Point of View (PoV)

[raspberryhat]

This thread is for discussion of PoV issues in writing. This is arguably a difficult thing to get right. It can certainly be the cause of much beta comment. First person PoV can be quite different to writing third person. Switching from one PoV to another smoothly can be challenging. Getting PoV description right can dramatically enhance a piece of writing.

Read people's thought's on the subject and ask questions you may have.

[maudmac]

Here are brief explanations of each PoV (from learner.org):

[blockquote]Types of Point of View

Objective Point of View

With the objective point of view, the writer tells what happens without stating more than can be inferred from the story's action and dialogue. The narrator never discloses anything about what the characters think or feel, remaining a detached observer.

Third Person Point of View

Here the narrator does not participate in the action of the story as one of the characters, but lets us know exactly how the characters feel. We learn about the characters through this outside voice.

First Person Point of View

In the first person point of view, the narrator does participate in the action of the story. When reading stories in the first person, we need to realize that what the narrator is recounting might not be the objective truth. We should question the trustworthiness of the accounting.

Omniscient and Limited Omniscient Points of View

A narrator who knows everything about all the characters is all knowing, or omniscient.

A narrator whose knowledge is limited to one character, either major or minor, has a limited omniscient point of view.[/blockquote]

For more in-depth info, see the wikipedia.org article - Point of view (literature)

[Trom DeGrey]

Personally, I usually don't like first person POV (eventhough that's exactly what I used in Laundry Diaries). I think it can be hard to keep your voice out of the character's when writing in this way. Especially where W/T is concerned, their personalities are established and it can be difficult and discouraging to try and keep to that particular voice. That's what I have found anyway. I had to edit Laundry Diaries quite a bit because of this.

Third person lends itself to a similar problem though. Tulipp called it the Hand of the Narrator (HoN). It's the want to insert your own personality, voice, opinion, whatever into the story rather than letting the characters come through. It's telling and not showing in a way. I am HORRIBLE for this!! I'm constantly catching myself putting in some glib little comment or another and having to remind myself to shut up and get out of the way of the story. Does anyone else catch themselves doing any of this?

[raspberryhat]

It's funny. I find myself more naturally defaulting to third person omniscient. Reading Laundry Diaries was a bit of a revaltion. I suddenly though what an amazing contrast. I am definitely going to try some first person. Though I am suitably forewarned of letting my own voice get in the way. I just love the contrast of telling a story that way.

The show did it. Look at Real Me. It really stood out. I liked how its cadence was different to the other episodes.