I give credit to the sites I used to help create parts of this chapter.

Point of View

Point of view is the way the author allows you to 'see' and 'hear' the story. Point of view comes in three varieties. The most common in fiction is Third and First person, but there are still a handful of people who enjoy reading and writing in Second person which I've seen somewhat popular here.

Since we're making a cake, what tools (POV) will you be using?

 

First Person: This is when the character narrates the story. He/She will use words such as: I /me /my / mine.

Ex. I couldn't wait to start my trip. I couldn't believe mom let me borrow the car for the weekend. I grabbed my bags and began to walk towards the vehicle. That baby was all mine.

 

First Person Unlimited: To allow your readers to know how other characters mind work, you can use First person unlimited. Which is basically switching to different character's POV but still in First person point of view. First person limited is most widely used as a conveyor of relationships. The reader can see approaches and responses and understand why each character reacts the way they do. What one thought of as smart and amusing, another may see as silly and immature. The reader can also understand how friendships form and trust builds.

Let's say it's about to rain.

~Simon~

Nature fell into a dreamy haze of peace. The dark sky gave a mighty growl as lightening bled through the clouds. I couldn't wait to bundle up in my blankets, open the blinds and grab my sketch book. The world was so beautiful with the dim lighting. If only it would stay this way all year. I hoped Nora got here safely. I should make her some tea for her arrival.

~Nora~

Those murky gray clouds can only mean one thing, it was going to freaking rain. Just fantastic, now I had to walk to Simon's house in this windy damn weather while watching out for puddles and cars. My shoes were going to be caked with mud and I could just forget about my hair being decent. I'd probably get sick and have a head full of naps. This was Simon's fault, he's a goddamn shellfish.

With these two passages we can see each person's thoughts about the weather. Note that it's still in First person.

 

Pros:

• The advantage of this point of view is that you get to hear the thoughts of the narrator and see the world depicted in the story through his or her eyes.

• There’s a direct connection from the narrator to the reader, so this POV can create an immediate sense of intimacy and believability.

• It’s easier to get away with telling. Remember the saying “show don’t tell?” Well, if your main character has a strong voice, if the narrative feels like dialogue, if reading the book feels like I’m having a chat with the viewpoint character, then you can probably get away with more telling that you would in a straight-up third-person narrative.

Cons:

• It’s difficult to dramatize scenes where the viewpoint character is not present. Your character won’t know what’s going on in other locations.

• Too many sentences begin with “I” or have “I” in them. Can quickly become repetitious, dull, and even annoying to the reader

• There’s a danger of too much self-contemplation, interior speeches, and explaining things – in other words, “telling.” Be sure to balance this with plenty of action and dialogue –“showing”– which will help the pacing and move the story forward more easily.

• The viewpoint character has to be really interesting, with a distinctive, compelling voice, as we’re “in his head” for the whole story.

• With all those “I”s and “me”s, there’s a danger of the writer putting too much of himself into the story.

 

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Second Person: This is when the author is speaking directly to the reader, using You / Your / Yours. Most times, second-person point of view draws the reader into the story, almost making the reader a participant in the action.

Ex. You're running, the air whipping pass your face. Nothing can stop you, nothing can get you. This race is a gazelle and you are a tiger. You are going to take it down because first place is yours.

 

Pros:

• Makes the reader feel as though they are a character within the story, putting them into the action of the story.

• Writers often utilize a second-person narrative because it affords the luxury of personally engaging readers from the first page of the storytelling process.

• Once the reader realizes that he's personally being addressed and that the writer desires to share information or insight with him directly, he naturally engages with the story on a more active level.

Cons:

• Can have a unfavorable effect on the reader by reminding them they are reading a story.

• A second-person narrative restricts reader interpretations to a single perspective.

• Second person is very rarely used in fiction. It seems to be paternal and distancing when someone keeps saying, "You, you, you."

 

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Third Person Limited: Third person is when the narrating is that of an outsider's point of view. Third person limited is when the reader enters only one character's mind, either throughout the entire work or in a specific section. It differs from first-person because the author's voice, not the character's voice, is what you hear in the descriptive passages. The author would use words such, He / Him / His / Himself or She / Her / Hers / Herself. Often times authors throw in the character's names so it's not a page of he said, she said.

Ex. Simon grabbed the chilled, tall glass full of milk but he didn't drink it. Eyes now focused on the chocolate sauce bottle. He racked his brain, but couldn't find a reason for himself not to indulge in some coco today. With a glass of chocolate milk now in hand, his mouth was watering for a sip. He couldn't even do that because Nora had appeared and took it, taking huge gulps at a time.

 

Third Person Omniscient : The story is told in the third person, and the narrator is aware of all information there is to know about the story’s events, characters, setting, and more. The reader is aware of certain things the character is not.

Ex. Simon grabbed the chilled, tall glass full of milk but he didn't drink it. Eyes now focused on the chocolate sauce bottle, he didn't notice Nora walk into the kitchen. He racked his brain, but couldn't find a reason for himself not to indulge in some coco, Nora thinking the same. With a glass of chocolate milk now in hand, his mouth was watering for a sip but Nora was already stalking forward. He didn't even get a drop because Nora was already gulping the milk down.

 

See the subtle differences? In limited, the reader doesn't know where Nora came from. In Omniscient, the reader now sees that she had walked in before the chocolate milk was made and stayed there the remainder of the time.

 

Pros:

• Because the author is not a part of the story, as with first person, the writer may focus solely on the characters, plot, and surroundings.

• In omniscience, it's easier to have more than one viewpoint character and make that transition smooth for the reader.

• Omniscience is the ability to know everything at any time, it is god-like in scope. This type of narrative allows the author to show the reader everything happening around a character and in each character's head to grasp the full picture.

• Everything shown to the reader is the absolute truth, whether the characters know it or not. Also, when it comes time to pull forth that knowledge, point of view is crucial. One character may look away and miss an expression on another's face, but the reader will see it and hear that person's thoughts as the point of view shifts.

Cons:

• In limited, the biggest problem you'll have is keeping your POV consistent throughout your scenes. You should choose a character to use to view the scene and then describe only what that character would see or hear.

• Omniscience may seem easy but, authors give the readers all the information they acquire in a lump rather than playing it out with the characters through the story. Readers are also merely observers. First person allows them to participate and make mistakes while third person removes them entirely from the story.

• Omniscience is a double-edged sword of itself. An author may employ this type of narrative for its own sake without giving information to the reader. Some readers may discover that knowing absolutely everything makes the story dull.
   

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Picking a point of view is only half of the battle. Now you have to choose what tense you'll write your point of view in: Present tense, Past tense, and Future tense. Past tense is pretty popular, present tense not uncommon, but future tense is one I rarely see. I will use the example sentence from first person to demonstrate each.

 

Past tense: Things that had already happened. Verbs usually end with -ed

I couldn't wait to start my trip. I couldn't believe mom let me borrow the car for the weekend. I grabbed my bags and walked towards the vehicle. That baby was all mine.

 

Present tense: Things that are currently happening.

I can't wait to start my trip. I cannot believe mom is letting me borrow the car for the weekend. I grab my bags and walk to the vehicle. That baby is all mine.

 

Future tense: Things that will happen later. This usually uses will / shall / is to be / to be/ about to.

I'm going to be starting my trip. Mom is about to let me borrow the car for the weekend. I shall grab my bags and walk to the vehicle. That baby will be all mine.

 

 

In some instances, past tense and present tense can mingle, BUT, but only if the statement is true in the present moment. This goes for every point of view.

Let's say Nora hates spiders.

 

In the bathroom. Its dark silhouette clashed against the whiteness of bathtub's edge. That's where it stood or was it crouching? All four sinister, beady eyes zoned on me. Medusa could have been holding my eyelids open while gazing into the windows of my soul and still couldn't duplicate this moment. So there I continued sitting like a statue on the toilet, while having a staring contest with the eight legged spawn of Satan.

My right hand trembled as it slowly reached for the toilet paper roll, my eyes targeted on the spider. There is always that frightening feeling that if I look away it would disappear, and then I'd have to deal with trying to relocate it, only to find it behind me.

What was I doing again? My fingertips brushed the rough, rip-off brand of quilted toilet paper. What was that even for? I didn't even get to pee yet and I was not stupid enough to try and squish that thing. Oh my god, did it just move?! How long would it take to pull my pants up, run to the kitchen and grab the bug spray? No, spraying the bug would mean I have to get within arm length. Nope. No thank you. So I did the only thing I could.

My fingers tightly wrapped around the handle of the toilet brush just below the toilet paper roll. Everything happen is a haste. I threw the brush, jolted up from the toilet seat, wobbled out the bathroom and slammed the door shut behind me. Holy taco bell that was close.

I opened my eyes, not remembering when they shut, only to be face to face with my best friend Simon. His eyes were blown wide as he stared at me from my bedroom doorway across the hall. His gaze darted downward and then he quickly snapped his head in another direction. It took my brain a minute to register, blood was still racing through my ears from the recent near death experience. My heart was finally simmering down, only to promptly pound in mortification.

I had forgotten to pull up my pants.

I hate spiders.

The highlighted statements are true to the character, and will continue to be so if this story were ongoing. If she was to get over her hatred later on, and since I'm writing in past tense it would say.

I hated spiders.

Meaning she did before but will not later on in the story.

The same rules apply for second and third person as it did for first person. So I won't bore you and repeat myself.

 

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Advice:

1) When writing in First person, your character's thoughts don't have be italicize. Since everything is basically thoughts of the characters already, it will fit right in.

The lights flickered off, my vision drowned in darkness as my body prickled with goosebumps. There was no one else in the house with me, or that I knew of, but the stairs were groaning as if someone applied pressure to them.

Will I make it through the night?

Which should go...

The lights flickered off, my vision drowned in darkness as my body prickled with goosebumps. There was no one else in the house with me, or that I knew of, but the stairs were groaning as if someone applied pressure to them. Will I make it through the night?

2) While writing in the first person, most readers will assume that they’re going to be with one character throughout the story. Shifting between two perspectives can be tricky, so if you’re going to do it, make sure the distinction is clear.

3) However you structure your story, make sure each character is extremely individual. This takes much skill on the author's part and if it is not done properly, the reader will find it hard to distinguish between your characters. Emphasize your lead's views and make them as different as you can while still keeping to your story (it would not be a good idea to have two very similar friends as joint leads). Some authors put the lead's name at the start of each chapter and (to avoid confusion) then write with that character's voice for the entire chapter.

 

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I wasn't originally going to go over this, but I see several of authors struggle with these words. Hopefully this will help someone.

 

Staring (Looking): He kept staring at me as if I had a zit the size of Uranus on my forehead.

Starring (Leading): This show is starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes.

 

Its (Possession): Stand the box on its side.

It's (It is): It's raining.

 

Lets (Allow/Permit/Release): Sometimes my mom lets me stay up late.

Let's (Let us):  Let's take the shortcut through the woods.

 

There (Location): I placed the cup over there.

Their (Personal): That's their house.

They're (They are): Do you know if they're coming over?

 

Two (Number): She has two apples.

Too (Exceeding limits): I wasn't the only to break into the house, Jessica and Rachael did too.

To (Direction): I'm going to school.

 

Cent (Coin): That candy cost twenty-five cents.

Scent (Smell): I love the scent of pumpkins.

Sent (Shipped): I sent him a letter. [This is past tense for the word Send]

 

Although (Even though): Although I love you, I cannot marry you.

Though (Despite the fact that): The phone woke me up, even though it wasn't very loud.

 

Threw (Propel): He threw the newspaper

Through (From beginning to get/in and out): I walked through the door.

 

Affect (Influence) : Movies have the power to affect people's thoughts.

Effect (Result) : How fast you drive will have an effect on your gas mileage.

 

Prey (Victim): He fell prey to muggers.

Pray (An object of worship): Pray to the lord.

 

Past (Time that has gone by): He keeps living in the past.

Pass (Went by something/ Succeed ): The ball shot pass my head.

 

I could care less. VS I couldn't care less.

Saying that you could care less about a topic implies that you do care about it at least a little. What you usually mean is that you don’t care about the topic at all, hence“I couldn’t care less.”

 

On accident VS By accident

You can do things on purpose but not accident.

 

Extract revenge VS Exact revenge

When you extract something, you’re taking it out of something else. When you exact onto something, you’re dishing it out. Therefore, extracting revenge on someone would mean you’re taking out that person’s revenge. Exacting revenge onto them means that you’re taking your revenge out on them.

 

Expresso VS Espresso

I’m sure those of you have/who work at coffee shops have had people order an expresso before. There’s no such drink. The drink you’re trying to order is an espresso.

 

Sorta VS Sort of

The phrase“sort of” was too long so someone decided to shorten it up and turn it into sorta. I think it’s just sorta lazy.

For more information head to resources.

What point of view do you prefer to write and read in?

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"Start telling the stories that only you can tell, because there’ll always be better writers than you and there’ll always be smarter writers than you. There will always be people who are much better at doing this or doing that — but you are the only you."
― Neil Gaiman

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Next chapter: The Five Senses