KATIE MARIE

See things from a different Point of View

Today I want to talk about characters, in particular the point of view characters in fiction.

What is the point of view character?

Well, this character is a bit like Ronseal (for those who remember those old adverts) it’s a character that does what it says on the tin.

This is the character who is telling the story at any given moment. The emotions, actions, and Sight, smell etc of the scene are all derived from that one character’s experiences.

Some novels, movies, games etc will have one point of view character throughout, while others will chop and change as the story requires. There is some debate in the writing community regarding when it is appropriate to chop and change point of view. Some writers will change characters with a chapter change, like George RR Martin, while others think it is acceptable to do so more often.

You may guess from my tone that I’m less keen on changing often. Changes should, in my opinion, be clear and obvious and not disrupt the flow of the story. A chapter break is the perfect time to change perspective.  Head hopping, when a writer literally jumps from character to character on a whim is jarring for readers and shouldn’t happen.

Writers and creators should give a lot of thought to their POV character, and in particular how many POV characters they have the more you have the harder it will be for readers to connect with them all, just based on the time they get to spend with them.

Your POV character doesn’t have to be your main character, think Sherlock Holmes, but normally they will be your main character or part of your ensemble of main characters. The reason for this is that we will usually be following the POV characters goals, goals drive the story forward. Characters without goals are dull, and dull characters should not be your POV character.

Goals can be internal and external, emotional and physical. Theres no limitation on what your characters goals can be. That said they will need to relate to the main plot.