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Writing Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [pov]

'PoV' stands for 'Point of View'. Use this tag for questions about usage of PoV in novels. Use the 'viewpoint' tag if your question is about the grammatical viewpoints (first, third, etc.), which to use, or how to use them.

'PoV' stands for 'Point of View'. It refers to the character through whose eyes a reader views the story. A novel can have multiple PoV characters, or just one. Note that this tag is different from the . That tag deals specifically with the grammatical persons a story is related in (first, third, etc.).

Use this tag for questions about how to handle PoV problems or similar questions.

145 questions
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8 answers

When two POV characters meet

I have two POV (3rd person limited) characters and they start the story as complete strangers and far apart. They don't meet for some time and they have very different experiences. Now I want them to meet and live through some intense, important…
Miroslav Zadravec
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When are single-use POVs a bad idea?

I'm trying to reveal the main character's background without diving into flashbacks or actually setting parts of the story in his past. So on three occasions I have three characters (two B characters, and one C character) reflect on an incident in…
Weebo
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5
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2 answers

What is the difference between the character’s inner thoughts and the narrator’s way of describing the character’s thoughts?

I found this explanation about “subjective omniscient PoV”: “A subjective omniscient PoV is one where there’s a narrator with a strong voice who can show the internal thoughts of the characters within the scene. When the subjective omniscient…
Piermo
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5
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4 answers

How to write a scene in third person limited when the POV character is not in it?

I am studying the third person POV for my novel. I read about the third person limited POV. I don't understand how can one write a scene when the POV character is not present in the scene. I have just started reading on POV and have got extremely…
The White Cloud
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2 answers

How do I add a second POV to a book which already has one main character?

I’ve been writing a book lately and it’s about how this guy starts a family and he has a daughter, but the story starts before she’s born. How do I segue her POV into the story without it sounding forced and weird?
Lorelei
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2
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What does it mean for subjective omniscient PoV to have “emotions filtered through the narrator’s words”?

I found this explanation about “subjective omniscient PoV”: The most important thing when it comes to subjective omniscient PoV is that the narrator has a strong “voice” and that all emotions in the story are filtered through the narrator’s words,…
Piermo
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2
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2 answers

How would something be written in 3rd person omniscient as opposed to 3rd person limited?

I've often been accused of "head-hopping" in my stories and not always being consistent with POV. Also, I got a note from a beta-reader once saying that at some points, it sounded like they were reading a narrator's observations instead of the…
RHONDA HOWARD
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Can you occasionally transition from the close third person to a first person thought?

I'm writing a novel in the close third person POV. I want to shift occasionally into first person thought, as in the example below. Does it seem awkward? He gave up his rent-controlled Los Angeles apartment, put his car in storage, liquidated his…
Zan700
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How often should multiple POV be used?

I'm starting on my second novel, and my two main characters take two paths that give necessary information for the story. I want to begin a chapter using the male's POV, but his POV is unnecessary for the entire book. Am I able to use his POV for…
Cheyenne Rosenbaum
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6 answers

How to write a book from NOT the main character's POV and then organically switch the main character

How can you write a book from the point of view of a character who is not the main character and introduce the main character later on, who you want the story to focus on? How do I do this in an organic and yet plot twisty way so that the audience…
Stupidzombiet
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What is this POV called, where most of the story is third person, but the narrator uses their own opinion in first person?

I have read some of C. S. Lewis's books (most notably The Chronicles of Narnia), and in it he uses (in my opinion) a peculiar narrative point of view. In most of the book, it is third person, but occasionally the narrator uses words such as "I" or…
DaCool1
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