{"id":2818,"date":"2014-05-05T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-05-05T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thewritelife.com\/?p=2818"},"modified":"2014-04-22T18:59:16","modified_gmt":"2014-04-22T22:59:16","slug":"point-of-view","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thewritelife.com\/?p=2818","title":{"rendered":"Point of View: How Writers Can Master This Crucial Story Element"},"content":{"rendered":"

Once you decide on the point of view<\/a> for your book \u2014 whether first person or third, omniscient or limited \u2014 the hard part follows: staying consistent.<\/p>\n

Falling out of the selected point of view (POV) can abruptly interrupt the story. Readers no longer connect with the main character, and they have a hard time following the plot.<\/p>\n

Avoid these fatal flaws by maintaining a steady point of view.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It’s best to be mindful of POV as you write, because fixing errors requires combing through each and every scene! It’s doable, just not very fun. And most literary agents<\/a> won\u2019t want to do it for you.<\/p>\n

Here are six tips to ensure you keep a steady POV in your story:<\/p>\n

1. Only include setting elements your POV character would notice<\/h2>\n

When your POV character first walks into a room, they\u2019re not going to notice every detail — the color of the curtains, the shape of the table, the type of tile on the floor. While you want to describe the setting accurately, you have to keep POV in mind. Maybe all your character will notice is the delicious aroma of food cooking in the kitchen.<\/p>\n

One of literary agents’ pet peeves<\/a> is when writers go beyond what is necessary in setting the scene. Be natural in introducing pertinent details<\/strong>, or even have another character who has been in the room awhile point it out.<\/p>\n

2. Don\u2019t let characters describe themselves<\/h2>\n

Your character likely isn\u2019t going to realize what facial expressions they\u2019re making as another character relays the day\u2019s gossip. And they\u2019re probably not going to notice the food in their teeth unless someone else comments on it or looks at them funny. Be mindful of how you describe characters:<\/strong> What would they really have noticed?<\/p>\n

3. Don\u2019t include anything your POV character wouldn\u2019t have known at that time<\/h2>\n

Unless they\u2019re a fortune teller.<\/p>\n

But this rule applies to your POV character’s knowledge of facts, not just future events. Would they really know the specific brand of clothing a friend was wearing? If so, how they knew that should be apparent to the reader as well.<\/p>\n

4. Make sure the characters\u2019 judgments are based on signs noticeable to the reader<\/h2>\n

If one character believes another is a two-faced liar, this judgment should also be apparent to the reader. All the signs the character saw to reach that decision, the reader should have seen, too.<\/p>\n

5. Don\u2019t jump from head to head<\/h2>\n

Each chapter or section should be in a single character\u2019s point of view. When the POV switches, make sure it\u2019s obvious in the first sentence.<\/p>\n

6. Eliminate every \u201che thought\u201d and “she saw”<\/h2>\n

These attributions are jarring when readers already feel that they\u2019re in the POV character\u2019s thoughts. People don’t think using phrases like “I’m seeing this” or “I’m thinking that.” Those are phrases we use to express to someone outside of our mind what we’ve thought or experienced. In using these phrases, you ban readers from your character’s head.<\/p>\n

A major red flag pops up when these attributions refer to other characters, since your POV character wouldn’t be able to know what another character was looking at or thinking about.<\/p>\n

Readers want to get lost in a story. They want to think and feel right along with the main character. When you tell a story from a character’s point of view you have the privilege of writing from inside that character’s head.<\/strong> The bottom line is for you to get inside your main character<\/a> \u2014 to think like him, to see like her \u2014 and to tell the story as if you were living it.<\/p>\n

If point of view still seems an overwhelming skill to master, get help from other writers by putting together a writing group<\/a> or even hiring an editor. The more aware of point of view you are, the easier it will be to catch yourself from falling out of it.<\/p>\n

How do you ensure a consistent POV in your writing?<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Being mindful of POV while you write will keep your readers engaged \u2013 and save you lots of editing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":95,"featured_media":2819,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[54,69,13],"class_list":["post-2818","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-craft","tag-editing","tag-writing","tag-writing-a-book"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewritelife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2818","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewritelife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewritelife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewritelife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/95"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewritelife.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2818"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thewritelife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2818\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewritelife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2819"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewritelife.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2818"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewritelife.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2818"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewritelife.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2818"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}