In this post we discuss common point of view options when you narrate your story scenes and the tense on storytelling.
When writing a story, most of the focus isn't on your characters' past or future; fiction thrives on what's happening in the now. To show a character acting in the present, you use a point of view (POV)—a lens through which you reveal the character's world and story to the reader. The POV you choose shapes the reader's experience and connection to the story.
Your choice of POV is closely tied to the narrator—the person (or entity) telling the story. In many POVs, the narrator is essentially an unnamed voice, often aligning with the author's perspective. However, in some POVs, like first-person, the narrator may be a character within the story. Understanding the strengths and limitations of each POV will help you choose the one that best fits your narration.
This post explores common POV options and offers insight into how they can affect your storytelling.
First-person POV immerses the reader directly into the mind and world of the narrator. In this perspective, the narrator is a character in the story, often the protagonist, using "I" or "we" to tell their tale. This creates an intimate and personal connection between the reader and the narrator, as they experience events, thoughts, and emotions from a direct, internal vantage point.
Advantages:
Intimacy: It’s easier for the reader to deeply empathize with the narrator’s experiences and emotions.
Subjectivity: The story is filtered through the narrator’s perspective, making it naturally biased, which can add layers of complexity and authenticity.
Disadvantages:
Limited scope: The narrator can only recount what they see, hear, or experience. This can limit your ability to show events happening in other locations or give a broader view of the world.
Unreliable narrator: First-person narrators can be unreliable, intentionally or unintentionally, which can be both a strength and a potential drawback depending on your story's needs.
Tips for First-Person:
If you want to broaden the perspective, consider using multiple first-person narrators, each narrating different sections or chapters of the story. However, it’s essential to distinguish between these narrators clearly to avoid confusing the reader.
Third-person limited is the most common POV in modern fiction. Here, the narrator is not a character in the story but an external observer who follows a specific character closely. The narrator refers to the character as "he," "she," or "they," and the reader gains insight into that character's thoughts, emotions, and perspective.
Advantages:
Flexibility: Even though you focus on one character at a time, you still have the ability to switch between different characters in different scenes or chapters.
Depth: Although you're not using first-person, you can still dive deeply into the POV character's thoughts and emotions, allowing readers to connect emotionally without feeling limited to the "I" perspective.
Disadvantages:
Distance: There's a slight distance between the reader and the character compared to first-person, as readers are still being "told" about the character's experiences rather than feeling them directly.
Tips for Third-Person Limited:
Stay consistent with the viewpoint character in each scene. Jumping between multiple characters' thoughts within the same scene can confuse the reader (this is known as head-hopping).
In the objective third-person POV, the narrator only reports what can be observed externally. They don’t go into characters' thoughts or emotions; instead, they act as an impartial camera, capturing what’s happening on the surface—dialogue, actions, and physical reactions.
Advantages:
Cinematic feel: The objective approach makes your story visual and action-oriented, resembling a film script. It emphasizes showing rather than telling, forcing readers to interpret characters' emotions and motivations from their behavior, expressions, and dialogue.
Disadvantages:
Emotional distance: Without direct access to thoughts and feelings, it's harder for the reader to form a deep connection with the characters. Emotion must be conveyed through subtext, body language, and dialogue, which requires skillful writing.
Tips for Objective Third-Person:
This POV works well for stories with a strong focus on action or mystery, where maintaining an air of objectivity helps keep readers guessing about characters' motivations.
Head-hopping occurs when the narrator switches between the internal thoughts of different characters within the same scene. This is often seen as a subcategory of third-person POV, but it's widely discouraged unless handled with extreme care.
Advantages:
Omniscience: The reader knows exactly what all the characters are thinking and feeling in real-time, which can be useful in scenes where understanding multiple perspectives is critical.
Disadvantages:
Loss of focus: Rapidly switching between characters' thoughts can dilute the reader's emotional investment in any single character. It can also make scenes feel chaotic and disorganized.
Tips for Head-Hopping:
If you must use this technique, clearly signal the transition between characters' thoughts, and limit the frequency of shifts to maintain coherence.
In omniscient POV, the narrator knows everything about every character and event, sharing whatever information is necessary with the reader. This was a popular choice in older literature but has fallen out of favor in modern storytelling due to its tendency to "tell" rather than "show."
Advantages:
Full knowledge: The narrator can reveal background information, provide commentary, or explain motivations without being confined to a single character’s viewpoint. This allows for greater narrative complexity.
Disadvantages:
Lack of mystery: The omniscient narrator can rob the story of tension by revealing too much. Readers often enjoy piecing things together on their own, and omniscient POV can eliminate that pleasure.
Distance: Like head-hopping, omniscient POV can distance the reader from the characters, making it harder to form emotional connections.
Tips for Omniscient POV:
Use sparingly, and avoid overloading the reader with too much information. Allow room for readers to infer and interpret.
Closely tied to POV is the choice of tense—whether the story is told in the past or present tense. Each tense offers distinct advantages, and the choice can affect the pacing and immediacy of the story.
Past Tense: The most commonly used tense in fiction, it offers a sense of familiarity and allows the narrator to reflect on events with some distance. Past tense is versatile and suits a wide range of genres and stories.
Present Tense: Creates a sense of immediacy and urgency, making readers feel as if events are unfolding in real-time. It is less common, but it’s often used in genres like thrillers or young adult fiction to create heightened suspense.
Choosing a tense is largely a stylistic decision. If your story benefits from a sense of reflection or hindsight, past tense may be the better choice. If you want to create a more immediate, visceral experience, present tense might suit your needs.
Choosing the right POV for your story is more than a technical decision—it shapes the reader's experience of the novel. Whether you opt for the deep intimacy of first-person, the flexibility of third-person limited, or the all-knowing omniscient POV, each choice brings unique advantages and challenges. Consider what best serves your story and characters, and don't be afraid to experiment until you find the perfect lens through which to tell your tale.