English Discussion: Point of View [POV].

Writers consider point of view when they write a document. Point of view is defined as the vantage point from which a writer tells a story. Personal narratives are written in the first person, which means the narrator is a character in the story.

Consider how the events in a narrative would be perceived differently if someone other than the narrator told them. Think of the narrative that you are writing this week. Would one of the individuals in your narrative perceive and describe the events differently? Why or why not? What would a possible drawback be of using first person?

The point of view affects everything about the scene in which you are attempting to write, so careful consideration should definitely be given towards who's perspective you are wishing to place your reader in. This is comparable to an artist in the process of painting a portrait; the method that you use in telling the story, is similar to a painter choosing which tools he decides would work best in successfully transferring what he sees in his mind's eye, onto a blank canvas. The tools are all of them useful in equal measure - you simply have to know when it is best to use one, or the other.

The way that I see it, the POV that you decide to write from entirely depends upon the genre of the story, and the mood that you are wishing to capture - so really, there is no absolute right or wrong vantage point from which to tell your tale. The drawbacks and rewards of any point of view are dependent on many factors, and is therefore subjective.

For my personal short story that I am writing this week, I am choosing to use the first person POV. Going along with the things that I stated in the preceding paragraph, I personally wouldn't look at this as a potential 'drawback' - but this is important to keep in mind, if you at all wish to write well. When you are writing from this approach, it is impossible to treat the situation objectively, or the narrator as being omnipotent. What I mean by that is, in the first person perspective, you are solely inside of my mind; you are feeling only what I feel; you are reading only my thoughts. I cannot jump into another person's head; you are only, and completely, inside of my brain. Conversely, if I used a third person POV, than you - the reader - are merely an observer, and thus, distanced from the inner mind of any particular character.