Point of View in Fiction

Busy Writer's Guides #8

by Marcy Kennedy

Point of view isn’t merely another writing craft technique. Point of view is the foundation upon which all other elements of the writing craft stand—or fall.It’s the opinions and judgments that color everything the reader believes about the world and the story. It’s the voice of the character that becomes as familiar to the reader as their own. It’s what makes the story real, believable, and honest. Yet, despite its importance, point-of-view errors are the most common problem for fiction writers. In Point of View in A Busy Writer’s Guide , you’ll learn• the strengths and weaknesses of the four different points of view you can choose for your story (first person, second person, limited third person, and omniscient),• how to select the right point of view for your story,• how to maintain a consistent point of view throughout your story,• practical techniques for identifying and fixing head-hopping and other point-of-view errors,• the criteria to consider when choosing the viewpoint character for each individual scene or chapter,• and much more!Each book in the Busy Writer’s Guide series is intended to give you enough theory so that you can understand why things work and why they don’t, but also enough examples to see how that theory looks in practice. In addition, they provide tips and exercises to help you take it to the pages of your own story, with an editor’s-eye view. Most importantly, they cut the fluff so that you have more time to write and to live your life.

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction

158 pages, Paperback

First published September 29, 2015

About the author

Marcy Kennedy is a science fiction and fantasy author who believes there's always hope. Sometimes you just have to dig a little harder to find it. In a world that can be dark and brutal and unfair, hope is one of our most powerful weapons.

She also writes award-winning mysteries under a pen name, but that's a secret. Shhhh...

Marcy lives in Ontario, Canada, with her former Marine husband, Boxer mix, eight cats (all rescues), and budgie. In her free time, she loves playing board games and going for bike rides.

Reviews

[Brian 9 ¾ ⚡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ OUTSTANDING

A book every newbie writers should read.

[Katinka · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was required reading for a class I am taking. I found it to be an interesting and helpful book describing and explaining the various points of view. Ms. Kennedy does a wonderful job of explaining what each of the differing points of view are used. She also explains when and why it may be better to use one rather than another in your writing, and she points out that as with all writing, there are very few rules that cannot be broken given the right circumstances and author preferences. She then gives examples of why avoiding certain points of view in certain circumstances is generally considered a good idea.

Ms. Kennedy also explains how to change point of view characters without creating “head-hopping” problems, and why “head hopping” tends to create new or other problems in a story. There are ways and locations where changing the point of view character is easiest, but this book also shows examples of places and methods that, though not used as often, can provide other good locations for the writer to change between point of view characters.

I do like that this book gives easily understandable examples of what is done well and shows how and why problems often occur with incorrectly used point of view changes. Seeing both the good and the problematic ways things are sometimes written make it simple to fully grasp the concepts being described and then shown. The author also lists clues to look for that may indicate one of several different point of view errors being used. This is something that I found quite helpful.

The biggest problem that I had with this book involved the design of the book. It was printed using gray rather than black print. For me, this made it difficult to read at times due to the lighter colored text causing me some eye strain. Had it been printed in black rather than gray, I would not have had those problems. But that is an issue for me and may not be one for other readers.

[Val Mathews · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly recommend Marcy Kennedy's Busy Writer's Guides, especially Point of View and Deep Point of View. Point of View (POV) is one of the hardest concepts for aspiring writers (and even some old hats) to grasp. And even when writers understand, they still tend to head hop without realizing it. But "Hey," you say, "Nora Roberts head hops." Yep, some famous writers head hop all through their books, and some genres are more forgiving of this practice. But read a book where the author uses a deep point of view, and you will see why editors, agents, and publishes advise against head hopping. Marcy Kennedy is clear, concise, and easy to understand. I recommend this book to all my writer friends and clients.

[Kimberley Bornschein · Rating 5 out of 5]

EXCELLENT GUIDANCE AND DETAILED TEACHING

First, I have to admit that I found this book a little complicated for me. I don't believe that that was the author's fault, however, I think it is just me being a brand new writer and being in the baby stages of learning. That said, I thoroughly enjoyed the book and I believe once I read it through a second time things should really start to click. The flow of the book makes great sense and she uses a lot of examples which is fantastic. I liked her style so much that I am going to purchase other books from her busy writers guides.

[Daniel B-G · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very straightforward book on the subject of POV. It is useful if you want to organise your thoughts on the matter, but the matter of fact tone at times fails to capture the subtlety of the subject. Some "Point of view errors" are more a matter of taste than fact. I think the series as a whole has a lot to offer, the practical sections make it easy to refer to later.

[Shea Ballard · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great addition to this series!

This is another great addition to the Busy Writer’s Guide series! If you’ve ever had any questions about point of view at all, this book should be your go-to for answering those questions. Once you finish reading, you will truly understand POV.

[Randy S Springer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding and fun to read!

This book kept me engaged and I appreciated it. I studied creative writing in college, but didn't get much help in this area. Quite helpful and very clear.

[Jennifer Jenkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

👍🏻👍🏻

If you want information at your fingertips in a heartbeat, Marcy’s instructional books are for you. Definitely a good investment.

[Nancie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. I learned a great deal. I am working my way through her entire Busy Writer’s Guide series.

[Lisa Nicholas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best book I've seen on Point of View -- eminently practical and very clear, with excellent examples, and not an ounce of fat or fluff. I'll be recommending it to all my editing clients.

[Cricket Rohman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it! One of the best writers' books I've seen. It is a quick read, well organized, to the point. I felt like Marcy was talking to me the entire time I was reading.

[Joy Wild · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. It was very helpful. I learned how to get into one head at a time!

[Eba Gobena]

1

[Paola · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best POV manual I've come across so far. Review will follow!

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learnt a few things in Point of View, and not just related to how POV should be used in its different forms, but also to maintain consistency throughout. The book helped me see more differences between showing and telling, and helped my own work-in-progress regarding character choices and the structure of the story, so thank you Marcy Kennedy!

Only criticism was that I felt author voice intrusion is sometimes inevitable even in first and third person as I believe it can be disguised as an assumption that the voice reflects a particular character's thoughts. Nevertheless, Marcy's guidance was well founded.

The author shows substantial knowledge about writing technique, and puts it into a coherent structure that can put writing in perspective. Also helps fiction editors and proofreaders. I would read another of her books.