Point of View

[awaitingthemuse]

I am new to writing. When I have my work critiqued by my writing group, a comment I often get is that I have changed points of view. Is there a rule/guideline about how many viewpoints a short story can have?

TIA

[Cathy C]

Two to three is pretty much the most that a short story can successfully sustain. But I don't think that's what your critiquers are saying. They're saying that you're switching BETWEEN points of view, which doesn't have anything to do with the number you're writing. There are three primary points of view that most short stories fall into:

First Person Point of View: This is very simple. "I went to the store. Afterward, I drove home." You're writing through the eyes of ONE person, and one person only. Nobody else gets to play.

Third Person (Limited) Point of View: This is the most common form of story. You're speaking through the characters, but NOT using "I went to...." Instead, you're saying "Bob went to...." Third Limited is where a lot of people accidentally switch POVs mid-stream.

Third Person (Omniscient) Point of View: A lot of people confuse the word "omniscient" with "omnipotent", and for a very good reason. In Third Omniscient, you're GOD! You're telling an overview of the story through mechanisms that aren't available in Third Limited.

Here's a little exercise I wrote up to help you see the difference:

**************


Omniscient third person:

Bob opened the front door and there stood Tammy. Earlier he had been thinking about just this scenario, and last night as well. He took her into his arms and kissed her, enjoying the sensation of her fingers through his hair. Tammy fought not to tell him about her affair with Antonio last week. Antonio had only wanted her body, but Tammy didn't know it, so her guilt was misplaced as she returned Bob's kiss.

The bolded portion is how you KNOW this is Third Omniscient. If Tammy doesn't know, and Bob doesn't know, then the narrator -- GOD -- is telling the reader this is true.

Limited third person (Bob):

The doorbell rang for the third time before Bob could get there. He turned the knob and felt his breath catch in his throat. Tammy looked radiant with the sun behind her, setting her red hair on fire.

"What are you doing here? I thought you---" She looked contrite, but he couldn't understand why. Her fingernails tapped on her faded blue jeans.

"I wanted to see you." The words were soft and sounded nearly embarrassed, but he didn't care why. She was here and God, how he needed her!

He released the door knob and stepped into the doorway, gathered her into his arms and kissed her gently. She responded with near desperation and it set his mind on fire. He leaned into her, tightened his arms around her and let himself revel in the taste of the flavored lip gloss that reminded him of cherry cough drops. The feeling of her fingers running through his hair reminded him of his dream last night, and part of him wondered whether this WAS a dream. But if it was, he never wanted it to end.

Limited third person (Tammy):

Tammy pressed the doorbell one last time. Maybe he wasn't home. She hoped he wasn't home. But her heart wanted him to answer, to forgive her and take her back. It wasn't fair to Bob to come here out of guilt, but only being with Antonio had made her realize how much she loved Bob.

She looked up frantically as the door opened. Bob looked stunned. "What are you doing here? I thought you---"

She couldn't look him in the eyes. God! Why had she even thought this might work? Her gaze lowered until his black cowboy boots filled her vision and her fingernails tapped against her jeans as she fought not to just throw herself into his arms. "I wanted to see you."

She heard a sound and then she was just suddenly in his embrace. He leaned in and kissed her gently, his lips tasting her. It was too much. She couldn't stand it anymore and she threw herself against him, pulling him closer and opening his mouth with hers. Even if he never forgave her for Antonio, she needed to feel this one last time. She needed him to know that he was the one she WANTED.


Mixed Limited POV:

The doorbell rang for the third time before Bob could get there. He turned the knob and felt his breath catch in his throat. Tammy's heart had wanted him to answer, to forgive her and take her back. It wasn't fair to Bob to come here out of guilt, but she was here.

"What are you doing here? I thought you---" Bob was ecstatic to see her, but feared for his heart if he gave into what he was feeling. Tammy's pulse pounded as she looked at his confused expression.

"I wanted to see you." She was massively embarrassed, but she didn't care. She needed him, and God, how he needed her!

Now, you can see what happens if you mix these points of view. You end up wondering who is thinking what. Does Bob somehow KNOW that Tammy had hoped he would answer the door? How could he? Since they both want each other, the reader is going to quickly get confused by this back and forth. Did Tammy know that Bob needed her? Again, how?

Generally speaking, you should wait for a scene break to switch points of view, and designate the switch with an extra line or a hash mark (#) between the scenes. You can also use chapter breaks to switch, but few short stories have chapter breaks. If you find that you're having a hard time staying in one POV, try writing the same scene from first person in the character you've chosen to write in. I find that really helps me focus on what THAT person is feeling and doing. Then I can go back to third person and incorporate the emotions and sensations quite a bit easier.

Does this help any?

[awaitingthemuse]

Cathy, this is really good information. Thanks so much for writing this up for me. I am sure I will refer to this post a lot, it has really cleared things up for me. I think I have been too close to my stories to see what was going wrong. I assume you teach as well as write.

Sher

[Cathy C]

I assume you teach as well as write.

Sher

Not intentionally, or for a living. But yeah, I try to help out where I can! :)

[NewB]

The information was very useful Cathy. Thanks a ton!
Now I know, how many times I have switched POVs :(

Cathy, one question. Can you recommend a book which can tell me these basic stuff related to writing?

Thanks in advance,
Sanyuja

[Cathy C]

I wish I could, but I've never read a book on writing. Everything I know is from high school textbooks, Strunk & White and the Chicago Manual of Style. Why don't you start a separate thread asking for suggestions? I'm certain that others on this forum know the good ones! :)

[Jamesaritchie]

I am new to writing. When I have my work critiqued by my writing group, a comment I often get is that I have changed points of view. Is there a rule/guideline about how many viewpoints a short story can have?

TIA

You can havve several points of view in the same novel, but not in the same scene. By and large, it's usually best to stick to the same POV, and the same tense, throughout a novel, even when you switch POV characters from chapter to chapter.

[reph]

A book? Sure. Creating Short Fiction, by Damon Knight, explains POV as it applies in short stories.

[NewB]

Thanks Cathy for the reply.
Thanks reph, I will take a look at that book.

[PeeDee]

Damon Knight is a very smart man to listen to, I think.

(yes, this is all well and good....but what happens to Bob and Tammy!?)

[Cathy C]

(yes, this is all well and good....but what happens to Bob and Tammy!?)


Bob's a sucker for a contrite redhead who's willing to do just about anything to get his forgiveness... ;)

[SusanR]

Very helpful tutorial. Thank you!

SusanR

[PeeDee]

Bob's a sucker for a contrite redhead who's willing to do just about anything to get his forgiveness... ;)

Well, yeah. Aren't we all? :)

Thank goodness that cliffhanger's out of the way.