Point of View on Point of View.

   One of the first things that Authors need to think about when writing is "Point of View". Point of View is a more important aspect of story telling then you might expect. Each Point of View offers unique oportunities to an author. It is much more complicated then simply 1st, 2nd or 3rd person. When writing POV you should also consider your voice. Are you going to tell in in a past tense, a present tense?
For instance "I ate the apple and fell to the ground" verses "I am eating the apple and feel myself fall backward."
   You also have to consider who your main character is and who your point of view character is. They won't always coincide. Some books have multiple Point of View Characters. My fantasy novel has 5 main characters and 7 point of view characters in one book alone. I try to stay within my protagonists point of view at all times possible but there are times when things happen outside of their experience that needs to be understood by the audience. I can accomplish that by widening the lens to include a few new characters.
  Speaking of which. How limited is your character's point of view? If you are writing a very limited point of view you are focusing in one characters thoughts and emotions.
  Many classical books are written in what is called a "omniscient" view point. This means that the author knows what is in every characters head and can explain to us whichever is most relevant in the moment. A common example given is Lord of the Rings.
   Each of these things effect the tone of the novel and can manipulate your reader in a certain direction. Each has their pros and cons. Lets take a look at each of them and I will explain my thoughts and methods.

   Second Person POV: Why am I starting with Second person view first?. Simply because it is rarely used in Fiction. Second Person is the use of "You". It is used for addressing the audience. It is often used in non-fiction books, in narration and other "fourth wall" breaks (instances in which the character acknowledges the world outside their story) and occasionally in a "choose your own adventure" type setting. You might also use Second Person if you are using a document like a letter or a contract as a chapter.
   This type of writing is useful for making your audience feel like they themselves are part of a story. It is very effective in conveying information.
  I wouldn't consider writing a full novel in this POV. It is very awkward. People like to read books to get into someone else's head.

  First Person POV: When I was young the only first person books I read were in a journal format. I still remember being very weirded out when I first read a first-person POV. It seems that first person is very popular these days, especially in the Young Adult Genre.
   Author Patrick Rothfuss would say that first person is the most natural story telling voice.
 First person is often touted as being the best way to suck a reader into the story. It is considered more intimate.
  First person is not my preferred voice to read in and I hate writing in it. While some stories might call for it I try to avoid it. To me first person writing reads like a "Blair Witch Project" style film. You have a shaky camera and a cramped view. There are a lot of limitations to this POV.
   It is generally expected that first person books will only have one point of view. While this is not necessarily a bad thing, it will make it harder to broaden your view of the world you have created and can be especially problematic when you have a complicated plot or a large setting. For this reason I think that it's use in modern Sci-Fi  and Fantasy is a very poor choice, with very few exceptions.
  When you do switch POV in first person you run the distinct problem of readers loosing track of who's head they are in. You are not reminding them constantly by stating the name of the protagonists as with third person. Because of this it requires a lot of skill in defining your characters and a lot of subtle hint-dropping.
   When authors choose to use the present tense in first person it makes things even more difficult. This is like taking that camera and shaking it violently or pointing it at the characters face. It's effective for sinking your reader into the action quickly but very hard not to get disoriented.
  In my opinion first person is best used in situation in which your character's inner thoughts are the center of the story as with dramas, literary fiction and romance. It is best avoided when there is a lot of action or a lot of new things for the reader to understand.
   First person gives you an opportunity to explore your characters head space a bit more. However, it is not nearly as forgiving as other POVs and if you slip and give something away that your character isn't actually seeing or experiencing in real time you are in real danger of kicking your reader out of the story.
 

  Third Person POV:  Third person is my preferred medium. Third person is an outside-in view of the character. "Ben sat on the chair" verses "I sat" or "you sat".
    Third person viewpoint opens a whole world for the author. Not only is it easier to switch POV in third person viewpoint, you can also head hop within texts and describe things that your character isn't necessarily experiencing. Third person is such a broad brush stroke it is hard to go wrong with it. You can be more detached from your character and describe only their outer actions and expressions (which is generally advised in the "show don't tell" rule of writing) or you can get into their head and describe thoughts like you do dialogue.
  The most important thing about writing in third person is consistency. If you decide to keep your POV limited (using only the thoughts and feelings of one person to channel the story through) than you should not be explaining things from another persons view point.
  My choice it normally to write in Third Person Limited in a past tense. For example: "Emily didn't see the train coming but the shaking tracks and whistle alerted her to the danger."
  This gives me an ability to connect the reader to the character in such a way that they are empathetic towards them. It focuses the story naturally on what is important while giving me some freedom to build the world. It also makes changes in POV more natural and more forgiving.
   Another choice is to write in a Third Omniscient POV. In this point of view you would be looking into multiple characters heads and describing their thoughts and emotions. This is useful when you want to incorporate mystery or keep your reader distanced from your protagonist for some reason. It might also be helpful if you have a large cast that all have essential roles in a story and you don't want to hop from one Point of View to another.
  And example of this might say: "Jeremiah loved the taste of the chocolate ice cream but Betty thought that it had a distinct flavor of coconut. She hated coconut."
   I would strongly suggest avoiding a present tense when writing in third person. I dislike it even in first person but for me the present tense clashes with third person. Third person is very broad while present tense is very narrow. When applied correctly in First person POV a present tense can intensify action and direct the readers attention to small details that might go unnoticed otherwise. In Third person you don't have the same effect.
  The only time I might suggest using this method is if you have and unreliable narrator. This means that your character is either insane or deliberately lying to the reader. This use of third person and present tense portrays a story in a very unwieldy nature and might convey the mood of the story.

    What if you are writing a book and want to switch your point of view for a while. You might be able to do this easily if you include a portion of a letter or journal in a story. I would hesitate to suggest it otherwise.
  I recently read a book in which the main characters were given a first person point of view and the secondary characters and antagonists were given a third person view point. As climax approached view point switches became very close together often overlapping. While is some places this increased the pace it also made the book confusing and I often had to reread portions in order to re-orient myself in the story.
  I would also suggest you keep your Point of View characters as few as possible and avoid using the antagonist whenever you can. Adding too many characters can make the story feel cluttered and keep the reader from empathizing with the main character.
  In another book I read the synopsis seems to indicate that a young woman is the protagonists. However, ten chapters in we are only given one chapter in which we experience the story through her point of view. The story isn't a bad one but I couldn't immerse myself in the world and eventually gave up the book.
   When I write I try to give each character a good length of the story in which we can get attached. At least a chapter for each.  I also make it a rule to always keep the point of view on the action and to keep it moving forward. If one of my POV characters is fighting a bear I shouldn't have the point of view on the character who is hiding in the tree watching. Neither will I tell the fight from the first characters POV and then re-tell it from the other characters...at least I do my best not to.
  In doing this my hope is to allow the reader to fully immerse themselves into my characters so that they are feeling the danger, the tension and the rewards for the victory along with my character. In this way I use Point of View as an essential factor in my story telling.
 
  What about you? Do you enjoy reading books with a first person point of view or are you old-school like me?

  If you want to see some examples of how I use POV in my writing be sure to explore the blog a bit and look for some of my short stories. I am also currently writing a novel that I uploading in a pre-edit form on wattpad. You can find that Here. If you want to follow along in my journey towards becoming a published author be sure to stick around for future blog posts. You can find me on twitter here and can follow me on facebook here. You can also find any of my Christian non-fiction work on my other blog here
  Be sure to stick around for a short story from Akharis's view point next week. Hopefully I will be able to catch up on some of my writing projects and get the story done in time for you all.