Point of view, or POV, is the perspective from which your story is told.
There are so many possibilities for POV that it can be confusing. In this article, I’ve included a brief explanation of each level of POV, possible pairings between the two levels, examples of books in the various pairings, and pronoun usage.
In the conclusion, I have simplified this topic to summarize the three main types of POV that you will see in fiction, offered a word of caution on head-hopping, and provided you with additional resources to study POV.
Part One
Omniscient Point of View
Possible Pairing: Third- or Fourth-Person
Book Examples
- Third-Person Omniscient: Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
- Fourth-Person Omniscient: A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner
Omniscient point of view is when a godlike narrator is all-knowing in regard to every character’s thoughts, feelings, and experiences all the time. This narrator may even know things the characters do not know. Omniscient POV is typically expressed in a consistent voice, almost as if the narrator is a character themselves. Using this perspective can be a powerful tool if executed correctly, but can also lead to confusion if mishandled.
Limited Point of View(aka, Close or Deep)
Possible Pairing: First-, Second, or Third-Person
Book Examples
- First-Person Limited: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
- Second-Person Limited: Complicity by Iain Banks
- Third-Person Limited: Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling
Also called close or deep point of view and most commonly paired with first- or third-person, limited POV is when the narrator is restricted to the thoughts and experiences of one character at a time. The reader can be with this character for the whole book or with different characters at different times (see A Word of Caution on Head-Hopping in the Conclusion of this article). But whoever’s head the narrator is in at any given moment, that is the only one the reader can currently know everything about. Therefore, the thoughts and feelings of other characters in the scene must be understood solely through action, gestures, and dialogue.
Objective Point of View
Possible Pairing: Third- or Fourth-Person
Book Examples
- Third-Person Objective: Hills Like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway
- Fourth-Person Objective: The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
Rather rare, objective POV is when the narrator does not dive into any of the character’s inner thoughts, only stating what is seen on the surface, and therefore creating distance. Because this perspective is so narrow and impersonal, it’s usually only seen in short stories.
Part Two
First-Person Point of View
Pronouns: Me, Myself, I
Possible Pairing: Limited
Despite being limited, first-person POV is often thought to be the most intimate because the reader is placed directly in the protagonist’s shoes. They will more deeply understand the protagonist’s limitations, biases, and motives, allowing the reader to connect more intimately with the protagonist and leading to empathy. That being said, the protagonist can only know what they personally see, feel, and experience firsthand and have no way of knowing someone else’s thoughts or what happens outside of their own experience.
Second-Person Point of View
Pronoun: You
Possible Pairing: Limited
Second-person POV breaks the fourth wall, making the reader an active participant in the story. This is common with choose-your-own-adventure books, but otherwise not as popular of a choice for fiction books. It is inexplicably awkward or difficult to maintain second-person POV in full-length novels, both as a writer and a reader. If you choose to use this POV, be cautious of sounding didactic or condescending.
Third-Person Point of View
Pronouns: He/Him, She/Her, They/Them
Possible Pairing: Omniscient, Limited, or Objective
Third-person POV is a popular choice because it is so dynamic. If paired with omniscient POV, the narrator knows the thoughts, feelings, and experiences of all characters at all times. This choice allows a great deal of freedom with storytelling, but be cautious not to fall into the head-hopping trap. If paired with limited POV, the narrator is only alert to those thoughts and feelings of a single character at a time. And finally, if paired with objective POV, the narrator simply states the story as facts, without having any insight into the thoughts or feelings of the individual characters.
Fourth-Person Point of View
Pronouns: We/Us, One/Oneself
Possible Pairing: Omniscient or Objective
Editor’s Note: Some argue that there is no fourth-person POV, as first-person plural would also use pronouns such as we and us. Others argue there is a clear difference between first-person plural and fourth-person in that the latter could be omniscient or objective, rather than simply limited. In other words, in fourth-person POV, you’ll never hear the narrator use an individual’s pronoun like me or I.
Fourth-person POV is incredibly rare in fiction, though it has been seen in some of the classics, including Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. This POV can be used to create an eery sense of the reader being an outsider when sharing collective experiences from a group perspective, but it can also be less intimate and create a sense of dissociation because the reader doesn’t get to see any individual’s unique experience of the situation.
My husband always says there are three sides to every story: his side, her side, and the truth. Even when a group shares a collective experience, they each still have unique understanding, feelings, thoughts, and experiences of that same situation. But you won’t get that with fourth-person point of view.
Conclusion
Three Main Points of View in Fiction
Phew! That was a lot of information that can be difficult for even the best writers (and editors!) to fully comprehend, so be graceful with yourself as you learn the ins and outs of point of view.
To narrow down your focus, the three main points of view you will see in fiction are:
- First-Person Limited Point of View
- Uses pronouns like me, myself, and I.
- We only know what one character sees, feels, and experiences firsthand (at a time).
- Third-Person Limited Point of View
- Uses pronouns like he, she, and they.
- We only know what one character sees, feels, or experiences (at a time).
- Third-Person Omniscient Point of View
- Uses pronouns like he, she, and they.
- We know everything about every character all the time, and maybe even some things the characters themselves do not yet know.
A Word of Caution on Head-Hopping
Head-hopping is when the reader receives insight into multiple perspectives within the same scene. This can be rather jarring as it requires the reader to constantly reevaluate where they are, who they are with, and how that character relates to other characters and the setting.
Head-Hopping vs. Third-Person Omniscient: Third-person omniscient has a singular narrator who uses a consistent voice throughout the book to share their all-knowing information. Head-hopping, on the other hand, is when the author jumps from one character’s inner thoughts and feelings to another’s in a chaotic and unorganized manner, often leaving the reader scratching their head.
Always consider how your reader will experience the story. To prevent confusion, anytime you switch perspectives, there should be a chapter break or, at the very least, a scene break. This provides your reader clarity and allows them time to settle in with minimum disruption or confusion.
Quick Tips
- Determine who will be your main POV character in the story.
- Just like protagonists, there can be more than one POV character, but there will always be one who stands above the rest.
- Ground your reader immediately.
- Quickly establish the POV character through their action or dialogue so your reader can immediately settle into the scene.
- Pay close attention to who is seeing, hearing, feeling, and thinking in each sentence.
- Ask yourself, “Can the POV character see this? Know this? Hear this? Feel this?” If the answer is no, then what can they see, know, hear, and feel? Use that instead!
- If you plan to use multiple POV characters:
- Choose perspectives strategically. Determine who is the best option to narrate each part and stick with them long enough to nurture their growth and development on the page.
- Use clear transitions when shifting perspectives, ideally through chapter or scene breaks.
- If you are not yet experienced with advanced techniques, switch viewpoints only when starting a new chapter. As you grow in your craft, you can work on switching POVs scene by scene, ensuring each scene is long enough to allow readers to settle into that character’s head.
Additional Resources
- Point of View in Fiction by Marcy Kennedy
- Deep Point of View by Marcy Kennedy
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