiest to write in, it comes with its own set of problems. When writing in first, it can become difficult to describe the narrator. Often we don’t talk about ourselves the way that we describe our characters—for example, “I have full, luscious pink lips that part slightly when I think,” sounds more like you work at a 900-number than the way a real person would describe themselves. Another difficulty that presents to both the reader and the writer is that you’re boxed into one point of view, which can limit the readers’ understanding of the broader story and the writer from being able to tell them.

Second Person POV (It’s All About You: Second Person POV)

Second person point of view is the least used form for novels, in part due to its difficulty to master. Second person POV is identified by the use of the pronouns you, your, and yours in the prose and the reader being addressed directly. This point of view is in the same field of first person POV in that it can draw the reader closer to the story because you are told what you the character are doing. Pieces written in second can be compelling if they’re done right, and the reader will feel the emotions more intensely because they’re being told what to feel, but it is a very difficult point of view to master. More often than not, editors and publishers alike will tell you not to write a novel exclusively in second POV because it can ask more of your reader than they’re willing to give, and thus you alienate your reader.

Third Person POV (The Voyeur in the Sky: Third Person POV)

Third person point of view is the most commonly used point of view out there and is identified by the he, she, they, and it pronouns used within the prose. There are four ways to write in this point of view: close/limited, distant, multiple, and omniscient. Close/Limited third person point of view is reminiscent of first person, except it still uses he, she, and it rather than I and my. The narration is told as though inside the head of the main character. Distant third person is just that—it’s zoomed out of the head of the main character and narrated to you by some unseen figure. With multiple third person, you can combine it with close or distant, but that simply means that you’re telling the story from multiple points of view. Think A Song of Ice and Fire; it’s told in so many viewpoints I can’t remember them all! The last technique is omniscient, which is the hardest of them all to get right. Often omniscient third is compared to head hopping, and it’s a fair comparison. However, head hopping is parading as omniscient but doing it in the character’s voice (close/limited) rather than the narrator’s voice (distant).Omniscient exclusively speaks in the narrator’s voice while being able to tell the entire casts’ thoughts and feelings.

Conclusion

No matter the point of view that you choose to write in, you have to stick to it. Head-hopping is something authors easily fall victim to because we want the reader to know what every character is feeling in relation to each other and to their surroundings, but alas, we much rely on contextual clues we scatter about to lead the reader to the correct conclusion about our work.

(This blog has been updated to include links to subsequent posts.)

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