view point essay

How to Write a Point of View Paper in One Hour

Being a student means being ready to handle hundreds of writing assignments and meet even the most demanding deadlines. As a result, many students decide to entrust their “ write my essay online ” requests to professional services. 

Of course, tough deadlines are not the only issue students face; they have problems handling various writing assignments because they are unfamiliar with them. If you are a student and ask yourself, “How should I write my term paper ?”, “How should I write my dissertation ?”, “How should I write my coursework ?”, etc. It is really no problem because every college student faces these questions when assigned a particular task for the first time.

Every smart person has his or her own opinion about pretty much everything. The smarter people are, the less often they express their opinion publicly without a special occasion. Yet, writing an example of a point of view essay is a good occasion to share your ideas and beliefs with readers. You also have to provide a point of view or opinion essay when you pass various language tests like IELTS or FCE.

When you write a point of view essay for your personal use (e. g. for your blog), you don’t have to follow any strict rules or limitations. On the other hand, when you pass an exam, you should be accurate and follow all the recommendations and requirements. If you neglect instructions, your grade for the writing task won’t be ideal. Don’t try just simply to generate such types of papers, as the tutor knows your flow of ideas and any AI content detector will identify not the human written text.

Below, you’ll find a short, informative, and helpful guide on how to write a point of view paper. You can use our recommendations both for exams and for less formal writing. WARNING! If you want to pass an exam successfully, you should first consult an exam guide as instructions change a little bit every year.

Ready-to-use templates to structure your opinion essay

When you pass an exam, your primordial task is to demonstrate your language skills, not your eloquence. That’s why we suggest you to focus on perfect wording and spelling and use one of the ready-to-use templates. They will make the writing process much easier, as you won’t have to reinvent the wheel. Put your ideas into these templates, and you’ll get an excellent point of view essay.

These variants of the structure are appropriate for any topic. Moreover, even if you have come up with a “How to write my personal statement essay?” question, this plan will also come in handy. Your plan is ready now! So now it’s the right moment to find out how to make the content of your opinion essay more original and interesting. Check out our three ideas on how to write a point of view paper creatively!

3 special ideas for an awesome point of view essay

It is hard to come up with good ideas in a limited amount of time. It is especially so if you panic because of the exam or are not familiar with the topic. We’ll tell you about easy and unusual ways to brainstorm and make your essay original and impressive.

Thematic flower

This “romantic” method is great when you want to look at your topic from different perspectives.

You put the keywords of your topic in the center, and around them different spheres related to the theme. For example, let’s say you have to express your opinion about a universal language for all people. Your scheme will look like this:

Imagine how exactly the existence of a universal language would influence each of these spheres. For example, it will be easier to provide education as there would be no need for learning foreign languages. On the other hand, the universal language may cause the decline of national cultures. You don’t have to use all possible arguments, but you can choose the most persuading ones.

Counter-argument

Have you ever heard about reverse psychology? You probably have. In order to prove your point of view, you present the opposite one. It doesn’t make any sense for now? That’s fine. You see, you can present the opposite view as unreasonable and illogical. Sure, it doesn’t seem fair. But it is rather effective – trust us.

If you are good at the association game, this technique is perfect for you. Think about your topic and write down all the associations you have with it. Then, write down the associations that come to your mind with regard to previous associations. You’ll get a whole associative tree! In such a manner, great ideas will fill your consciousness immediately.

Main peculiarities of point of view papers

Simple phrases to make your point of view essay better

You don’t have to use all these phrases in your text. Actually, you shouldn’t, because it will not make much sense. These expressions will help you to make your ideas more structured. They will simplify the reading process and add conciseness to your essay.

1. Phrases to start argumentation:

– Firstly – In the first place – To begin with – To start with – First of all – Generally – First and foremost – First and most importantly

2. Phrases to present your opinion:

– I believe that – In my opinion – To my mind – It seems to me that – Personally, I think – I feel strongly that – I have no doubt that – From my point of view – As far as I am concerned – Speaking personally

3. Phrases to provide information/example:

– It is widely known that – It is a fact that – It is true that – In fact – For example – For instance – To illustrate – As seen in – Based on – By way of example – As a matter of fact

4. Phrases to add a few words:

– Moreover – In addition – What is more – Furthermore – Not to mention – On the other hand – Alternatively – Likewise – Another key point to mention

5. Phrases to summarize:

– Consequently – In summary – To put it briefly – In conclusion – Given these points – On the whole – Altogether – All things considered – Hence – To sum up – Therefore

This list will help you to make your example of a point of view essay well structured and attractive to readers.

The last thing we can do for you is to present a well-written opinion essay right here! Read it thoroughly to learn more about the proper argumentation, structure, and writing style. Please, do not commit plagiarism!

Example of a point of view essay

When you have no idea how to write a progress report , or how to write an academic film review , or you are searching for some assistance with your observation essay , it is beneficial to have a quality sample at your disposal to follow when writing.

Our customers often come to us, asking, “Can you write my paper for cheap ?” We understand that most students are pressed for the budget. Thus, we did our best to make sure that even those who cannot afford our customized assistance can still get professional help with writing. If you have been looking for a professional point of view sample essay, here it is!

Do Sports Build Character?

It is known that within the proper environment (in regards to leadership and people), a sport provides not only a healthier life, but also the amazing opportunity for children to connect with teamwork, rules, and other social values such as respect, justice, responsibility, kindness, and tolerance. These social skills plus emotional self-control are the keys for future success in many other environments and relationships.

These notions come from the nineteenth century when the British government believed that sports could positively influence young people to become better leaders in their future adult lives. Nowadays, this positive influence has its own challenge due to competitive sports. It is a real challenge to analyze how much pressure, corruption, and competitive behavior are involved in these scenarios (LeBlanc, 1997).

The psychological benefits of playing sports are not an automatic consequence, or a direct effect of the game or activity. Any social skill has to be promoted intentionally (Austin, 2010) and using the self-example (as parents and coaches) to set up a mirror for the kid to imitate that behavior or attitude and introduce it within the game, and the circumstances in their lives outside.

The value of responsibility within sports develops discipline. It is with this discipline that athletes can achieve higher levels of performance and speed. Parents and coaches are responsible to promote this persistence in whichever actions and routines are required by the sport or activity that the young kid is performing. However, kids must have proper attention and cannot be pushed into an activity they don’t feel attracted to, even though testing or inviting is not going to damage the kid, for this should be limited and flexible.

Playing sports promotes a healthier life and helps to build character. Many social skills are developed by working within teams and following some rules with respect and tolerance. Parents and coaches are responsible to promote social values and a team spirit rather than adding pressure or competitive behavior.

1. LeBlanc, J. E. (1997). Straight talk about children and sport. Mosaic Press. 2. Austin, M. W. (June 24, 2010). Do sports really build character. Psychology Today . Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/ethics-everyone/201006/do-sports- really-build-character

Now, you have everything to compose a better essay. Your point of view can be important in many cases so it’s necessary to express it in a proper way. Practice your writing skills with EssayShark and become better at academic writing!  Our expert staff is here for you 24/7 to assist with any college trouble – from a simple “ write my college essay ” or a “ write my research paper ” request to “ write my APA paper ” as well as “ write my PowerPoint presentation ” orders; we can handle anything for you. You only need to place your “ write my assignment ” order, mention the needed expert, and we will do the rest for you. 

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Types of Point of View: The Ultimate Guide to First Person and Third Person POV

by Joe Bunting | 76 comments

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In my experience as an editor, point of view problems are among the top mistakes I see new writers make, and they instantly erode credibility and reader trust. Point of view isn't easy though, since there are so many to choose from: first person point of view, third person limited, third person omniscient, and second person.

What do those even mean? And how do you choose the right one for your story?

All stories are written from a point of view. However, when point of view goes wrong—and believe me, it goes wrong often—you threaten whatever trust you have with your reader. You also fracture their suspension of disbelief.

However, point of view is simple to master if you use common sense.

This post will define point of view, go over each of the major POVs, explain a few of the POV rules, and then point out the major pitfalls writers make when dealing with that point of view.

Table of Contents

Point of View Definition The 4 Types of Point of View The #1 POV Mistake First Person Point of View Second Person Point of View Third Person Limited Point of View Third Person Omniscient Point of View FAQ: Can you change POV in a Series? Practice Exercise

Point of View Definition

The point of view, or POV, in a story is the narrator's position in the description of events, and comes from the Latin word, punctum visus , which literally means point sight. The point of view is where a writer points the sight of the reader.

Note that point of view also has a second definition.

In a discussion, an argument, or nonfiction writing, a point of view is an opinion about a subject. This is not the type of point of view we're going to focus on in this article (although it is helpful for nonfiction writers, and for more information, I recommend checking out Wikipedia's neutral point of view policy ).

I especially like the German word for POV, which is Gesichtspunkt , translated “face point,” or where your face is pointed. Isn't that a good visual for what's involved in point of view? It's the limited perspective of what you show your reader.

Note too that point of view is sometimes called narrative mode or narrative perspective.

Why Point of View Is So Important

Why does point of view matter so much?

For a fiction writer, point of view filters everything in your story. Everything in your story must come from a point of view.

Which means if you get it wrong, your entire story is damaged.

For example, I've personally read and judged thousands of stories for literary contests, and I've found point of view mistakes in about twenty percent of them. Many of these stories would have placed much higher if only the writers hadn't made the mistakes we're going to talk about soon.

The worst part is these mistakes are easily avoidable if you're aware of them. But before we get into the common point of view mistakes, let's go over each of the four types of narrative perspective.

The Four Types of Point of View

Here are the four primary types of narration in fiction:

• First person point of view.  First person perspective is when “I” am telling the story. The first person POV  character is in  the story, relating his or her experiences directly.
• Second person point of view. The story is told to “you.” This POV is not common in fiction, but it's still good to know (it is  common in nonfiction).
• Third person point of view, limited. The story is about “he” or “she.” This is the most common point of view in commercial fiction. The narrator is outside of the story and relating the experiences of a character.
• Third person point of view, omniscient. The story is still about “he” or “she,” but the narrator has full access to the thoughts and experiences of all  characters in the story. This is a much broader perspective.

I know you've seen and probably even used most of these point of views.

While these are the only types of POV, there are additional narrative techniques you can use to tell an interesting story. To learn how to use devices like epistolary and framing stories, check out our full narrative devices guide here .

Let's discuss each of the four types, using examples to see how they affect your story. We'll also go over the rules for each type, but first let me explain the big mistake you don't want to make with point of view.

The #1 POV Mistake

Do not begin your story with a first person narrator and then switch to a third person narrator. Do not start with third person limited and then abruptly give your narrator full omniscience. This is the most common type of error I see writers make with POV.

The guideline I learned in my first creative writing class in college is a good one:

Establish the point of view within the first two paragraphs of your story.

And above all, don't change your point of view . If you do, it creates a jarring experience for the reader and you'll threaten your reader's trust. You could even fracture the architecture of your story.

That being said, as long as you're consistent, you can sometimes get away with using multiple POV types. This isn't easy and isn't recommended, but for example, one of my favorite stories, a 7,000 page web serial called Worm ,  uses two point of views—first person with interludes of third-person limited—very effectively. (By the way, if you're looking for a novel to read over the next two to six months, I highly recommend it—here's the link to read for free online .) The first time the author switched point of views, he nearly lost my trust. However, he kept this dual-POV consistent over 7,000 pages and made it work.

Whatever point of view choices you make, be consistent. Your readers will thank you!

Now, let's go into detail on each of the four narrative perspective types, their best practices, and mistakes to avoid.

First Person Point of View

In first person point of view, the narrator is in the story and telling the events he or she is personally experiencing.

The simplest way to understand first person is that the narrative will use first-person pronouns like I, me, and my.

Here's a first person point of view example from Herman Melville's  Moby Dick :

Call me Ishmael. Some years ago—never mind how long precisely—having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world

First person narrative perspective is one of the most common POVs in fiction. If you haven't read a book in first person point of view, you haven't been reading.

What makes this point of view interesting, and challenging, is that all of the events in the story are filtered through the narrator and explained in his or her own unique narrative voice.

This means first person narrative is both biased and incomplete, but it can also deliver a level of intimacy other POVs can't.

Other first person point of view examples can be found in these popular novels :

• The Sun Also Rises  by Ernest Hemingway
• Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
• Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
• The Hunger Games  by Suzanne Collins
• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brönte

First Person Narrative is Unique to Writing

There's no such thing as first person in film or theater—although voiceovers and mockumentary interviews like the ones in The Office and Modern Family provide a level of first person narrative in third person perspective film and television.

In fact, the very first novels were written in first person, modeled after popular journals and autobiographies which were first-person stories of nonfiction..

First Person Point of View is Limited

First person narrators are narrated from a single character's perspective at a time. They cannot be everywhere at once and thus cannot get all sides of the story.

They are telling their  story, not necessarily the  story.

First Person Point of View is Biased

In first person novels, the reader almost always sympathizes with a first person narrator, even if the narrator is an anti-hero with major flaws.

Of course, this is why we love first person narrative, because it's imbued with the character's personality, their unique perspective on the world.

The most extreme use of this bias is called an unreliable narrator. Unreliable narration is a technique used by novelists to surprise the reader by capitalize on the limitations of first person narration to make the narrator's version of events extremely prejudicial to their side and/or highly separated from reality.

You'll notice this form of narration being used when you, as the reader or audience, discover that you can't trust the narrator.

For example, Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl  pits two unreliable narrators against one another. Each relates their conflicting version of events, one through typical narration and the other through journal entries. Another example is  Fight  Club , in which *SPOILER* the narrator has a split personality and imagines another character who drives the plot.

Other Interesting Uses of First Person Narrative:

• The classic novel Heart of Darkness is actually a first person narrative within a first person narrative. The narrator recounts verbatim the story Charles Marlow tells about his trip up the Congo river while they sit at port in England.
• William Faulkner's Absalom,  Absalom  is told from the first person point of view of Quentin Compson; however, most of the story is a third person account of Thomas Sutpen, his grandfather, as told to Quentin by Rosa Coldfield. Yes, it's just as complicated as it sounds!
• Salman Rushdie's award-winning  Midnight's Children  is told in first person, but spends most of the first several hundred pages giving a precise third person account of the narrator's ancestors. It's still first person, just a first person narrator telling a story about someone else.

Two Big Mistakes Writers Make with First Person Point of View

When writing in first person, there are two major mistakes writers make :

1. The narrator isn't  likable. Your protagonist doesn't have to be a cliché hero. She doesn't even need to be good. However, she must  be interesting .

The audience will not stick around for 300 pages  listening to a character they don't enjoy. This is one reason why anti-heroes make great first person narrators.

They may not be morally perfect, but they're almost always interesting. (Remember Holden Caulfield in The Catcher in the Rye ?)

2. The narrator tells but doesn't show. The danger with first person is that you could spend too much time in your character's head, explaining what he's thinking and how he feels about the situation.

You're allowed to mention the character's mood, but don't forget that your reader's trust and attention relies on what your character does , not what he thinks about doing.

Second Person Point of View

While not used often in fiction—it is used regularly in nonfiction, song lyrics, and even video games—second person POV is still helpful to understand.

In this point of view, the narrator relates the experiences using second person pronouns like you and your. Thus, you  become the protagonist, you  carry the plot, and your  fate determines the story.

We've written elsewhere about why you should try writing in second person , but in short we like second person because it:

• Pulls the reader into the action of the story
• Makes the story   personal
• Surprises the reader
• Stretches your skills as a writer

Here's an example from the breakout bestseller  Bright Lights, Big City by Jay Mclnerney (probably the most popular example that uses second person point of view):

You have friends who actually care about you and speak the language of the inner self. You have avoided them of late. Your soul is as disheveled as your apartment, and until you can clean it up a little you don't want to invite anyone inside.

Second person narration isn't used frequently, however there are some notable examples of it.

Some other novels that use second person point of view are:

• Remember the Choose Your Own Adventure series? If you've ever read one of these novels where you get to decide the fate of the character (I always killed my character, unfortunately), you've read second person narrative.
• The Fifth Season  by N.K. Jemison
• The opening of The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

There are also many experimental novels and short stories that use second person, and writers such as William Faulkner, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Albert Camus played with the style.

Breaking the fourth wall:

In the plays of William Shakespeare, a character will sometimes turn toward the audience and speak directly to them. In  A Midsummer Night's Dream , Puck says:

If we shadows have offended, think but this, and all is mended, that you have but slumbered here while these visions did appear.

This narrative device of speaking directly to the audience or the reader is called breaking the fourth wall (the other three walls being the setting of the story).

To think of it another way, it's a way the writer can briefly use second person in a first or third person narrative.

It's a lot of fun! You should try it.

Third Person Point of View

In third person narration, the narrator is outside of the story and relating the experiences of a character.

The central character is not the narrator. In fact, the narrator is not present in the story at all.

The simplest way to understand third person narration is that it uses third-person pronouns, like he/she, his/hers, they/theirs.

There are two types of this point of view:

Third Person Omniscient

The all-knowing narrator has full access to all  the thoughts and experiences of all  the characters in the story.

Examples of Third Person Omniscient:

While much less common today, third person omniscient narration was once the predominant type, used by most classic authors. Here are some of the novels using omniscient perspective today.

• War and Peace  by Leo Tolstoy
• Middlemarch  by George Eliot
• Where the Crawdad's Sing by Delia Owens
• The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
• Still Life by Louise Penny (and all the Inspector Gamache series, which is amazing, by the way)
• Gossip Girl by Cecily von Ziegesar
• Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor
• Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
• Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan (one of my favorites!)
• A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin
• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
• More third person omniscient examples can be found here

Third Person Limited

The narrator has only some, if any, access to the thoughts and experiences of the characters in the story, often just to one  character .

Examples of Third Person Limited

Here's an example of a third person limited narrator from  Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone  by J.K. Rowling:

A breeze ruffled the neat hedges of Privet Drive, which lay silent and tidy under the inky sky, the very last place you would expect astonishing things to happen. Harry Potter rolled over inside his blankets without waking up. One small hand closed on the letter beside him and he slept on, not knowing he was special, not knowing he was famous…. He couldn't know that at this very moment, people meeting in secret all over the country were holding up their glasses and saying in hushed voices: “To Harry Potter—the boy who lived!”

Some other examples of third person limited narration include:

• Game of Thrones s eries by George R.R. Martin (this has an ensemble cast, but Martin stays in one character's point of view at a time, making it a clear example of limited POV with multiple viewpoint characters, which we'll talk about in just a moment)
• For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway
• ​The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson
• The Da Vinci Code  by Dan Brown
• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
• Ulysses by James Joyce
• Love in the Time of Cholera  by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
• 1984  by   George Orwell
• Orphan Train by   Christina Baker Kline
• Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff

Should You Use Multiple Viewpoint Characters vs. a Single Perspective?

One feature of third person limited and first person narrative is that you have the option of having multiple viewpoint characters.

A viewpoint character is simply the character whose thoughts the reader has access to. This character become the focus of the perspective during the section of story or the story as a whole.

While it increases the difficulty, you can have multiple viewpoint characters for each narrative. For example,  Game of Thrones  has more than a dozen viewpoint characters throughout the series.  Fifth Season has three viewpoint characters. Most romance novels have at least two viewpoint characters.

The rule is to only focus on one viewpoint character at a time (or else it changes to third person omniscient).

Usually authors with multiple viewpoint characters will change viewpoints every chapter. Some will change after section breaks. However, make sure there is  some  kind of break before changing so as to prepare the reader for the shift.

Should You Use Third Person Omniscient or Third Person Limited

The distinction between third persons limited and omniscient is messy and somewhat artificial.

Full omniscience in novels is rare—it's almost always limited in some way—if only because the human mind isn't comfortable handling all the thoughts and emotions of multiple people at once.

The most important consideration in third person point of view is this:

How omniscient are you going to be? How deep are you going to go into your character's mind? Will you read their thoughts frequently and deeply at any chance? Or will you rarely, if ever, delve into their emotions?

To see this question in action, imagine a couple having an argument.

Tina wants Fred to go to the store to pickup the cilantro she forgot she needed for the meal she's cooking. Fred is frustrated that she didn't ask him to pick up the cilantro on the way home from the office, before he had changed into his “homey” clothes (AKA boxer shorts).

If the narrator is fully omniscient, do you parse both Fred and Tina's emotions during each back and forth?

“Do you want to eat ? If you do, then you need to get cilantro instead of acting like a lazy pig,” Tina said, thinking, I can't believe I married this jerk. At least back then he had a six pack, not this hairy potbelly . “Figure it out, Tina. I'm sick of rushing to the store every time you forget something,” said Fred. He felt the anger pulsing through his large belly.

Going back and forth between multiple characters' emotions like this can give a reader whiplash, especially if this pattern continued over several pages and with more than two characters. This is an example of an omniscient narrator who perhaps is a little too comfortable explaining the characters' inner workings.

“ Show, don't tell ,” we're told. Sharing all  the emotions of all  your characters can become distraction. It can even destroy any tension you've built.

Drama requires mystery. If the reader knows each character's emotions all the time, there will be no space for drama.

How do You Handle Third Person Omniscient Well?

The way many editors and many famous authors handle this is to show the thoughts and emotions of only one character per scene (or per chapter).

George R.R. Martin, for example, uses “ point of view characters ,” characters whom he always has full access to understanding. He will write a full chapter from their perspective before switching to the next point of view character.

For the rest of the cast, he stays out of their heads.

This is an effective guideline, if not a strict rule, and it's one I would suggest to any first-time author experimenting with third person narrative. Overall, though, the principle to show, don't tell should be your guide.

The Biggest Third Person Omniscient Point of View Mistake

The biggest mistake I see writers make constantly in third person is  head hopping .

When you switch point of view characters too quickly, or dive into the heads of too many characters at once, you could be in danger of what editors call “head hopping.”

When the narrator switches from one character’s thoughts to another’s  too quickly, it can jar the reader and break the intimacy with the scene’s main character.

We've written about how you can get away with head hopping elsewhere , but it's a good idea to try to avoid going into more than one character's thoughts per scene or per chapter.

Can You Change POV Between Books In a Series?

What if you're writing a novel series? Can you change point of view or even POV characters between books?

The answer is yes, you can, but whether you should or not is the big question.

In general, it's best to keep your POV consistent within the same series. However, there are many examples of series that have altered perspectives or POV characters between series, either because the character in the previous books has died, for other plot reasons, or simply because of author choice.

For more on this, watch this coaching video where we get into how and why to change POV characters between books in a series:

Which Point of View Will You Use?

Here's a helpful point of view infographic to help you decide which POV to use in your writing:

Note that these distances should be thought of as ranges, not precise calculations. A third person narrator could conceivably draw closer to the reader than a first person narrator.

Most importantly, there is no best point of view. All of these points of view are effective in various types of stories.

If you're just getting started, I would encourage you to use either first person or third person limited point of view because they're easy to understand.

However, that shouldn't stop you from experimenting. After all, you'll only get comfortable with other points of view by trying them!

Whatever you choose, be consistent. Avoid the mistakes I mentioned under each point of view.

And above all, have fun!

How about you? Which of the four points of view have you used in your writing? Why did you use it, and what did you like about it? Share in # .

Using a point of view you've never used before, write a brief story about a teenager who has just discovered he or she has superpowers.

Make sure to avoid the POV mistakes listed in the article above.

Write for fifteen minutes . When your time is up, post your practice in the Pro Practice Workshop (if you’re not a member yet, you can join here ). And if you post, please be sure to give feedback to your fellow writers.

We can gain just as much value giving feedback as we can writing our own books!

Happy writing!

Joe Bunting

Joe Bunting is an author and the leader of The Write Practice community. He is also the author of the new book Crowdsourcing Paris , a real life adventure story set in France. It was a #1 New Release on Amazon. Follow him on Instagram (@jhbunting).

Want best-seller coaching? Book Joe here.

Work with Joe Bunting?

WSJ Bestselling author, founder of The Write Practice, and book coach with 14+ years experience. Joe Bunting specializes in working with Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, How To, Literary Fiction, Memoir, Mystery, Nonfiction, Science Fiction, and Self Help books. Sound like a good fit for you?

76 Comments

My book is a memoir so first person is what I chose.

That was my choice for memoir, but am exploring other avenues for better character development.

I hate to be such a nag but isn’t the plural “points of view” and not “point of views”? As in brothers in law and not brother in laws

Joe, excellent post on POV. Probably the best I’ve read. Thanks!

I go for third person deep. In the PoV character’s head, using her unique voice, no author intrusion, no filter words. Am I doing it right? Far from it, but I’ve attended deep writing classes, an it’s easier to pinpoint slips.

Greetings from Greece!

Thanks for sharing this tit bit. I will be looking out for a deep writing class!

When deciding your POV, I strongly believe genre and tense should be considered as well.

Here is my first time ever uploading a “practice.” I chose to try second person, please be kind!

I couldn’t believe it when you called me, waking me from an intense fantasy dream, to tell me that you had been somehow magically transformed overnight into some type of superhero. You cannot blame me if my reaction appeared to be less than awe and more of disbelief and worry for your current state of mind. You will not want me to ask this, but have you started doing drugs? Remember, Freshman Health class, one of the signs to look for was if your friend suddenly changes or acts crazy. Well dude, you are acting more than just a little bit crazy.

Can you really fly? I have been waiting for 15 minutes for you to appear at my bedroom window, and so far nothing. I can envision you, at this very moment, running down the alley and between the houses. You will get to my back gate, jump over, and scurry behind the bushes; all bent over and believing that I can’t see you. When you are sure of your timing and that I have no idea at your mastery, you will jump out and try to convince me that you flew to your location. Please try to remember that I have known you since Kindergarten. Very little about you surprises me anymore, yet you are entertaining.

Although, you did sound different on the phone this morning, you voice had a quality I had never heard before. I would call it confidence. You weren’t trying to convince me that you had a special new talent. You were telling me, informing me.

You need new boots, I know this because I noticed the hole in the bottom of the left one as you slowly descended from the top of my window. Your smile was radiant, your arms crossed confidently across your puffed out chest. You are transformed.

Barbara! Thank you so much for your creativity. Keep sharing it with the world! The parts about the boots… wow!

Keep making lemonade from lemons, Barb. Be in touch.

You don’t look peaceful, but you look at peace. Morphine will do that to you. Your flaky, red eyes flutter in your sleep—do you dream, there? “The eyes are the windows to the soul,” so they say; with the curtains drawn, does your gaze turn inward? Do you dream of me amidst the pain, or are you cradled in the gentle embrace of the abyss?

This was your fault, you know; waving that gun in my face, pushing me around; what did you expect?

Certainly not this; no one could have expected this. Dazzling cords of fire springing from the fingertips of your would-be, should-be victim—perhaps it would’ve been wiser to hand over the money—but then, who next? Woudl you have let me go in the first place?

It wasn’t for anything venial, was it? Not for clothes or jewelry—not from what I can tell; you don’t seem the type. But it’s hard to tell. There’s not much left of your clothes, you know.

There’s not much left of you.

They’ll pour maggots over your chest and into your eyes, and flake off the blackness with gentle sponges, and alcohol over everything. That will hurt.

Your hair was so pretty. The doctor says most of it will grow back.

The cops are taking your side, you know. Figures. At least guns don’t burn. I wouldn’t be sticking around if they hadn’t cuffed me to the bed, and set it beside yours—someone in blue has a sick sense of irony.

There are birds fluttering by the windowpane, and whispers of white amidst pastels of blue. Your burns will heal. Mine have only just begun.

Yeah, having superpowers would actually be terrifying. Especially fire. Fire is bad.

I’ve used second-person before, but very rarely, so I went with it, since I’ve used all the points of view you mentioned.

Changing point of view is not only acceptable, it’s quite common. You just italicize it. I don’t know how to do that in a comment, but the general form would be something akin to: He felt around for the plot device. *Damn; I can’t find this thing. Woe is me, I am woe, woe unto me, woe betides me, etc.* He found it. *Huzzah!*

Further, your example for third-person POV includes a sputter of second-person: “the very last place *you* would expect astonishing things to happen.” This is the rhetorical “you,” not an actual pronoun—that is, “you” isn’t referring to anyone—but it still counts.

I think the argument shouldn’t be “never switch POV,” but, rather, “use the turn signal;” that is to say, give the reader an indication that the POV is changing, and why. Italics for brief periods, chapters for changing the individual narrator (you can have lots in one book), etc. Much like turning in traffic, problems generally arise not from the turn, but from the surprise. “Head hopping” is easy to avoid with, for instance, section separators—a vertical space, or a line of three little stars if the space breaks across a page, so that the reader knows a shift is happening. After familiarizing the reader with the mechanism, you can abuse it as much as you want.

Hemingway’s way works too, although I was never a big fan of Hemingway.

P.S. Give away an antique typewriter; brilliant—plenty of nostalgia; tangled ribbons, torn sheets, jammed keys; I can see why you want to inflict it on somebody else!

Wow, that was amazing descriptions. I loved your opening and closing lines as well. You did a great job of setting the dark mood of the story. Very well done.

Great post! It is quite thorough and engaging, and you offered plenty of terrific examples and practical tips.

I tend to write my stories more in the third person POV, I tend to focus on one main character but sometimes try to give some insight on another character’s perspective. The only reason I shy away from first person is because it can be emotionally exhausting to write. The funny thing is my most dramatic story was written in first person (though I did switch between two people) but I felt it would come off stonger in first person rather than third.

I’m not sure I qualify for this practice, because I’ve written in pretty much every POV: My novel is 3rd person deep, my short stories are first person, my articles are second, and my songs cover all of the above plus the others. 🙂 In my book I have several POVs, but I make sure to change the scene completely before changing the person. (Like Jerry Jenkins’/Tim Lahaye’s Left Behind.) I’m not breaking any rules like that, am I? This is a great and informative article that I’ll definitely reference in the future. Thanks for sharing your knowledge!

“Whatsoever ye do, do unto the Glory of God” Reagan

Nice post! Very helpful of keeping them strait. I tend to lean toward first person or third person limited, so I decided to try out second person for the prompt. I also used a dialogue prompt, which is the first line of the story. Here goes nothing!

“The last time I said yes to you, a lot of people died.” You say it low, under your breath, perhaps because you don’t really want him to hear you or perhaps because you don’t want to hear yourself, don’t want to remember that it happened.

“You know,” He reaches out to you, and you pull away, not wanting to touch his hands, hands that could have prevented the deaths of so many, but that have always been so gentle with you. He turns his face to the ground and, you realize, he is just as pained by the memory as you. “You know that I couldn’t have done it.”

“No.” The word comes out all wrong, because of your still upper lip, “You couldn’t have. I knew that then and I know that now.” You lock eyes with him, “Don’t you understand that’s what I’m saying? Don’t you understand that the answer is no?”

“But I can’t…” He grimaces, as though someone has twisted a knife in his gut, “I can’t just let you kill yourself.”

And now it’s your turn to grimace, to feel the pain twisting your stomach into knots. You don’t really know why you do it though. Are you afraid to die? No. That’s not it. You’re afraid for him. For the pain your death will cause him.

“You have to be strong.” You say, “For me.” This time it’s you that reaches out, to lay a hand gently on his shoulder, “You know if I don’t do this, a lot of people will die. Because I know, if I go berserk again, you won’t be able to pull the trigger. And it wouldn’t be fair to ask you to do that anyway. So the answer is no, I won’t let you be my safety net anymore.” His only response is a nod. You slide the hand gently off of his shoulder. That will be your only goodbye. It will be easier that way.

The cup that holds the poison looks normal. Just a regular coffee cup, containing your favorite blend of Colombian roast, and, of course, the substance that will kill you, quickly and painlessly, which is more then you deserve. You are not afraid. You are ready. You pick the cup up off the table and bring it close to your lips but then hesitate, because you see that shining in his eyes, the shining that means he’ll start crying. There is that twisting feeling in your stomach again. Seeing him in pain has always hurt the worst. But you can’t risk it anymore. You can’t let yourself live at the cost of more deaths.

Before you can hesitate, you take a gulp, the coffee burning your throat as it goes down. The room wobbles and you fall, but he catches you, like you knew he would, so that your head doesn’t crack open on the concrete floor.

You are paralyzed, but still conscious, and you know you only have a few seconds before the world grows dark.

He sinks to his knees, cradling you in his arms, like a child. He is no longer holding back his tears. Perhaps because he already thinks you dead.

“I wish,” He says, through sobs and tears and unbecoming bubbles of snot, “I wish you would have said yes.”

He puts his forehead to yours and you feel warm drops of moisture fall on your cheeks. In that moment you, too, wish you had said yes. That things could have been different. That you could have been alive and happy.

But you do not doubt your decision, not in the last seconds that you have breath. Because the last time you said yes to him, a lot of people died and this time, the death tole would be a single, solitary, one.

That was amazing and beautiful and very very emotional. You’ve used second person very effectively! I love it. Did this just come from the top of your head or is there a longer story behind it?

Thanks! It was a sort of top of my head thing. I used this writing prompt and also a dialogue prompt. Also, I’ve been thinking of werwolfs a lot lately for some odd reason (which is what the main character is). The rest of it kinda flowed from there. I’m glad you liked it!

Wonderful story

Not knowing much about POV, I believe I’ve been hedge hopping between them, but appear to prefer Third Person Omniscient, but will have to first discover what that last big word means? Then a re-write may well be called for!

The post is excellent, extending a warm hug of inspiration to the budding writers. I prefer ‘third person omniscient’ POV, with no room for any boredom in my narration.

Peter had his normal “I’m paying attention” look plastered on his face, but his mind was chasing super villains, decimating evil minions with mighty punches that laid ten low at one swipe.

One ear caught, “Good morning, we have a guest speaker this morning, the Rev. Charles Birch, from the 2nd Baptist Church. Rev. Birch will present the creationist side to what we have been studying in the physical sciences. Rev. Birch.”

“Blah … blah … blah,” Peter heard in his public ear but his private ear heard Dr. Daemon spewing his maleficent threats, “Capt. Magnificent, you have no hope of defeating my eco-destroying minions!” On and on it went, Birch preaching “let there be light … the dominion of man over all things … everything in it’s proper order … on the first day God created the second day … and on the third day blah blah blah,” and of course during all of this Dr. Daemon and Capt. Magnificent continued their mighty struggle on the farside of the moon, until Peters public ear heard, “of course the universe can only be 10,000 years old …”

What? What was that his public ear just heard? The Universe is a maximum of 10,000 years old? Peter was now attentive to what the pompous windbag in front of the class was saying.

A single hand raised itself amongst the sea of blank faces.

“Yes, young man?”

“Uh, Rev. Birch, how can the universe be 10,000 years old?”

“Easy uh huh,” Ms. Murphy whispered into the Reverends ear, “yes, Peter, we know the age of the universe from the generations that are recorded in the Bible.”

“But … I was at a dig in Colorado last summer and the rock strata around the fossils …”

“Humph, all conjecture. I believe God made the fossil and the rocks surrounding it ten thousand years ago.”

“All fossils are like that then?”

“Well of course. Given He made the fossils He made the surrounding rock. We only think that it took millions of years.”

Peter’s hand shot up again.

Rev. Birch tried to avoid him, but Peter was a persistent little son of… “Yes?”

“So God’s just a practical joker, creating false evidence to fool the sciences?”

The class was coming out it’s “guest speaker” lethargy, as Peter again had his hand up and spoke before acknowledged, “Does the Bible say what the speed of light is?”

“Well, now I think that has no bearing …”

Susan piped up, adding onto Peter’s question “How can Andromeda be millions of light-years away if the universe is only 10,000 years old?”

“Uh well … Andromeda?”

“No wonder He didn’t have time to save my baby sister if He wasted all that time making fossils look millions of years old,” came a loud, whispered, comment from the back of the room.

Ms. Murphy quickly ushered Rev. Birch from the classroom, and shook his hand in the hall, “Thank you so much for coming. We do appreciate all view points.”

“Who are those kids?” the Reverend asked.

“Oh, the Anderson District Scholars Program. Basically our high school geniuses in sciences and math. It’s required we allow all view points to be presented.”

Interesting. Uh, Gary, how could you have written the story in 15 minutes? Or did you dig up a fossil story you wrote millions of years ago…?

Does it matter?

It took a day and a half to percolate through my gray matter. I then took approximately 15 to 20 minutes to rough it out and get it into Draftin. Then another while, hours, lots of minutes, to get it to where I wanted to post it. Once posted, I’ve gone back and edited it, probably dozens of times, making changes as it has continued to peroclate.

I loved the flashing between reality and a story he is telling himself in his head. That’s me about 90% of the time. lol

I would also just like to add, that all creationists aren’t young earth creationists. There are a lot of different theories. Take the gap theory and theistic evolution for example. Then you have people who take it as a literal six days and others who don’t because of the bible verse that says “a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years is like a day”. Then, there are two different meanings to the word “day” if you look at the translation of the bible from Hebrew to English. So there is argument over which version of the word “day” is being used sense one can be taken literally and the other figuratively. There are literally of books written on these subjects, with Christians arguing amongst themselves over which is right. I have actually meet very few people who think the way the reverend in this story does, especially sense when you go to seminary they teach you how to not look like an idiot in these situations.

I think It’s important to remember when you’re writing Christians (or any group that often gets stereotyped) that they are not stereotypes. I’ve written atheists and it’s really easy just to make them injured people who are angry at God and dissatisfied with life, but that’s just not the reality. A lot of atheists know their stuff and have good reason for their beliefs. The same applies to Christians. If you still want to debunk the Christian in the end, I’m totally cool with it. I would just say, have the Christian have a better argument then “God put the fossils their like that”. Make it harder for your main character to debunk him, create more conflict, and make us cheer him on all the more when he wins.

Just thought that was worth mentioning. All in all, the piece is very well written.

Assumption: Pastors and or reverends have been to seminary. Not true. In the Southern Baptist Convention, at least when I was in the SBC, pastors were not assigned by the convention, nor was any kind of, pre or post graduate, pastoral education required. Pastors were called by the local church, without guidance from the convention, and could easily not even have finished high school. There are many churches that have no affiliation with any established denomination, and therefore call whomever they want as their pastor.

Oh, yes, you handled POV nicely. I’m just the kind of person that will comment on every part of the story. And I’m sorry if the comment was too much, or you didn’t find it helpful. I just tend to say what I think. But for the exercise you did a good job on the POV.

Oh the comment wasn’t too much. After 68 years my hide is pretty tough and criticism I tend to take in a constructive manner and/or with a grain of salt.

But you assumed something in your comment that, in my experience is simply not true. In my experience, the pastors that had graduated college, let alone ever attended seminary were zero. My denomination, at the time, was lucky to have pastors that finished high school.

68 years, wow that’s a lot of time and experience! You have the respect of a young Padawan.

You’re right. I was looking at it from a United Methodist view point (sense that’s the denomination I belong to). Our denomination is pretty strict with schooling and is very organized when it comes to chain of command. I discounted the fact that not all denominations and churches are like mine. My current pastor actually has a PhD and really knows what he’s talking about, so were lucky in that. I’ve also grown up in a home where ignorance isn’t tolerated. We learn about our religion (and everything else we can learn about) and are not victims of blind acceptance.

I’m sorry you had experiences with uneducated pastors. I hope they weren’t all as bad as the one in the story. If they were, then that stinks. And I do realize that there are, sadly, some pastors like the one from your story who don’t have very good arguments when it comes to the science of their faith. But I also hope that people know that all Christians aren’t, to put it frankly, stupid.

Again, assumptions. Christianity was never equated to stupidity, and above all else no attempt to equate uneducated to stupid was ever made. In all those 68 years I have seen incredibly educated people, read that doctorates, that were, above all else, stupid. I have also encountered uneducated people that could best be described as genius.

Birch was, at best, unprepared. His fault, Murphy’s fault, irrelevant, not what I was striving for. It was simply the vehicle used to convey POV switching from character to character. Birch could have been Islamic and quoting the Torah.

I wrote for 20 minutes before I realized it, so here’s what I got.

“Okay, calm down, calm down. You must get a hold of yourself” I murmured frantically to myself, I had to calm down before I blew another hole through the wall, or worse. I sat still on the hard floor, and I still couldn’t believe what had happened, it didn’t make sense at all, but there was evidence of it right before my eyes: a brick wall that now had a wide circle in its middle, still glowing hot from what I had done. Yet it was nothing compared to the silver glow that came from my hands, it felt strange, alien yet oddly comfortable, like I was wearing a glove while sparks coursed throug my arms.

I kept staring at my hands for a long time, trying to find some explanation for what had happened, it couldn’t have been me who did that, I wasn’t that special, I didn’t have some special blood, nor had I gone through any experiment, I didn’t even fit in any origin story of any Super. I was sure of that, I had even taken the tests at the Dome.

“This can’t be happening!” I screamed, letting loose all the emotions I had tried to hold back. “ARGGGHhhh!”

Then, it happened again, the room was bathed again in a silver hue as another silver beam left my hands and destroyed the wall a bit more, leaving behind only one third of what had been an sturdy wall once. That flash had confirmed my fears, this was the reality I had been the one to destroy the wall. I was angry, scared and happy at the same time, these emotions clashing one against the other as I witnessed the destruction I had wrecked in less than 10 minutes.

A grave sound pierced the old room I was in, it sounded like a lament, a sorrowful lament from a strange lonely monster. It only lasted a few seconds, and then, a piece of the roof fell about 5 meters from me. It was followed by another one, and another one bigger than the first two. Soon the whole roof was falling in, and fear once again took a hold of me. I was going to die, I knew I was going to die, buried beneath the rubis of the room.

“I, I don’t want to die” I screamed with all the force of my lungs while I tried to protect my head with my hands, I knew it wasn’t going to be enough, it wasn’t going to be enough if I wanted to live. I want to live. That thought was the last one I had before a surge of power coursed through my body, engulfing my vision in a white blanket before I passed out.

When I woke up, I felt groggy, moving my body was hard, and the air was packed with dust. But I didn’t hurt anywhere, not did I feel like I was buried under something. I slowly made my way to my knees, looking at myself for any sign of injuries, but there was none, in fact except for the dust my clothes were exactly the same as they had been before the fall in.

“This is impossible” I said out loud to no on, but how did this happen? I thought I was done for sure. It was only then that I looked around me and I was shocked for the fifth time that day.

There wasn’t any rubis near me, no for a meter around me. Was that possible? How?

Well done. There are a couple of times where the protagonist is thinking, not speaking. It would help to clarify that like using italics, or at least quoting.

Thanks for the advice- I usually use italics when it comes to thoughts, but I wasn’t sure if they were going to copy that way from writer. So I’ll try to use them next time.

I wrote one short story in the first person POV twenty five years ago. I never tried it again. Since I decided to face my fears, here I go again.

I had just opened my eyes and before I could see clearly, I was standing next to the bed jumping up and down. All of a sudden, i was standing next to the dresser drawer. did I run? I had so much energy. It seemed as if I had four cups of coffee and six energy pills. I looked across the room at the hamper. The hamper was empty and the clothes that were stuffed there were clean and folded. Last night the hamper was full of dirty clothes.. I head a soft voice that sounded like mine. “Esther, you now have super human power. The clothes were washed and folded last night. If you go to the kitchen, there is no longer a pile of dirty dishes. They have all be washed and put away. That’s all I have to say.” “What are you talking about? Who are you?” Suddenly, I was jumping up and down next to my dresser drawer.. I paused and looked into my mirror. I still looked the same. A long braid with a hair pin fastened to the left close to may ear. I did feel energized. At once I felt like I needed or wanted to run. I walked down the stairs toward the front door. The moment that i stepped out. I had dashed down the block, turned to the right and dashed down that block and Paused, standing in right in from of me was me. she looked exactly like me. She had a long braid that was pinned to the side like i did. She was wearing a light tan tee-shirt and black short shorts, blue gym shoes. Just like I am wearing. We both stood there, sweating, jumping up and down as though there were springs.under our shoes. ” Who are you?” ” I just you told you when we were in the house.” Then, she said “I’ll just tell you this much. Let’s race back to the house and up the stairs and stand next to the bed. Whoever get there first wins. “Win what,” “You’ll find out.” she dashed past me to the right. I spun back around so fast that I became dizzy. I dashed down the block and turned left. Before I knew it, I was in the kitchen. Mama was there. I was downstairs sitting at the table with her. “I am impressed. you have fixed breakfast and washed the dishes and I see you have been running.” Thanks mama, I said. Then in my mind and my ear I heard my own voice. There are two Esther. The one who procrastinate and don”t get things done and the one that get things done immediately without being told.. Then mama looked at me and smiled. She never smiles in the morning. but today, she did. She said, well today you cooked the breakfast and washed the dishes without waiting until you got home from school. I like this part of you, Esther. Then, I knew what had happened, KEN Well, there it is. Now, this means that I have used the first person again. I feel okay because, even if it’s terrible. I tried.

My go to POV is 3rd Person, limited.

Oops!! Just realized I completely blew the prompt.

Oh well … back to he drawing board (or computer).

This app helps me understand a lot about the 3d person

The first time it happened took me by surprise. It would anyone wouldn’t it? I was standing in line at the grocery store with my mom. I was tapping my foot to the beat of my own boredom, impatiently waiting for the guy ahead of us to move his cart; which if you ask me he didn’t even need. I added in some finger snaps. 1…2…and…3. The third snap brought with it an echo. When I looked around, I wasn’t in the grocery store anymore. I was in a cave.

I had waited for my eyes to adjust to the dark. The only light that was coming through was a small crack far ahead of me to my left side. I looked down at my feet for a path. Right in front of me the rock I was standing on dropped off into an abyss of black. Behind me stood the edge of the cave. I remember hyperventilating. I was so scared I couldn’t move. I started snapping my fingers again and said out loud, “think, think, think,” matching my snaps to the words in my head. On the third snap, I was back in the grocery store. Police were there talking with my mother. I had been gone a long time.

After that day I tried experimenting with my new formed ability. I started thinking of specific places that I wanted to visit; I wanted to see if I could control it. After a few failed attempts ending up in grungy basements, restaurant cooler storages, and an actor’s cottage, I got a hold of the pattern.

The success of my teleportation was contingent on my ability to breathe evenly. I needed to remain completely calm. When I realized that my ability was never going away, my excitement is what kept me from perfection. Failure after failure brought an increased frustration with myself.

It’s good. You haven’t overdone anything. You’ve shown what happened through your character really well. I particularly like the line “dropped off into an abyss of black.”

This was my attempt at using 2nd person. I rarely use it. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you 🙂

“Now what can you tell me about God? Anybody? Yes, yes, um Alice?” “Alicia, Miss. God is often described with the three Os. He is omnipotent, all powerful, omnipresent, everywhere and omniscient, all knowing.” You suppress a groan. “Which textbook did she swallow to spew that out?” you whisper to your friend. She giggles quietly. “Shhhh,” she replies. You sigh and put your head on the table. You’ve been stuck in this stuffy classroom for half an hour and you really won’t last for another half. You can practically eat religion in this school.

“Hey you, you, sleepy child,” the teacher says. For a moment you’re confused but then your friend nudges you and you realise the woman is talking to you. ‘Can’t she learn our names?’ you think. “Yes, Miss?” you dare to risk saying. “What can you tell me about God?” she asks. ‘Oh for God’s sake,’ you think before realising the irony. “Um,” you reply. You could almost swear that time was slowing down. Everyone’s eyes turn towards you almost in slow motion before they stop as if frozen. You wish the ground would hurry up and swallow you. It takes you a moment to realise that no one is blinking. “Hello?” you say, hoping you don’t sound like an idiot. Nobody responds. ‘Okay, this is really creepy.’ You poke your friend but she doesn’t move. A bead of sweat trickles down your forehead that has nothing to do with the heat. What is going on? A cold feeling washes over you and you sit back in your seat feeling dizzy. You try to control your breathing but it is rapid and coming in gasps. You glance at the clock only to see that the second hand has stopped moving. Hands clammy, you glare at it willing it to move. Millimetre by millimetre it does. You sigh with relief when everybody’s movement resumes only to find yourself under the scrutiny of 30 pairs of eyes.

“Well?” asks the teacher. Suddenly desperate, you look at the clock and wonder if you can make time go faster.

Who’s point of view;

So there’s this guy, this one guy I never liked, he’s constantly stealing my ideas, getting credit for the success, or if the idea fails, that’s when he throws me under the bus. Oh it’s so aggravating when he takes the words right outta my mouth, when I try to participate in the discussion, he cuts me off, I swear he thinks he knows everything he’s talking about. Oh, yeah and he’s always making an ass out of me, no matter what it is, especially at every work party. This guy thinks he’s so slick, two steps ahead of everyone, but he’s not quick, I know every move he’s gonna make before he makes them. It’s also extremely embarrassing he always seems to wear what I have on, then to hear people say how good he looks, I swear his heads swelling from the compliments. Have you seen him? That car he’s driving, that watch he’s wearing, his house, and kids, and his wife, most people only dream of marrying. He has everything I ever wanted, yet he takes it all for granted, he won’t let anyone else enjoy the spot light, like it’s impossible for him to share it. He never talks to me, which makes it that much more awkward, because I always see him in the bathroom, and every time I wash my hands, there he is, just starring, blocking my reflection. When I try to move, he moves too, it’s so obvious he’s doing it on purpose, but I don’t like drama, quite frankly his demeanor makes me a little nervous. So I just ignore it, I’m starting to wonder if I should report him, but what if the boss thinks I’m jealous? I much rather prefer waiting until the day he quits, or who knows maybe he’ll get fired, I just hope he’s not still here up until the day that I retire.

Until the age of five almost six, I thought everyone could figure out how to walk through walls. The morning my mom was walking me to my first day of school she broke the news to me. Once we reached the first intersection, and we were standing at the corner waiting for the light to change, she first asked me, “Maddy, remember that I mentioned to you every person in the world is unique?” I nodded while I kept my eye on the street light. “and what did I say was so unique about you?” “That I have three freckles on my nose.” “Maddy! Not that but the one thing nobody can tell by looking at you.” I looked up at her and said, “That I am a smart kid and I figured out that walls don’t divide or separate?”

Chapbook 25

Last night I was scared, I had another bad dream I just wanted my mommy there but she was in another room asleep. It was a nightmare, the one I often have, about a monster, who’s over 6ft. He chases me down, grabs me by my hair, thrown me into walls, I don’t know why he’s so angry, he’s even kicked me down the stairs.

I woke up sweating, my eyes filled with tears, and what scared me the most was bruises had appeared. They covered me from head to toe, I couldn’t hide them underneath my clothes. Today I was supposed start my first day of school, but mommy said I couldn’t go.

Back to sleep, I don’t even remember getting ready for bed, I just blacked out, when I woke up a pain filled my head. My dream had some how become real, there was the monster, standing over my body, breathing, and grunting, where is my mommy. Why doesn’t she come and help, why isn’t she protecting me, can’t she hear me if I yell.

Can anyone hear me, why can’t anyone figure it out, I wish my daddy was here, but mommy won’t let him around. When will this nightmare finally end, what will it take for him to leave, one of us dead, or broken and bleeding?

Years have gone by, I’m learning to deal, he’s still in our lives, drinking his meal. He is always mad always drunk, never caring, incapable of feeling love. Beating satisfies a need inside him, one that reminds him he’s alive, he’s in control, that everyone’s beneath him, we do as were told.

My other siblings have dealt with it their own way, my oldest sibling has different personality traits. One minute he’s him, by the next someone else, he swears one day he’ll be free of this hell, and when he does he never wants to see any of us again, he disowns our family, he can’t be my friend. The pain is so much more than anyone should take, it won’t be long from now till one of us breaks.

It finally happened, as I began to prepare my food, cutting up vegetables, trying not to listen to them argue, but low and behold i couldnt ignore the thump, at that very moment I snapped into somebody else.

Someone stronger than who I thought I’d become, with a knife in one hand, and a plan in the other, I made my way to the second floor, and found the that thud was my mother. As the plaster in the wall shaped like her head, I looked for the monster, and seen him covered in red.

Like a bull I charged toward him, digging the knife in his gut, 1,2,3 times ain’t enough. Like the monster he’s always been, courage from his bottle, the pierces in his side didn’t stop him, he was numb from the booze, and like a mad man, he retaliated, nothing could keep him from trying to kill me.

I just woke up from a terrible dream, just to find myself in a worse reality. Laying at the bottom if the stair case, in a puddle of my own blood, flashing lights reassured me help had finally come, but I couldn’t move, my body paralyzed, what had I done? I see my mother screaming she is covered in blood, Then I seen the monster sitting up with tape across his abdomen arms crossed in cuffs, finally he will get what he deserves, but what does this mean or us?

The only girl out of eight kids, the second eldest of the bunch, I thought we stuck together this long, and through such hell, we’d most likely stay together, but only time could tell. If only the words for what’s felt could every truly be spoken, perhaps only then could anyone listening would know just what was dealt, but sometimes you can’t mutter out the words that would allow others to understand what kind of welt gets lashed across a tiny body when beaten with a belt.

Even after hundreds of beatings, thousands of black and blue marks, fractured bones like ribs and wrists, almost on a daily basis. I bet your thinking how the hell does this go on for so long, when a parent allows another adult to enter their home, use them for everything they own, get drunk and stands by as that person takes their angers and frustration out on the innocent lives they should be protecting. When a mother or father chooses a stranger over their own little ducklings. That is how monsters get away with it so long, because an active parent allows it to go on.

The truth is of all the afflictions none bare as much pain as the very thought that a mother could prefer a stranger, a monster, putting her babies in danger, actually acts like she doesn’t see what she did wrong. She won’t acknowledge her errors, and the ultimate worst, the day she would choose another guy over us, again, this guy just another monster, and yet he is her life, treats her like crap, calls her an asset, not as his wife. Let her keep him, and the life she’s made, I have my own daughter now, I will never allow her to grow up this way, I will be nothing like my momster, this is the ultimate promise I make, and would die before I’d ever let it break.

Great piece about a super villain, and how this kind of thing does not happen in a vacuum. Your POV was consistent, first person, but there are places where you need to highlight that these are the thoughts of the protagonist. Italics would work, or even quotes.

I only just came across this site today an I was immediately intrigued. I’ve always been self conscious about my writing but I like the idea of being about to just practice like this and get genuine feedback. Anyway I wrote mine in third person limited, I trying to practice how to use better descriptions without overdoing it and getting to fluffy. Here goes..

I remember the day Melissandra first told me she had superpowers. I would have laughed right then and there if I hadn’t learned to recognize the tension burrowed between her brows. Her pale youthful skin now sagged to that of a woman three times her age. The bags beneath her eyebrows had become so swollen and dark you would have thought she hadn’t slept in weeks. The dark shadows behind her eyes gave way to little life. She hunched over me, her body twitching like little jolts of electricity pulsed through her. In health classes we had often seen videos of the effects of hard drugs on addicts, the way they scratched and clawed, itching to escape their bodies. Could she had gotten herself into hard drugs? No, I definitely would have noticed. This was something worse, as a tenth grader living in the suburbs true terror had never struck me very hard, but the fear that gripped her eyes sent a chill through my spine.

“Mel, is everything okay?” I ask as we push our way through the crowded cafeteria.

Mel leans in close looking over her shoulder with unease checking to see that no one else is listening. She whispers, almost inaudibly.

“I think I have superpowers Suz.”

Laughter roars through my belly, which is quickly stifled by the lifeless expression on her face. I’ve never seen her so afraid.

“I’m sorry, did you say superpowers Mel?” I ask in disbelief.

Her eyes fix on me with a cold hard expression, there’s no laughter in her eyes, no punch line at the end of this story.

She lowers her voice as she begins to explain.

“Last night I went for a climb on Bears Peak. I must of got 150 feet when I lost my footing on the rocks. I was so sure I had all my ropes secured, but as I started to fall nothing caught. In that moment I thought I was going to die. Than, just before my body hit the ground I stopped. My body just suspended, hovering in mid air. It wasn’t long, only a moment, a few seconds at best, but enough time for my body to correct itself and find its footing on the ground.”

I stare at her in bewilderment, she’s not saying what I think she is, is she.

“Suzan!” she exclaims as her eyes show a flicker of light. “Last night I flew.”

I just discovered this site tonight, I like it already. I wrote mine in third person limited.

I remember the day Melissandra first told me she had superpowers. I would have laughed right then and there if I hadn’t learned to recognize the tension burrowed between her brows. Her pale youthful skin now sagged to that of a woman three times her age. The bags beneath her eyes had become so swollen and dark you would have thought she hadn’t slept in weeks. The dark shadows behind her eyes gave way to little life. She hunched over me, her body twitching like little jolts of electricity pulsed through her. In health classes we had often seen videos of the effects of hard drugs on addicts, the way they scratched and clawed, itching to escape their bodies. Could she had gotten herself into hard drugs? No, I definitely would have noticed. This was something worse, as a tenth grader living in the suburbs true terror had never struck me very hard, but the fear that gripped her eyes sent a chill through my spine.

Great article, Joe! I really appreciate the detail you went into. You made the different points of view so clear. The breadth of your knowledge of literature is awesome, and your two graphics were helpful and concise.

Katherine Rebekah, great story! You did the second-person POV seamlessly.

All the best, Deena

Well thanks, Deena. 🙂

My genre is romantic suspense, or romantic thrillers, if you will. I always write third person point of view, omniscient, and steer clear of first person for exactly the reasons you’ve stated above. I find first person too limited and stifling. When I read a novel written in first person I find myself distracted, wondering what the other main character(s) are thinking or feeling. Particuarly in a romance – I don’t want to spend my entire reading experience wondering: Is he feeling the same way way or she on her own here?

Granted, the authors that I habitually read do not typically write in first person, but when they do, I will admit, they’re pretty good at showing me the thoughts and feelings of the other party without actually going into their POV. But, I would say it is a tough thing to accomplish, and only the best writers do.

Any feedback would be nice, thanks!

There are no more villains to fight you. No more evil-doers who wish to challenge your right—the right the people gave you to defend their lives. The monument that watched over the city like an old father is the tribute they built for you. The responsibility that you now stand in. Watching over them. An extraterrestrial guardian.

You look up to see grey clouds swirling, forming some odd shape. You take flight, and burst through the glass pane, as people below begin to chant your name. The clouds merge with one another, swirling in and out of each other. With your vision you can see the faces of the ones you swore to protect, even at the cost of your life. Some are smiles, the faces of those that believe in you—the ones if they could would join you without a second thought. Others had grief-stricken eyes; doubt lined their faces. How could you protect them forever? Surely someone greater than you, stronger than you would destroy everything that you deemed worth saving. Maybe there was someone that could take your place, someone that made all this easier. Hopefully.

No. Your chest bursts out and the veins in your arms feel ready to explode. Your fists clench tighter with each breath. Your eyes narrow. Never will you doubt yourself ever again. A crash of lightning hit a nearby building, signifying your resolve. You charge into the vortex still swallowing the sky. The mass of clouds block your path and out the whirlwind a humanoid shape takes form. You. You face off against yourself. “Of course. A hero’s greatest challenge is his or herself,” you say.

How I hate head-hopping! This is a common mistake my students make – and an easy one that can slip into our drafts. Hence, the importance of revision and beta readers.

Thank you for this thorough discussion of such an important element of story!

The worst limitation I find writing in first person is exactly what Joe pointed out, that you cannot be everywhere at once. I find myself getting frustrated at having to switch POV’s between characters in order to be able to tell the story better and show how different characters are feeling because of certain situations; or in my story’s case: one very sinister character.

But since I’m using my past experiences as a means to write the way I do, I kind of need to stay in first person. It’s both a blessing and a curse.

How interesting that a man who has written a 7000-page story is the author of a bestselling book about writing a short story. 😉

“Tina, what the heck. Put me down.”

“Sorry Charlie, I just ate a spinach salad.”

“Clever, but not humorous. Popeye wouldn’t be so frivolous. What if mom and dad had seen you showing off, or worse, if one of the Dancings is spying on us.”

“You’re no fun, you’re boring and paranoid. Brother or not, I may look for another partner”

“Be my guest. I’ll find someone who takes our mission seriously. Who won’t jeopardize our friends and family out of boredom, and the childish need for attention. Grow up a little. You’re sixteen years old.”

“And, you’re eighteen going on eighty. It’s true what they say about friends and family.”

“Whose they?

“Idiot. They’re the consensus.”

“What does the consensus have to say on the subject?”

“Family is the luck of the draw. Friends are deliberate choices.”

“I’d mention a few of your choices but that won’t get this conversation on track. I, we, need to find out what the Dancings are up to. You need to get close enough to read their daughter’s mind. I’ve got a plan. It could work if you can augment your powers with a dash of maturity.”

My sister Tina and I were abducted a month ago while hiking in the Grand Canyon. If I had the words to describe the aliens or their vessel, I’d share them, but I don’t. They were spirits as much as anything and I may have been sedated somehow. They separated us. Apparently Tina was more qualified for mental and physical superpowers than I was. She can read minds and has the strength of The Hulk. My power is cooler though. My eyes shoot lasers when I squint and concentrate. If it was just a matter of squinting, the neighborhood would be ablaze. My vision is less than perfect. I’ve been squinting for years. Maybe that’s why I got this power? Whatever. If the Dancings are building a dirty bomb in their basement, I may need to set fire to them and their house. Soon maybe. First, I need to know that my suspicions are warranted.

Tina needed to befriend the Dancing’s daughter Tanya, an introvert who spoke to no one at school. If she couldn’t befriend her, Tina at least needed to sit by her at lunch, hopefully to learn something from her thoughts. My sister gets bored easily, so sitting near a person who won’t acknowledge her was going to be a challenge. That’s why I was so irritated with Tina and her circus tricks just now. I’m convinced our neighbors are terrorists. But I can’t just burn their house down. What if somebody died and I was wrong? It was time for my sister to step up and put her powers to good use.

Appreciate the write up Joe. Laura

I am having a lot of difficulty with point of view. For instance, Let’s say you have a Memoir or “Diary” type fiction. You want to it to be from the point of view of the person writing the diary; however, you need your reader to know facts about the characters the speaker interacts with that he couldn’t possible know. (perhaps he just met them, etc.) How can you give the reader information about a person that the speaker deosn’t know yet?

hey, I am in the same boat as you, and I uncovered something called First Person Omniscient, which is– if you are still not away after a year of writing the comment I am replying back to– the character is in first person, still uses “I” and “we” and such, but also knows information about other characters that he/she does not yet know, precisely as what you described in your comment. However, this type of first person is rare, as very few novels and authors decide to use this method. But whatever floats your boat! Hope I helped, even though I am clearly late!

Try second person

One question I have in regards to POV and which to choose, is suppose you’re writing a story about something that’s already happened. The story is being told by the main character in the story, years later after the story is “over” (kind of like in a journal of what happened, how it ended- to a certain point- leaving out what has happened to the main character due to his choices made). But, one of the unique situations is that the main character is not just one person, but a person literally divided into 3 separate selves. He himself is the Present self, the other two are what has already happened (past- alternate choice of reality) and the last one is “what could be if” situation” (future). The main (present) is part of the three, but only knows the whole story after it’s happened and how the other two responded to events as they occurred. How would the story be told in what point of view? Both first and third? I know it probably sounds confusing; so if you’re willing to give me advice and need some clarification I can do that. Thanks.

Amanda stared at herself in the mirror. She lifted her hands and gazed at all of the blood on them. “Why am I not dead?” she asked herself puzzled. “It was a head on collision…with a truck!” she exclaimed to herself in amazement. She turned on her heel and marched to her kitchen and grabbed a large knife. She waved the knife around in the air before placing it on her wrist. “If I can’t make it look like an accident, I guess my parents would have to deal with the fact I wanted to die.” Amanda spat. She winced as the blade dug deep into her delicate flesh and watched her blood flow. But the seconds later it stopped. Blinking, she brought her arm closer to her face and stared at her smooth skin -without a single scratch on it. In disbelief she dropped the knife and ran back into the bathroom and wiped her arm of its blood and confirmed there wasn’t a wound. Desperate, Amanda ran down into the basement and grabbed her father’s rifle. “Heal from this if you can.” Amanda put the point under her chin and pulled the trigger. Everything went black and she felt herself crash to the floor. Moments later, Amanda woke up with a huge headache. “What happened?” she groaned but then gasped when she remembered what she had tried to do. “What is happening to me?!” she cried. “I don’t want to be in this world anymore, let me die!” she screamed. Amanda got up from the floor and shuffled up stairs to take a warm shower. “Maybe drowning would work…”

You forgot deep pov; close third. >:(

Deep POV is still third person limited.

Great write-up! Worth sharing and bookmarking.

As for me, I prefer to write (and read) in either first person or third person limited.

Good article except that the plural of point of view is points of view and NOT point of views! C’mon!

Though I’ve only started writing in earnest this year, POV is a topic that has been pointed out to me again and again concerning my WIP. TODAY, as I go through the comments I received overnight POV is the stumbling block I inadvertently put in my story. I’m consciously employing the third person omniscient POV, but it’s not coming through to my readers. I’ve read this article before and anew and I still don’t get it… I’m doomed.

talented writer, Noddy, mentioned this article . is good read . reread since wanted to make the third person omniscient viewpoint cleaner without head hopping . soon peruse Italo Calvino book written in second person pov to see how a master wrote .

Write two pieces of 750 words. One will be from the point of view of a traveller travelling to a foreign country. The other will be from the point of view of a native of that country who receives that traveller which person do I write form the first person, second person or the third person please help

You know, i had a dream once… I wanted to redo my entire life, I’m getting a divorce from my wife, Scarlett. We have two children, Alex and Maggie, and they’e both seniors in the high school I used to attend. I was driving to Ned’s house one rainy night and saw a man on a bridge. I got out and ran after him. When I got there he jumped, i looked over the edge and then I fell off. I woke up in Ned’s house and looked in the mirror. I was my young self again… I was 17 again.

What about this post is actual, and what part’s a dream? It’s hard to distinguish what dialogue this follows, and what efforts are trying to be accomplished.

Everything about this was my dream… I woke up after i fell and thought, I need some pancakes.

Hi- I’m writing a novel in 3rd omniscient. I struggle with the point of view on a micro level, never dipping into 1st or second person. Here is an example of what I mean is this… ‘While Eunice and Barbara were in the nursery spending a few minutes with the baby boy, Margaret walked away from a group and then grabbed a quick nibble of cheese from the buffet. She continued on to the bar where she picked up a full glass of vodka with a twist of lemon. On her way out the door to the patio, she looked back over her shoulder directly to where Jules stood, as if she had known his position to the inch.’ Does ‘she looked back over her shoulder’ now put the reader in Margaret’s POV???

I could use some advice.

I have a novel focusing on the relationship of two people. This is entirely written in 3rd person limited with occasional internal dialogue.

Initially, this story was focused on one character (A); however, I realised the protagonist was the other character (B). I re-wrote the novel to be inside B’s head, and generally this works *much* better.

Here’s the problem. Although the entire novel is written in 3rd person limited for B, there are several action points within the novel that follows A, not B because there is not much going on with B during this time.

There’s no head hopping or reading of A’s mind in these few scenes, but nothing is happening to B at this point, so narrative-wise, it seems okay to follow A through action (not thought).

So, question 1) because there’s no head hopping, is following A occasionally too distracting for this story? And if so, 2) I’m open to suggestions on how to handle this, because it’s what happens to A in these scenes that changes things.

Very good article. Great examples.

It is imperative for any writer who wishes to become proficient in narrative style to comprehend the distinction between first-person and third-person point of view (POV). The “Ultimate Guide” claims to offer thorough insights into both points of view, which can greatly improve storytelling abilities. Through exploring the subtleties of each point of view, authors can enhance the reader’s experience by effectively expressing the viewpoints, feelings, and experiences of their characters. Writing gripping and engrossing stories requires the mastery of key narrative methods, regardless of experience level. I’m eager to study this guide and improve my storytelling abilities even more!

Nice article

Understanding the difference between first person and third person point of view (POV) is crucial for any writer looking to master narrative technique. This “Ultimate Guide” promises to provide comprehensive insights into both POVs, which can significantly enhance storytelling skills. By delving into the nuances of each POV, writers can learn how to effectively convey characters’ perspectives, emotions, and experiences, ultimately enriching the reader’s engagement with the narrative. Whether you’re a beginner or seasoned writer, mastering these narrative techniques is essential for crafting compelling and immersive stories. Looking forward to exploring this guide and honing my storytelling skills further!

Point of view (POV) is crucial in storytelling, shaping how readers experience a narrative. First Person POV immerses readers in the narrator’s thoughts and feelings, creating intimacy and immediacy, making it ideal for character-driven stories, though it limits perspective to the narrator’s knowledge. On the other hand, Third Person POV offers more flexibility, with third person limited closely following one character and third person omniscient providing an all-knowing view of multiple characters. This flexibility allows for more complex narratives but can distance readers from the characters. Choosing the right POV depends on the story’s needs and can significantly enhance the reader’s experience.

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The Art of Narrative

Learn to write.

Point of View: The Ultimate Guide

Answer all your questions about how to write in first, second, and third person point of view. Every point of view is covered including how to use tense.

I’ve been staring at my screen for ten minutes trying to come up with a hook that somehow, someway will lead off an article about literary point of view. I’ve come to a definite conclusion: you can’t. To do so would subvert the laws of man, physics and God. It’s impossible. I defy you to try it.

Anyway, let’s talk about POV.  

If you’re a beginning writer you might not think much about point of view. But, you should.

All writers should spend significant time considering what POV they’ll use for a story, and why. POV is as important to a story as is your plot , characters , setting , etc.

What is point of view in writing?

Point of view tells your reader who is important in your story. It affects the relationship your reader builds with your characters. And, if done poorly, the point of view can ruin an otherwise perfect story.

You’d like to avoid that, wouldn’t you? Of course! So, for your consideration, I bring to you the ultimate guide to point of view.

(Is it really the ultimate guide to POV? Probably not, but it makes for a good title, right?)

In this article I will explain every type of POV you could possibly use in your writing, and when to use each one. I’ll also answer all your burning questions about POV. You know the ones you’ve always wondered about but didn’t want to ask.

More importantly, I’ll cover some of the common POV mistakes and how to avoid them.

But first, let’s start with the basics-

Point of view is the term used to describe who the author chooses to tell their story. But really, and more importantly, it’s who your reader is engaging with.

When we talk about point of view we’re talking about the narrator. An author might have the main character or a secondary character speak directly to the reader as if you are reading that character’s journal.

Or, the narrator might not be in the story at all, but a voice above the fray who can describe the action of a story.

The narrator may also know certain characters’ thoughts and feelings about the events unfolding. While some POVs will insert the reader directly into the action of the story.

The point is, point of view is an important consideration for any story, and mistakes in POV can ruin a story. So, it’s important to choose your POV carefully and avoid the common pitfalls.

With that said, let’s discuss the different types of POV, why they are used, and the common POV mistakes that you need to avoid.

What are the different types of point of view?

Point of view can be divided into three categories- first person, second person, and third person. Third person point of view can be broken down further into limited, omniscient, and objective.

All POVs can be written either in the past or present tense.

Let’s take a look at each of these individually.

First Person Point of View

What is first person point of view.

You’re the reader and the character is telling you the story. You and the character are like old friends; they’re very open with you about their thoughts and feelings. It’s as if you’re reading their journal. Usually, the perspective character is the main character of the story, but not always.

Take, for instance, The Great Gatsby which is written in the first person, but the perspective character is Nick Caraway. Nick takes part in the events of the story and relays them to the reader, but he is not the main character.

However, this is an exception, not the rule. Your point of view character should be the protagonist unless you have a good reason for them not to be.

You’ll know your reading a story in the first person when you see pronouns like I, me, or my. The character is the narrator, so they will be speaking directly to the reader.  

How to write First Person Point of View

Writing from a first person point of view is a solid choice if your beginning writer. It’s a straightforward perspective that isn’t too difficult to work with. Choose a character, like your protagonist, and write the story as if they are retelling the events to the reader.

If you choose the first person perspective you’ll need to know your character intimately. You want their personality to remain consistent throughout the narrative. That is unless they’re a dynamic character . Even then, changes in the character will need to have a cause that develops from your plot.

Interview your point of view character. Know their background, what their fears are, and what motivates them. The challenge of the first-person perspective is keeping your character’s voice, actions, and reactions consistent and believable.  

In other words, don’t change your character’s personality for the needs of the plot. What does that mean? If your character has been even-keeled and calm throughout the story don’t force them to blow up in anger because you need to inject some tension into a scene.

Know your perspective character, and don’t deviate from the personality that you’ve established, unless that change is earned through the narrative. Your reader will notice otherwise.  

When to use First Person Point of View

There are times when using the first person perspective is axiomatic like when writing a memoir or a personal essay. The first person POV is a good choice for writers who are just starting out. The limited nature of first person will help beginning writers avoid some common POV mistakes such as head-hopping. But, more on that later.

Because of its natural limits, the first person is a good choice if there are details of the plot that you want to hide from the reader. Take the example of an unreliable narrator who is lying about the events of the story. Discovering new information a narrator has kept hidden can be an exciting revelation for your reader.

Or, because your writing from the perspective of one character, the reader can discover story details as your character does. This works to great effect in the genres of mystery, horror, and romance. These genres require the character, and reader to work through the details of an event slowly to discover startling truths.

Lastly, the first person POV is a good choice if you’re writing a small, character-driven plot with a limited cast. However, it’s not the best choice for your epic, world-building fantasy.

Example of First Person Point of View

“I couldn’t forgive him or like him, but I saw that what he had done was, to him, entirely justified. It was all very careless and confused. They were careless people, Tom and Daisy—they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made.”

― F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

Learn about first-person point of view here!

What is Second Person Point of View?

You, the reader, are now in the story. You are the protagonist. You’re taking part in the action. Not literally, obviously. Not yet anyway. Until some advances in VR second person will remain figurative.

The writer uses pronouns like you and your. In fiction, this is not a very common practice. But, you will find the second person POV a lot in non-fiction works. Instructional texts like cookbooks are written in second-person. Think, “You’ll need to preheat your oven to 450 degrees. ”

Why isn’t Second Person Point of View popular?

The limitation of the second person perspective is that you’re asking your readers to put themselves directly into the story. This takes considerable suspension of disbelief on their part. And, it may put your reader off as they’re not used to reading this kind of narrative.

The second person point of view tells your reader that they are someone they’re not. That the events of the story are happening to them, the reader. It’s a funky style, let’s be honest. Reserved, mostly, for those “choose your adventure” books we read as children.

However, when executed well, this funkiness is the secret strength of the second-person perspective. What better way to encourage your reader to empathize with a character and experience a new perspective.

While not traditional, a story written in the second-person perspective could be a great way to set your work apart from the pack. But, only if you put in the effort to make it work. Know that an editor will ask the question- “Why did you choose second person POV?” If you don’t have an obvious answer, revealed in the text, this may be a weakness.

When it comes to digital storytelling though, second person POV could be the dominant perspective. Maybe we should start practicing…  

Example of Second Person Point of View

“Things happen, people change,’ is what Amanda said. For her that covered it. You wanted an explanation, and ending that would assign blame and dish up justice. You considered violence and you considered reconciliation. But what you are left with is a premonition of the way your life will fade behind you, like a book you have read too quickly, leaving a dwindling trail of images and emotions, until all you can remember is a name.”

― Jay McInerney, Bright Lights, Big City

Third Person Limited Point of View

What is third person limited point of view.

Take one step above the story. The narrator is no longer in the fray and action. They are on the outside looking in, commenting on the action. The narrator tells the reader what is happening, and what the perspective character is thinking and feeling.

A third person limited perspective means that we are limited (get it?) to a single character at a time. So, it’s like the first person perspective, but rather than a character speaking directly to us, the narrator is telling us what the character is doing, thinking and feeling.

How to write Third Person Limited Point of View

The first thing you want to do is choose a character to limit yourself to. More than likely, this will be your protagonist. You may also switch to another perspective character in your story.

However, don’t switch character perspectives within the confines of a single scene, or even a chapter. In truth, you may want to keep your perspective limited to the same character throughout the narrative.

There are examples of rotating perspective when using third person limited. Authors who do this will change the perspective characters from one character to the next. For clarity, chapters are usually named after the point of view character in that chapter.

How to describe characters in Third Person Limited Point of View

This is a question that comes up when writing from a limited point of view. Character descriptions can be tricky because overtly describing a non-POV character’s emotions would count as a slip in POV. You don’t want that.

Rely on the old adage- show, don’t tell. If a non-POV character is upset then have them slam a door, throw a punch, or break a window. Demonstrate emotion through action, not through adverbs.  

Remember that your narration is limited physically, as well. Your narration can’t describe anything the point of view character isn’t able to see, touch, taste, hear or smell directly. The character’s eyes are your window into the world of the story. Keep this in mind when describing the different aspects of your story.

When to use Third Person Limited Point of View

Much like first person point of view, the third person is used when you want to limit the reader’s perspective. Use this POV when you want your readers to spend time with, and become very familiar with a character or cast of characters. When you want your reader to become attached to your protagonist(s). Third person POV is perfect for your character-driven story arcs.

Choose third person POV over first person when your story has several character arcs to explore. An example would be the Harry Potter series. Sure, Harry is important, but we care about Hermione and Ron too.  

Also, the third person limited POV works well in mysteries, horrors, and crime stories. This is because you can easily hide information from your reader like you can with first person POV.

Because of its versatility, third person limited is the most popular POV in modern fiction. Readers and editors are used to reading in third person limited POV. In most cases, third person limited POV will be a good choice for your story. .  

Example of Third Person Limited Point of View

“For the first time, he heard something that he knew to be music. He heard people singing. Behind him, across vast distances of space and time, from the place he had left, he thought he heard music too. But perhaps, it was only an echo.”

― Lois Lowry, The Giver

Third Person Omniscient Point of View

What is third person omniscient point of view.

You’re the reader, and the narrator is God. They can give you access to every character’s thoughts and feelings, at the same time. Third person omniscient is like third person limited in that the narrator is separate from the story.

However, the narrator is not limited to one character’s viewpoint when describing the story. The narrator has full knowledge of all the characters and has no preference for any single character. Common pronouns used with third person omniscient are “he,” and “she.”

How to write in Third Person Omniscient Point of View

Third person omniscient can be challenging as you have a lot of characters to keep up with. Each major character will need the same attention from the narrator. It can also be difficult to keep your narrative focused with the POV spread out like this.

Use this perspective to insert your own authorial voice into the narrative. As the narrator, you can comment on the action of the story, or the characters. But, beware that this is not a style of writing that is currently in vogue.

The third person omniscient POV does provide a lot of creative freedom, though. Because of the “God-like” presence of the narrator, you’re not hemmed in by a lot of rules. The author can describe anything that a character is thinking, wearing, doing, seeing, etc.

When to use Third Person Omniscient Point of View

Never. Just kidding, but keep this in mind:

The third person omniscient perspective, while once omnipresent, is not very popular anymore. It’s a good choice if you have a plethora of characters in your story. This is because this perspective gives you the ability to inhabit any character in the story. However, realize this will make developing any single character difficult.

Choose the third person omniscient POV when you have a very strong voice, and you want the narrative commentary to take the center stage of your story.

Example of Third Person Omniscient Point of View  

“A man’s at odds to know his mind cause his mind is aught he has to know it with. He can know his heart, but he don’t want to. Rightly so. Best not to look in there. It ain’t the heart of a creature that is bound in the way that God has set for it. You can find meanness in the least of creatures, but when God made man the devil was at his elbow. A creature that can do anything. Make a machine. And a machine to make the machine. And evil that can run itself a thousand years, no need to tend it.”

― Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian, or the Evening Redness in the West

Third Person Objective Point of View

What is third person objective point of view.

In the third person objective POV, the reader does not have access to any character’s thoughts or feelings. The narrator is completely objective.

How and when to use Third Person Objective POV

Again, show don’t tell.  

With third person objective, a writer will have to convey all the characters’ emotions through action alone. If you’re a beginning writer try and write at least one story in the third person objective POV. It’s good for practice.

In order to master this POV, a writer must be a keen observer of people in the real world. How do people show their emotions- on their face, in their body language, with words?

How does someone demonstrate they’re angry with their boss? A real person wouldn’t act out dramatically. They wouldn’t flip a table or punch a hole in the drywall (hopefully). Because acting like that would get them fired, probably arrested. They may, instead, make a snide remark, purse their lips, or cross their arms.

The point is, people can be very subtle in how they display their inward feelings. Many people do their best to mask emotions. Others act out for attention. As a writer, you should be able to identify these subtle tells and insert them into your story. Especially if you plan on using the third person objective.

Third person objective POV is also useful in non-fiction. A biographer can’t always comment on the thoughts of feelings of their subject. Especially if the subject has been dead for hundreds of years. In that case, they can only convey a sense of emotion through their subject’s words or actions.

Example of Third Person Objective POV

“When a friend of Abigail and John Adams was killed at Bunker Hill, Abigail’s response was to write a letter to her husband and include these words, “My bursting heart must find vent at my pen.”

― David McCullough, John Adams

Present Tense versus Past Tense in Writing

Most authors choose the past tense when writing fiction. However, some writers choose present tense for their stories. Why?  Immediacy is one reason. Like with second person POV, the use of the present tense can pull a reader into a story in a way that feels intimate. They are experiencing the story along with the narrator in real time.

The downside of writing in the present tense is that you’ll be working against the grain. Most stories are told in the past tense, so unless you have a good narrative purpose for using the present tense you should probably avoid it. Without a clear purpose, using the present tense will come off as gimmicky.

But, I’m no expert on this subject and you can find a very informative post on writing in the past tense here .

Example of Present Tense POV

“I can feel Peeta press his forehead into my temple and he asks, ‘So now that you’ve got me, what are you going to do with me?’ I turn into him. ‘Put you somewhere you can’t get hurt.”

― Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games

Common Point of View mistakes

Head-hopping, what is head hopping in writing.

Head-hopping is when a writer suddenly changes the viewpoint character without purpose. A story will be narrated from one character’s point of view then that point of view shifts to another character mid-paragraph, or worst mid-sentence.

Head-hopping will leave readers feeling confused and frustrated. It’s a mistake that signals your in the hands of a careless writer. As such, head-hopping should be avoided at all costs.

How to avoid head hopping.

The obvious way to avoid this is to stay in one character’s point of view throughout a story.

If you need to shift perspective wait until a logical point like a scene or chapter break. Think of your character’s viewpoint as a camera lens. The action is being recorded by that single lens. You cannot describe anything that isn’t within the view of that single lens.

When shifting perspective, be sure to establish the change by mentioning the character’s name and something about the setting in your narration. Do this immediately to establish the shift in your reader’s mind.

Here’s an example of how to open a scene that has shifted perspective to a new character:

“Paul glanced at his watch and realized he’d been waiting in the coffee shop for over an hour.”

Who’s the POV character? Paul. Where is he? A coffee shop. What is he doing? Waiting.

Only shift the POV if it serves your narrative. And, establish any shift in POV at the opening of the scene or chapter.

Inconsistent POV

What is an inconsistent point of view.

An inconsistent point of view means that the writer is switching point of view throughout the narrative. One scene may be told in the first person and the next scene’s narration switches to the third person omniscient. Like head-hopping, this will confuse your reader.

How to fix Inconsistent Point of View

Choose a point of view and stick to it. If your a first-time writer then the first person is the way to go. The first person point of view limits your opportunities to make mistakes like head-hopping.

Third person limited is the most widely used perspective and one that the modern reader is very comfortable with. Again, like the first person, you’re limited to a single character, and this will ensure a consistent POV.

Familiarize yourself with the rules of each of these POVs. Be mindful of what POV you’ve chosen. If your writing in the third person limited POV, don’t describe something that your POV character couldn’t possibly know.

These mistakes will probably occur in your early drafts and that’s okay. But, planning and outlining is key. As well as purposely choosing your POV. And, most importantly, find good editors! Preferably, fiction writers who are more experienced than you.

Also, don’t shift your point of view unless you have a very good narrative purpose behind the shift. I really can’t say that enough.

Choosing the wrong POV for your story

Choosing the right point of view is vital in effective storytelling. Each POV has its pros and cons. Do you want to tell a story that is an intimate character study? Use the first person. Don’t use the third person omniscient. But, if your book is an epic fantasy that spans multiple worlds or realms, then the third person is the way to go.

POV is also how you tell your reader who is important. If a writer is narrating from a single character’s point of view then the reader will assume that character is important. Using the POV of a character who is not essential to the plot will confuse your reader.

The point is, spend a lot of time thinking about what point of view you’ll use and how it will affect your reader’s experience. This should be part of your pre-writing. POV is not a decision to be taken lightly.

Too many POVs

Using more than one POV character can help give your reader a broad view of your story. It can also be used as a way of slowly revealing important plot points.

I once read a story where the author effectively used POV shifts to explain the same event four times. Each time the new character would have a different perspective on the event, like a game of telephone. It was a clever use of shifting POV.

However, if you’re shifting the POV every chapter or scene for no apparent reason than your reader will get annoyed. POV should indicate an important character. And, shifts in POV should have a narrative purpose behind them.

Choose POV characters for a reason. The reader will feel loyal to a POV character, intuitively. The POV character should have something at stake in the story, or a goal. They should be someone like, oh I don’t know, a protagonist! Or, someone equally important. Who could that be? Hmmm. Maybe, an antagonist ! Don’t give the POV to any old, schlub, though.  

Bottom line- don’t waste time using the POV of a character who isn’t important to your narrative. And, make sure that any shifts in POV are done for a specific narrative purpose. An example would be retelling an event of the story from a new perspective that adds new information the reader didn’t already know.

So, that’s everything I can think of when it comes to POV. Still, have questions? Drop them in the comments and I’ll do my best to answer them. Or check out some of these other great resources on POV!

All About Point of View: Which One Should You Choose?

How to Choose Your Novel’s Point of View

Published by John

View all posts by John

6 comments on “Point of View: The Ultimate Guide”

Excellent post!

Thanks, KM!

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Point of View

Point of View Definition

What is point of view? Here’s a quick and simple definition:

Point of view refers to the perspective that the narrator holds in relation to the events of the story. The three primary points of view are  first person , in which the narrator tells a story from their own perspective ("I went to the store");  second person , in which the narrator tells a story about you, the reader or viewer ("You went to the store"); and third person , in which the narrator tells a story about other people ("He went to the store"). Each point of view creates a different experience for the reader, because, in each point of view, different types and amounts of information are available to the reader about the story's events and characters.

Some additional key details about point of view:

• Each different point of view has its own specific qualities that influence the narrative. It's up to the author to choose which point of view is best for narrating the story he or she is writing.
• Second person point of view is extremely rare in literature. The vast majority of stories are written in either the first or third person. 
• You may hear "point of view" referred to simply as "perspective." This isn't wrong, it's just another way of referring to the same thing.

The Three "Modes" of Point of View

Stories can be told from one of three main points of view: first person, second person, or third person. Each of the different modes offers an author particular options and benefits, and the point of view that an author chooses will have a tremendous impact on the way that a reader engages with a story.  

First Person Point of View

In first person point of view, the narrator tells the story from his or her own perspective. You can easily recognize first person by its use of the pronouns "I" or "We." First person offers the author a great way to give the reader direct access to a particular character's thoughts, emotions, voice, and way of seeing the world—their  point of view  about the main events of the story. The choice of which  character gets to have first person point of view can dramatically change a story, as shown in this simple scenario of a thief snatching a lady's purse

• Thief's POV: "I was desperate for something to eat. Judging by her expensive-looking shoes, I figured she could afford to part with her purse."
• Victim's POV: "He came out of nowhere! Too bad for him, though: I only had five dollars in my bag."

Consider also one of the most famous examples of first person point of view, the very first line of Herman Melville's  Moby-Dick :

Call me Ishmael.

Melville uses first person here because he wants to establish a confessional tone for the protagonist. He wants the reader to feel like Ishmael has just sat down next to him on a bar stool, and is about to tell him his life's story. Only first person can have this colloquial and intimate effect. Saying, "His name was Ishmael," for instance, would insert more distance between the reader and the character Ishmael, because the third person narrator would sit between  the reader and Ishmael. First person, in this way, can have the effect of connecting the reader directly with the story.

First Person Point of View and the Protagonist

In a story told in the first person, the character who acts as narrator will often also be the protagonist of the story. However, some stories told from the first person do  not  make the narrator the protagonist:

• First person in which the narrator is the protagonist: In The Catcher in the Rye , the first person narrator Holden Caulfield is the clear protagonist of the story. His voice dominates the story, and the story he tells is his own.
• First person in which the narrator is  not  the protagonist:  The novel The Great Gatsby is narrated by Nick Carraway, but the protagonist of the novel is Jay Gatsby. Nick Carraway tells the story, and the reader is limited to understanding the story through what Nick himself sees, knows, and thinks, but nevertheless the story that Nick tells is not his own but rather Gatsby's.

Second Person Point of View

Second person point of view uses the pronoun "you" to immerse the reader in the experience of being the protagonist. It's important to remember that second person point of view is different from simply addressing the reader. Rather, the second person point of view places the reader "on the playing field" by putting them in the position of the protagonist—the one to whom the action occurs. Few stories are appropriate for such a perspective, but occasionally it is quite successful, as in Jay McInerney's  Bright Lights, Big City , a novel in which the reader is taken on a wild night through Manhattan.

Eventually you ascend the stairs to the street. You think of Plato's pilgrims climbing out of the cave, from the shadow world of appearances toward things as they really are, and you wonder if it is possible to change in this life. Being with a philosopher makes you think.

Of the three points of view, second person is the most rarely used, primarily because it doesn't allow the narrator as much freedom as first person and third person, so it's hard to sustain this style of narration for very long.

Third Person Point of View

In third person point of view, the narrator is someone (or some entity) who is  not  a character in the story being told. Third person point of view uses the pronouns "he," "she," and "they," to refer to all the characters. It is the most common point of view in writing, as it gives the writer a considerable amount of freedom to focus on different people, events, and places without being limited within the consciousness of a single character. Below is an example of dialogue written in third person by Joseph Heller in his novel  Catch-22 :

"What are you doing?" Yossarian asked guardedly when he entered the tent, although he saw at once. "There's a leak here," Orr said. "I'm trying to fix it." "Please stop it," said Yossarian. "You're making me nervous."

The exchange above is narrated by a narrator who is outside the interaction between Yossarian and Orr; such distance is the hallmark of third person point of view.

Third Person and Degree of Distance

The third person mode is unique from first and second person in another way as well: third person has different variants. These variants depend on how far removed the narrator is from the events of the story, and how much the narrator knows about each character:

• Third Person Omniscient Point of View: "Third person omniscient" means that the narrator knows all the thoughts and feelings of every character and can dip in and out of the the internal life of anyone, as needed. Omniscient just means "all-knowing." This type of narrator is more god-like than human, in the sense that their perspective is un limited.
• A story like Young Goodman Brown , which follows one character closely and reports on that character's thoughts and feelings (but not the thoughts and feelings of others), is an example of third person limited point of view. This type of story gives the reader the feeling that they are inside one person's head  without  using first person pronouns like "I."

Alternating Point of View

Many stories are told from alternating points of view—switching between different characters, or even between different modes of storytelling.

• Stories can switch between third person points of view: Many novels switch between different third person points of view. For instance, the chapters of George R.R. Martin's The Song of Ice and Fire books are all named after characters, and each chapter is told from the limited third person point of view of the named character. 
• Stories can switch between first person points of view: William Faulkner's novel As I Lay Dying is structurally similar to the Song of Ice and Fire books in the sense that each chapter is named after a character. However, each chapter is told in the first person by the named character. The Darl chapters are told in the first person by Darl, the Cash chapter are narrated by Cash, the Vardamon chapters by Vardamon, and so on. 
• Stories can even switch between modes of storytelling:  Though less common than other sorts of alternating points of view, some stories can shift not only between different character's points of view, but between actual modes of storytelling. For example, Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury has four parts. The first three parts are all narrated in the first person, with the first part narrated by Benjy, the second part by Quentin, and the third part by Jason. But the fourth part is told in the third person omniscient and follows a bunch of different characters at different times.

Point of View Examples

Every work of literature has a point of view, and so there are essentially endless examples of point of view in literature. The examples below were chosen because they are good examples of the different modes, and in the case of The Metamorphosis the the subtle shift in the nature of the narrator's point of view also shows how an author can play with point of view to suit the themes and ideas of a story.  

Third Person Point of View in Kafka's  Metamorphosis

A great example of third person point of view in literature is the first line from Kafka's  The Metamorphosis . 

As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect.

For the remainder of the book, Kafka follows the protagonist, Gregor Samsa, in a limited third person point of view as he struggles to come to terms with his sudden transformation into an insect. For as long as Gregor remains alive, the third person narrator remains limited by Gregor's own consciousness—the story is told in the third person, but the narrator never knows or sees any more than Gregor himself does. 

However, in the few pages of the story that continue after Gregor dies, the narrator shifts into a third person omniscient point of view , almost as if Gregor's death has freed the narrator in a way not so dissimilar to how his death tragically relieves a burden on his family. 

Point of View in Tolstoy's  Anna Karenina

Leo Tolstoy's  Anna Karenina   is a great example of the omniscient third person point of view. In the novel, the narrator sees and knows all, and moves around between the lives of the different characters, dipping into their internal lives and thoughts, and commenting on the narrative as a whole. In Part 5, Chapter 6, the internal lives of two characters are commented on at once, in the moment of their marriage to one another:

Often and much as they had both heard about the belief that whoever is first to step on the rug will be the head in the family, neither Levin nor Kitty could recall it as they made those few steps. Nor did they hear the loud remarks and disputes that, in the observation of some, he had been the first, or, in the opinion of others, they had stepped on it together.

Point of View in Thoreau's  Walden

Henry David Thoreau's transcendental meditations on isolation were based on his actual lived experience. It makes sense, then, that  Walden  (his account of time spent alone in the woods) is written in the first person point of view :

When I wrote the following pages, or rather the bulk of them, I lived alone, in the woods, a mile away from any neighbor, in a house which I had built myself, on the shore of Walden Pond, in Concord, Massachusetts, and earned my living by the labor of my hands only. I lived there two years and two months. At present I am a sojourner in civilized life again.

What's the Function of Point of View in Literature?

Point of view is the means by which an author relays either one or a multiplicity of perspectives about the events of their story. It is the lens crafted by the writer that allows the reader to see a story or argument unfold. Depending on how much information the writer wants to give the reader, this lens will be constructed differently—or in other words, a different mode of point of view will be chosen:

• If the writer wants the reader to have full access to a particular character's internal life, then they might choose either first person or a closely limited third person point of view.
• If the writer wants the reader to know select bits and pieces about every character, they might choose an omniscient third person point of view.
• If the writer wants the reader to know about the rich internal lives of multiple characters, they might choose an alternating first person point of view.
• Lastly, if the writer wants the reader to feel like they themselves are in the center of the action, they might choose a second person point of view.

Other Helpful Point of View Resources

• The Wikipedia Page on Point of View:  An overview of narration with a focus on literary point of view.
• The Dictionary Definition of Point of View:   A very basic definition of the term point of view.
• Examples of Second Person:  A page with some examples of writing in the less common second person point of view.

• Protagonist
• Polysyndeton
• Juxtaposition
• Parallelism

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• When & How to Use Point of View

I. What is Point of View?

Point of view (POV) is what the character or narrator telling the story can see (his or her perspective). The author chooses “who” is to tell the story by determining the point of view. Depending on who the narrator is, he/she will be standing at one point and seeing the action. This viewpoint will give the narrator a partial or whole view of events as they happen. Many stories have the protagonist telling the story, while in others, the narrator may be another character or an outside viewer, a narrator who is not in the story at all. The narrator should not be confused with the author, who is the writer of the story and whose opinions may not be those written into the narrative.

II. Examples of Point of View

Sandra Cisneros wrote a story called “Eleven.” The point of view is the perspective of 11-year-old Rachel. The story takes place at school during her birthday and is about her humiliation of receiving an old sweater. Throughout the story, she speaks in the first-person point of view, sharing her thoughts as events unfold.

“Only today I wish I didn’t have only eleven years rattling inside me like pennies in a tin Band-Aid box. Today I wish I was one hundred and two instead of eleven because if I was one hundred and two I’d have known what to say when Mrs. Price put the red sweater on my desk” (Cisneros).

A fun activity is to rewrite the story from each character’s point of view. What is the teacher thinking as she tries to get rid of this ugly red sweater in her classroom? Maybe it reminds her of her demanding mother! How does the sweater feel being tossed and pushed around, unwanted and unloved?  Maybe some sweet old lady had knitted it with love for a granddaughter who now has rejected it. Why does Sylvia say it belongs to Rachel? Is she jealous of Rachel for some reason? Each character will have a slightly different story from his or her perspective.

III. Types of Point of View

First person: The example above with little Rachel is told in the first-person point of view, meaning that we are seeing events through the eyes of the character telling the story.

Second person: In second person, the narrator is speaking to YOU. This isn’t very common in fiction, unless the narrator is trying to talk to the reader personally. We see second-person point of view mostly in poems, speeches, instructional writing, and persuasive articles.

Third person: With third-person point of view, the narrator is describing what’s seen, but as a spectator. If the narrator is a character in the story, then we are reading what he or she observes as the story unfolds. This narrator has three possible perspectives.

• Limited – In limited third-person, the narrator sees only what’s in front of him/her, a spectator of events as they unfold and unable to read any other character’s mind.
• Omniscient – An omniscient narrator sees all, much as an all knowing god of some kind. He or she sees what each character is doing and can see into each character’s mind. This is common with an external character, who is standing above, watching the action below (think of a person with a crystal ball, peering in).
• Limited Omniscient – The limited omniscient third-person narrator can only see into one character’s mind. He/she might see other events happening, but only knows the reasons of one character’s actions in the story.

IV. The Importance of Point of View

Point of view is important in a story because it helps the reader understand characters’ feelings and actions. Each character will have his or her own perspective, so whoever is telling the story will impact the reader’s opinion of other characters and events.

As in the example above with Rachel and the red sweater, each point of view could be an entirely different story. Perhaps Rachel had embarrassed Sylvia horribly one day, so the sympathy we feel for Rachel in her perspective may change to sympathy for Sylvia if the point of view was switched.

Additionally, reading the story from a character in the story versus an external character changes the amount of information a reader has as the story unfolds. With an omniscient third-person, we can see everything before other characters do, which gives us forewarning about other events. With a limited third-person, we are not allowed to see other events until the narrator does so. This may leave us with more surprises as we read.

V. Examples of Point of View in Pop Culture

A very popular (and very old!) game is Mario Brothers. A gamer took the game and made a video of it in first-person point of view. It’s almost a dizzying experience to see Mario catch coins and jump around from his viewpoint.

Arcades have had games with a first-person POV for years. You sit in the console to drive the car in a race, or use the pistol and fire at targets. Racing games are probably the easiest to play as a first-person. With most games, you control the character in a game, but almost from a second-person POV. You can see your character as you control it within the game space just as another character would.

VI. Examples of Point of View in Literature

“Diary of a Wimpy Kid” by Jeff Kinney has been cracking kids up since 2007, as the protagonist, Greg Heffley, details his experiences in his trusty journal; he claims it’s NOT a diary. He even supplies stick drawings with bubble speech to illustrate special, usually devastating or hilarious, occurrences. Written in the first-person POV, we follow him through his days with his friends and family. Greg’s dry sense of reality as he tells his sad tales leaves us giggling sympathetically – you can’t help but feel sorry for him, and many kids can relate to his frustrations. There are nine books as of 2015, each one focusing on specific conflicts Greg must overcome as he makes his way through middle school and attempts to fit in with his family.

“First of all, let me get something straight: This is a Journal, not a diary. I know what it says on the cover, but when Mom went out to buy this thing I specifically told her to get one that didn’t say “diary” on it. Great. All I need is for some jerk to catch me carrying this book around and get the wrong idea” (Kinney 1). http://www.funbrain.com/journal/Journal.html?ThisJournalDay=1&ThisPage=2

The book is so popular, that it was also made into a movie.

VII. Related Terms

Narrator: The narrator is the person who tells the story. There are different types of narrators, such as internal and external. Each narrator will have his or her own perspective or point of view as the story is told.

Viewpoint: Viewpoint is the perspective at which something is seen. If three people see an accident, each person will have his or her own version of what happened depending on where the person was at the time it happened.

VIII. Conclusion

Point of view is an important part of all writing. It makes stories interesting, gives research its serious tone, poems and persuasive works their personal tone, and allows readers to easily follow all writing. Keeping in mind the different types of POV and when to use them will make your writing stronger.

List of Terms

• Alliteration
• Amplification
• Anachronism
• Anthropomorphism
• Antonomasia
• APA Citation
• Aposiopesis
• Autobiography
• Bildungsroman
• Characterization
• Circumlocution
• Cliffhanger
• Comic Relief
• Connotation
• Deus ex machina
• Deuteragonist
• Doppelganger
• Double Entendre
• Dramatic irony
• Equivocation
• Extended Metaphor
• Figures of Speech
• Flash-forward
• Foreshadowing
• Intertextuality
• Juxtaposition
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Writing with artificial intelligence, point of view.

Table of Contents

What Is Point of View?

In writing, point of view refers to whether the writing takes on a singular or plural perspective in either 1st person, 2nd person, or 3rd person.

• First person is the perspective of the writer; 1st person uses words like “I,” “my,” “me,” or “we.”
• 2nd-person is the perspective of the reader being directly addressed by the writer; 2nd person uses words like “you,” “your,” or “us.” ; and
• 3rd-person is the perspective of a different party who is neither writer nor reader. 3rd person uses words like “she,” “his,” or “they.”

Point of view can typically be identified by which pronouns are used. See the chart below for a quick summary.

Related concepts: Pronouns , Perspective , First-Person Point of View , Second-Person Point of View , Third-Person Point of View

Why Does Point of View Matter?

Point of view can impact how a reader experiences a piece of writing in a wide range of ways. A writer’s choice of point of view can impact the level of formality of a piece of writing, and it can also impact how a reader feels about both the writer and the topic. Choosing to use the first person pronouns “we” and “us,” for instance, might make a reader feel in league with the writer, but in another rhetorical situation it can make readers see the writer as unserious or subjective. In fiction, a writer’s choice of point of view means deciding through whose eyes readers see a story, which in turn impacts just about every other choice a writer will make, from which information readers will get, to how they will perceive other characters and events.

How Do You Choose a Particular Point of View?

Point of view is

• a stylistic choice–i.e., choice based on the rhetor’s desired Rhetorical Stance.
• Genres tend to have very specific guidelines for point of view.
• In academic writing, e.g., writers are generally expected to use 3rd-person most of the time, with the occasional exception for 1st person if it is necessary. Using 2nd person is discouraged.

Different points of view can be applied to different writing purposes. There are far too many reasons to choose a point of view to list them all here. This list provides three common uses for the various points of view:

Common uses of 1st person

• Memoirs. Memoirs are all about someone’s personal experiences, so memoir authors use I frequently to describe what has happened to them and how they felt about it.
• Certain academic disciplines . Some academic disciplines, like women’s studies and rhetoric and composition, value the inclusion of personal experience as research material, so scholars will use I and we in their work.

Common uses of 2nd person

• Directions and Self-help books. Self-help books aim to improve their readers in some way, so the authors use you to speak directly to those readers and prompt them to reflect on themselves or take action.
• Advertisements. Advertisements target specific audiences in order to make sales, and the use of you (e.g. “Do you need cash fast?”) can prompt a viewer to identify with the ad’s target audience.

Common uses of 3rd person

• Quotes. When relaying quotations from other speakers or writers, authors will identify the source of the quotation in 3rd person, as in “He wrote that…”
• News stories. Journalism generally strives to impart objective information. By using only 3rd person, journalism avoids the overly personal tone of I and you.

Here are the common ways third person is used in an academic paper:

Note: While the above pronouns represent the third person, instead of using it , that , these , those or this , specific words or phrases will better help readers follow the writer’s logic.

How To Edit for Point of View

To identify ineffective uses of point of view, 1) identify the various points of view in your writing; and 2) decide if the points of view achieve their purpose and will not inadvertently alienate the reader.

1. Identify the various points of view in a piece of writing.

Ex: The American public is underinformed about important news from other countries. When you only watch local cable news or get your news from American websites, you miss out on reading about events like the Arab Spring and the tsunami in Japan.

In this example, the first sentence has a subject in 3rd-person point of view, the American public. The second sentence’s use of you gives it a 2nd-person point of view.

2. Decide if the points of view achieve their purpose and will not inadvertently alienate the reader.

In the first sentence, 3rd-person point of view achieves the purpose of identifying who the writer thinks is underinformed: the American public. In the second sentence, though, it is unclear what purpose the 2nd-person you is intended to achieve. Why is the writer speaking directly to me, the reader? Moreover, the writer risks alienating me by seeming to assume that I am definitely uninformed. How (potentially) offensive!

How can you correct an unnecessary shift in point of view?

• In a passage where an unnecessary shift has been noted, go through and highlight each of the point of view words.
• Change the point of view of the inconsistent pronouns to align them with the primary point of view that has already been established.
• Reread the passage aloud and listen for consistency in point of view.

Let’s look at an example:

• Even though he believed weight loss was possible, you do not know how hard it can be until you try to lose a few pounds.
• Even though he believed weight loss was possible, he did not know how hard it would be until he tried to lose a few pounds.

How do you change first or second person to third person?

Here is a table that shows several common instances of first or second person in essays and some examples of how to revise to the third person.

Look at the following lines and determine how you might revise them so that they remove the pronoun “you” or define the pronoun “we”:

• You can understand what it’s like to have a stack of papers to grade and only two days to do it.
• We now know that cigarettes can cause various types of cancer.
• I would like you to understand that not all students are lazy.
• We believe that gay marriage is not immoral or harmful to the American family; as such, we argue that it should be legalized.
• Doughnuts are really harmful to our health, so we should stop ingesting them.
• If you would only give reading a try, you might actually enjoy it.
• Subliminal messages enter our psyches on a daily basis.
• As a feminist, I believe that women should receive pay that is equal to that of their male coworkers.

Recommended Readings

First person.

• The First Person
• Using First Person in an Academic Essay: When Is It Okay?

Second Person

•   Understanding Second Person Point-of-View: Wizard Activity

Related Articles:

First-person point of view, second-person point of view, third-person point of view, recommended.

Academic Writing – How to Write for the Academic Community

Structured Revision – How to Revise Your Work

Professional Writing – How to Write for the Professional World

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Featured Articles

Academic Writing: Point of View

If you’re sitting down to write an analytical or research essay (common in the humanities), use the third-person point of view: Achebe argues … or Carter describes her experiences as…

Scientists (including social scientists) tend to use third-person point of view as well, because they depend largely on quantitative research to present their findings or support their opinions: The results indicated…

Occasionally, social scientists and writers in the humanities will use first person to discuss their own experiences while doing research or if writing part of a personal narrative as evidence: After spending a year living with the Upendi, I came to the conclusion that… or Every Christmas we went to the same place, as if our memories could be rekindled…

About Writing: A Guide Copyright © 2015 by Robin Jeffrey is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

Point of View in Academic Writing

Point of view is the perspective from which an essay is written. The following chart lists both the personal pronouns and their possessive forms used with these points of view:

When choosing appropriate point of view for academic or formal writing, consider the type and purpose of the assignment.

First Person

First-person point of view is used to write stories/narratives or examples about personal experiences from your own life. Note the following paragraph:

Several people have made a lasting impression on me . I remember one person in particular who was significant to me . Dr. Smith, my high school English teacher, helped my family and me through a difficult time during my junior year. We appreciated her care, kindness, and financial help after the loss of our home in a devastating fire.

Note : Academic writing often requires us to avoid first-person point of view in favor of third-person point of view, which can be more objective and convincing. Often, students will say, “ I think the author is very convincing.” Taking out I makes a stronger statement or claim: “The author is very convincing.”

Second Person

Second-person point of view, which directly addresses the reader, works well for giving advice or explaining how to do something. A process analysis paper would be a good choice for using the second-person point of view, as shown in this paragraph:

In order to prepare microwave popcorn, you will need a microwave and a box of microwave popcorn which you’ve purchased at a grocery store. First of all, you need to remove the popcorn package from the box and take off the plastic wrap. Next, open your microwave and place the package in the center with the proper side up. Then set your microwave for the suggested number of minutes as stated on the box. Finally, when the popcorn is popped, you’re ready for a great treat.

Note : Academic writing generally avoids second-person point of view in favor of third-person point of view. Second person can be too casual for formal writing, and it can also alienate the reader if the reader does not identify with the idea.

Replacing You

In academic writing, sometimes "you" needs to be replaced with nouns or proper nouns to create more formality or to clarify the idea. Here are some examples:

Third Person

Third-person point of view identifies people by proper noun (a given name such as Shema Ahemed) or noun (such as teachers, students, players, or doctors ) and uses the pronouns they, she, and he . Third person also includes the use of one, everyone, and anyone. Most formal, academic writing uses the third person. Note the use of various third-person nouns and pronouns in the following:

The bosses at the company have decided that employees need a day of in-house training. Times have been scheduled for everyone . Several senior employees will be required to make five-minute presentations. One is not eager to speak in front of others since he’s very shy. Another one , however, is anxious to relate their expertise. The variation in routine should provide an interesting day for all people concerned.

Third Person Pronouns: Gender-Fair Use of Language and Singular “They”

In the past, if you wanted to refer to one unnamed person, you used the masculine pronoun: If a person is strong, he will stand up for himself . Today, you should avoid the automatic use of the masculine pronoun because it is considered sexist language.

Also avoid perpetuating gender stereotypes by assigning a particular gendered pronoun: A doctor should listen to his patients. A nurse should listen to her patients . These examples make assumptions that doctors are men and nurses are women, which is a sexist stereotype.

Instead, use the pronouns they or them to refer to a person whose gender is undisclosed or irrelevant to the context of the usage: If a person is strong, they will stand up for themselves when they believe in something.

Point of View

Definition of point of view.

In the lives of children, pumpkins turn into coaches, mice and rats turn into men. When we grow up, we realize it is far more common for men to turn into rats.

Examples of Commonly Used Points of View

Here are some examples of commonly used points of view:

First Person

Third person.

With third person point of view, there is a narrative presence telling the story and referring to the characters in the third person, as “he” or “she.” Third person point of view can be omniscient , meaning the narrator can see and know everything within the story, or limited, meaning the narrator is restricted in what they see and know of the story.

Second Person

Difference between omniscient and third person limited point of view, writing with point of view.

Writers decide who tells a story and the intended audience for it. When determining point of view as a literary device, the story can be told from the viewpoint of a character who is part of the story or from a narrative perspective that “sees” and knows the characters but is not one of them. It’s important for writers to consider benefits and limitations when deciding point of view, as it is essential for character development and the relationship between the narrative voice and the reader.

Alternating Point of View

First person point of view as a protagonist and common character, use of point of view in sentences, examples of point of view in literature, example 1:  invisible man  (ralph ellison).

I was never more hated than when I tried to be honest. Or when, even as just now I’ve tried to articulate exactly what I felt to be the truth. No one was satisfied.

Example 2:  The Story of an Hour (Kate Chopin)

She said it over and over under her breath: “free, free, free!” The vacant stare and the look of terror that had followed it went from her eyes. They stayed keen and bright. Her pulses beat fast, and the coursing blood warmed and relaxed every inch of her body.

Chopin’s short story is told through a third-person limited point of view. The narrative perspective is that of Louise Mallard, the protagonist of the story, though she does not relay the narrative herself in the first person. Instead, the narrator relays to the reader Louise’s actions, thoughts, and feelings as she learns of her husband’s supposed death. This is a clever literary choice due to the fact that Louise spends much of her time in the story in a room alone , away from the other characters.

Example 3:  The Death of Ivan Ilych  (Leo Tolstoy)

In reality it was just what is usually seen in the houses of people of moderate means who want to appear rich, and therefore succeed only in resembling others like themselves: there are damasks, dark wood, plants, rugs, and dull and polished bronzes — all the things people of a certain class have in order to resemble other people of that class. His house was so like the others that it would never have been noticed, but to him it all seemed to be quite exceptional.

Tolstoy’s well-known story of Ivan Ilych is told through an omniscient point of view. This passage reflects that the omniscient narrator governs the telling of the story through the information that is presented to the reader and the manner in which that information is relayed. For example, the omniscient narrator describes for the reader the setting of the character’s home by describing the objects inside. This creates an image that allows the reader to picture the scene.

Synonyms of Point of View

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Reading Skills

Analyzing author’s purpose and point of view.

• The Albert Team
• Last Updated On: June 16, 2023

Introduction

Do you ever wonder why writers write the way they do? Why they pick certain words or tell a story in a specific way? The reason behind this is called the author’s purpose and point of view. It’s like a secret code that helps you understand what they really mean.

In this blog post, we’ll learn about this secret code. You’ll learn to figure out what an author is trying to say, and how they see the world. This will help you understand books, articles, and even posts on social media even better!

What is the Author’s Point of View?

When you read a text, it’s important to think about the author’s point of view. The author’s point of view refers to their unique perspective, opinions, beliefs, and biases that shape how they present information or tell a story. They might see things in a way that’s different from you because of their own experiences, beliefs, and backgrounds.

Understanding an author’s point of view allows us to dig deeper into the underlying motivations and intentions behind their words. It can also help you find hidden messages in the text. So, how do we figure out an author’s point of view? Let’s talk about some ways to do this.

How to Determine the Author’s Point of View

You might think figuring out an author’s point of view is hard, but it can be fun, like solving a mystery! Here are some tips to help you do it:

• Look at the Words : Notice the words the author uses. Are they showing strong feelings or opinions? The way they write can give you hints about what they think and feel.
• Learn About the Author : Knowing more about the author can help you understand their point of view. What kind of job do they have? Where are they from? What are some important things that have happened to them?
• Think About Why the Author Wrote the Text: Why do you think the author wrote this? Do they want to teach you something, make you think, or make you laugh? Knowing this can help you understand what they’re trying to say.
• Notice Patterns: Look for ideas that come up again and again. These can tell you a lot about what the author thinks is important.
• Think About Who the Author is Writing For: Authors often write for specific groups of people. The way they write can tell you a lot about who they are trying to talk to.

Remember, figuring out an author’s point of view is about understanding the text better, not about deciding if they are right or wrong.

Why is the Author’s Point of View Important?

Why should we care about the author’s point of view? Here are some good reasons:

• Contextual Understanding : The author’s point of view helps us make sense of the text. It shows us why they chose to write the way they did and what they want us to learn.
• Uncovering Bias: No author can be totally unbiased. By understanding their point of view, we can see their own opinions in the text. This helps us think critically about what we’re reading.
• Evaluating Objectivity: Knowing the author’s point of view helps us see if the text is objective (without personal feelings) or subjective (based on personal feelings). This can help us decide if we can trust the information in the text.
• Enhancing Interpretation: Understanding the author’s point of view helps us understand what the text really means. We can see what arguments the author is making and think more deeply about the text.
• Encouraging Empathy and Perspective: By seeing things from the author’s point of view, we can better understand people who are different from us. This helps us be more understanding and open-minded.

As you can see, knowing the author’s point of view helps us understand and think about what we read in a deeper way. It makes us better readers and thinkers!

How to Determine the Author’s Purpose

In addition to analyzing the author’s point of view, it is also key to examine the author’s purpose. Here are some tips to help you figure out the author’s purpose:

• Check the Type of Text: Look at what kind of text it is. Is it a story, a news article, or maybe an essay? This can give you clues about why the author wrote it.
• Look at the Words and Tone: Pay attention to the words the author uses and how they write. If they use a lot of emotion, they might be trying to persuade you. If they give a lot of facts, they’re probably trying to inform you.
• Think About Who It’s Written For: Who is the author writing for? For example, a text for experts might be trying to give new information, while a text for kids might be trying to teach something in a fun way.
• Look for Main Ideas: What are the big ideas in the text? What is the author trying to say? This can give you a hint about why they wrote it.
• Check for Facts or Stories: Does the author use a lot of facts and data? Or do they tell stories? This can also help you figure out the author’s purpose.
• Think About the Time and Place: When and where was the text written? Sometimes, this can tell you a lot about why the author wrote the text.

Remember, you might not always see the author’s purpose right away. But if you look closely, you can usually find clues that will help you figure it out.

How Text Structure Contributes to the Author’s Purpose

Text structure, or the way a text is put together, plays a significant role in conveying the author’s purpose and shaping the overall message of a written piece. The way a text is organized and structured can greatly influence how the information is presented and how the reader engages with it. Here are some ways that text structure contributes to the author’s purpose

• Order of Ideas: Authors choose how to order their ideas for a reason. They might use a time order, cause and effect, or compare and contrast to help get their point across.
• Important Points Stand Out: Authors use things like headings or bullet points to show important ideas. This can tell us what the author thinks is most important.
• Storytelling Techniques: In stories, authors might play with the order of events, use flashbacks, or tell the story from different viewpoints. This can make the story more interesting or help make a point.
• Persuasion Techniques: If the author is trying to convince you of something, they will present their arguments in a careful order. They might present a problem, then give evidence, then propose a solution.
• Easy to Follow: A well-organized text is easier to understand. The way the author organizes the text can help you follow their ideas and understand what they want to say.

By looking at how a text is structured, you can get a better idea of what the author’s purpose is. So, next time you read something, pay attention to how it’s put together!

Classroom Application: What is the Author’s Purpose in this Passage?

Analyzing the author’s purpose becomes more engaging and relatable when you can apply your skills to historical speeches. One exemplary text for this exercise is Abraham Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address. Use this step-by-step guide to  analyze the author’s purpose in this significant piece of writing:

Step 1: Background Research:

First, start by gathering some background information about Abraham Lincoln, his presidency, and the context of the Second Inaugural Address. Learn about the Civil War and how it impacted the nation during that time.

Step 2: Reading and Annotation:

Next, read the Second Inaugural Address carefully, highlighting or underlining key statements and phrases. Take note of any repeated themes or arguments and mark moments where Lincoln’s perspective or tone seems particularly important.

Step 3: Identifying the Type of Text:

Consider the type of text you are analyzing, which is a presidential inauguration speech. Think about the common purposes associated with such speeches, like inspiring unity, expressing gratitude, or outlining a vision for the nation.

Step 4: Analyzing Language and Tone:

Pay close attention to Lincoln’s choice of language and tone throughout the address. Look for emotional or persuasive language and note instances of unity, humility, or calls for reconciliation. Consider how these choices contribute to Lincoln’s purpose.

Step 5: Reflecting on Historical Context:

Think about the historical context surrounding the Second Inaugural Address. For example, you could reflect on the divided nation during the Civil War and how it affected Lincoln’s presidency. Then, connect these historical events to Lincoln’s purpose in addressing the nation during such a critical time.

Step 6: Identifying Key Statements and Arguments:

Identify the central statements and arguments made by Lincoln in the address. Consider how these statements reflect his purpose and the message he wanted to convey. Think critically about the implications of these arguments.

Step 7: Considering the Audience:

Reflect on the intended audience of the Second Inaugural Address, which includes both supporters and opponents of Lincoln. Analyze how Lincoln’s purpose might have been influenced by this diverse audience and how he aimed to unite the nation through his words.

Step 8: Drawing Conclusions:

Based on the evidence you gathered from the text analysis and understanding of the historical context, draw conclusions about Lincoln’s purpose in delivering the Second Inaugural Address. Make sure to support your conclusions with evidence from the text.

Step 9: Classroom Discussion and Reflection:

Finally, wrap up by participating in a classroom discussion, where you can share your analysis and engage in thoughtful reflection. Compare and contrast interpretations with your classmates to deepen your understanding of the author’s purpose and the complexities of historical texts.

By following these steps to analyze Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address, you’ll develop critical thinking skills, gain historical understanding, and appreciate the power of language in shaping significant historical events. This assignment will enhance your ability to analyze texts and provide you with a deeper insight into the intentions of historical figures like Abraham Lincoln.

Analyzing an author’s purpose and point of view is a skill that empowers you to unlock the hidden meanings within texts. By understanding why authors write the way they do and recognizing their unique perspectives, you can gain valuable insights into the world of written communication. 

Practice Makes Perfect

Albert provides engaging practice questions for key skills like analyzing the author’s purpose as well as a wide range of texts for students to analyze and interpret. For more practice with the skills covered in this post, check out our Author’s Purpose questions in our Short Readings course, which uses short passages to reinforce fundamental reading skills. Readers at all ability levels may enjoy our  Leveled Readings  course, which offers Lexile® leveled passages focused on a unifying essential question that keeps all students on the same page regardless of reading level. Learn more about the Lexile Framework  here !

With our easy-to-use interface and informative feedback, Albert.io is the perfect tool for learning how to determine the author’s purpose and point of view and helping students develop a deeper understanding of the texts they encounter.

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Gale in Context: Opposing Viewpoints

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Viewpoint Essays: Article Commentary

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• Go to Gale in Context: Opposing Viewpoints

Each viewpoint essay starts with an Article Commentary that includes information about the essay's author(s) , position summary, main points, and questions to consider. Having this information at the start, sets you up to be a critical thinker. It's important to know the credentials of the author, their expertise, and potential biases in order to assess their credibility and understand why they take the perspective that they do. The brief position summary and questions to consider offer you a preview and help to focus your thinking as you read the essay.  

Viewpoint Essay Title

Article Commentary

Here, in this example, we learn that the author, Margaret Renki, is a writer for The New York Times,  a well-respected newspaper and very credible source of news and information. Knowing the author's credentials and affiliations can help you evaluate potential bias and anticipate their perspective on controversial issues. 

Questions to Consider

Like Critical Thinking Questions on topic pages, you'll find questions to consider with each viewpoint essay, These questions are designed to focus your reading. They help you make deeper connections between ideas, consider what you believe, and actively apply the information you are learning. 

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• Last Updated: May 5, 2023 9:45 AM
• URL: https://library.south.edu/opposing_viewpoints

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• Writing Tips

Second Person Point of View Explained

4-minute read

• 10th September 2023

In the world of literature and marketing, point of view is a powerful tool writers use to connect with their audience. Point of view shapes how a story is told and how readers engage with the content.

Among the various narrative perspectives , the second person point of view stands out as a unique and captivating way to draw readers in.

Understanding Point of View in Writing

Before we delve into the intricacies of the second person point of view, let’s first clarify what point of view means in writing. Point of view refers to the vantage point from which a story is narrated. It influences the tone, style, and reader’s relationship with the characters and events.

The three primary points of view are first person, second person, and third person. The second person is characterized by the use of you and makes the reader or audience a direct participant in the story, almost as if they were the protagonist .

Exploring the Second Person Point of View

The second person point of view is a distinctive writing style in which the writer directly addresses the reader. This viewpoint immerses readers in the storyline and allows them to visualize themselves in it.

The second person is not as common as the other points of view, but using it makes sense at specific times. Let’s look at a few examples.

Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Stories

These interactive stories often use the second person point of view to allow readers to make decisions that impact the plot:

Instructional Guides

Many how-to guides and tutorials use the second person to instruct readers directly:

Marketing Content

In marketing and online content , writers often use the second person point of view to engage and persuade their audience:

When Not to Use the Second Person Point of View

The second person point of view is a powerful tool when used appropriately, but it’s not suitable for all types of writing. For example, in academic writing , such as essays and research papers, you should usually stick with the third person point of view. Doing so makes the writing more objective and less personal.

Additionally, though the second person can be interesting in fiction, finding entire novels written in this perspective is rare because it can be difficult to sustain over the course of a long narrative. That’s not to say it hasn’t been done , though!

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Other Points of View

Although the second person point of view has its unique merits, both the first and third person perspectives are also valuable (and more common) in writing, as described below.

First Person

In this perspective, the narrator is a character in the story, telling the tale from their personal experiences. The form commonly uses pronouns such as I and we :

The first person allows intimate character exploration and personal connection.

Third Person

In this perspective, the narrator is external to the story, observing the characters and events from a distance. Pronouns such as he , she , and they are used, as well as personal pronouns:

The third person provides objectivity and a broader view of events, making it suitable for most types of writing.

The second person point of view can be a potent tool in your writing arsenal, particularly in marketing and instructional content. However, wielding it judiciously is important – not all situations call for this immersive narrative style.

By understanding the nuances of point of view and the right time to use each perspective, you can effectively craft compelling and engaging content that resonates with your target audience. And once you have a draft, we’d love to take a look at it! Our expert editors will check it for issues with spelling, grammar, tone, and more. Submit a sample of your work to try our service for free today.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a second person pronoun.

You , your , and yours are the pronouns used in the second person point of view.

How do you write in the second person?

Address the reader directly. Write in the present tense. Avoid using you pronouns more than necessary.

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How to Write in First Person Point of View (POV): Dos and Don’ts, Tips and Examples

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What is first person point of view, 1. builds intrigue, 2. gives a story credibility, 3. expresses an opinion, 4. authenticity and immediacy, 1. consider your pov character’s perspective , 2. avoid head-hopping, 3. craft a strong voice, 4. don’t switch tenses, 5. show, don’t tell, 1. limited perspective, 2. reliability and bias, 3. overuse of “i”, first-person point-of-view examples, faqs on how to write in first person point of view, we also recommend.

The first-person point of view (or PoV) tells a story directly from the narrator’s perspective, and using it can help the reader connect with your work. It’s a way for a writer to share thoughts, and ideas, or to tell a story in a close and relatable way, and brings the reader directly into the perspective of the narrator.

Writing a first-person narrator provides the opportunity for both the writer and the reader to directly step into the “shoes” of the protagonist—if done well, it can deeply connect the reader to the work and allow them to experience the story directly from the perspective of the first-person narrator.

In this blog post, we’ll share tips and examples on how to write in the first-person point of view (POV) without sounding like a newbie with a lame idea itching to be shared.

In the first-person point of view, the narrator is a character in the story who tells it from their point of view. The narrator frequently uses the pronoun “I” (or “we” if speaking in a group). The individual who recounts the story may be in the thick of the action or simply observe it from the sidelines, but in either case, you are getting that character’s account of what happens.

It also implies that impressions and descriptions are influenced by the character’s opinions, emotions, previous experiences, or even their distorted perceptions of what they see and hear.

Why Use the First-Person Point of View?

This point of view allows the reader to understand the story from the main character’s thoughts and feelings. This creates an intense emotional connection between the character and the reader because they are influenced by this character’s perspective.

When you’re writing a story, you have several narrative voices to choose from. Giving the protagonist or someone close to them the narrative reins has its advantages. A first-person narrator gives the reader a front-row seat to the story.

Here are a few reasons why you should use the first point of view in your writing:

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The first-person perspective restricts the reader’s access to information. They only understand and experience what the narrator does. This is a useful strategy for creating suspense and interest in stories , especially thrillers and mysteries.

The first-person point of view establishes rapport with readers by sharing a personal tale with them. Bringing the reader in close makes the story—and the storyteller—more credible.

In Herman Melville’s Moby Dick, the narrator addresses the reader by name: “Call me Ishmael.” This familiarity fosters a connection with the narrator, leading readers to trust that what they are going to hear is true.

When a writer breaks that narrative trust by leading readers astray—either through a narrator who deliberately lies or a characteristic of the narrator that compromises their credibility—the narrator becomes unreliable.

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A narrator tells a story through a lens filtered by their opinions. In the first person point of view, the use of the pronoun “I” establishes a sense of familiarity between reader and narrator, allowing the writer to subtly influence the reader by telling a story with a bias.

Writing in the first person can help your story feel more authentic and immediate. This viewpoint enables the narrator to express their thoughts, emotions, and experiences in real-time, making the tale more grounded and credible.

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How to Write in First Person Point of View (POV)

These tips will help you write your next story in the first-person perspective:

When you’re writing first-person, you should always be thinking about things from the perspective of your POV character. 

Think of the point of view as a lens. The story is happening, but we need a lens to see it. Our POV character might have a blue lens—this will tinge everything blue. There will be nothing that isn’t somehow affected by the blue lens, and there will be no way to see something without that lens or through a different one. 

While you’re writing, consider what your POV character thinks of the setting. Prioritize their reactions and the way they would describe things.

This is one of the most common mistakes I see with new authors—switching perspective characters, sometimes within the same scene.

Writing in the first person should remind you that you’re limited to your narrator’s perspective. While you can have that character speculate on what someone else is thinking, you can’t unequivocally say what’s in the other character’s mind.

There’s a difference between your main character guessing what other people think and perspective-jumping, though. It’s fine if your main character projects and makes incorrect assumptions, but these projections and incorrect assumptions should be addressed, and it shouldn’t feel like we’ve left our main character’s point of view. 

Head-hopping requires an omniscient point of view, a style currently largely out of favor.

SEE ALSO: When To Use Single Quotation Marks: When and Why to Use Them

Limiting yourself to one perspective character allows you to create a unique voice.

First-person writing is ideal for exploring voice. After all, we’re inside this person’s head, navigating the story with them—their personality, way of speech, and turns of phrase should be evident in the prose.

This does not imply that your story should be written in the style of a diary. Excessively casual and overly defined prose can quickly become corny. However, it does imply that you should let your character’s point of view influence your plot.

Resist the urge to allow your narrator to simply tell the story rather than to show it.  My bed was cold is telling. I huddled under the covers, trying to hide from the draft is showing .  My coffee was warm  is telling.  The coffee burned my tongue  is showing.

Naturally, this tip applies to any writing point of view, but violating it can be especially jarring in the first person.

Example: I ran to my car and find I forgot my keys.

Past tense is most common, but regardless, pick a tense and stick with it.

Showing, as explained in point 2, triggers the theater of your reader’s mind while telling merely spoon-feeding them information.

Your first-person narrator should suggest just enough to give readers a role in the story experience. They want to be able to deduce what’s going on without simply being told everything.

Challenges of Writing In First Person Point of View

Despite its many benefits, first-person point-of-view writing can also pose challenges for authors. Some of these challenges include the following:

Unlike the third person, the first-person point of view does not allow for mediation from the author.

The reader can only know what the narrator sees, hears, and knows, making it considerably more difficult to include commentary, descriptions, themes, and other components of a story.

This limited perspective might make it difficult for authors to reveal key story details or investigate the thoughts and motivations of other characters.

First-person narrators are inherently subjective and potentially unreliable. This may be a strength as well as a drawback in narrative. On the one hand, an untrustworthy narrator can heighten tension and interest, leading readers to question the narrative’s veracity.

Writing in the first person point of view can lead to an overuse of the pronoun “I,” which can become repetitive and tiresome for readers. Writers must find ways to spice their sentence structure and avoid falling into this trap.

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Is  ‘they’  a First-Person Point of View?

‘They ‘ is not a first-person point of view. While  they  is now used as a singular pronoun to represent someone regardless of gender, it is still a third-person point of view.

First-person pronouns are gender-neutral and limited to “I” and “we” for subjects and “me” and “us” for objects.

Many stories and novels are written from the first-person perspective. This type of narrative places you inside a character’s head, allowing you to see the tale unfold from their perspective.

Example 1 : I think I lost my wallet! I can’t find it anywhere! Oh, I could just kick myself!

Example 2: We could do ourselves a favor and make a reservation for our group.

Example 3 : When I fall asleep, I can still see the shining stars.

Common mistakes include overusing the word “I,” ignoring other characters, and making the narrator appear too perfect or unrelatable. Also, avoid interrupting the story flow with excessive internal monologue or extraneous facts.

The first-person point of view is a narrative style where the writer tells the story from their own perspective, using pronouns like “I,” “me,” “my,” and “we.” The reader experiences the story through the narrator’s eyes.

To minimize repetition, change your sentence structure and emphasis on actions, observations, or descriptions. Instead of starting every sentence with “I,” try to incorporate the subject into the sentence differently, or stress other components of the narrative.

First-person narrators allow the reader to become immersed in their character’s brain, resulting in a stronger emotional connection with the reader. To deepen the relationship, the character shares secrets or insights with the audience that no one else has.

Using first-person narration in memoirs and autobiographies helps the story feel more genuine, authentic, and authoritative because it is given directly from the perspective of the person who witnessed the events.

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PODCAST: HISTORY UNPLUGGED J. Edgar Hoover’s 50-Year Career of Blackmail, Entrapment, and Taking Down Communist Spies

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Joseph Stalin’ Show Trials: A Short Summary

Joseph Stalin’s show trials were common during his political repressions, such as the Moscow Trials of the Great Purge period (1937–38). The Soviet authorities staged the actual trials meticulously.

The trials were held against Stalin’s political enemies, such as the Trotskyists and those involved with the Right Opposition of the Communist Party. The trials were shams that led to the execution of most defendants. Every surviving member of the Lenin-era part was tried, and almost every important Bolshevik from the Revolution was executed. Over 1,100 delegates to the party congress in 1934 were arrested.  The killings were part of Stalin’s Great Purge, in which opportunists and Bolshevik cadres from the time of the Russian Revolution who could rally opposition to Joseph Stalin were killed. He did so at a time of growing discontent in the 1930s for his mismanagement of the Soviet economy, leading to mass famines during periods of rapid and poorly executed industrialization and farm collectivization.

Prominent Americans could even be found to defend Stalin show trials, a spectacle of political theater so transparent that it would have taken genuine effort not to see through it. In order to terrorize Communist Party members into absolute submission and at the same time eliminate potential rivals, Stalin put on a series of high-profile trials in which prominent Communists confessed to treachery against the Soviet Union. In some cases, people were coaxed into making these confessions by threats against their families if they refused. One by one some of the most loyal Communists , dating back to the days of the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution, solemnly admitted to counterrevolutionary activity. George Orwell could hardly have improved on this eerie and macabre spectacle.

Yet there were those on the American Left who supported Stalin and vouched for the authenticity of the trials. In 1938, some 150 Americans prominent in the entertainment industry signed a statement in support of the verdicts reached in “the recent Moscow trials.” According to the expert opinion of these Broadway stars and assorted glitterati, the trials had “by sheer weight of evidence established a clear presumption of the guilt of the defendants.” As if this weren’t bad enough, people who knew better said the same thing. The U.S. ambassador to the Soviet Union, Joseph Davies , insisted to the American government that the trials were genuine, a claim he stood by in his 1941 book Mission to Moscow. He told the New Republic, “We see no reason to take the trial at other than its face value.” The proceedings, he said, had uncovered the “virus of a conspiracy to overthrow the [Soviet] government.” Duranty, for his part, described it as “unthinkable” that Stalin could have sentenced his friends to death “unless the proofs of guilt were overwhelming,” and wrote of his conviction that “the confessions are true.”A

After Stalin’s death, Soviet premier Nikita Khruschev repudiated the trials in a speech to the Twentieth Congress of the Russian Communist Party:

The commission has become acquainted with a large quantity of materials in the NKVD archives and with other documents and has established many facts pertaining to the fabrication of cases against Communists, to glaring abuses of Socialist legality which resulted in the death of innocent people. It became apparent that many party, Government and economic activists who were branded in 1937–38 as ‘enemies,’ were actually never enemies, spies, wreckers, etc., but were always honest Communists … They were only so stigmatized and often, no longer able to bear barbaric tortures, they charged themselves (at the order of the investigative judges – falsifiers) with all kinds of grave and unlikely crimes.

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Immigration and Catholic social teaching: how Trump and Harris’s platforms stack up

Ahead of the Democratic National Convention this week, leaders released the party’s platform , a 91-page document that dwarfs the Republican Party’s “America First” manifesto . On policy—from the economy to education—the two parties offer voters distinct positions. The difference is particularly acute on the hot-button topic of immigration, an issue on which the U.S. bishops have weighed in consistently over the last 20 years.

“If we don’t have a Border, we don’t have a Country,” the Republican document reads, quoting former president Donald J. Trump. The party is committed to stopping “illegal immigration,” and Republicans vow to “secure the Border, deport Illegal Aliens, and reverse the Democrats’ Open Borders Policies that have driven up the cost of Housing, Education, and Healthcare for American families.”

The Republican platform , which was curated by Mr. Trump and released last month, frames immigration through the lens of the American worker, presupposing that immigrants take jobs away from U.S. citizens. For example, according to the platform, Republicans will “end Chain Migration, and put American Workers first!”

[Related: Will Republicans lose pro-life voters after softening their abortion stance?]

“Chain migration” refers to family-based migration, where those who are already citizens or legal residents sponsor family members living abroad. Rather than “chain migration,” immigrant advocates—including those working for the church—refer to this as “family reunification.”

According to the Democratic platform, the party will seek ways to expand family reunification. The U.S. Citizenship Act, which the party supports, would “increase the number of family-sponsored and employment-based visas that are available each fiscal year so that people aren’t forced to wait decades for a visa.” The platform also notes President Biden’s “New Family Reunification Parole Process,” which helped a number of immigrants from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Colombia and Haiti reunite with family members in the United States while their applications were still pending.

“The United States has long been a leader in refugee resettlement, providing a beacon of hope for persecuted people around the world, facilitating international efforts to address record displacement, and demonstrating the generosity and core values of the American people,” the platform states.

“Congress must pass legislation to provide a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers, farmworkers, careworkers, and other long-term undocumented individuals who contribute to this country, by paying taxes and contributing to their local economies,” according to the Democratic platform. “Democrats will explore opportunities to identify or create work permits for immigrants, long-term undocumented residents, and legally processed asylum seekers in our country.”

Overall, the Democratic platform on immigration is far more robust and recognizes many more nuances of the immigration system. It refers, for example, to different kinds of visas, and applauds steps that the Biden administration took to expand Temporary Protective Status for those who come from “countries experiencing armed conflicts, natural disasters, or other crises.” The Republican platform, on the other hand, does not even mention Dreamers, undocumented immigrants who arrived in the United States as minors. The Democrats platform briefly mentions root causes of migration , while the Republicans do not.

The Catholic Church has not shied away from the issue of immigration. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops established the Justice for Immigrants campaign in 2004 as a way of prioritizing comprehensive immigration reform. According to its website, the campaign is “an effort to unite and mobilize a growing network of Catholic institutions, individuals, and other persons of goodwill in support of immigration reform.”

The campaign often points to Catholic social teaching on the issue of migration. For example, according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church :

The more prosperous nations are obliged, to the extent they are able, to welcome the foreigner in search of the security and means of livelihood which he cannot find in his country of origin. Public authorities should see to it that the natural right is respected that places a guest under the protection of those who receive him.

The bishops established the campaign after issuing “Strangers No Longer: Together on the Journey of Hope,” a joint pastoral letter with the bishops of Mexico, in 2003. In that letter, the bishops acknowledged “the right and responsibility of sovereign nations to control their borders and to ensure the security interests of their citizens.” Yet they rejected “some of the policies and tactics that our governments have employed to meet this shared responsibility.”

Further, according to the bishops, the right to enforce borders is not absolute and is only one of five principles that emerge from the church teaching on migration. The other four are:

• Persons have the right to find opportunities in their homeland.
• Persons have the right to migrate to support themselves and their families.
• Refugees and asylum seekers should be afforded protection.
• The human dignity and human rights of undocumented migrants should be respected.

Even though the document is more than 20 years old, it remains remarkably applicable to the current immigration impasse. The bishops wrote:

While the sovereign state may impose reasonable limits on immigration, the common good is not served when the basic human rights of the individual are violated. In the current condition of the world, in which global poverty and persecution are rampant, the presumption is that persons must migrate in order to support and protect themselves and that nations who are able to receive them should do so whenever possible.

Granted, party platforms do not dictate future party actions, and the Democratic platform will likely be modified and updated. (For instance, it refers to President Biden as the party’s candidate for office.) The current administration , for its part, has not been short of critics on the issue . But the Democrats have put forward a position on immigration that resonates with much of Catholic social teaching . The Republicans have not.

J.D. Long García is a senior editor at America .

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The Climate Crisis and Colonialism Destroyed My Maui Home. Where We Must Go From Here

A s I watched the flames of the wildfires consume my beloved Maui, it felt as if the very pages from the Book of Revelations were coming alive.

Homes, sacred structures, and institutions flattened. Over 100 lives were lost, with a thousand more unaccounted for. Even the ancient 150-year-old Banyan tree, a guardian of my youth, was marred by the inferno. Each ember seemed to tell a tale, a memory, a piece of a narrative that connected countless generations.

The harrowing wildfires paired with a fierce hurricane wasn't just a tragedy. It felt like Goddess Papahānaumoku—Earth Mother, herself—raging at humanity's hubris. The disturbing silence left by the missing and the mourned souls tells of a disaster that's unnatural, shaped by the human hand—a byproduct of the dangerous dance between climate change and centuries of colonial greed.

While West Maui is no stranger to wildfires, the magnitude of the blaze that tore through Lāhainā is emblematic of a changing climate. Our once-wetland haven has been transformed into a vulnerable tinderbox. Compounding the problem was Hurricane Dora— made fiercer by the warming climate—which propelled the fire further. All of this underscores a painful truth: the first and most severely impacted by the climate crisis are often indigenous, Black, brown, and low-income communities. These groups have contributed the least to climate change, but have suffered the most, and must be prioritized in our transition to a better world.

We can't ignore the scars of history which set the stage for this disaster. Before the hotels, before Hawaii was known as a state or even a territory (and way before its illegal annexation), Lāhainā was the cradle of our civilization. It was the heart and capital of the Hawaiian Kingdom. The waters were so abundant that boats once surrounded the iconic Waiola Church. Kamehameha The Great’s palace stood tall at the town’s center, keeping watch over the shoreline.

Read More: The History Lost in the Maui Wildfires But at the turn of the 20th century, American sugar barons came to exploit Hawaii's rich resources . They disrupted Lahaina's water supply and brought highly flammable grasses to Hawaii—the very ones that ignited with ferocity last week. Their heirs went on to monopolize land, marginalizing our indigenous population in the process.

Their legacy and extractive way of life endures. Maui’s most dominant corporations today, like Alexander & Baldwin, embody the legacy of those same barons who once sought to profit from our fertile lands. Their ethos of extraction and destruction persists in Maui’s most dominant industries: land speculation and tourism. These industries seek to destroy much of Hawaii’s natural beauty while gatekeeping sections of it for the privileged few. This timeline of Hawaiian history could be experienced first hand by a walk down Lāhinā’s Front Street just two weeks ago. You could see milestones of our history represented in the street’s restaurants, stores, and historic buildings: from royalty, to whaling, sugar, tourism, and luxury. Today, much of Front Street is burned to the ground. It’s a potent and harrowing reminder of the terminal point of the exploitative trajectory Hawaii has been on for decades. My greatest fear is that this trajectory of exploitation will continue in the recovery from the Maui wildfires. As whispers of reshaping Lāhainā emerge, with wealthy developers eager to mold it to their vision, our generation’s vision for social and environmental justice grows even firmer. Our recovery from the wildfires can’t just be about combating climate change—it has to be about returning control of our cherished lands to the people who hold them dear.

Read More: Why the History of Hawaii Makes People Fear Lahaina's Future

The future of Maui should be more than just a haven for tourists. Our land should cater to local needs over external desires. Instead of vast monocrops, we should diversify, nurturing fields that feed our own people. Our approach to housing must be rooted in necessity: We need to build homes to actually shelter our people, not to line the pockets of distant investors. With the Department of Hawaiian Homes fully funded for the first time and various land trusts eager to lend a hand, the moment is ripe to provide our many unsheltered Kānaka Maoli with homes that dignify their heritage.

The people of Maui, especially survivors, are taking charge of the recovery process, reshaping the blueprint for our island's restoration. We're picturing a community-driven, just recovery that not only reconstructs Maui but also fosters new leadership among Maui residents—from collaboratively rebuilding a school one day to advocating at the county council the next. As we rise from the ashes, our rebuilding efforts must champion hoʻomana Lāhui—the spirit of collective empowerment.

At the national level, it's past time for President Biden to officially recognize the climate crisis by declaring a climate emergency. This would enable him to halt the destructive fossil fuel production driving these disasters. Furthermore, substantial federal investments on the scale of trillions are required to prevent catastrophes like this one in the future and prioritize the welfare of working families in mitigation and recovery efforts. Any climate solution would be incomplete without justice at its core. Kānaka Maoli, Native Hawaiians, should be central to the rebuilding and recovery efforts. We should have the authority to manage our lands and resources.

In these heartrending times, it's challenging to see beyond the immediate pain. But there’s a silver lining in our resilience. The wildfires of Maui, while devastating, have also ignited a spark in us. They’ve awakened a renewed commitment to not just rebuild, but to redefine what Hawaii stands for. This is our home, our history, our legacy. And it's our collective responsibility to ensure that Hawaii’s future is carved out of respect, understanding, and love for its past.

Just like the Banyan tree, Lāhainā may have faced devastation, but its roots are deep and resilient. As the Banyan regrows its branches—and recolors itselves with budding leaves—so too, will Lāhainā flourish again.

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