Choosing the right point of view (POV) is essential to great storytelling. I’ve read and edited books where the author tries to tell the story from too many POVs and it comes across as, well, boring. You want your POV to essentially do three things:
- Cause the reader to care about your characters.
- Determine the personality (flavor) through which the story is told.
- Draw your reader deeper into the story.
The POV does all of that, and done right, it can be the linchpin to a great reader experience.
POV Helps Readers Care About Your Characters
A mistake many new writers make is that they try to tell their story from too many points of view at the same time. I call this the Omniscient POV. This results in the reader knowing what everyone in the story is thinking, feeling, and experiencing. This could be a mistake. I’ve read a few authors who can pull this off—but only a few—and even then, I didn’t care for the book as much as I did others.
Think about this: people naturally only know one point of view in life—theirs! They can’t get in the head of anyone else, so they naturally and instinctively relate to a story that is told from one POV at a time.
Professional tip: Avoid the Omniscient POV.
Tell your story from your main character’s POV. If that main character is Owen, then Owen will not know what Demond is thinking. He will only know what Demond is doing in his presence, and based on what Demond does, Owen may interpret (rightly or wrongly) those actions into what Demond might be thinking. This is what we do in real life anyway, so a reader will automatically relate to it.
The benefit is that your reader will become more strongly attached to your main character. Since the story is seen through one pair of eyes, your readers will relate better, understand your character better, and hopefully come to care for your character.
Professional tip: You know you have a good story when your reader cares what happens to your characters.
If Jill has the POV in your story, then show the story through her eyes. Let her interpret what everyone else does according to her own understanding, bias, prejudices, desires, and needs—even if she is wrong! Your story will prove that she is wrong, and she will grow, giving you a dynamic character instead of a static one.
Your readers will be drawn into the personality of your main character and come to care about him or her.
The POV Determines the Personality and Flavor of Your Story
If your main character is sarcastic by personality, then that sarcasm should bleed through in your writing when telling the story from such a POV. For example:
Moriah sighed as Caleb strolled over and stood before her. The boy had no imagination. None. Caleb then puffed out his chest like some sort of strutting bird and hollered, “Wanna go on a date?”
Inwardly rolling her eyes, Moriah studied Caleb, letting him marinate in her silence. He doubtlessly believed he was God’s gift to women—more like God’s gift to idiocy, if you asked her. He had all the finesse of a turtle set on his back. And he had, of course, asked her for a date. Great.
As you can see in the writing above, Moriah’s attitude and personality flavor the way the story is told. This is essential when telling a story, for you build atmosphere and character into your story this way. But such writing is best done through a single POV. The story loses something when you also try in include Caleb’s thoughts and feelings too. Is Moriah right in her judgment of Caleb? Maybe. Maybe not. If she is wrong, then this will come out in the story, giving Moriah depth and relatable humanity.
Regardless, when you stick with one POV, you add a flavor or personality to the story you’re telling.
POV Can Draw Your Reader Deeper into the Story
Think of a funnel. When you tell a story from everyone’s POV (omniscient), you stay at the top or surface of the funnel in your storytelling. This keeps your story less mysterious and provides less ambience. But when you stick to one POV, you can potentially pull the reader along the journey with your main character. That is not to say that you shouldn’t at various times switch POV to a completely different character for a time, but generally speaking, your main character is the pull on your reader’s mind and heart. Draw the reader into the story through the POV.
The reader doesn’t need to know everything. Let them discover key plot elements as your character discovers them. Let the reader experience the same sense of mystery, amazement, intrigue, danger, and joy that your character experiences. You do this through the POV. And sticking with a singular POV at a time is the best way to accomplish that goal.