POV Advantages and Pitfalls*

When I started my first novel, I didn't give POV much thought. I was going to write in first person. Why? I dunno...seemed obvious. I wanted my readers to feel close to my character. And that's the best way to do it, right?

Well, maybe, but not necessarily. First person came with a lot of restrictions and forced me to tell the story from one character's perspective. So making sure she "saw" everything that needed to be seen was a challenge. At the time, I didn't even realize I had another option at my disposal.

But then when I started to write romance, I realized that the common romance structure is third person limited or deep third person POV. I had read hundreds of books using that POV, but had never realized exactly what I was reading. I'd just lumped third person into all one category. And once I started writing in deep POV, I found that this style POV came much easier to me and allowed me the flexibility I wanted. (Though, I still occasionally write stories in first person. It depends on the characters and how they are "speaking" to me.)

So I thought I would give a brief overview of POVs so that you can know what options are out there:

First person

Told from the inner perspective ("I") of one character.

Note: In some instances, using more than one "I" perspective can work. Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles alternated chapters with the heroine and hero from first person POV, which did work well IMO. I use alternating first person in NICE GIRLS DON'T RIDE.

Advantages:

--If written well, your reader will feel like they are part of the character and will get to know them fully through their inner thoughts and storytelling voice.

--Intimate and emotionally intense

--When writing it may be easier to become the character

--Makes the story feel "true"

--This often feels most natural when you first start writing because, well, we think in first person.

--For some reason, it's easier for me to write younger characters in 1st POV. So my New Adult stories often come out in 1st person.

Disadvantages:

--First person can sounds monotonous for an entire book

--If the reader doesn't like the main character of his/her voice, you're toast

--It's easy to get a little too wrapped up in introspection and not enough dialogue

--Sometimes when writing "I" you let too much of yourself enter the character. You have to remember to react as the character not as you.

Third Person Limited/Deep POV

Very similar to first person. You write from inside one character's head at a time--but it doesn't have to be the same character for the whole book (although it can be).

Advantages:

--You can write from more than one character's POV. In romance, that means you get the hero's perspective as well as the heroine's, which adds to the tension. In suspense, you can have a few chapters from the villain's POV.

--Your MC doesn't have to be everywhere and with everyone to make sure the reader gets all important facts of the story.

--Readers are used to this POV and it becomes invisible

--Less likely to become monotonous because you're getting different perspectives

Disadvantages

--Not as immediate and intimate as first person

--You can be tempted to head hop

--You have to get to know every POV character intimately and develop distinct voices, which can involve more work. Your villain's POV can't sound like your MC's. And your hero needs to think like a guy, not a woman--there's a big difference.

Third Person Omniscient

Narrator is all-knowing and separate from the story--playing God. He/She knows what each character is thinking and can see it all. "Little did Bob know that today was the last day he'd see the sun."

Ex.) This is seen mostly in classics and epic fantasies/sci-fi. Lord of the Rings and some Literary Fiction.

Advantages:

--You have control to reveal information whenever you'd like, regardless of whether or not your character is privy to it

--Can feel "epic" to the reader and give them a wide-sweeping view of your story

Disadvantages:

--Distance between the reader and characters.  This POV is very hard for me to read because I feel separate from the story.

--The reader becomes aware that there is a narrator present, so can feel like they are being "told" a story as opposed to experiencing it 

WARNING: What to watch out for in first and deep third person POV...

Cut out these words from your MC's voice: decided, thought, knew, remembered, noticed, saw, smelled, realized, heard, felt, understood, etc. These take us out of deep POV and "tell".

Not great: She saw him smile at her and felt warmth course through her. She realized with dismay that she still loved him.

Better: He smiled and warmth coursed through her. Crap. I still love this idiot.

Not great: I saw the empty living room and remembered how my grandmother used to braid my hair in front of the fireplace and tell me stories about her childhood.

Better: I stared at the empty living room and tears stung my eyes. Grandma used to braid my hair in front of the...

Not great: Her face turned beet red. (She can't see her own face.) The girls in the corner laughed at her reaction. (She can't know exactly why they are laughing, only guess.)

Better: Her face grew hot, and the girls in the corner pointed and laughed.

Alright, hope that helped. Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

So what about you? What's your favorite POV to write in or read? Have you ever read a first person book that you couldn't finish because you didn't like the MC?  

*Post updated in 2015

Hey you, reader, HI THERE!: Author Intrusion

What should be one of the key goals of an author when writing?  


To be invisible.  


Writers are the ultimate behind the scenes people.  Besides our name on the front cover, the reader should not realize that we are the ones actually telling them what's happening.  Instead, as they start reading, readers should be swept into a story told (shown) by our characters.  


The last thing you want to do is break them from the magic of the story and their "suspended disbelief" to wave a big sign in their face that says "Hey, author here!  What's up?"  Doing so is called author or authorial intrusion.  Here's a definition:

Authorial intrusion is where you express a personal opinion about a character, situation or scene. Or where you describe anything your characters could not be aware of. (source)

This technique was used often in Victorian era novels when the author wanted to state their opinion on how crappy they thought some political situation was or whatever.  It was also used in gothic horror novels to let you know something sinister was going on outside of the main character's knowledge.  However, these days, this device has gone out of fashion to the point of being considered an error except in very rare circumstances.    (I haven't read them, but I've heard the Lemony Snicket books use this device successfully.)


Now, most likely you aren't going off on long asides to share political commentary, but these AI (author intrusion) moments can pop up in much more subtle ways.  Here's what to watch out for...


Foretelling

This is where the author inserts things like "Jane had no idea that one decision would change everything." OR 

"Little did Jane know that as she curled up in bed the killer was watching her every move from his hiding spot in the closet."

*See how this pulls us right out of the story?  We're suddenly not with Jane anymore.  Instead, we're up in the heavens looking down at the scene with the all-knowing author--distant and detached.  Plus, how much more suspenseful is it if we don't know about the killer, but instead Jane hears an unfamiliar creak of the floorboards or she gets the feeling that she's not alone?*


Telling us things the character couldn't know (for 1st person and 3rd deep/limited POV)

Jane sat on the curb in the rain and closed her eyes, letting the deluge soak her clothes.  Shoppers hurried by her, huddling under umbrellas and giving her strange looks.

*If her eyes are closed, how can she know how shoppers are looking at her?*

Jane held the yoga move until her face turned red with strain.  OR A pained expression crossed Jane's face.

*If we're in Jane's POV, she can't see the color or expression on her own face.  You can say her cheeks heated because she can feel that or she grimaced because we know how to make our face do that.*

"We need to talk about this," Jane said, crossing her arms over her chest and staring at Bill.  No way was she going to let him dodge the discussion this time.  She needed closure. 

Bill stood and walked to the window to avoid looking at her.

*We're still in Jane's POV.  She can't really know why Bill walked away--she can guess, but not truly know unless she's a mind reader.  So just describe the action and let the reader assume why.  Or, you can say something with a thought from the MC like "Bill stood and walked to the window.  God, could he not even bear to look at her?"  OR show that she's guessing "Bill stood and walked to the window, apparently too angry to even look at her."


Describing things that the character would never notice.

Bob loved how the Vera Wang dress hugged Jane's curves.

*Okay, unless Bob is into fashion or she just told him the designer's name, he's not going to know or care to mention the dress designer.  Only describe things and parts of settings that your character would notice.  This is also a voice issue, but is related to author intrusion because it reminds us that someone else besides Bob is telling this story.*


This second one is the one I see most often in my own drafts and when I'm critting others.  It's sneaky and easy to miss.  We forget sometimes that we know everything and can read our character's minds, but our MC doesn't.


So have you seen yourself pop up in your manuscript with a big "hello, i'm here" sign?   Do you struggle with any of these?  Have you read any books that use this device effectively?


 
 

**Today's Theme Song**

"Invisible" - Clay Aiken

(player in sidebar--go ahead, take a listen)