Point of View
© Alfie Thompson, 1996
Point of view is one of the most powerful tools of writing and is probably one of the easiest to use and the most misunderstood and least utilized. In only four books on writing, I found the following names for various points of view:
Omniscient
Modified Omniscient
Third Person Limited
First Person Limited
Objective
Modified Objective
Subjective
Roving
Revolving
Detached Narrator
Untrustworthy Narrator Close Third
Remote Third
Authorial
Reliable First Person
Unreliable First Person
Olympian
Distant Third
Multiple Third Person
Dramatic
Omniscient Personal
Omniscient Impersonal
Limited Omniscient
Major First Person
Minor First Person Single character
Yes, some of these terms are duplicates of others. (The names have been changed to protect the innocent.) But all these POV’s are named in very short chapters--and in at least two of the books--they’re listed in only a couple of paragraphs on the entire subject. So is it any wonder we’re all confused?
My goal here is to clear up some of the confusion. But please understand, this is my interpretation of the subject, or Alfie’s Point of View on Point of View. Since there is such a diverse pov on pov, let me add that in my POV, there isn’t a ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ POV to use. There is 'best' pov for the story you are telling.
I’m going to show you the differences between the most commonly used Points of View; show you some of the advantages and disadvantages of using each; and most importantly, give you some guidelines about choosing the Point of View based on the audience you are writing for, and on the characters in your story.
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