Thread: Choosing viewpoint

Hi
What helps you to choose the right viewpoint for your story? I don't mean which POV character I mean first or third person viewpoint.

I am going off the following guideline.

If the story is character driven, so the story is really about the character and what happens to them then first person would be better.

But if the story, while being about a particular character, has a storyline that is also about something that is not character based (eg - its about aliens invading Earth). Then a third person would be better.

Is this a good guideline do you think?

I have written something in third person because while it has only one POV character, the book is mainly about a science fictionish idea. The character could be said to be incidental to the story rather than being the subject of the story. If that makes sense.

Rob,

Almost all new writers begin with first person, thinking it is the easiest to write. (I did too) Yes, it's easy to write, but hard to write WELL, which is why a lot of short story editors won't even consider 1st person anymore. In addition, it's harder for the reader to relate to 1st person. It's usually best to use third person for most projects. Last year, just for fun, I wrote a 2nd person story, which was really hard to do, especially since the character was an alien on another world. But it got accepted by the first editor I submitted to, which was Grand Mal Press and the story, GREETINGS, was included in the Alien Aberrations anthology. I was inspired by a writer I know, Mike Allen, (editor of Mythic Delirium) who got a nebula award nomination for a 2nd person POV, for an excellent story called THE BUTTON BIN.

If you've got a story written in 1st person, change it to 3rd person and you'll probably see an improvement.

Take care,

JohnB

There is also some other things to consider as well. First person is from the viewpoint of one person. When you are writing first person you are putting the reader behind the eyes and thoughts of character. It does require some practice to do it well, and some people still don't like first person pov even when it is done well.

Third person pov has different levels as well. There is a limited form that puts you almost as close to the character as first person, only you have a third person narrative. The thoughts of the character can be tossed in the narrative almost as easily as first, but to be that close you make it harder to switch to another character. I think one of the things you are thinking of for third is the more distant pov that is used in stories that use several pov characters. For that style you don't get as close to the characters so when you switch pov characters the reader has an easier time moving to the next.

Then there is the most evil of all pov's...omnipresent. Many a new writer with no idea how to write in perspective latches on to this pov and waves it like a banner for jumping from one head to another making it all but impossible for the reader to have a clue what is going on. I've read probably two authors that have ever done this pov well, and they still made mistakes that could bring you right out of the story quickly when they did.

Best advice would be learn third person limited well, varying how close to the character you are (not in the same story). Once you have a good grasp of pov and how to use it, then branch out more into multiple pov's and first person.

The reason this gets complicated is that the pov you choose dictates how you must write your story. If you are in first person and the character we are following knows something important, you have to make it know the moment it becomes relevant to the story. Otherwise, when you let us know that the character we are in the head of knew all along something important to the plot, you've just alienated the reader. You can't withhold information from the reader, it makes them angry with you. In third person limited, you have to deal with the same issue of not withholding information, but being limited you can not have the pov character see or find out about certain things prior to them needing to. When you use multiple pov's, then you have to plan even better, because you can't hide information one of the pov character's know.

Pov is a story element that changes how you need to tell your story. It's why Sherlock Holmes is written from the pov of Watson over the main character. By using the character that doesn't know what is going on, we get to see the character who does from an outside perspective that can be kept ignorant of a great many things, and it's not the author withholding information, but the other character.

Thanks for the responses. Its good to discuss this with other writers. I do not like first person either, I hate reading it so will not want to write it. I wouldn't dare use 2nd person because to me it seems so strange.

I have chose third person limited to one character and think that it has made my story slightly more intriguing. The first draft was third person unlimited and I had so many POV characters it read like a novelization of a movie. I am glad I am learning this now, because I have read over stuff that I wrote years back and laugh at how many times the POV changes on a single page. Its as if in the last year I have suddenly become aware of viewpoint and how important it is. In the past I was completely oblivious of it.

One thought though, I suppose if it were a childrens book then third person omnipresent would be acceptable wouldn't it? I am not writing for children but I assume a child would be in it for the story not the inside of the characters mind?

Why would a children's story need to be omnipresent?

It isn't that omnipresent shouldn't be used, it's just one of those viewpoints that very few authors can do well. Kind of like second person, it isn't something I'd try without planning on spending extra time to try and get it right. Some pov's are more natural to use, and we all get used to reading first and third limited. We might have some preferences, but both are pretty common and work well.

Take a step back from the story and try to look at it objectively. Which is the best route for the reader to receive the story? For example, can all of the elements necessary be revealed via first person POV?

The thing with writing in first person is that you have to absorb yourself into the character, literally become them which means that you need to know the character pretty well before you begin to write it otherwise you may not get away with it. I'm currently working on my first short story in first person, it just felt right to do it this way.

I don't think your viewpoint is bad at all, but i don't it's always as simple as that. I recently used first-person point of view and used real-time (everything was written present tense) because i wanted the reader to experience what the character was experiencing as it was being experienced. It made it a little bit like a film or TV show. It's been published, so there must have been something in the idea.