Point of view. Everyone has one. But I’m not talking about those points of view. I’m talking about character. Every story needs to be told from someone’s point of view. The author has to decide if first person or third person is best for the story. For me that’s an easy choice. I’m not a fan of first person so all of my stories are in third person. Even the urban fantasy I came up with is third person. That surprised me because most urban fantasies lend themselves to first person. The only thing I write in first person is my diary. Maybe that’s why I have a problem with it. Who knows? My friend is writing a book that takes place in the past and the present. She’s using first person in the past and third person in the present. I liked the idea of keeping them separate. Using first person in the past gives that part of the story an immediacy you might not get if the whole novel was third person. Even though I don’t read first person much I’d read her book to see how she pulls it off. But first person, third person those weren’t the points of view I was talking about though.

I’m talking about how many POVs you have in your story. Who gets one? Do you stick with just one or do you have multiple POVs? And it doesn’t depend on if you’re writing first person or third person. My friend isn’t the only writer who uses a combination of first person and third person in their novels. James Patterson writes a number of his books using a combination of first and third. It all depends on the kind of book you’re writing.

A mystery might only have one point of view. The ones I’ve read have been first person. A lot of category length books will only have two points of view. You don’t have a whole lot of pages to tell the story so five points of view is probably not your best option. Category suspense might incorporate a third point of view for the antagonist. Again, they’re short books so you don’t have a lot of room for lots of points of view. Mainstream and single title novels have more wiggle room. Bigger stories, more plot, more characters, .more opportunity for more points of view. So how do you decide?

The ghost story I’m working on now has the protagonist’s point of view of course. The next victim of the serial killer has a point of view because I want the reader to understand how unthreatening the killer seems. The killer might have a point of view. The protagonist’s best friend has a point of view. The lead investigator for the murders has a point of view. I’m trying to decide if the protagonist’s boyfriend should have a point of view. So far I can’t come up with a reason to give him one. The reader won’t get any new information about the murders.

My post apocalyptic suspense has heroine point of view, hero point of view, various and sundry secondary character points of view – the waitress who has a secret, the antagonist who also has a secret, the law enforcement officer bent on capturing the heroine, a teenager in jail who has information for the heroine. I think that’s it. So far. The book’s not finished yet so there’s no telling how many more there will be.  Seriously, though they’re all needed. They all give vital information to the story and it would be confusing if I took them out.

So how many are too many? Do you like only one? Only two? Do you like a lot of different points of view?

I’m off to work.

Until next time…

Cindy