POV

One of the first things I learned after making my work available to critiquers, was that I  had no true concept of the mechanics that went into writing a book. My first story never made it beyond my circle of friends. The second, and what I then considered my best, was the one I first submitted to my new critique partners. The story idea was fine, and I had talent, so I was told, but there was work to be done. This was the first time anyone told me about writing from a particular point of view, or POV. I knew some stories were told using first person while others used third, but that was my basic knowledge of how writers told stories.

I much prefer third person to first, simply because I find it easier and less restricting. My partners had no issue with my choice of third person storytelling, but they did object to the fact that I wasn’t sticking to one character’s thoughts at a time. Some would say I was using omniscient pov, but they would be wrong. Omni is told through the eyes of an all-knowing, all-seeing narrator. My story was told through multiple narrators, creating a classic case of head-hopping. In other words, I wasn’t allowing the reader to fully connect with my characters.

It was obvious that I preferred using more than one character as the narrator, so I learned to keep each scene, and sometimes full chapters, in a particular character’s head. This gave me the opportunity to dig deeper and flesh out my characters more fully. Changing the second book to two distinct POV characters was the best writing exercise ever. In the end, I chose to let that story go. It wasn’t publisher-worthy, but it taught me an invaluable lesson.

Now, I’m not saying writing in the onmi POV is a bad thing. Stephen King is a master at it, and so is Nora Roberts. There are many great writers who do it and do it well. Me, not so much.

I have never written from a single viewpoint because I don’t always want my narrator to be present in a scene. There are times when I simply don’t want a character to know what’s going on. I envy people who do this and do it well. The Stephanie Plum novels by Janet Evanovich are examples of great first person, single narrator writing.

In the end, it all boils down to what the story calls for. Is it best told through one narrator? Does the intimacy of first person suit best, or the diversity of third? Third person, multiple POV works for me. What works best for you?