Thursday, August 23, 2012

POV

Are you writing the tortured thoughts of a killer or the aspirations of a teen girl?  No?  Perhaps a complex magic system through the smudged spyglass of an exploring mage?  Either way, the story you write will have a POV (point of view).

The first two possibilities are examples of first-person.  The viewpoint-character is the center of focus.  The pronoun "I" is used extensively, along with "mine", "my", etc.  Young adult novels tend to be first-person, as the POV allows for compelling use of voice and feels less dry than third-person.

Third-person is the other main POV.  It can be further broken down into the categories of omniscient and limited (along with cinematic and narrative for certain sources).  Third-person is used widely in adult speculative fiction.

The "middle-ground" exists, of course, that is, second-person, however, it is incredibly rare in fiction.  Second-person is used in persuasive essays and little else, save some creative horror.  Its pronoun is "you".

Every story has a POV.  Which is your favorite?

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