Point-of-View

Point-of-View is a very important aspect of characterization. Picking the point-of-view is a very important part of writing. You have the choice between first, second, and third. There are good and bad things about all.

First person:
The first person is the "I" person. This is the character that is telling his/her/its own story. There are pros and cons to using first person.

The good things about first person are:
1. You are inside the character at all times.
2. You can look into the character's thoughts, needs, and desires.
3. The reader gets a more personal experience with the character.
4. The first person narrator is very unreliable.

The bad things about first person are:
1. You cannot go into any other character's thoughts or actions.
2. You have to be careful with your verbs because you have to make sure other characters are not taking the point-of-view from the first person. Such as, other characters can not think, notice, or do anything that isn't told by the first-person-narrator.
3. The reader is limited to the "I" point of view.
4. The first person narrator is very unreliable.

You are probably thinking, what is meant by saying "The first person narrator is very unreliable" as pros and cons of using first person. However, the unreliability can work to your favor when you are writing something like Shutter Island where the character might or might not be crazy. It can also work as a disadvantage because the character doesn't actually know anyone else's thoughts. Also, there are times when one might wonder if a first person narrator is always telling the truth or not. I suggest playing around with a very honest first person as well as a liar first person.

Second Person:
I suggest never trying to do second person at all. The second person is the "you" person. In this type of writing, you are trying to tell the reader they are doing something. It rarely works, but if you are very skilled, you can figure out a way. Not something I want to get into anytime soon.

Third Person:
The "he, she, it" person. This is the one where the narrator is telling the story about a person or group of people. Like first person, there is pros and cons to third person.

Good things about third person:
1. You are open to looking into more than one character at a time.
2. If you need background on a different character, it doesn't have to be as needed to be known by the character you are following.
3. You can go into the thoughts of any of the characters you are following.
4. You can be as close or as far away from the character as you wish to be.

Bad things about third person:
1. The reader doesn't get the close experience as they get with the first person. The emotional is slightly less emotional. The beliefs aren't as visible. And so on.
2. You have to be careful not to just jump into any character you want to. Follow only the ones you are following. Meaning, if you have Susie, Jill, and Tom that are following. You can't suddenly add Frank in and let him be alone without them. Everything must be set up from the beginning.
3. Everything you show about the character needs to be absolutely true. If they are crazy, in the setting, you need to show how crazy they are. You can't just spring that up later like you would in a first person.
4. It is easier to forget important characterization items about your characters.

No matter what you pick, you need to make sure you stick to that point-of-view. If it's a short story, do not change point-of-view at all. If it is a longer work, you cannot go from Tom's thoughts to Jill's thoughts back and forth. Also, you cannot change point-of-view without a break. Whether that be a blank line or chapter change. It is a very amature mistake to shift point-of-views too much. The longer you stick with a character, the more we get to know him, her, or it.