Choosing a POV for Your Book
POV: point of view, the narrator's position in relation to a story being told (according to google)
The types of POVs:
first person point of view
Uses first person pronouns - ex: “I / me”, etc.
second person point of view
Uses the second person pronouns - ex: “you, you (plural)”
third person point of view, limited (limited means the narrative is focused on a single character and the narrative is only aware of that one character’s thoughts, feelings, etc. - you can switch to another character though!! there needs to be a break when you do it, you can’t randomly switch during a paragraph.)
third person point of view, omniscient (omniscient means the narrative is all-knowing and is aware of all the characters and their thoughts and feelings)
Both use third person pronouns - ex: “she/her”, etc.
Advantages of each POV
First person:
the good - it’s extremely personal, the readers get an exact look into the character’s thoughts and feelings and the way they see the world, there’s an intimacy with the character
what you need to remember - create a unique voice for your character, the narrative is subjective (is your character reliable? do they have a bias?)
Second person:
the good - intimacy, sense of participation for the readers, gives the narrator a specific person to address (second person is typically left for short stories, poems, letters, etc.)
Third person:
the good - there’s a broader perspective, it can be more objective, easier to jump in time, there’s a certain distance between the characters, can allow insight into multiple characters
what you need to remember - it’s typically more difficult to create intimacy, there’s generally always a certain amount of reliability
In the end, it’s all up to you. What do you feel will fit your story best? Will it help you reach your goal, whatever you’re trying to say with your book? I guess it all depends what you feel is best.
