Point of View in Writing

April Fool For Ducks

The photo today has nothing to do with the topic, but I thought we might enjoy something light-hearted on April 1st, better known as Apil Fool's Day. Like me, you are probably glad to see March behind us with the pandemic situation worsening by the week. I hope you are all heeding the advice of the experts and staying home and social distancing when you must go out. Those few people who refuse to adhere to the frequently changing guidelines are making it tough on the rest of us. And themselves in the long run. It's an unprecedented time for most of us and a very serious one.

We've turned the page on the calendar today, so let's turn the page on this blog, too. Yesterday, I wrote about a real no-no when writing fiction. The Information Dump. If you are prone to doing this, work hard to break the habit. 

Another no-no in fiction writing is changing the Point of View back and forth in one chapter. When you are writing a novel, you need to choose one person who will help the reader 'see' the story through his/her eyes. There are, of course, other characters who help move the story along and who are important to the story itself. If you change the Point of View back and forth between characters, you'll be doing what is often called 'head-hopping.' All it does is serve to confuse the reader and sometimes irritate them. If Jennie is your protagonist, let us see the story through her eyes. Let the readers know how she reacts, what she thinks, her relation to the other characters. 

Does that mean we can't ever know what the other characters are thinking and more? The writer can let the reader see these things in the other characters by the way they act, through dialogue, and showing rather than telling. 

There is a way to have more than one Point of View character, and that is to change that POV character chapter by chapter. One chapter could be all seen as Jennie sees what's happening. The next one might be Charlie's POV. It takes an experienced and talented writer to pull it off. Some even attempt to use three POV characters. 

POV is a complicated issue. If you're at all confused, google a more detailed article or a book on the topic.  Keep in mind that your Point of View is the way you see things. Just you. No one else.