Plot Monkeys

There are few subjects in the craft of writing that are more perplexing to writers than Point of View. Most simply defined, point of view is the perspective through which a story is being told. Metaphorically, it’s the camera lens through which the reader experiences a story. Except in the oral tradition, telling a story is not the author’s job…showing the story is.

And to show, you need Point of View.

Here’s a quick breakdown of point of view types:

First person limited
First person omniscient
Second person
Third person limited
Third person omniscient

You should remember that from English class.

First person means that the narrator of the story uses the pronoun “I” when describing what is happening to her. Or him, as the case may be. Second person uses “you”–and is rarely used, except in self-help genre, because YOU is the focus of the piece. Third person uses “he” or “she.”

Easy, yes?

Okay, then there is limited and omniscient. Omniscient is pretty self-explanatory…it’s the type of narrative point of view that knows everything every character is thinking. Limited point of view focuses on one character, or at least, one character at a time.

For contemporary fiction, limited point of view, either first or third, is used most often. If you use something else, you’re putting yourself at a disadvantage.

Romance novels, specifically, use the third person almost exclusively–almost. When chick-lit, which is usually first person, became popular, some romance authors adopted first person narration into their work. So it’s an option, but still one that isn’t used in romance all that often.

Some of my favorite books, by the way, are told in first person. Julie Kenner’s DEMON-HUNTING SOCCER MOM series, for one. Diana Peterfreund’s SECRET SOCIETY GIRL series for another. But these aren’t romances. They’re women’s fiction. The focus is on the women and their experience, so no one really cares what the other characters are thinking, which is why the limited first person point of view works so expertly.

Julie Kenner used both first person and third person points of view in the series she did for Pocket that started with THE GIVENCHY CODE (followed by THE MANOLO MATRIX AND THE PRADA PARADOX.) She used first person for the heroines and third person for the heroes. She even switched tenses. (That’s another lesson for another day.) She pulled it off beautifully.

But for new romance authors, my suggestion is this: Use third person limited point of view and stick to it.

Head hopping is the act of changing points of view multiple times during a scene. Some authors, Nora Roberts for instance, do this expertly. Most authors, especially new ones, do not. By remaining in the point of view of a single character for one scene, the author is forced to fully explore the emotional revelations of one character, thus connecting the reader closer to the action. It’s like the difference between those rollercoaster simulators where you’re sitting in the seat and experiencing the action right there or standing outside the simulator and watching all the different people react to the action. You can see which one is more immediate. More compelling.

I’m not a Point of View purist, believe it or not. I believe that certain scenes need the point of view of more than one character to be highly effective. But those scenes are few and far between. I must prefer to stay with one character at a time, focus, get under their skin so to speak. Then in the next scene, switch to the other character and you can get their perspective on the situation. But always with moving the story forward.

How do you choose which point of view character for each scene?

Well, that’s a sticky wicket. Some people say you choose the person with the most at stake…and sometimes, that’s a good answer. But other times, it’s not. I think it’s best listen to the writer’s gut on this one…and if the scene doesn’t work, switch and see what happens. I’ve fixed many a scene by simply changing point of view.

Okay…got questions? I hope I’ve got answers!