Elsa Bibat <aerolbj@epic.net> wrote:

	Point of view is next. It has great bearing on the plot since this is how the plot is
set before the reader. First person and Second person views limits the reader's information
to one person, while Third person gives the reader the big view.

Whoa. That depends on what kind of third person it is. There's Third
Person with an omniscient narrator, which does indeed show the "big
view" -- or as much of it as the writer chooses. But Third Person
Limited restricts the narration to the perceptions of one character at a
time.

[snip first-person example]

	It ain't a classic but it's just an example. First person lends itself well to character 
insights and bringing across emotion to the reader. But it's hard as hell to write if you don't 
understand the character.

@.o

No offense intended, but if you don't understand the character, you
probably shouldn't be writing a fic about him/her.

The real reason why first person doesn't work for a lot of stories is
that you often can't find a character who knows everything that you want
to relate in your story. It's great for fics that center around a
single, particular character, but it generally doesn't work for epics or
anything else where the limelight is shared by several characters.
(Occasionally you see people write in a first person where the narrator
changes from scene to scene; but this can get extremely confusing.)

Let's try Second person, same thing:

	Creepy, innit ? That's why almost nobody uses this POV, since the reader can't 
empathize with the viewpoint character.

Right, that's the problem with second person. When you try to tell the
reader that he or she is the character, they're likely to respond with
disbelief. "I wouldn't do that!"

Third person is easy. It's what you usuall see in
fics. Okay, same scene now in Third person:

[snip]

	That's straight third person. Most people use the omniscient view, a much
more elaborate version of third person, since it's easy and I advise that you use it too 
because the person-views are a bit hard to write.

Omniscient POV is easier to write in the same sense that driving is
easier when there are no roads, or coloring is easier if there are no
lines to stay within. It gives you more freedom, yes, but with that
freedom comes a lot more choices. Should I give this character's
thoughts here, or should I just describe his facial expression? Etc.
etc.

I find that using a limited POV actually helps in the description of a
scene, because it gives me a framework on which to build. How should I
describe the scene? Well, I just think about how the POV character would
perceive it. It's also a more natural way to experience a scene. After
all, in real life, each of us has a limited perspective (telepaths
excepted). :)

As always, being the author it's 
your choice of what POV to use for maximum effect. 

What POV to use is your choice, yes, but which one tells your story the
best is a (sort of) objective matter. I've seen a lot of fics written in
omniscient perspective that IMO would've worked better with a limited
third person.

I may write and post an essay on narrative POV if people are interested
in seeing it.


Gary Kleppe
http://www.execpc.com/~kleppe/comics.html