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Some of the most common errors I see in manuscripts are issues with point of view. Oftentimes, those issues come about because writers aren’t clear on their point-of-view characters. Other times, the problem lies in the POV character’s point of view.
Why is point of view important in writing?
Choosing who tells a story—and in what POV they tell it—is one of the most important decisions a writer can make. I, you, she, he, they … all of these have pros and cons. Add in third person limited, but multiple, and first person interspersed with chapters from third person omniscient, and the potential for mistakes goes up exponentially.
How does genre impact point of view?
Some genres lend themselves to certain POVs, such as the sassy female detective story told in first person. The Alphabet Series from Sue Grafton, which started out, “My name is Kinsey Millhone,” launched an entire genre back in the eighties. We also see the sweeping fantasy with extensive worldbuilding done in third person omniscient. It’s storytelling from an all-knowing view with access to every character and any event the writer sees fit to include.
This does not mean a writer has to write with those POVs or that first person can’t work in a sweeping fantasy, but understanding the limitations of first person might make a fantasy writer think twice before choosing to put intimacy with character ahead of access to greater world building details.
Common POV mistakes writers make
Head-hopping (leaping from POV to POV and confusing the reader) and including information that a character doesn’t have access to, and therefore can’t inform the reader, are common problems and can derail even the best of stories.
Writers can also miss out on the advantages of a specific POV. First person is the most intimate of POVs, but if the POV character doesn’t share their internal landscape, what’s the point of limiting all the other information in the story? An omniscient POV allows for the reader to experience everything in the world that the author created, so if readers can’t explore that environment and be in on all the secrets, why force them to distance from the protagonist?
Whether writing memoir and not mining first person for all it’s worth or writing a thriller with multiple points of view but lacking tension in each scene, fixing point-of-view can take a problem manuscript to a polished, publishable level.
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Elena Hartwell Taylor is the Senior Editor & Director of Programming at Allegory Editing. In addition to working as a developmental editor and writing coach, Elena is a published author. Her most recent novel, All We Buried, appears under the name Elena Taylor. The Eddie Shoes Mystery Series appears under Elena Hartwell. Prior to writing novels, Elena worked extensively in the theater as a playwright, director, educator, and designer. She has taught writing and theatre courses at the college/university level for more than twenty years. She holds a PhD in dramatic theory and criticism, a Masters of Education with an emphasis in teaching theatre, and a BA in Mass Media Communications. For more information about Elena, you can visit her website and read her blog about authors, new books, and the writing process. You can contact her at elena@allegoryediting.com.