writing for dummies

point of view [8]

there's technically only three kinds of povs. but, in a way, there's five kinds.

let's start off with first person. that's when you use the pronouns i/me/myself/mine etc. it's telling from one person's perspective. how they saw or felt about an event. example?

I didn't like the way she was dressed. There were too many layers to her outfit, and the colors didn't clash very well.

now for second person. apparently, some people don't know how this works (*cough* ConnieSpringersWifey *cough*). it's when you use the pronouns you/yourself/yours. it's basically just telling how someone has to do something or how they did something.

guess what? i've been using second person this whole time. but here's an extra example in case you haven't picked up quite yet:

You brushed your hair with steady hands, not once taking your eyes off of the reflection of yourself in the mirror.

third person. this one might be a bit trickier as there are three different kinds of third person. omniscient, limited, and objective. all of them use the same pronouns though. she/her/hers/they/them/theirs/his/he/him. you get the gist of it?

now to go into more depth. limited is when you only know the thoughts and feelings of one character. it's not first person, but the structure is pretty similar. actually, it is first person but with a pronoun switch. a way to remember which third person this one is to think you have LIMITED information about the characters' feelings. example:

She absolutely despised him, but she didn't know how he felt about her.

third person omniscient is when you know the thoughts and feeling of more than one character. i've started to write in the point of view more. i don't really have a way to remember this one. it's more from process of elimination because i have ways for the other two. example:

He thought she was pretty. He didn't know this, but the feeling was mutual.

third person objective. it's when you don't know the thoughts or feelings of any characters. it just tells of their actions. a way to remember this one is that the characters are OBJECTS, so they can't tell you their through stuff or feelings. example:

She ran her hands through his hair. They sat still in the silence.

does that make a little more sense?

from: your favorite author ;)