Choosing Your Book's POV

One of the questions I hear a lot is: "What point of view should my book be in?"

My answer is always the editor's go to: "It depends." Why? How do you decide what POV you book should be in?

What is POV?

When you think POV (point of view), think "Who is narrating this story?" What do they know that the other characters don't AND why do you want you reader to know these things?

Types of POV

• First Person (Limited): The story is narrated by one character

• First Person (Unlimited): The story is narrated by different characters—usually one per chapter

• Second Person: The story is written as if the narrator is speaking to the reader (in modern writing you pretty much only see this in nonfiction)

• Third Person (Limited): The story is told using "he, she" pronouns but still focuses on one character's perspectives and experiences at a time.

• Third Person (Omniscient): The narrator is not one of the story's characters but completely separate. They can tell the reader what is happening to any of the characters, not just the main characters.

Pros and Cons

Each POV has its pros and cons. First Person may feel more natural for new writers. It can allow you to get a really good sense of who your character is and what drives them, and definitely allows for the most intimate connection between character and reader. It's the narrative go-to choice of a lot of romance authors these days. If you're writing a character-driven book, this may be the way to go. But, there are downsides. You are only writing from one person's point of view (or a few people if you go the unlimited route). So you are restrained to telling only what those characters know and experience. Does that work for your storyline? If you go the First Person Unlimited route you have to give yourself rules for when you'll change narrators. Will it be every chapter? That makes it easy to remember and signal shifts to your reader.

If your book is heavier on adventure, world-building and plot, you may choose to go a Third Person route (the Harry Potter series is Limited Third Person, for example). This gives you the advantage of exploring more in your world, getting to know more characters and develop more subplots than you can in a First Person narration. But beware of head-hopping! Like the First Person Unlimited, set yourself up with rules for when you'll shift character perspectives to avoid accidentally shifting between characters mid-scene. And the more plot threads you have, the more there will be to make sure you don't drop—which isn't a negative, just something to keep an eye on. Keeping a chart of some kind may help you keep everything straight if you're worried you're juggling too many subplots. And editors can make sure no plots or characters get dropped along the way too.

Writing with multiple narrators? You're going to want to make sure each person's voice sounds different. It isn't enough to stick a character's name at the top of the chapter and then not worry about everyone sounding the same. The solution? Know your characters! Does one of them give people little nicknames to annoy them? Does one use words incorrectly or make words up? Curse like they think they're Samuel L. Jackson? People usually think the same way they talk, so knowing your narrators and what's going on in their heads will help you make them sound different on the page.

Deciding Which POV is Right for You

In the end, how do you decide which POV to use for your novel? Some people ask if it depends on the genre, and it might help you to read a lot of books in your chosen genre to see what others use. But there's no rule that says all YA romantasy should be First Person Limited or all fantasy should be Third Person Omniscient. You want to write with what works for you, your character, and your story.

If you aren't sure which way to go, try writing two or three chapters in each POV you're debating using. Does one seem more natural to you and your character? Or do you discover you really don't like one? Personally, I don't like First Person (especially First Person present-tense where it sounds as if things are happening right that second)—so that wouldn't be a good fit for me to write in. But if I was writing, for example, a romance and knew I didn't want to use First Person, I'd have to watch my writing to see what ways I could bring my reader closer to my characters and their emotional experiences. I could look for other romance books that were written in Third Person and see what I needed to make sure I did, or didn't do. Third Person often feels like it distances readers from characters and their experiences, so how could I, in this scenario, avoid that?

Don't forget that even after you've written your draft, if you decide your point of view isn't working, you can rewrite it. Yes, that may seem like a lot of work. But you'll find that discovering the right narration/point of view is worth the extra work. Don't be afraid of it when it improves what you've written.

Are you looking for a developmental editor, manuscript evaluator, or writing coaching? Contact me and let's talk about your project!