How Viewpoint Works – 10 Ways To Tell A Story

In this post, we look at what viewpoint is, how viewpoint works, and the 10 ways to tell a story.

What is viewpoint?

Viewpoint, or point of view, is the lens through which we tell the story. It is the position from which the story is observed. In most books, we tell the story through the viewpoints of the main characters: the protagonists, antagonists, and sometimes the friends and love interests.

Which viewpoint should you use?

As a writer you can choose to tell your story using first person, second person, or third person as your viewpoint.

Different viewpoints suit different stories in different genres. Different tenses suit different types of stories. Memoirs, for example, are almost always written in first person present tense. Crime fiction, especially in the police procedural genre, is almost always written in third person past tense.

The choice of viewpoint affects the mood created by the author in a story. First person is intimate, second person is alienating, and third person is more comfortable.

There are no absolute rules for choosing a viewpoint for your story. You can even choose to tell the story from multiple viewpoints, although we suggest you have no more than three per novel.

Once you’ve chosen there is one rule you should observe with viewpoint. Never change viewpoint in a scene. This confuses readers who like to be in one character’s head at a time.

How Viewpoint Works – 10 Ways To Tell A Story

We cover viewpoint in more depth on our Writers Write course, but I’ve put together some definitions, and examples here. (Buy the Viewpoint Workbook – a comprehensive 100-page guide to all things viewpoint.)

First Person – The character tells the story, using the pronoun ‘I’.

Example: I walk into the room. I know he’s there in the darkness. I smile as I smell the sunshine and wind in his hair.

This viewpoint is subjective or limited in nature. We only see the story through the eyes of the viewpoint character. Be careful to avoid author intrusion, especially when using first person.

Six Viewpoint Structures in First Person

1. Simple – One character tells the story. Examples: Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt
2. Simple Unreliable Narrator – One character tells the story, but we don’t know if he is telling the truth. Example: Holden Caulfield in The Catcher in the Rye
3. Rashomon Effect – This means multiple characters tell their version of the same events in the story. Example: As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
4. Separate Multiple Viewpoints – This means multiple characters tell the story using first person perspectives. Example: blueeyed boy by Joanne Harris
5. Sequential Multiple Viewpoints – This means different characters tell the story from their perspective in a timeline or sequence. You may have Jane narrating events in January, Debbie narrating events from February to June, and Sarah in July. Example: The family sagas written by Susan Howatch
6. First Person Omniscient – The narrator is a character in the story, but also knows the thoughts and feelings of all the other characters. Examples: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak and The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

Second Person – The character tells the story using the pronoun ‘You’.

Example: You walk into the room. You know he’s there in the darkness. You smile as you smell the sunshine and wind in his hair.

This is the least common of all viewpoints used by authors. It is used to make the reader feel uncomfortable. The character is often alienated or in an altered state. The reader feels as if he or she is being compelled to listen. Children do not like second person. Examples: Bright Lights, Big City by Jay McInerney, Half Asleep In Frog Pajamas by Tom Robbins

Third Person – The narrator/author tells the story using the pronouns ‘He’ and ‘She’.

Example: She walks into the room. She knows he’s there in the darkness. She smiles as she smells the sunshine and wind in his hair.

Three Viewpoint Structures in Third Person

1. Subjective – This means the author focuses on one character and his thoughts and feelings. Sometimes this is referred to as a limited viewpoint. It is similar to simple first person but the author uses ‘he’ instead of ‘I’. Examples: The Harry Bosch novels by Michael Connelly, The Old Man And The Sea by Ernest Hemingway. (You can also use separate multiple viewpoints and sequential multiple viewpoints in third person subjective.)
2. Omniscient – This means the author gives readers a broad view of the story. The thoughts and feelings of many, or all, the characters are shown. Examples: Jane Austen’s novels, Tom Clancy’s novels, Charles Dickens’ novels
3. Objective – This means the author observes, and tells the story according to the actions of the characters. Readers have no idea what is going on inside the heads of the main characters. Examples: Hills Like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway and The Mallory Novels by Carol O Connell

Tip: If you don’t know which viewpoint to choose, write a scene in two or three different viewpoints. Read the scenes out loud and you will hear which one works best for your story.

TOP TIP: Buy the Viewpoint Workbook – a comprehensive 100-page guide to all things viewpoint.

If you enjoyed this article, you will love:

1. The Nine Types of Unreliable Narrator
2. 6 Simple Ways To Handle Viewpoint Changes
3. Viewpoint Miniseries
4. A View To A Skill – 4 Viewpoint Choices For Writers
5. The 4 Main Characters As Literary Devices

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