Practicing Point of View – Writing Exercise
The point of view of an article is how the story/scene is told to the reader. Essentially, it answers the question, “Through whose eyes are we seeing this story?” Different points of view can tell the reader different things, some deeper and some more limited. The following are the 4 viewpoint types, with their benefits and limitations:
- First Person: The first person narrator is seen through the eyes of the main character. Although the reader can see both what the narrator is seeing and what the narrator is feeling, the limitations lie in that very theme. We are only aware of things to the extent that the narrator knows. If the narrator is not there, we have no direct knowledge of what happened. First-person narration generally takes the form of “I” narration.
- 2nd Person – The least used form of narration. It usually takes the form of a “you” narrative and tries to tell the story so that you, as the reader, can become more involved in the events of the story.
- Limited Third Person: Third person narration is told by someone other than the main character. You are allowed the same benefits and limitations of first-person narration. This allows you to see the story from a different point of view. The only problem is the same as the first person narration. The narrator is limited in what he sees.
- Third Person Omniscient – This type of narrator sees everything and knows everything. Everything that is important to the story is told. The problem with this type of narrator is that sometimes too much information can overwhelm the reader.
A good writing exercise is to practice writing the same scene from different points of view. The following are 3 examples of the same scene, where a character is disappointed in someone. The first two examples are told in the first person, first from the point of view of the person who was disappointed and then from the point of view of the person who disappointed. The final point of view is third person limited, following the person who did the deception.
First – First person disappointed:
It was a warm and sunny day and as a child I had a fun and carefree afternoon. Recess had been fun. We played four square and I actually won. Now the bell was ringing and I passed through the four square area on the tarmac with a big smile on my face. I jumped for the fence, backpack slung over one shoulder and one shoe untied. I gripped the chain-link fence with two fingers and peered through the opening, closing one eye in the process to focus…
Second – Deception in the first person:
I swiveled in my chair, letting the stack of files fall onto the desk when I heard a knock on the door. “Sir, Mr. Jones is on the phone. Is it okay if we move the meeting to 2 pm tomorrow?” Janet asked. “Yes, of course. Anything for Mr. Jones,” I replied, searching through the stack of files, beginning to forget exactly what I was looking for. I looked at my watch. Shooting. 3:30 already. He’s going to be mad at me. I picked up the phone and dialed the number for the school. “Hello, Mrs. Smith. I’m sorry, but I’m a little late today. Can you keep an eye on him for a couple of minutes until he can get here?”
Third – Third Person Limited – Disappointing:
Tom grabbed a stack of files from the bottom drawer of his file cabinet, swung his chair around to his desk and dumped the files on his desk, letting out a huge sigh in the process. “Mr. and Mrs. Townsend. Townsend. Townsend. Where are you?” he thought, going through file after file. A single stiff knock on the door snapped his head up, causing him to push a handful of files to the floor. “Sir, Mr. Jones just called.”
As you can see from these examples, each point of view has a different emotion and way of telling the story behind it. Depending on what the focus of the story is, it will help you determine which point of view to choose. Although this example is limited, both the scene and the fact that not all points of view are discussed still make some important points. By trying this exercise, you begin to build the characters. From any first-person point of view, the focus is on what the character is doing. By also practicing it in third person, you can get a better sense of your character’s environment, focusing on both the scene and his actions, rather than just his actions. So it can give you more to draw if you choose a first person narrative. You can only grow your character by practicing this way.
Also, you can learn more about the interaction between the characters before using them. For example, just by reading the first example, the reader gets the feeling that the character is generally a happy boy and is just waiting. However, looking at the other examples, you get the feeling that this probably happens a lot, and you can play into that constant disappointment in the final scene.
I suggest trying this exercise. Change the scene, the characters and/or the point of view. Either way, you’ll learn a lot about the characters you’re trying to describe, and you’ll be on your way to a great story.