A breakdown of every point of view in writing and questions nobody seems to answer clearly. Can you use different POVs in a book? Can you switch? Find out here.
Great post! I started writing in first person POV because I was having trouble with voice and I thought it would get me closer. It took me awhile to realize that that’s not the case. I still use first person because it’s so fun. Thank you for the post!
I'll add one more obscure one to your list (which I didn't know was a thing until I did it and had to go look it up): Third-person objective
It's close to an omniscient perspective, except instead of being able to see into *everyone's* head, you can't see into *anyone's* head. Sort of like a movie camera view--all action and dialogue with no interpretation. 🙂
Oh, this one is interesting. If we don't know what our main character is thinking then we're left to interpretation and the commentary of the narrator. It can be very unpredictable. Are you writing your book on it? Or was it just a short story that you wrote? I'm genuinely curious about plot.
It was part of a novella I wrote (the first book I published). I actually broke all the rules and wrote one of my MCs in first person and the other two in third-objective. I didn't consciously think all the implications through, but it ended up making the least relatable of the MCs (to most of my audience, at least) feel closer and the others a bit more distant, which worked well for the story overall. Several reviewers mentioned that it was different, but I think I only had one who saw it as a negative overall.
As far as knowing what they were thinking, the two MCs that I used objective POV for were pretty transparent in their actions and dialogue, at least from the camera's POV, and I think it helped me be more restrained in their scenes, which was a good thing. One of them I didn't like at all, and the other would easily have taken over the book, so having that limitation was a good check. 😆
Sometimes rules are made to be broken. The limitation becoming a feature for the character you didn't like is such a good unintended consequence. Bet it helped you focus on physical aspects and dialogue more than internal monologue. In this case it seems like the story knew what it needed as you kept writing it.
Very thorough and insightful breakdown of all the different POVs! I don't think I've heard of the impersonal "one" described as Fourth Person POV before (although I've used it a lot in essays!) Thank you for writing this!
Insightful and thorough is what I what I'm aiming at with these pieces.
On the fourth person POV note, I actually considered not including it (it's more a grammatical curiosity) and really I couldn't find any books on it. But I wanted to give a nice overview and "one does not simply walk into Mordor" like needed to be used as an example.
Interesting that it's more a grammatical curiosity but there aren't a ton of books on it. Good example for it. I think I had a series of essays where I used "one" or "a person" as the subject for a point I was illustrating, but then in later essays I ended up having to make the subject either male or female to avoid saying "he or she." (The grader didn't like seeing that construct as often as it appeared, lol.)
That's such a good real world example of exactly why fourth person is hard to sustain! "One" starts feeling evasive after a while (maybe your grader felt that too). But there's something elegant about trying it.
I never thought of it that way. And yeah, I think the quote from The Lord of the Rings is a good example of how elegant it can be. I think it would be especially fun in fantasy, sci-fi, YA, or literary fiction where it could be used for dramatic/impactful statements (like in The Lord of the Rings), or in mysteries where a character is describing a scenario (especially a hypothetical one).
I was mostly making the point that we grow with time. 💜 I started mine three years ago, and have grown in how I deliver the podcast/articles. You will grow with time, and since you are already on par with some of the top articles, you are going to blow this out of the water! 💜😊
Great post! I started writing in first person POV because I was having trouble with voice and I thought it would get me closer. It took me awhile to realize that that’s not the case. I still use first person because it’s so fun. Thank you for the post!
Thanks for reading Janks🙏
This was very informative and well-written! Looking forward to reading more articles about writing.
Thank you! More coming soon, next one drops on the 20th 🙏
I'll add one more obscure one to your list (which I didn't know was a thing until I did it and had to go look it up): Third-person objective
It's close to an omniscient perspective, except instead of being able to see into *everyone's* head, you can't see into *anyone's* head. Sort of like a movie camera view--all action and dialogue with no interpretation. 🙂
Oh, this one is interesting. If we don't know what our main character is thinking then we're left to interpretation and the commentary of the narrator. It can be very unpredictable. Are you writing your book on it? Or was it just a short story that you wrote? I'm genuinely curious about plot.
It was part of a novella I wrote (the first book I published). I actually broke all the rules and wrote one of my MCs in first person and the other two in third-objective. I didn't consciously think all the implications through, but it ended up making the least relatable of the MCs (to most of my audience, at least) feel closer and the others a bit more distant, which worked well for the story overall. Several reviewers mentioned that it was different, but I think I only had one who saw it as a negative overall.
As far as knowing what they were thinking, the two MCs that I used objective POV for were pretty transparent in their actions and dialogue, at least from the camera's POV, and I think it helped me be more restrained in their scenes, which was a good thing. One of them I didn't like at all, and the other would easily have taken over the book, so having that limitation was a good check. 😆
Sometimes rules are made to be broken. The limitation becoming a feature for the character you didn't like is such a good unintended consequence. Bet it helped you focus on physical aspects and dialogue more than internal monologue. In this case it seems like the story knew what it needed as you kept writing it.
Very thorough and insightful breakdown of all the different POVs! I don't think I've heard of the impersonal "one" described as Fourth Person POV before (although I've used it a lot in essays!) Thank you for writing this!
Thank you for reading Li :)
Insightful and thorough is what I what I'm aiming at with these pieces.
On the fourth person POV note, I actually considered not including it (it's more a grammatical curiosity) and really I couldn't find any books on it. But I wanted to give a nice overview and "one does not simply walk into Mordor" like needed to be used as an example.
Interesting that it's more a grammatical curiosity but there aren't a ton of books on it. Good example for it. I think I had a series of essays where I used "one" or "a person" as the subject for a point I was illustrating, but then in later essays I ended up having to make the subject either male or female to avoid saying "he or she." (The grader didn't like seeing that construct as often as it appeared, lol.)
That's such a good real world example of exactly why fourth person is hard to sustain! "One" starts feeling evasive after a while (maybe your grader felt that too). But there's something elegant about trying it.
I never thought of it that way. And yeah, I think the quote from The Lord of the Rings is a good example of how elegant it can be. I think it would be especially fun in fantasy, sci-fi, YA, or literary fiction where it could be used for dramatic/impactful statements (like in The Lord of the Rings), or in mysteries where a character is describing a scenario (especially a hypothetical one).
Wow! That was super detailed and informative. My first post feels very inadequate. Lol! You did amazing! 🎉 💜 Keep it up!
Thank you Alley :)
I beg to differ though. You have such a specific (and committed) niche. Everything feels written with intention.
I was mostly making the point that we grow with time. 💜 I started mine three years ago, and have grown in how I deliver the podcast/articles. You will grow with time, and since you are already on par with some of the top articles, you are going to blow this out of the water! 💜😊
Thank you Alley. Your encouragement these first few days has meant more than you know. Three years from now let's see where we both are 🙏
Definitely. 🙂 My DMs are always welcome for questions or anything I can help with on my end of the internet.