Maintaining Proper Point of View-A Directive from Readers Everywhere

Point of view is a serious and often overlooked part of writing, frequently taught in only the most rudimentary way. Usually in the seventh grade, we learn that it is the character through whose eyes or conscious we view the scene and the corresponding quiz consists of matching first, second, third and omniscient POV to the correct definitions. Then it’s all over.

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Rarely does anyone even question this. It’s unusual to hear someone say ‘I only read first person point of view’ or ‘I really like third’. Most of us prefer good writing regardless of the POV. But it isn’t so much the specific POV as the quality. It’s difficult to take a concept as simple as ‘my story’ versus ‘his story’ and discuss quality, but after reading a handful of books you’ll probably agree, quality is an issue.

As a writer or a reader, you are probably more familiar with the kinds of point of view than the general public, but a quick recap is a solid idea. In first person POV, the main character is ‘me’. ‘I meandered down the dark path and I shivered’. If ‘you’ are the main character, then ‘you’ are in second person POV which is probably the least common type. Third person may be the most common POV. In this set-up ‘he’ or ’she’ is the person whose head we are inside. ‘Jason nervously hid the roses behind his back. As soon as he pushed the doorbell, his hand immediately slipped back in his pocket to rub the small velvet box. He forced a smile as Violet appeared in the doorway looking as nervous as he felt’. Omniscient POV is another commonly used tool – in this case the reader can know what is going on inside all the characters heads. So we would not only see Violet at the door, we would know that she suspected what Jason had in his pocket and was aquiver with her own excitement.

This is where it gets sticky. Writers fail when they mix their points of view. And the best way to keep from mixing POVs is to know how to identify it, how and when it happens and keep a clear eye out so it can be avoided or fixed. It is important that when we are in Jason’s head, we stay there. Jason standing at the door can’t know how Violet is feeling; he can’t know she suspects he has a ring. A lot of authors (perennial favorites, too) are violating this convention and still getting published. But it’s a huge pet peeve to a lot of readers – enough of an issue that it takes them out of the story as they are reading.

To be fair, perhaps POV isn’t the most important asset of good writing. If we don’t care what Jason is feeling or we can’t visualize the scene around him, then staying in his head isn’t our top priority. Writers who can’t describe and tell a good story aren’t likely to get published anyway. But the public at large likes to know where they stand, and in a book POV is a large determinant of that. Loss or violation of POV is a sin and can bring the flow of the book to a brakes squealing, dust billowing, burnt rubber smelling stop.

There are greater distinctions in POV – both third person and omniscient have sub-categories. (So could first and second, but it’s almost never done.) It’s these subcategories that get authors confused and irritate readers when they aren’t handled well. Third person often isn’t limited to a single character’s POV. Multiple third person is widely used in fiction, in this case you can see out from a handful of different characters’ eyes. The difference between this and omniscient is that you must be in only one character’s head at a time. In order to change POV you must use some sort of writing device (page break, ***, new chapter, etc.) The most common version of omniscient POV is multiple-character omniscient. In this case, like in standard omniscient, the reader can see into many characters’ heads at the same time. But we are limited to a handful of important characters. (This sub-category is more widely used than true omniscient that enables a look inside all characters – even the guy who gives our heroine back her change at the gas station and is never seen again.)

Multi-character omniscient POV is often violated by random (or even useful) glimpses inside a non-key character’s head. Unless this is done throughout the entire story, a side glimpse is a violation of the construct that the reader has put together from the story to that point. The reader won’t put together the set of rules that the writer has determined, he will only gather from what he has read to that point. So if there have been no prior side glimpses, then we can’t add one in chapter five. It is not all right to violate this just because the information is key; authors must stay true to the standards they have set at the beginning of the story. Another way to disseminate the information must be found.

Both standard, completely omniscient POV as well as the multi-character version, sometimes suffer from the psychic, all knowing power of the reader bleeding over into the characters. Because the reader knows that Violet anticipates the ring in Jason’s pocket, Jason now also knows what Violet suspects. Or worse, it is unclear what Jason knows. Authors must keep track of what each character sees and understands and never inadvertently give away unavailable knowledge. Jason must stay on pins and needles and believe that he is surprising Violet out of the blue. It may even be wise to add lines or information that clarifies this to the reader.

Multiple third person POV suffers from similar issues. Although it is less likely that Jason will learn that Violet suspects he has a ring, it does happen. Far more often though, the crime is that the author knows Violet is on pins and needles, and even though we are in Jason’s chapter/section, suddenly we get a chance to see how she feels. And the readers get upset.

Read the following paragraph opening: Kelly stood looking at Charity, a small smirk upon her face. Both women knew the storm was coming, but neither of them was willing to say it. Kelly spoke first.

This opening is just fine if the POV is omniscient. In this case, we expect to see into everyone’s head and it’s fine not to have cues. However, if this is a new chapter or section in multiple third person POV, we have a problem. While we haven’t violated the POV per se – we haven’t seen into anyone’s head, let alone more than one person’s. The problem is that we don’t know who this section belongs to. Certainly, this could be used as a writing device, but in many cases it seems to simply be an author who isn’t paying attention to what the reader needs. In general, the writer has a minimum of two sentences to establish POV. Why two? Because at that point the reader’s eyebrows begin to pull together, wondering to whom does the section belong. Sometimes the sin isn’t just violation of the established POV, it’s lack of clarity about where the reader is. So, sometime in those first sentences, give us a few words that tell us whose head we are in. We can add to the Kelly and Charity scene – ‘Kelly stood looking at Charity, her anticipation appearing as a small smirk upon her face’. Just a few words tells us that we are in Kelly’s head. Or we could say ‘She knew both of them saw the storm coming . . .’ With very little changed, we have a firmly established POV and a happy reader.

There are other instances where POV is abused, although not necessarily lost. A page break is used to indicate – in most cases – a change in POV. Alternately it can indicate a passage of time or change of venue. In too many cases, page breaks are appearing when none of these things has occurred in the plot. For example, our hero starts a task. Partway through we get a page break, then the next section starts with him finishing the same task. This leaves our reader confused while he figures out where the author is going, as the page break has indicated to him that there was a change. It will take a few sentences and occasionally a full page to figure out the story wasn’t where he thought it was. Anything that does this removes the reader from the story, and therefore reduces the quality of the writing. If the space can be filled with a phrase connecting the two parts, then a page break is unnecessary. In this case, ‘After Hero-Man finished tying up Super Bad Guy, he . . .”

Lack of clarity about POV is another problem readers suffer with. Maybe because POV conventions aren’t followed as well as they should be, readers are wary and want to be reassured. Try this -’Charity stood in the doorway, surprised to see Kelly there, although Kelly knew Charity should have remembered the pact they’d made ten years earlier.’ And the POV goes to . . . it’s difficult to tell. Ultimately, the scene belongs to Kelly. Why? Because ‘Kelly knew’. Charity was ’surprised’, but while we can see someone else’s surprise, we can’t know what he knows, unless we are in his head. So the POV here wasn’t violated, it was just confusing. All the writer has to do here to clarify is add one word – ‘Charity stood in the doorway, looking surprised to see Kelly there’.

Violation of the writer’s own construct is just as confusing to readers. A classic sci-fi book tells the story in third person from the main character’s POV. But a third of the way through, we suddenly are in the sister’s head. A small while later we are in the brother’s head, although after a few visits, we don’t go back again. We pass POV back and forth between the main character and the sister, until the book again deviates from this construct. One small section is written in the POV of another character who, until this point, has been a minor player. This is insanely confusing to the reader.

Readers appreciate clarity in POV. Remove confusing wording. Add phrases that help determine viewpoint. And set up section or chapter openings to establish POV within the first two sentences. In addition to this, writers can further establish POV by use of language. Lindsay, from the Midwest, sits on a ‘couch’ and carries a ‘purse’, while Southern Leslie sits on a ’sofa’ and clutches her ‘pocketbook’. Russian born Nick doesn’t use idioms in his speech or thoughts.

There are no real laws about POV. If a writer wishes to violate the conventions so be it. If a new character, who will be giving us a new POV, needs to be introduced late, then the author should establish that POVs will be coming in throughout the book. Regardless of the chosen POV, or violation thereof, the writer should stick to what he has established. Watching for mishaps or possible confusion will cut down on POV problems, but mostly writers don’t spend enough time considering POV when they are planning characters and plot points. POV should become predetermined rather than happenstance. Always, the POV of the story should be established early and held tight.