Tips and Timesavers
Point of View (POV)
'Point of view' is the viewpoint from which a story is told (or read). It is the character that the reader hear/see/listens through. A book can have more than one POV, but too many starts to become confusing if it's not handled really carefully (see 'head hopping', below):
- Third person - 'He/she/they'-centred.
The most common POV in fiction. Actions, motivations and thoughts are described from the POV of an invisible third-party observer (hence its other nickname of the 'omnipotent' or 'God' POV). For example: "Nikki knew when she walked into the building that something wasn't right." - First person - The second most common POV in fiction, much more common in non-fiction. For example: "I knew when I walked into the building that something wasn't right."
- Second person - 'You'-centred. The least common in fiction and challenging to do well. "You knew when you walked into the building that something wasn't right."
'Head Hopping'
Head-hopping is a terrifically descriptive term referring to transitions in a book with multiple POVs. A bit of back and forth between (say) the hero's POV and the heroine's--or even an ongoing 'God' POV where both hero and heroine's thoughts and motivations are voiced--can be easy for a reader to absorb, but difficulty arises when there's too many POVs on offer. In the example below, we get inside the heroine's head, the hero's head and (what fun!) the transparent head of the house ghost. Just one too many POVs, I think:
Nikki knew as she entered the building that something wasn't right. She swallowed a nervous lump in her throat and gently closed the door behind her. Man, this place needs some serious cleaning, she thought as she took in the inch-thick dust covering every surface.
Drake watched from a shadowed alcove half way up the sweeping stairs. Who was this woman and what was she doing here in the middle of the night? More importantly, how did she get the key to his grandfather's house? The slight swaying of the dusty old chandelier thirty feet above him drew his attention.
What does a ghost have to do to get noticed around here? The essence of Old Man McMurtrie grumbled as he used all his ether-energy to excite a tiny bit of movement from the layers of crystal that hadn't seen light in a half-century. Dammit, Boy, look up!