Story Dictates Point of View

Ignore whatever rules you read on forums or social media.

Who Told You That?

If there is one thing likely to knock the confidence of anyone entering the world of writing, it is talk about point of view. You have a great story and a brilliant idea, but someone criticises you for choosing what, in their humble opinion, is not the best way to tell it.

Seriously, ignore them.

Who Has the Best Seat in the House?

Think of your story as a play on a stage. Who is actually best placed to tell it? It is not necessarily the star or the most obvious narrator. It could be someone hiding in the wings or the conductor of the orchestra. If that person has the better voice, use it.

Most of all, consider who has the best seat in the house. That is the person you want telling the story: the one who can see the big picture and every tiny detail that matters.

Consistency

Once you have made your decision, maintain it throughout the book. Readers will quickly become comfortable with the chosen point of view, but sudden or careless changes can be confusing. Multiple viewpoints can work perfectly well, provided the changes are deliberate, clearly controlled and easy for the reader to follow.

Try the first few chapters from several points of view if you need to. Then decide who you would rather have tell the story—and whom the reader would rather listen to.

Plenty of successful authors have ignored fashionable advice and chosen the point of view that best served their story.

First Person

• Moby-Dick – Herman Melville
• Jane Eyre – Charlotte Brontë
• The Catcher in the Rye – J. D. Salinger
• The Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins
• The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn – Mark Twain
• The Girl on the Train – Paula Hawkins

Every one of these novels proves that first person is not a weakness. It simply offers a different relationship between the narrator and the reader.

Third Person Limited

The most common modern choice because it combines intimacy with flexibility.

• Harry Potter – J. K. Rowling
• The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo – Stieg Larsson
• The Da Vinci Code – Dan Brown

Third Person Omniscient

• Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen
• War and Peace – Leo Tolstoy
• Middlemarch – George Eliot
• Dune – Frank Herbert

Multiple Viewpoints

• A Game of Thrones – George R. R. Martin
• Gone Girl – Gillian Flynn
• The Poisonwood Bible – Barbara Kingsolver

These books use different points of view because they tell different kinds of stories. Tell yours through the person best placed to tell it truthfully and clearly -the one with the best seat in the house. Most importantly, trust your writing, your judgement and your story more than you trust the internet.