A Simple Study on Point of View

As fiction writers, there are many writing exercises to help improve your craft and your story. One of the best is changing your story’s point of view, and here’s why…

You learn a lot from seeing your story, your setting, your characters, from various angles. You may find the story works better from a different POV, but even if that doesn’t happen, you’ll see something new.

Don’t make this a large undertaking. A great exercise is to rewrite a chapter. At the very least, you’ll gain new perspectives on your characters. You may confirm your POV choice, and now you know why this is the best vantage point for your story.

Is your story told in first person? That is often exciting and fast-paced. It’s nice to be inside the protagonist’s head. But from there, you and your readers can’t be sure what any of the other characters are thinking. And there’s no way of knowing what’s going on elsewhere.

Omnipotent is not currently in fashion, but can be a great exercise and may add to your knowledge of the world your characters live in.

Third person is often used to give a broader perspective. If third person seems a bit too distant, you might try close third, allowing for access to characters’ thoughts and feelings.