It’s All a Matter of Perspective

Twice in the last year, my husband and I have made the trip from Denver to Grand Junction, Colorado. Once by car, once by train. The train trip takes twice as long, but the views are even more spectacular than the scenic I-70 route. From the train we saw mountain streams and rock formations, nearly deserted towns and remote homesteads that are not visible from the highway. We made the same trip, but the perspective was different. If we had chosen to hike even part of the journey, we would have had an even different point of view.

As writers, we make choices about how to tell a story. One of the most important is point of view. From whose perspective will we tell a tale? Like our journey across a portion of the Rocky Mountains, we have options available—each with their advantages and unique style.

You may have learned in grammar class that point of view is tied to pronoun usage—and that’s true. However, it’s more helpful to think of point of view as character. Which character is telling the story? Here are the most common approaches:

• First person: First person narration uses the personal pronouns I, we, my, our, etc. The narrator tells the story from his or her perspective. This is a personal, intimate approach. Readers feel like they really get to know the narrator because they are inside her head. As a writer, however, it is challenging to stay in that point of view for the entire novel. The temptation is to tell rather than show what the narrator sees, feels, tastes, etc. You’ll most often find short stories, YA and literary fiction, romances and Goth written from this point of view.

If I were to write about hiking a portion of the Denver-Grand Junction train trip or rafting a section of the Colorado River I would choose first person POV. This would allow me to describe the sights, sounds, and smells I experienced and it would give the reader the most up close and personal glimpse into my experience.

Examples of authors successfully sustaining first person point of view include Harper Lee—To Kill a Mockingbird, J.D.Salinger—Catcher in the Rye, and F. Scott Fitzgerald—The Great Gatsby.

• Second person: Very little fiction is written in second person point of view. But nonfiction and self-help books often are. Using the pronouns you and your the narrator addresses the reader or audience and draws them into the story or process. The reader becomes the protagonist, but perhaps not willingly. The narrator assumes you will see and feel things the way he or she does and that may be uncomfortable or annoying.

Second person POV would be an effective way for me to write a travel piece about our recent train trip. I could tell you the best way to make connections between the airport and train station, what to pack for an eight-hour trip, sights to look for along the way, not to mention the best strategy for securing a seat in the viewing car.

Though most readers wouldn’t consider Dr. Suess’s Oh, the Places You’ll Go a self-help book, he did succeed in writing a delightful second person POV verse that’s inspired thousands as they transition into a new season of life:

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go.”

• Third person: The most common POV in nearly every genre is third person. There are several variations on third person, which I’ll cover in next month’s post. For now, it’s enough to know that third person POV uses the pronouns he, she, they. And this caveat: POV errors are the most frequent mistakes editors uncover.

Til next time. What POV is your current read written in?