Point of View: How to Use the Different Point of View Types, Avoid Head-Hopping, and Choose the Best Point of View for Your Book
By Sandra Gerth
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About this ebook
Point of view (POV) is one of the most powerful tools in a writer’s kit, but it’s also one of the hardest to understand and master.
In this book, Sandra Gerth draws on her experience as an editor and a best-selling author to teach you how to handle point of view in a way that will make your readers identify with your main character, draw them into the story, and keep them captivated until the very last page.
The book provides concrete examples and exercises that will hone your writing skills.
Whether you’re a novice writer working on her first story or an established author, this book will help you to:
- Discover what point of view is and why it’s so important.
- Understand the different types of point of view such as first-person, third-person, omniscient, and deep POV.
- Choose the point of view that works best for your story.
- Write a novel from multiple viewpoints without confusing your readers.
- Avoid head-hopping and other POV violations that would throw your readers out of the story.
- Write internal monologue and take your readers deeply into your character’s mind.
- Create suspense and tension by using POV techniques.
- Let your readers experience events through your main character’s eyes to get them emotionally involved in your story.
Read more from Sandra Gerth
Show, Don't Tell: How to Write Vivid Descriptions, Handle Backstory, and Describe Your Characters’ Emotions Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
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Book preview
Point of View - Sandra Gerth
Books in the
Writers’ Guide Series
Goal Setting for Writers
How to set and achieve your writing goals, write a book, and become a successful author
Time Management for Writers
How to write faster, find the time to write your book, and be a more prolific writer
Show, Don’t Tell
How to write vivid descriptions, handle backstory, and describe your characters’ emotions
Point of View
How to use the different POV types, avoid head-hopping, and choose the best point of view for your book
Table of Contents
Books in the Writers' Guide Series
Title Page
1. Introduction — What this book will teach you
2. Definition — What point of view is and why it’s so important
3. Types of POV — What the most commonly used points of view are
4. First-person POV
5. Second-person POV
6. Third-person objective POV
7. Third-person omniscient POV
8. Third-person limited POV
9. Deep third-person POV
10. Third-person multiple POV
11. Mixing POV types — How to mix first- and third-person POV
12. Narrative distance — Why POV is really a continuum
13. Make a choice — How to pick the best POV for your book
14. Head-hopping — How to avoid it and why you should
15. Common POV problems — How to avoid violating POV
16. Internal monologue — How to portray character thoughts
17. Conclusion — What to do now
About Sandra Gerth
Other books from Ylva Publishing
Goal Setting for Writers
Time Management for Writers
Show, Don’t Tell
1. Introduction —
What this book will teach you
Point of view (POV) is probably the most powerful tool in a writer’s tool kit, but it’s also one of the hardest to understand and master.
As the senior editor of a publishing house, I encounter POV violations in submitted manuscripts from new writers—and even from more experienced authors—every day. Often, we end up rejecting these manuscripts because point of view has such a strong impact on every aspect of the story that fixing fundamental point of view mistakes would take too much time.
The manuscripts we accept for publication, however, are often written by authors who clearly know how to handle point of view. If you as a writer have a good grasp on POV, you can make readers identify with your main character, draw them into the story, and keep them captivated from the beginning until the very last page.
If that is what you are aiming for with your writing, this is the book for you.
Whether you’re a novice writer working on her first story or an established author who has already published multiple novels, this book will help you to:
discover what point of view is and why it’s so important;
understand the different types of point of view as well as their advantages and disadvantages;
choose the point of view that works best for your story;
write a novel from multiple viewpoints and shift between different POVs without confusing your readers;
avoid head-hopping and other POV violations that would throw your readers out of the story;
write a story from a deep, intimate point of view that will draw your readers into the story;
find solutions to common point of view problems such as describing your POV character;
write internal monologue and take your readers deeply into your character’s mind;
create suspense and tension by using POV techniques;
make your readers experience events through your character’s eyes to get them emotionally involved in your story.
HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF THIS BOOK
Each section of this book ends with an exercise that invites you to reflect on your own opinions and experiences or that will help you improve your POV skills. Many of the exercises will also have you work on your own story, either a work in progress or one that you have written in the past. If you haven’t started writing a novel yet, there are exercises that will guide you through choosing the best point of view for your story.
I suggest that you get a notebook or several sheets of paper and a pen. While you’re reading this book, stop after every chapter and do the exercises. By the time you finish this book, you’ll know which point of view you will use for your story if you haven’t started writing it yet or, if you have already written the first draft, which POV violations you need to correct.
By the way, a few of the examples I use throughout this book are from my own novels, written under my pen name, Jae (jae-fiction.com). I do that strictly for legal reasons, to make sure I’m not violating anyone’s copyright. A few of the examples are based on manuscripts I edited, rewritten to protect the innocent.
Happy reading and writing!
Sandra Gerth
2. Definition —
What point of view is and why it’s so important
Have you ever watched a movie that was based on a novel that you had read? If you did, which did you like better—the novel or the movie?
If you are anything like me and most other people, you probably prefer the book over the movie most of the time. The reason for that preference is point of view. I’ll explain that in a second, but let’s define what point of view is first.
DEFINITION OF POV
The narrative point of view—often shortened to POV—is the perspective from which a story or at least a section of the story is told. It’s like a lens through which readers view the events.
Here’s why POV is the reason most people prefer the book to the movie based on the book:
POV makes reading a book a more intimate experience compared to other forms of storytelling such as movies and TV shows. In novels and short stories, readers aren’t limited to seeing just the outer actions and hearing the dialogue. They get to dip into the minds of the characters, see the events through their eyes, and experience their emotions. They are becoming the protagonist and living the story instead of just watching it. That’s why as readers, we’re often much more emotionally involved in books than movies.
THE IMPORTANCE OF POV
POV isn’t just another element of the writing craft; it’s the foundation that will help you write a great book and avoid problems with the other core elements of fiction:
Point of view determines how readers will view your characters, how close they feel to them, and with whom they will identify.
Point of view helps you create tension and suspense by controlling how much information you give your readers about what’s going on in the story. Readers will keep turning the pages if they get to discover what will happen next along with the POV character.
A close point of view encourages you to show instead of tell—which basically means bringing the story to life instead of delivering a secondhand report. If you want to find out more about showing and telling, take a look at my nonfiction book Show, Don’t Tell. How to write vivid