Point of View

Hello dear readers. This week's post I am going to discuss Point of View or POV. POV is the way that the story is told. I will try to give good examples of them in the next few paragraphs; also these descriptions are just my way of understanding the following terms. The Internet is a wonderful resource so please look up the terms for yourself if you have any questions or please leave me a comment and I will response. There are three main expressions of POV. First-person where the reader is trapped within the eyes of one speaker. Second person where the story uses the 'You' pronoun to tell the story. Third person where the reader can see things that the main characters cannot. Within third person there are two more types. Third person close where the reader follows one to two characters through out the story. Omniscient third person is the other where the reader knows things that not only the characters not know but they have access to information that may not even exist yet.

First person POV is the I POV. Novels that use that are telling the story from the perspective of only one character. That can be good or bad depending on the writer. One of my favorite authors who uses first person is Edgar Allen Poe. Poe uses POV to help create the horror and suspense of his stories. Because the reader cannot see what is going on in the other room we have the narrator's fear in our minds. Other books that use first person are- The Night Huntress series by Jeaniene Frost, The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey, and many more than I have read and have time to list. Something to notice about first person is that it is used in every form of literature.

Second person POV is the You POV. Now this is not used very much for good reasons. This is how it looks- You wake to the sudden sound coming from the kitchen. You feel your heart pounding as you slowly get to your feet. You moves as quietly as you can to the closed door between you and the sounds. You pull open the door when'. You get the idea don't you reader? Odd to read but if used wisely it can be effective. I can think of only one series of books that use the second person and that the Choose Your Own Adventure Series. I have only read one fanfiction that used the second person. I do enjoy it when I read it but it is very easy to mess it up. It is a useful tool in the planning of works or at least it works for me because it gives me a different way to look that the characters, plot, setting, everything about the story.

Third person POV is one that is used the most in the writing. It gives the reader a birds eye view of what is going on.  Of the two ways to do third person there is close and omniscient. Third person close is where the reader follows one to two characters as the story goes. Omniscient gives the reader gods view of the story. The reader can not only see things that the main characters cannot see but they have access to information that the characters may never see. As I said it is the most common way to tale a story but that does not make it the best. I could name many stories that use it but if you do not know any please go to your local library and just pull out a book. More than likely you will get one that uses third person close.

So those are the most common ways to tell a story. I like them all, I have read them all both well done and not. I personally write in third person omniscient because I like to have the most information about the world. What is your favorite? Thanks for reading and see you next week.