First person. Third person deep. Third person distant. Third person limited. Third person express. Second person. Omniscient. Future tense. Past tense.
Yikes. Stop the rollercoaster I want to get off. And I was just kidding there is no third person express pov. I made that one up. But it sounds like it could be one. Doesn’t it?
We have so many choices. Different writers prefer different point of views. I thought I liked 3rd person deep pov. I don’t know why. I guess it’s just the one I started with and old habits die hard. But my past few manuscripts, after starting in 3rd person, I ended up switching over to first person. And once I did that, the story came alive for me. All of a sudden I had freedom to add in the type of narration that I enjoy writing and reading the most.
But I’m tackling a new story. And I realized that first person was just not going to work. (I don’t think.) Not with what I wanted to do. There were certain sides to the story that had to be told. But I still wanted the freedom that first person narration offered.
So, I discovered third person distant pov. I’m only revealing one character’s thoughts (no head hopping), but I’m taking advantage of the narration to add in my style and my humor. And I’m finding the freedom to reveal important clues and pieces of the story without constantly worrying about breaking that 3rd person deep pov.
Will it work? Will I do it right? Heck, I don’t know. Ask my crit partners in about a month when I start submitting. But I do feel great about one thing. I’m growing. I’m stretching my writing abilities, which means I’m going to learn. And that is the place I want to be.
What p.o.v do you prefer? And why?