Gnu Books

Point of View

You can google Point of View and you find these definitions.

• First person point of view - a story told through the use of I and me.
• Second person point of view - a story told to you. You is the operative word. You are lead through the story the way you're being lead through this description.
• Third person point of view. The author relates the story by dipicting the story from a his perspective. He presented the events from either an all knowing position (omniscient third) or from the view of one character (limited third).

Where do writers go wrong with point of view? That's hard to understand from the descriptions.

• Omniscient (God) Pov allows the writer to portray events from a know-it-all position. This style removes the reader from the character, setting and emotions felt by the characters. 
• Limited POV appplies to first person and third limited. The main character (MC) delivers the story from their senses. Here is where a writer can easily shift the POV away from what the character has any ability to know. 
• For example: "Jim sat watching television while two cars collided right in front of his house."
• Jim can't know this, the writer has switched to Omniscient POV.
• Now if - "Jim heard the sound he had heard several times before, that sickening thump followed by the myriad of sounds metal makes when it is put under pressure. It was close, maybe even right outside."
• Another example: "Jim watched Mary read the note from her mother that was tearing her heart to shreds."
• Here, Jim can't know how Mary feels, nor does he know what is in the note. 
• "Mary opened the note, her eyes widened and the page started to shake in her hands. A tear rolled down her cheek as her fingers tighten on that page."
• This is what Jim saw. From the observation the reader can surmise how she feels. 

Switching POVs without the proper transition jars the reader. Chapter or scene breaks are good places to change the POV character. In the hands of a master the POV can change anywhere in the prose. 

Tricks and tools that can be used to make POV easier to handle.

• Metaphors and similies - Instead of trying to describe the person's features, use a metaphor. Her hair looked like a tornado had passed overhead. He worked with the weight of the world on his shoulder, failure was not an option, nor was time a luxury.
• Use all the senses. The rock concert was silenced by the smell of sulfur. That's when the ground moved, the stage creaked and roared as it fell to the ground spilling the artists and equipment into a mound on top of the screaming front row. A warmth replaced the chill of the night air on his legs and was comforting until it surged into unbearable heat, heat that ignited his pants and shrivled every hair below his waste. His heart hit the gas pedal, his legs became pistons slamming against the ground faster than he thought possible. His mind eliminated everything, everyone around him. It was focused on the high ground that signal survival. But was he one of the fittest?