POV, of course, stands for Point Of View or “Whose head are we in?” Here’s what regular guest poster Floyd Hyatt has to say about this element of fiction:
POINT OF VIEW
What you must know
by F. A. HyattI have been reading several misleading (not to say ridiculous) “Guides” to Point Of View. While the subject can get complex, the important basics about Point Of View are simple.
Point Of View indicates who the storyteller or narrator is in a particular work, or fraction of a work. That is, whose NARRATIVE PERSPECTIVE the story is told from. It is uncommon for this perspective to change during a course of a novel. Usually, the entire work will be effected within at least the same CLASS of perspective, and common editorial advice is not to change perspective unless needed, nor more than once per chapter.
This is to keep the continuity of the reader consistent, and keep from popping him out of the story. It is not a rule of English grammar; it is a style convention of novel and story writing. The general classes of POV are below:
First Person POV
The narrator is some agent detailing what he sees. The pronoun ‘I’ features here: I said, I looked, It was apparent to me- these are all hallmarks of First Person Point Of View. Narrative voice may be that of an observer, or of a character, (lead character or not; in the Great Gatsby, by Fitzgerald, the first-person narrator is Nick Carraway and not the title character Jay Gatsby himself). The fundamental feature is that this puts the reader behind only one set of eyes. Narration may only disclose what is put before the narrator’s view, or reported to the narrator, and tagged as such. For example, a first person narrator would not be able to recount what is around some blind corner he is not in a position to see, or to report on what is behind a door that is closed to him. It cannot skip from head to head , to disclose the thoughts of others. (Unless of course the narrator is say, introduced as a telepathic being, but in order to be still considered First Person Viewpoint, this would have to be rigidly limited, and the character voiced very strongly — this variation is sometimes called First-person Omniscient view.)
Second Person POV
This is the point of view used in text adventure games and children’s Halloween tapes. “You walk into a room. You see a jar on the table. You begin to sweat.” It is the voice of a narrator who walks behind only one person, and reports to that person his actions, or visualizations. Because it is a clinical and abstract viewpoint, its place in the novel is very confined, and for good reason, not normally employed.
Third Person POV or Omniscient POV
This type of narrator can flit from character to character, describing scenes viewed by multiple characters, detailing their private thoughts and emotional states, even if not apparent to other onlookers. It can report on the contents of locked chests, the positions of assassins waiting hidden behind closed doors, and so forth. This is usually formal narrative. Rarely can this type of narrator be characterized. The voice is therefore largely neutral. It does not normally belong to a character, save when the narrator is cast as a storyteller, ‘Once upon a time’ fashion. It is a neutral commentator in the root form. It allows an author to detail actions that happen simultaneously in different story locations and to different characters from one consistent viewpoint.
Novels are commonly written in third person, some in first, almost none in second.
There are several variations on these classes, often called VOICES. There is the Unreliable Narrator voice, for instance. – A narrator whose reporting is skewed by prejudice or belief, and who the reader understands to be making narration colored, biased, misinterpreted or wrong in perspective.
Choice of Perspective, or POV
One approach is to decide if your story requires knowing of simultaneous events occurring in different places. If it does, First Person POV would mean having to use multiple narrators, possibly changing the narrating character too often. This causes reader disruption, what is called “Head hopping”. Alternately, it could mean writing much of the story in past tense, with the POV character reminiscing about things he learned of only later. Often this could require frequent scene changes or short chapter sections. Third or Omniscient would commonly be the best choice of POV for such a work.
If you are writing a text adventure (quite out of fashion in gaming, these days) then you will undoubtedly be writing in second.
If your story can be easily written from behind one set of eyes, such as is common in romances and detective stories, where identification with one hero or heroine is paramount, or where most events come before, or can be arranged to come before, one person, then First Person POV can be a plus, making for an easier identification with a particular character. Keep in mind that novels might be planned ahead to take advantage of multiple first person POV’s by making each Narrator’s section long enough to prevent head hopping.
The author should be aware that POV does not affect the necessity to be tense aware. Nor should the author confuse tense with POV. Besides POV, most novels tend to be consistent in narrative TENSE, as well. Books that begin in a very immediate, present tense, will attract comment if the voice passes into another, more reflective tense. Tense, unlike POV, is also a matter of grammar however, and must be adhered to as the prose dictates.
POV does not affect dialog. Dialog is what is quoted, or spoken aloud, regardless of who reports it, or what POV a story uses. In terms of dialog, think of the narrator’s commentary as an unquoted, disembodied voice announcing the commercials on the Price is Right. Always consistent in tone throughout the show, but not necessarily involved in the game, or with the character’s interjected quotes. Even when writing in pure First Person POV, spoken character dialogs including the POV character’s dialogs, must be quoted,(“”) set off in their own paragraphs, and tagged as needed to identify the speakers.
Below is just one of any number of easily available descriptions of Point of View, and included here because it links to very good lists of classic works performed in each of the common styles, and validates to some extent, this summary.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narrative_mode
Terminology Generally:
It is common, in a critique, to point out unusual shifts in the narrative mode, or POV. While important, be aware that not every reviewer will be a informed adviser in regard to POV. One common mistake is to routinely confuse TENSE with VOICE, or either with POV. Some may even confuse a change in writing style (another kind of problem) with a POV shift. In order to take advantage of review, it is important to know what these root terms are, and how they are used, in order to evaluate what corrections to your work are needed.
Look up these terms and their full descriptions, and be sure you understand them, before abiding by the “will” of your critiques. Then you will be more enabled to use the opinions garnered to correctly guide your work, and offer better help to others.
Critiquing POV:
The point of establishing a consistent narrative, or storyteller, is to provide clarity for the reader, to minimize logical inconsistencies, and provide an uninterrupted, believable reading experience. Some authors can achieve this without severe POV interpretation. There are many sub-categories of POV, and many “gray” area uses overlap. I am not overly mechanical when considering POV. My standard is, “Does it work in the story?” Does it bother, or confuse me? If not, I may point out the mechanical problem, but admit it didn’t affect my experience of the story. Give a corrective example when citing a POV error.
These tips are offered to help establish some common basis for traffic between critique participants, not to limit the breadth of a critique. Look at them as a sort of basic vocabulary that can help you to better communicate what you see in a work to others.
Thanks, Floyd! I’m sure you’ll have comments and questions, as always. Readers, if you leave a question or comment, please allow Mr. Hyatt a few days to respond. I promise you, he will. 🙂
WRITING PROMPT: Write a paragraph from First Person, Second Person and Third Person.
MA
Nicholle Olores
January 11, 2012 at 10:37pmWhat a great article Marian, this is such useful to someone who is writing novels now. Writing novels is such a very interesting one yet it needs effort and time to think about what ‘s the perfect story for your novel. When I was in high school I used to write a teenager love story that when every teenagers in our school had been read this can relate and that was before. For now, your article is a great reminder for me to try writing again, hope I can do it but with your help nothing is impossible.
Marian Allen
January 12, 2012 at 8:56amNicholle, you are so sweet! It sounds like you have what it takes to write your novel: You can connect with your readers and you realize that it takes time and effort as well as creativity and desire. Go for it!
Floyd Hyatt
January 9, 2012 at 11:42pm@Holly Jahangiri –
Thank you Holly. Just think how nice it would have been, had I proof read the post first. Still, glad you felt it got POV across. I try to pick subjects that make good “Cheat Sheet” material. Not every time, but when I topic pick, that’s my goal.
FH
Floyd Hyatt
January 9, 2012 at 11:16pm@Helen Ginger –
Yes. I see that sometimes in critique, and tense issues crop up like typos for most, in some measure. Not that I personally. have not been never grammar mistakes had made, me do.
I’m definitely NOT going to try and post a synopsis on grammar, however important it may be!
FH
Holly Jahangiri
January 9, 2012 at 10:52pmWhat a clear, readable explanation of POV – thank you, Floyd. This will save a lot of time, I suspect, if I just bookmark it and put the link on speed-dial for the next time someone asks!
Floyd Hyatt
January 9, 2012 at 10:44pm@Jane –
Well, if they are at all helpful, then I am happy. Thanks for the complement, Jane.
Floyd Hyatt
January 9, 2012 at 10:39pm@Dani G. –
I have a item called, “Getting Tense” actually, but hesitate to post it. It is remedial, since tense can get pretty complicated, very quickly. Maybe you would handle that one?
Floyd Hyatt
January 9, 2012 at 10:27pm@Morgan Mandel –
Third person omniscient allows for it, but still, on balance, the story needs to consider if it is doing the equivalent of making a movie out of cut scenes or not, and how well that will come off. I’ve done a multiple First Person novel, but to do it, The work was purposely structured to alternate on a chapter by chapter basis between two characters. In that particular instance, two detectives working on the same case. The change was predictable, expected, and there was a reason to do it. Don’t ask me if it was any good, I’m just postulating an example use.) Changing from first to third, well, that had best be one heck of a spellbinding tale, or it will end circularly filed by any likely editor.
Marian Allen
January 10, 2012 at 7:09amAnd this is where I shoehorn in a plug for my fantasy novel, EEL’S REVERENCE. Aunt Libby, my first-person narrator, is separated from two other important characters, and their part of the story is told in third person. It must have worked, because nobody has even mentioned it.
Floyd Hyatt
January 9, 2012 at 9:54pm@Bob Sanchez –
Bob, since it is a convention, like any convention, it does get overturned successfully by the occasional author. But best first to understand clearly what is being attempted, and commonly, since the convention is there to avoid annoying readers and provide consistency, better be well managed, or oops!.
I know personally only two works of note that used second POV, and one of those did so for only a portion of the work, the other, well, art is a matter of taste I guess. A lot of new writers seem to simply not be aware of how the P.O.V. convention works, which is a death knell. Such stories usually come off as a campfire pass around tell, or as…off, at best. Also editors, I am told, spit on them, usually (FYI). It never hurts to revisit the basics.
mary montague sikes
January 9, 2012 at 5:14pmThanks for an excellent article on point of view. I have trouble reading books written in first person, but many good books are out in that point of view.
Monti
Mary Montague Sikes
Floyd Hyatt
January 9, 2012 at 10:09pmMary, many people have a POV preference for what they read. I admit, I find First POV harder to write a novel in than Third. There’s and extra level of thinking ahead you need to do, anything exciting has to take place in the perspective character’s direct view, or it is hear-say, and that guy or gal had better be able to hold your sustained interest for three hundred pages or so!
As a Sci Fi / Fantasy buff, I have to say, some of my favorite works, such as the late Roger Zelazny’s Amber Chronicles series were written, all of them, in First POV, however.
Marian Allen
January 10, 2012 at 7:11amGreat example, Floyd! The Amber Chronicles needed to be told in first person, since a major trait of the Amberites (Amberians? Amberonis?) was their awareness that the multiverse literally revolved around them.
Bob Sanchez
January 9, 2012 at 2:28pmAs important as we agree consistent pov is, some famous writers flout that guideline with abandon. I think I recall Tom Clancy changing viewpoints in the same paragraph. Get popular enough and you can get away with anything.
Second person is quite rare, but Bright Lights, Big City is in second person. A friend pointed out, though, that it was really first person in disguise–every time the narrator said “you,” he was really talking about himself.
Dani G.
January 9, 2012 at 1:21pmNow add present, past, or future tense to the scenario and you can really get an interesting voice.
Helen Ginger
January 9, 2012 at 11:28amKnowing all this or atleast being aware of it is important for writers. I occasionally have writers who feel something is off with their manuscript, but can’t put their finger on what. Often, it’s a problem POV (or a back and forth with tense).
Morgan Mandel
January 9, 2012 at 10:49amThanks for your clarification. I do get aggravated when an author flits back and forth between various points of view in a story when speaking in the third person. A reader needs to get grounded in a character.
Morgan Mandel
http://morganmandel.blogspot.com
Jane
January 9, 2012 at 10:17amWhat a wonderful. comprehensive, and comprehensible article. I love your voice, Mr. Hyatt. Very smooth and authoritative. You always give us points well worth considering. No one thinking they have the topic covered can finish your posts without coming away with new perspectives. Thank you very much.