First-person vs Third-person point of view

In working on my novel, I’ve discovered one of the less talked-about differences between screenwriting and novel writing: point of view.

I never realized what a luxury it was to be able to write without having to worry about which character’s point of view should be used for a particular scene. In screenwriting, the point of view belongs to the audience. Even if the main character is present in every scene, the story still unfolds from the audience’s point of view as they watch that character in action. In a movie, all the characters could be on-screen together in a single scene, but the screenwriter doesn't have to consider which of those characters' points of view should be used in the script.

With a novel, the reader is your audience, but the story is told from one or more points of view. If several characters are present in a single scene, the author needs to decide which of those characters should be the POV character, and the author needs to determine whether that character should be granted the POV for that scene alone, for several scenes or chapters, or even for the entire novel. Screenwriters never have to wonder if a scene should be written from the hero’s point of view or the villain’s. Novelists do. (Of course, screenwriters have plenty of challenges of their own to deal with, but that's a post for another day.)

Deciding which point-of-view style to use is tougher than it sounds. Each narrative form has its own benefits and drawbacks. But before I get to that, let’s quickly go over the most common POV styles.

First-person POV – The story is told from the inner perspective of a single character. (as in, “I slammed the door.”)

Second-person POV – The story is portrayed from the reader’s point of view. (as in, “You slammed the door.”) This format isn’t common, except in choose your own adventure novels.

Third person limited POV – The story is portrayed from one character’s perspective, but viewed from outside the character, as opposed to the inner narrative used in first-person POV. (as in, “He slammed the door.”) Some authors write the entire novel from only one character’s point of view. Other authors rotate between several different characters, but only when shifting to a new chapter or a new scene. Only one character’s point of view is used per scene.

Third person omniscient POV – The story is portrayed from the point of view of an omniscient narrator who has knowledge of all characters and their thoughts and actions at any time and place.

I’m going to weigh the pros and cons of first-person POV and third-person limited POV. I’m not going to cover second-person POV because it’s usually not practical to use that form in a mainstream novel. I’m not going to cover third-person omniscient POV because I loathe it. It inevitably results in “head hopping”, where the perspective shifts from one character’s to another’s in mid-scene, sometimes even in mid-paragraph. I don’t enjoy reading novels written in that form, so I’m not going to write my own novels in that form.

The Pros and Cons of First-Person POV

One of the biggest benefits of first-person POV is the opportunity to fully embody a single character, to give the audience a glimpse at the character’s innermost thoughts and feelings, even when those thoughts and feelings are hidden from other characters. It also allows you to develop the character’s personality not just through his actions but also through his voice, his storytelling style.

At the same time, first-person POV suffers from a few drawbacks. If readers don’t love your character’s voice and storytelling style, they might be turned off. They might not empathize with your character as much as they would have if they’d been offered the distance that comes with third-person limited POV instead.

Readers might not get to know your other characters as well because the story is told from only one character’s point of view. Each character will be perceived through the lens of the POV character, with the POV character’s personal opinions affecting how those other characters appear to the reader.

If you’re writing a mystery or suspense novel, your main character won’t know the details your villain knows, meaning you’ll have to structure the story so those details unfold as the main character discovers them. This can be tricky in a suspense novel. Often, the source of the suspense comes from the reader knowing a specific something awful is going to happen if the hero doesn’t somehow manage to save the day. If the hero isn’t yet aware of the something awful that’s going to occur at some point in the near future, the audience also isn’t aware of it and that source of suspense is removed. But, many authors are easily able to develop suspense through other means. Several of Lee Child’s Jack Reacher novels are written in first-person POV and they’re filled with suspense. Barry Eisler's John Rain novels use first-person POV and they're also full of suspense.

The first-person POV is limiting but also liberating. You are restricted to only one character’s perspective, but you can explore that character’s perspective more fully and in much more depth.

The Pros and Cons of Third-Person Limited POV

Third-person limited POV offers its own benefits. It works well in suspense novels because you can write one chapter from the hero’s point of view and the next chapter from the villain’s point of view, giving readers a peek at what the villain is planning. If you have several characters working toward the same goal but those characters are in different locations, you can write one chapter from one character’s point of view and write the next chapter from a different character’s point of view, and then return to the first character’s point of view in the third chapter. As long as you use only one character’s point of view per scene, and as long as you make it clear right away which character has the point of view for a scene or chapter, readers will have no trouble keeping up with the shifts in POV.

Third-person limited POV offers you the opportunity to develop more than one character’s personality to a greater extent. You might even have more than one main character. Many novels feature two or more heroes, all of whom fit the role of “main character”. Another benefit of multiple points of view is if readers don’t like the character whose POV appears in one chapter, they won’t have to worry for long because a different character’s POV comes along shortly after.

The tough part of using third-person limited POV is making sure your main character (or characters) get the right amount of face-time. You don’t want to end up with a novel where the villain’s chapters comprise 70% of the book and the hero’s chapters comprise only 30%. (And if you end up with a novel like that, you might want to reconsider whose story you’re telling and whether the story might be better served with the villain in the main role.)

If you’re writing in third-person limited POV, you might also choose to stick with only one character’s perspective. This is similar to writing in first-person POV because you can develop that character’s personality more than those of other characters. You are still inside that character’s head, but the third-person POV gives a bit more distance than first-person POV. This is simultaneously a benefit and a drawback. You don’t get to write in the main character’s voice, but sometimes that extra distance is a bonus because readers are more easily able to step into the character’s shoes and take on his/her role in the story. With that tiny bit of distance, they can more easily envision themselves as that character.

As you can see, there are clear pros and cons to each POV style. For each project, you’ll need to consider those pros and cons and decide which style best suits your story. I’m using third-person limited POV for my novel-in-progress but I’m experimenting with first-person POV for a different project, and I've found both styles equally challenging and rewarding.