Like so many aspects of writing, this is an area which has been over-complicated by an excess of labels. Most of them will be familiar from school. Fear not, I shall not begin an English grammar lesson.
What is Point of View?
In basic terms this means who is going to tell the story to the reader – you, the writer; or, someone else; or, the protagonist. Let’s take them one by one.
You, the writer
This is the traditional method of story writing and will have been employed in most of the books you’ve read, so, it’s the one you already know best. This is from my book, ‘Steal a Diamond’.
‘Troubled when he saw the open door, Dani entered cautiously. His pulse rate rose when the first thing he saw was a blood-stained towel thrown on the sofa, another on the floor by the bed. He was puzzled by the sight of his and Lulu’s weapons on the bed together with his phone. He didn’t realise Lulu was hiding in the bathroom.’
You, as narrator, can see and hear it all – Dani’s actions, you know his state of mind, his pulse rate. You even know where Lulu is, which he doesn’t. You know everything! So, when you write in that style, the reader knows everything.
Someone else
Most likely, this will be another character in your story, quite possibly the protagonist’s sidekick or friend. Sherlock Holmes’ associate, Dr Watson, is probably the best-known example. It is from his viewpoint we learn the stories of Holmes’ escapades.
But in your writing, it can be anyone you choose – boyfriend, partner, wife, neighbour. When they narrate, it is as an observer, referring to themselves as I, and the protagonist by name or as he/she. Imagine the character in the above example was with another character, like this:
‘I followed Dani into the room; he seemed cautious. I peered over his shoulder. All I could see were towels covered in blood. “Where’s Lulu?” he said.’
Do you see the difference? In this example, the narrator knows nothing of Dani’s thoughts or Lulu’s existence or the guns on the bed (because he can’t see them). He can only report on events he observes or things that are said to him.
The protagonist
In this case, the reader sees everything through the eyes of the main character who expresses himself as I. Same scenario as above but this time it’s Dani doing the talking:
‘The door was open which worried me. I took it nice and slow. My heart was already thumping like a drum but became a whole heavy metal band when I saw the blood-stained towels on the furniture. What were our guns doing on the bed? And my phone? And where the hell was Lulu?’
Now the reader knows Dani’s thoughts, emotions and observations. Dani doesn’t know about Lulu hiding, so the reader doesn’t know either.
You’ll have noticed that each of these points of view give a different feel to the writing. There are disadvantages and benefits to your storytelling depending on your choice. I suggest, if this is all new to you, have a go at each. Write, say, two hundred words of a story in each style and see what you think.
When is the story happening?
The final aspect to consider in this rundown is When.
Are the events of the story you’re narrating happening some time before now or, at this current moment or, some time in the future? Most novels you’ve read will have been written in past tense with the narrator reporting on action which has already occurred. Compare these:
o It’s happened already: ‘Dani released Lulu from the bathroom. They collected their weapons and ran.’
o It’s happening now: ‘Dani finds Lulu and releases her from the bathroom. Now, he collects the guns from the bed before they run.’
o It’s going to happen: ‘In a moment Dani will find Lulu and they will run.’
These are the basics and, as you might expect, there are variations and extensions of everything I’ve outlined. They’re covered in other blogs; look for Narrative Point of View.
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