Posted: March 24, 2025
Point of View (also known as POV) is extremely important to all novel writing. It dictates who is telling the story and often why the story is important. Sometimes, the choice of POV goes even deeper and becomes part of the storytelling process itself! (See N.K. Jemisin’s Broken Earth Trilogy.) But I’m getting ahead of myself. First, let me back up and explain what POV is and the different kinds of POV.
Point of view refers to who is telling the story. Is it the author? A character? Multiple characters? Is it the reader themselves who is telling the story? On the surface, it is as simple as the difference between “I am going to the store.” (First Person), “You are going to the store.” (Second Person) and “He/She/They is/are going to the store.” (Third Person).
In first person, the story is being told by one of the characters, typically using pronouns like “I” and ”we”. This offers an intimate view of the story told directly through the character’s thoughts, emotions, and experiences. Popular books told in first person point of view include The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, and The Martian by Andy Weir.
This one is the most common. It occurs when the narrator is also the protagonist, and they are telling the reader the story of their life. The reader knows what the narrator knows, experiencing their thoughts, emotions, and logical conclusions as they traverse throughout the events of the story.
Slightly less common, this is when the narrator that’s telling the story isn’t the protagonist. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is an excellent example of this, as the story is told about Jay Gatsby from the perspective of his neighbour Nick. The reader is wholly aware of Nick’s thoughts and feelings, even though the story isn’t about him.
With first person perspective, authors can introduce the concept of an unreliable narrator, meaning that the information given isn’t objectively true. This allows for many assumptions and misdirects to be made, as the reader only knows as much as the narrator themselves.
On the flipside, a reliable narrator tells the story and everything that happens as objective fact, giving exact details and leaving no room for misinterpretation. This, I find, is a bit boring, but has its uses.
Narrator omniscience is much more common amid third person. Some say that it’s not even possible. There are no examples I can provide here, but if there were a book using this perspective, the narrator would be a character in the tale, and would be able to share the thoughts and emotions of all other characters with the reader (along with their own).
Second person perspective is the most rare of the three POVs, but it has its place within fiction. This method uses the pronoun “you” when speaking which means that the narrator is the reader themselves, or someone else telling the reader their own story. It implies that you, the reader, are the protagonist or main character. Popular books told in second person point of view include The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin, Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir, The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie, and Bright Lights, Big City by Jay McInerney.
Third Person Perspective is the most common in fiction writing. It uses pronouns such as “he”, “she”, and “they” when referring to the characters in the story. You, the reader, are being told a story aboutother people by the narrator. Popular books told in third person point of view include Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling, Dune by Frank Herbert, Game of Thrones by Geroge R.R. Martin, Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo, and Lord of the Flies by William Golding.
Not to be confused with first person. While the narrator may address the reader directly or refer to themselves as “I”, they are not directly within the story but rather looking down on the story from an outside perspective. They have insight into the thoughts and feelings of every character within the story if necessary. The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis is a great example of this type of perspective, as it seems like the author himself is telling you the story like a kindly grandfather speaking to you—perhaps even telling you a bedtime story.
This perspective is the most common among third person perspective, and even the most common for books in general. Like Central First Person, this perspective gives insight into who is likely the protagonist of the book, allowing the reader to know their experiences, thoughts, and emotions.
This method is the least popular in fiction, as while it may have a focal character, it does not give any insight into that character’s thoughts or feelings. It provides the objective truth only: what happens in the scene. Hemmingway uses this method to great effect in most of his short stories, such as Hills Like White Elephants.
Typically, an author will just know which perspective they want to use to tell their story. Often, it’s the perspective they feel most comfortable writing in. Sometimes, however, there is a need for a change. You may be experimenting. You may want to use the POV to add an additional element to the story. You may even be struggling with your story and are wondering if the current POV you’re using is the right way to do it.
Whatever the reason, you’re wondering which to choose. So, why choose each of these methods?
Authors mainly choose first person to show the story directly, intimately, through the eyes of their character. This usually restricts them to a single narrator, as switching may confuse the reader (though it is still done). It is best used in stories with high emotional connection, such as Dystopian tales in which a character is experiencing fear or strife, or Romances (from the perspective of one or both of the couple) as they explore new feelings of love and conflict. Autobiographies and Memoirs are almost always told in first person unless the author specifically wants to put distance between themselves and the narrator, and Coming-of-Age novels also typically use first person.
Alternately, if the plot is the main focus, or you want to tell a story from many different perspectives or angles, third person would suit you well. This allows you to flit between characters, give the Reader their thoughts and feelings without giving away everything, and still hide major points from the Reader by using characters who don’t know everything. Many authors use this to great effect with Fantasy, Science Fiction, Crime, Thriller, Mystery, etc. Romances, Dystopian Fiction, and Coming-of-Age stories may also be told in this way.
It’s not often that an author will choose second person. It’s a stylistic choice that must be used for a specific purpose—mainly being to evoke a passionate emotional response or investment from the reader. It helps them feel like they’re part of the story, rather than being told one. Another reason would be to promote self-reflection or to present a unique perspective. Allowing your reader to inhabit the body of your hero/protagonist is a powerful thing—though be aware that not all readers enjoy this style of storytelling so be mindful of your target audience.
For spoiler reasons, I will not share the title or author of the book that I am about to describe, but I think it an excellent study in using POV as part of the story itself. The book in question used all three—first person, second person, and third person. The narrator remains the same for each. The reader takes on the role of the main character, a middle-aged woman whose story we’re following. The narrator, sometimes sharing information with “I/me”, mostly tells the story with the pronouns “you” because he is telling the story to this main character. Why tell her her own story? The reader finds out in the third book of the trilogy that she has lost her memories, and the narrator is fulfilling his promise to remind her who she is by telling her about her life. Woven into this tale, he is also telling her the stories of two other characters (in third person) as their lives are closely tied to her.
This, I find, is a very unique way to tell a story. It won’t work for everything, as there are very particular circumstances that go into writing a story like this, but it pushes the limits and shows what POV can do and how it changes a story.
Whatever you choose for your own novel, short story, or other writing piece, you may find it helpful to try different things before settling on something solid. It may come naturally; it may not. Both cases are common, and whatever you settle on will be great!
How to Write in Multiple POVs
When to Use First Person
When to Use Second Person
When to Use Third Person
Writing Compelling Villains
Writing Good Characters
D&D Alignments for Writing Characters
Inclusive Writing
Tigerpetal Press is a small book press dedicated to publishing local authors and poets.