This article highlights the strengths and weaknesses of different narrative Points of View (POV) to help you choose the optimum POV for your story.
POV is a foundational element of narrative voice, and you’ll need to understand it if you want to write compelling fiction.
The term describes the perspective from which a story is told, and it typically falls under one of the following categories:
First-person
With first-person POV, the story is told by a character in the story who refers directly to themselves. First-person stories feature sentences including “I” or “me” subject pronouns.
Famous examples: Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton and The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. This style of POV is also naturally suited to epistolary fiction (stories told through letters and diaries).
Strengths: Can help create an intimate connection between the reader and the POV character. It also allows the author to more easily develop a unique and engaging character voice.
Weaknesses: Can present challenges in conveying dialogue as well as limitations around broader plot development.
Risks: Excessive interiority and filtering.
Second-person
With second-person POV, the reader is placed at the centre of the story by sentences featuring the “you” subject pronoun.
Famous examples: Second-person POV is rare in novel-length fiction, but famous examples include the aptly-named You by Caroline Kepnes (also a Netflix series), and If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino. This style of POV is more commonly found in interactive (“choose-your-own-adventure”) stories and fan fiction.
Strengths: Because it’s relatively rare, it can stand out as unique in a competition setting. If done well, it can heighten the emotional intensity of a story by fully immersing the reader in the events of the story.
Weaknesses: The repetitive use of the subject pronoun “you” can become grating after a while. It’s also challenging to create a realistic experience as it relies on assumptions about the reader which may not be accurate.
Risks: Alienating readers and breaking suspension of disbelief.
Close (or Limited) third-person
In a “close” or “limited” third-person narrative, the narrator tells the story from the perspective of one character (or one character at a time) within the story using the subject pronouns “he”, “she” and “they”. Everything is filtered subjectively through the perspective of the chosen character.
Famous examples: The Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling and Misery by Stephen King.
Strengths: This POV is very popular because it allows for a deep connection with the story’s POV character which can help further the reader’s investment in the outcome of the story. Highly skilled writers can also use it to deliver subtext, which can make for a satisfying reading experience with the audience invited to “read between the lines”.
Weaknesses: The story will be limited to events which the POV character experiences first-hand.
Risks: Excessive interiority and info-dumping.
Third-person omniscient
In an “omniscient” third-person narrative, a narrator tells the story from an outsider’s perspective using the subject pronouns “he”, “she” and “they”. The narrator has full knowledge of all events within the story and can provide more objective insights into all character’s thoughts and motivations.
Famous examples: The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien and Middlemarch by George Eliot.
Strengths: This POV is useful for describing large scale events such as epic battle scenes, or stories which span large geographical areas or time periods. It allows the author to follow the journeys of multiple characters and share everything there is to know about the story world.
Weaknesses: Naturally creates distance between the reader and the events, which can weaken emotional intimacy and immersion in the story.
Risks: Excessive exposition and information overload.
Other
Other stories experiment with POV, for example by offering multiple POVs across alternating chapters (The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas and Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty), or through a combination different types of POV (The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, which combines a unique omniscient first-person POV with close third-person perspectives), or by using a side character to narrate the story like a “fly on the wall”. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is perfect example of this, as is Wuthering Heights by Charlotte Brontë, which almost reads like a game of “telephone”, with the story passing from one side character to another.
Which POV should I choose?
If you’re new to POV, we’d typically recommend sticking to “Close Third” in flash fiction to assist with character development. Due to the very short nature of flash fiction however, any one of these POVs can be used to stunning effect.
The optimum POV for any one story will depend on what you want to say and how you wish to develop your narrative voice. Imagine, for example, you are telling the story of a protagonist who is a murderer. How might a more subjective or objective POV impact the reader’s experience of that story? Any of the above narrative POVs could work, but they would each create an entirely different effect. The choice of which effect to create is up to you.
A final word on POV
You need to understand the POV you choose to be able to wield it to its full advantage. There’s a wealth of information about POV online. Not Quite Write Prize entrants can also read more about how to control POV in our companion article: Writing rules: avoid head-hopping