Wattys 2021 Bootcamp

Workshop 1 -- Tips on POV

This chapter was written by XimeraGrey

WHAT IS "POINT OF VIEW", AND WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

One of the key elements of storytelling is Point of View (POV). POV is the perspective from which -- and the voice in which -- the story is told.

Author Marcy Kennedy calls POV the foundation of great fiction, and describes several reasons POV is essential for writing a good book:

· Well executed point of view immerses a reader in a situation that they could never have been part of, or might never want to be part of, in real life.

· Well executed point of view builds subtext, as we are able to contrast what is happening around the character with what they think about it.

· Well executed point of view sets each character apart, as we see how they uniquely interpret the world around them. Put another way, point of view is the tool we use to create three-dimensional characters.

· Well executed point of view controls the flow of information to either create suspense or forward the plot.

Choosing the best POV for the story is critical for ensuring the story has the impact you want. This article will define the most common formal Points of View in fiction, explore head hopping and other issues, and finally discuss selecting the best POV for your story. First, a note about terminology:

· When POV is capitalized, it's referring specifically to a formal Point of View – First Person, Third Limited, Third Omniscient.

· When pov is NOT capped, it's referring to a character's perspective.

In other words, your book has a POV, and your narrator has a pov.

THE MOST COMMON POVs

The most common POVs are First Person, Third Limited, and Third Omniscient. Let's look at each and their strengths and weaknesses.

First Person

In First Person POV, the narrator tells the story directly to the reader using first person pronouns. Only 10-15% of stories that have been traditionally published in the last quarter century have been in First Person. Most of those are found in YA and Romance.

First Person is best for stories with a single narrator with a strong voice AND where the internal growth of the character is more important than the external plot. First Person Multiple – First Person POV with more than one narrator – is extremely difficult to do well, because each narrator needs to have a unique voice. A better choice for stories with multiple pov characters is Third Limited.

The ability to focus on the internal growth of the character can also easily become the POV's greatest weakness. Narrators can become too internal, rambling their inner thoughts on and on, stalling the progression of the external story. In a related challenge, some writers struggle with how to focus on anything except the pov character's thoughts and actions.

Third Limited

Third Limited is the most common POV. Approximately 85% of books that have been traditionally published since the early 1990s have been written in Third Limited. There is a reason Third Limited is so popular: flexibility. Third Limited excels in stories that:

· Have a single narrator OR multiple narrators.

· Need narrative "distance" OR need to be very, very close and immersive.

· Are strongly focused on internal character growth OR external plot.

· Any combination of the above.