Who Sees?

Are you wondering which Point of View (POV) you are using? Then the chance is high you’re using 3^rd person limited – and you’re doing it wrong.

I’ve talked about POV before and this is a brief reminder. The question about point of view is simple – who is seeing the story unfold?

1^st person – Who sees? I do.

2^nd person – Who sees? A narrator sees what you do

3^rd person limited – Who sees? The main character/s/ does

3^rd person omniscient – Who sees? The narrator does

Most people think they’re doing 3^rd person omniscient – but they’re actually doing limited. Problem is that they’re doing it from everyone’s POV, at once. The rule is: Do not change POV within a scene. I know published authors do it, but I usually burn those books or feed them to the cat.

3^rd person omniscient is a separate narrator. It can be the main character, but it’s a main character who sees herself differently (for example when looking back in time).

Assignment – write a 200 word story in each POV. I’d love to see your results in the comment section. Let me know if you want me to correct them and I’ll do that too (if needed).