creative writing point of view

Types of Point of View: The Ultimate Guide to First Person and Third Person POV

by Joe Bunting | 72 comments

In my experience as an editor, point of view problems are among the top mistakes I see new writers make, and they instantly erode credibility and reader trust. Point of view isn't easy though, since there are so many to choose from: first person point of view, third person limited, third person omniscient, and second person.

What do those even mean? And how do you choose the right one for your story?

All stories are written from a point of view. However, when point of view goes wrong—and believe me, it goes wrong often—you threaten whatever trust you have with your reader. You also fracture their suspension of disbelief.

However, point of view is simple to master if you use common sense.

This post will define point of view, go over each of the major POVs, explain a few of the POV rules, and then point out the major pitfalls writers make when dealing with that point of view.

Table of Contents

Point of View Definition The 4 Types of Point of View The #1 POV Mistake First Person Point of View Second Person Point of View Third Person Limited Point of View Third Person Omniscient Point of View FAQ: Can you change POV in a Series? Practice Exercise

Point of View Definition

The point of view, or POV, in a story is the narrator's position in the description of events, and comes from the Latin word, punctum visus , which literally means point sight. The point of view is where a writer points the sight of the reader.

Note that point of view also has a second definition.

In a discussion, an argument, or nonfiction writing, a point of view is an opinion about a subject. This is not the type of point of view we're going to focus on in this article (although it is helpful for nonfiction writers, and for more information, I recommend checking out Wikipedia's neutral point of view policy ).

I especially like the German word for POV, which is Gesichtspunkt , translated “face point,” or where your face is pointed. Isn't that a good visual for what's involved in point of view? It's the limited perspective of what you show your reader.

Note too that point of view is sometimes called narrative mode or narrative perspective.

Why Point of View Is So Important

Why does point of view matter so much?

For a fiction writer, point of view filters everything in your story. Everything in your story must come from a point of view.

Which means if you get it wrong, your entire story is damaged.

For example, I've personally read and judged thousands of stories for literary contests, and I've found point of view mistakes in about twenty percent of them. Many of these stories would have placed much higher if only the writers hadn't made the mistakes we're going to talk about soon.

The worst part is these mistakes are easily avoidable if you're aware of them. But before we get into the common point of view mistakes, let's go over each of the four types of narrative perspective.

The Four Types of Point of View

Here are the four primary types of narration in fiction:

• First person point of view.  First person perspective is when “I” am telling the story. The character is in  the story, relating his or her experiences directly.
• Second person point of view. The story is told to “you.” This POV is not common in fiction, but it's still good to know (it is  common in nonfiction).
• Third person point of view, limited. The story is about “he” or “she.” This is the most common point of view in commercial fiction. The narrator is outside of the story and relating the experiences of a character.
• Third person point of view, omniscient. The story is still about “he” or “she,” but the narrator has full access to the thoughts and experiences of all  characters in the story. This is a much broader perspective.

I know you've seen and probably even used most of these point of views.

While these are the only types of POV, there are additional narrative techniques you can use to tell an interesting story. To learn how to use devices like epistolary and framing stories, check out our full narrative devices guide here .

Let's discuss each of the four types, using examples to see how they affect your story. We'll also go over the rules for each type, but first let me explain the big mistake you don't want to make with point of view.

The #1 POV Mistake

Do not begin your story with a first person narrator and then switch to a third person narrator. Do not start with third person limited and then abruptly give your narrator full omniscience. This is the most common type of error I see writers make with POV.

The guideline I learned in my first creative writing class in college is a good one:

Establish the point of view within the first two paragraphs of your story.

And above all, don't change your point of view . If you do, it creates a jarring experience for the reader and you'll threaten your reader's trust. You could even fracture the architecture of your story.

That being said, as long as you're consistent, you can sometimes get away with using multiple POV types. This isn't easy and isn't recommended, but for example, one of my favorite stories, a 7,000 page web serial called Worm ,  uses two point of views—first person with interludes of third-person limited—very effectively. (By the way, if you're looking for a novel to read over the next two to six months, I highly recommend it—here's the link to read for free online .) The first time the author switched point of views, he nearly lost my trust. However, he kept this dual-POV consistent over 7,000 pages and made it work.

Whatever point of view choices you make, be consistent. Your readers will thank you!

Now, let's go into detail on each of the four narrative perspective types, their best practices, and mistakes to avoid.

First Person Point of View

In first person point of view, the narrator is in the story and telling the events he or she is personally experiencing.

The simplest way to understand first person is that the narrative will use first-person pronouns like I, me, and my.

Here's a first person point of view example from Herman Melville's  Moby Dick :

Call me Ishmael. Some years ago—never mind how long precisely—having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world

First person narrative perspective is one of the most common POVs in fiction. If you haven't read a book in first person point of view, you haven't been reading.

What makes this point of view interesting, and challenging, is that all of the events in the story are filtered through the narrator and explained in his or her own unique narrative voice.

This means first person narrative is both biased and incomplete, but it can also deliver a level of intimacy other POVs can't.

Other first person point of view examples can be found in these popular novels :

• The Sun Also Rises  by Ernest Hemingway
• Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
• Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
• The Hunger Games  by Suzanne Collins
• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brönte

First Person Narrative is Unique to Writing

There's no such thing as first person in film or theater—although voiceovers and mockumentary interviews like the ones in The Office and Modern Family provide a level of first person narrative in third person perspective film and television.

In fact, the very first novels were written in first person, modeled after popular journals and autobiographies which were first-person stories of nonfiction..

First Person Point of View is Limited

First person narrators are narrated from a single character's perspective at a time. They cannot be everywhere at once and thus cannot get all sides of the story.

They are telling their  story, not necessarily the  story.

First Person Point of View is Biased

In first person novels, the reader almost always sympathizes with a first person narrator, even if the narrator is an anti-hero with major flaws.

Of course, this is why we love first person narrative, because it's imbued with the character's personality, their unique perspective on the world.

The most extreme use of this bias is called an unreliable narrator. Unreliable narration is a technique used by novelists to surprise the reader by capitalize on the limitations of first person narration to make the narrator's version of events extremely prejudicial to their side and/or highly separated from reality.

You'll notice this form of narration being used when you, as the reader or audience, discover that you can't trust the narrator.

For example, Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl  pits two unreliable narrators against one another. Each relates their conflicting version of events, one through typical narration and the other through journal entries. Another example is  Fight  Club , in which *SPOILER* the narrator has a split personality and imagines another character who drives the plot.

Other Interesting Uses of First Person Narrative:

• The classic novel Heart of Darkness is actually a first person narrative within a first person narrative. The narrator recounts verbatim the story Charles Marlow tells about his trip up the Congo river while they sit at port in England.
• William Faulkner's Absalom,  Absalom  is told from the first person point of view of Quentin Compson; however, most of the story is a third person account of Thomas Sutpen, his grandfather, as told to Quentin by Rosa Coldfield. Yes, it's just as complicated as it sounds!
• Salman Rushdie's award-winning  Midnight's Children  is told in first person, but spends most of the first several hundred pages giving a precise third person account of the narrator's ancestors. It's still first person, just a first person narrator telling a story about someone else.

Two Big Mistakes Writers Make with First Person Point of View

When writing in first person, there are two major mistakes writers make :

1. The narrator isn't  likable. Your protagonist doesn't have to be a cliché hero. She doesn't even need to be good. However, she must  be interesting .

The audience will not stick around for 300 pages  listening to a character they don't enjoy. This is one reason why anti-heroes make great first person narrators.

They may not be morally perfect, but they're almost always interesting. (Remember Holden Caulfield in The Catcher in the Rye ?)

2. The narrator tells but doesn't show. The danger with first person is that you could spend too much time in your character's head, explaining what he's thinking and how he feels about the situation.

You're allowed to mention the character's mood, but don't forget that your reader's trust and attention relies on what your character does , not what he thinks about doing.

Second Person Point of View

While not used often in fiction—it is used regularly in nonfiction, song lyrics, and even video games—second person POV is still helpful to understand.

In this point of view, the narrator relates the experiences using second person pronouns like you and your. Thus, you  become the protagonist, you  carry the plot, and your  fate determines the story.

We've written elsewhere about why you should try writing in second person , but in short we like second person because it:

• Pulls the reader into the action of the story
• Makes the story   personal
• Surprises the reader
• Stretches your skills as a writer

Here's an example from the breakout bestseller  Bright Lights, Big City by Jay Mclnerney (probably the most popular example that uses second person point of view):

You have friends who actually care about you and speak the language of the inner self. You have avoided them of late. Your soul is as disheveled as your apartment, and until you can clean it up a little you don't want to invite anyone inside.

Second person narration isn't used frequently, however there are some notable examples of it.

Some other novels that use second person point of view are:

• Remember the Choose Your Own Adventure series? If you've ever read one of these novels where you get to decide the fate of the character (I always killed my character, unfortunately), you've read second person narrative.
• The Fifth Season  by N.K. Jemison
• The opening of The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

There are also many experimental novels and short stories that use second person, and writers such as William Faulkner, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Albert Camus played with the style.

Breaking the fourth wall:

In the plays of William Shakespeare, a character will sometimes turn toward the audience and speak directly to them. In  A Midsummer Night's Dream , Puck says:

If we shadows have offended, think but this, and all is mended, that you have but slumbered here while these visions did appear.

This narrative device of speaking directly to the audience or the reader is called breaking the fourth wall (the other three walls being the setting of the story).

To think of it another way, it's a way the writer can briefly use second person in a first or third person narrative.

It's a lot of fun! You should try it.

Third Person Point of View

In third person narration, the narrator is outside of the story and relating the experiences of a character.

The central character is not the narrator. In fact, the narrator is not present in the story at all.

The simplest way to understand third person narration is that it uses third-person pronouns, like he/she, his/hers, they/theirs.

There are two types of this point of view:

Third Person Omniscient

The all-knowing narrator has full access to all  the thoughts and experiences of all  the characters in the story.

Examples of Third Person Omniscient:

While much less common today, third person omniscient narration was once the predominant type, used by most classic authors. Here are some of the novels using omniscient perspective today.

• War and Peace  by Leo Tolstoy
• Middlemarch  by George Eliot
• Where the Crawdad's Sing by Delia Owens
• The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
• Still Life by Louise Penny (and all the Inspector Gamache series, which is amazing, by the way)
• Gossip Girl by Cecily von Ziegesar
• Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor
• Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
• Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan (one of my favorites!)
• A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin
• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
• More third person omniscient examples can be found here

Third Person Limited

The narrator has only some, if any, access to the thoughts and experiences of the characters in the story, often just to one  character .

Examples of Third Person Limited

Here's an example of a third person limited narrator from  Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone  by J.K. Rowling:

A breeze ruffled the neat hedges of Privet Drive, which lay silent and tidy under the inky sky, the very last place you would expect astonishing things to happen. Harry Potter rolled over inside his blankets without waking up. One small hand closed on the letter beside him and he slept on, not knowing he was special, not knowing he was famous…. He couldn't know that at this very moment, people meeting in secret all over the country were holding up their glasses and saying in hushed voices: “To Harry Potter—the boy who lived!”

Some other examples of third person limited narration include:

• Game of Thrones s eries by George R.R. Martin (this has an ensemble cast, but Martin stays in one character's point of view at a time, making it a clear example of limited POV with multiple viewpoint characters, which we'll talk about in just a moment)
• For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway
• ​The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson
• The Da Vinci Code  by Dan Brown
• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
• Ulysses by James Joyce
• Love in the Time of Cholera  by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
• 1984  by   George Orwell
• Orphan Train by   Christina Baker Kline
• Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff

Should You Use Multiple Viewpoint Characters vs. a Single Perspective?

One feature of third person limited and first person narrative is that you have the option of having multiple viewpoint characters.

A viewpoint character is simply the character whose thoughts the reader has access to. This character become the focus of the perspective during the section of story or the story as a whole.

While it increases the difficulty, you can have multiple viewpoint characters for each narrative. For example,  Game of Thrones  has more than a dozen viewpoint characters throughout the series.  Fifth Season has three viewpoint characters. Most romance novels have at least two viewpoint characters.

The rule is to only focus on one viewpoint character at a time (or else it changes to third person omniscient).

Usually authors with multiple viewpoint characters will change viewpoints every chapter. Some will change after section breaks. However, make sure there is  some  kind of break before changing so as to prepare the reader for the shift.

Should You Use Third Person Omniscient or Third Person Limited

The distinction between third persons limited and omniscient is messy and somewhat artificial.

Full omniscience in novels is rare—it's almost always limited in some way—if only because the human mind isn't comfortable handling all the thoughts and emotions of multiple people at once.

The most important consideration in third person point of view is this:

How omniscient are you going to be? How deep are you going to go into your character's mind? Will you read their thoughts frequently and deeply at any chance? Or will you rarely, if ever, delve into their emotions?

To see this question in action, imagine a couple having an argument.

Tina wants Fred to go to the store to pickup the cilantro she forgot she needed for the meal she's cooking. Fred is frustrated that she didn't ask him to pick up the cilantro on the way home from the office, before he had changed into his “homey” clothes (AKA boxer shorts).

If the narrator is fully omniscient, do you parse both Fred and Tina's emotions during each back and forth?

“Do you want to eat ? If you do, then you need to get cilantro instead of acting like a lazy pig,” Tina said, thinking, I can't believe I married this jerk. At least back then he had a six pack, not this hairy potbelly . “Figure it out, Tina. I'm sick of rushing to the store every time you forget something,” said Fred. He felt the anger pulsing through his large belly.

Going back and forth between multiple characters' emotions like this can give a reader whiplash, especially if this pattern continued over several pages and with more than two characters. This is an example of an omniscient narrator who perhaps is a little too comfortable explaining the characters' inner workings.

“ Show, don't tell ,” we're told. Sharing all  the emotions of all  your characters can become distraction. It can even destroy any tension you've built.

Drama requires mystery. If the reader knows each character's emotions all the time, there will be no space for drama.

How do You Handle Third Person Omniscient Well?

The way many editors and many famous authors handle this is to show the thoughts and emotions of only one character per scene (or per chapter).

George R.R. Martin, for example, uses “ point of view characters ,” characters whom he always has full access to understanding. He will write a full chapter from their perspective before switching to the next point of view character.

For the rest of the cast, he stays out of their heads.

This is an effective guideline, if not a strict rule, and it's one I would suggest to any first-time author experimenting with third person narrative. Overall, though, the principle to show, don't tell should be your guide.

The Biggest Third Person Omniscient Point of View Mistake

The biggest mistake I see writers make constantly in third person is  head hopping .

When you switch point of view characters too quickly, or dive into the heads of too many characters at once, you could be in danger of what editors call “head hopping.”

When the narrator switches from one character’s thoughts to another’s  too quickly, it can jar the reader and break the intimacy with the scene’s main character.

We've written about how you can get away with head hopping elsewhere , but it's a good idea to try to avoid going into more than one character's thoughts per scene or per chapter.

Can You Change POV Between Books In a Series?

What if you're writing a novel series? Can you change point of view or even POV characters between books?

The answer is yes, you can, but whether you should or not is the big question.

In general, it's best to keep your POV consistent within the same series. However, there are many examples of series that have altered perspectives or POV characters between series, either because the character in the previous books has died, for other plot reasons, or simply because of author choice.

For more on this, watch this coaching video where we get into how and why to change POV characters between books in a series:

Which Point of View Will You Use?

Here's a helpful point of view infographic to help you decide which POV to use in your writing:

Note that these distances should be thought of as ranges, not precise calculations. A third person narrator could conceivably draw closer to the reader than a first person narrator.

Most importantly, there is no best point of view. All of these points of view are effective in various types of stories.

If you're just getting started, I would encourage you to use either first person or third person limited point of view because they're easy to understand.

However, that shouldn't stop you from experimenting. After all, you'll only get comfortable with other points of view by trying them!

Whatever you choose, be consistent. Avoid the mistakes I mentioned under each point of view.

And above all, have fun!

How about you? Which of the four points of view have you used in your writing? Why did you use it, and what did you like about it? Share in the comments .

Using a point of view you've never used before, write a brief story about a teenager who has just discovered he or she has superpowers.

Make sure to avoid the POV mistakes listed in the article above.

Write for fifteen minutes . When your time is up, post your practice in the Pro Practice Workshop (if you’re not a member yet, you can join here ). And if you post, please be sure to give feedback to your fellow writers.

We can gain just as much value giving feedback as we can writing our own books!

Happy writing!

Joe Bunting

Joe Bunting is an author and the leader of The Write Practice community. He is also the author of the new book Crowdsourcing Paris , a real life adventure story set in France. It was a #1 New Release on Amazon. Follow him on Instagram (@jhbunting).

Want best-seller coaching? Book Joe here.

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Point of View: The Ultimate Guide to Writing Perspectives

Point of view (POV) is the narrative perspective from which a story is told. It’s the angle from which readers experience the plot, observe the characters’ behavior, and learn about their world. In fiction, there are four types of point of view: first person, second person, third person limited, and third person omniscient. 

This guide will look at each point of view, and provide examples to help you understand them better. Let’s dive in.

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First person

First person narratives are quite common and relatively intuitive to write: it’s how we tell stories in everyday life. Sentences written in first person will use the pronouns I , we , my , and our . For example:

I told my mother that we lost our passports.

First person can create intimacy between the reader and the characters, granting us direct access to their emotions, psyches and inner thoughts. In stories where the protagonist’s internal life is at the fore, you will often find a first-person narrator.

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Having a single fixed narrator can limit the scope of a story 一 the reader can only know what the narrator knows. It’s also said that a first person narrator is biased, since they provide a subjective view of the world around them, rather than an objective one. Of course, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, and intentionally unreliable narrators are fascinating literary creatures in their own right. 

Genres that commonly use a first person POV

Young Adult . Introspective coming-of-age narratives often benefit from a first-person narrative that captures the protagonist’s voice and (often mortifying) internal anxieties. Some examples are novels like The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins , The Fault in Our Stars by John Green , and The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger.

Science Fiction . In sci-fi novels, a first person perspective can nicely convey the tension and awe associated with exploring unfamiliar environments and technologies. Some examples of this approach include Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes, and Ready Player One by Ernest Cline.

Memoir . The first person is perfect for memoirs, which allow readers to relive life events with the author. Some pageturners in this genre are Open by Andre Agassi, Educated by Tara Westover, and Becoming by Michelle Obama. 

As you might expect, after first person comes…

Second person

Second person narratives are far less common in literature — but not entirely unheard of. The pronouns associated with second person include you , your , and yours , as in:

You instruct the chief of police to bring the prisoner to your office.

Second person POV is all about putting the reader directly in the headspace of a particular character: either the protagonist or a secondary figure. When mishandled, this POV can alienate readers — but when executed well, it can create an intimate reading experience like no other.

Since this POV requires quite a lot of focus for most readers, it’s often suited to shorter, lyrical pieces of writing, like poetry. It can also be used alongside other points of view to provide variety in a longer novel, or to indicate a change of character (see: The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin).

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Genres that commonly use a second person POV

Creative Fiction . Short stories, poetry, and screenplays can benefit from the immediacy and intimacy of the second person. Two examples are The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz, or Pants are Optional by Aeris Walker 一 a brilliant piece from Reedsy’s Short Story competition. 

Nonfiction . In self-help in particular, the second person can be used to ‘enter the reader's mind’, establish rapport, and guide them through a transformation process. For example, in Eckhart Tolle's The Power of Now many teachings are conveyed through a series of questions and answers written in second person.

Now that you have seen how second person narratives work, let’s meet some third person limited narrators and see how they handle things.

Third person limited

Everyone has read a third person limited narrative, as literature is full of them. This POV uses third-person pronouns such as he , his , she , hers , they , their , to relate the story:

She told him that their assessment of the situation was incorrect. 

Third person limited is where the narrator can only reveal the thoughts, feelings, and understanding of a single character at any given time — hence, the reader is “limited” to that perspective. Between chapters, many books wrote in this POV switch from character to character, but you will only hear one perspective at a time. For instance:

“ She couldn't tell if the witness was lying.”

The limited third person POV portrays characters from a bit of distance, and asks the readers to engage and choose who they’re rooting for 一 but this POV poses a challenge for authors when trying to create truly compelling characters . A limited perspective definitely adds intrigue, but writers should bear in mind that being able to tell only one side of the story at a time can limit their ability to reveal important details.

Genres that commonly use a third person limited POV

Romance . A love story always has two sides, and the third person point of view is ideal for authors who wish to convey both. Examples in this genre include Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo, Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell, and The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer.

Thriller . In suspense-driven plots the limited third person POV works well, since it’s fun to try and solve a mystery (or mysterious characters) alongside the protagonists. Two examples are Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie, or Nine Perfect Strangers by Moriarty Liane. 

A solid story structure will help you maintain a coherent point of view. Build it with our free book development template.

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If you’re done with the intimacy of “close” viewpoints, perhaps we can interest you in one final POV — a God’s-eye view of storytelling.

Third person Omniscient

The third person omniscient is as popular as the limited one, and uses the same pronouns. The difference, however, is that the narrator is “all knowing” — meaning that they’re not limited to one character’s perspective, but instead can reveal anything that is happening, has happened, or will happen in the world of the story. For example:

He thought the witness was honest, but she didn't think the same of him .

It’s a popular point of view because it allows a writer to pan out beyond the perspective of a single character, so that new information (beyond the protagonist’s comprehension) can be introduced. At the same time, it heavily relies on the voice and authority of the narrator, and  can therefore take some focus away from the character.  

Genres that commonly use a third person omniscient POV

Fantasy fiction . In elaborate fantasy worlds, being unencumbered from a character’s personal narrative means that the narrator can provide commentary on the world, or move between characters and locations with the flick of a pen. You’ll see this approach in action in Reaper Man by Terry Pratchett, Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones, and The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis.

Literary fiction . An all-encompassing perspective can allow authors to explore different character quirks, but also interpersonal dynamics between characters. Leo Tolstoy does this masterfully in his great classics Anna Karenina and War and Peace .

Now that we have established the basics of the major points of view, let’s dig a little deeper. If you’re ready for a closer look at POV, head over to the next post in this guide to learn more about first person perspective.

5 responses

Aysha says:

19/04/2020 – 19:56

The Book Thief would be considered First Person POV, similar to Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, right? Thank you for the wonderful information. It gave a lot of insight into choosing which POV would be most suitable for a particular story. Pretty clear-cut.

Sasha Anderson says:

31/05/2020 – 10:41

I sometimes have difficulty telling the difference between third person limited and omniscient. For example, in the quote from I am Legend, the sentence "If he had been more analytical, he might have calculated the approximate time of their arrival" sounds very omniscient to me, because Robert wasn't, and didn't. Is there an easy way to tell that this is limited rather than omniscient, or does it not really matter as long as it reads well?

Lilian says:

18/06/2020 – 05:15

This was a very helpful piece and I hope it's okay to share the link for reference.

↪️ Martin Cavannagh replied:

18/06/2020 – 08:51

Of course! Share away :)

18/06/2020 – 05:44

It deal with the challenges associated with POV in writing. I like that it clearly distinguishes between third person limited POV and third person omniscient POV as most beginner writers are guilty of abrupt and inconsistent interchange in the two leading to head hopping. Greattach piece, I muse confess.

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Creative points of view in character writing: 5 examples

The different points of view – first, second and third person POV – each offer creative ways to convey your characters’ voices and personas. Read 5 tips with illustrative examples from novels:

• Post author By Jordan
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First: POV definitions

Point of view, often abbreviated POV, is a crucial element of fiction writing. Ursula K. Le Guin gives a simple and clear definition of POV in her writing manual, Steering the Craft :

The technical term for describing who is telling the story and what their relation to the story is. Ursula K. Le Guin,  Steering the Craft  (1998), p. 83.

The person telling the story, whose ‘voice’ we read it in, is called the ‘viewpoint character’. In first-person POV, this is the narrator who says ‘I’. In second-person point of view, the narrator says ‘you’. An example of second-person POV:

You wake and everything has changed. You don’t remember drinking heavily, but it feels as though you’ve blacked out. The room is dark and you bump your head as you grope the walls for a light switch.

Third-person point of view is one of the most common points of view. This is the narrator who describes characters actions using ‘he’, ‘she’, ‘it’, they, or a gender-neutral pronoun. For example:

It slowly lowers itself from the tree, slithering down the rough bark, before it slides away into the underbrush, on the hunt.

These types of narration have additional variations. In third person POV, the narration can be ‘limited’ or ‘omniscient’ . In ‘limited’ POV, we only read the thoughts and impressions of the character who is narrating. Other characters’ minds and feelings can only be known through what the viewpoint character experiences or believes.

In ‘omniscient’ narration, the author/narrator is free to move between different character’s viewpoints (the narrative isn’t ‘limited’ to a fixed perspective; it’s more like a fly on the wall).

Points of view examples and tips

Read these ideas of creative ways to use POV, with examples by well-known authors:

1: Use second person POV to make your reader the protagonist

Second-person POV is one of the least common in storytelling. Perhaps this is partly because second-person doesn’t allow as much character psychology. This is because the reader imagines themselves performing each action instead of a separate character.

Although uncommon, and a little jarring to read at first for some, this POV is often fun, too. It creates a ‘choose-your-own-adventure’ effect, where the reader essentially becomes a character.

Italo Calvino uses this aspect of second-person POV masterfully in his mystery novel If on a winter’s night a traveler (1979).

In this novel, you, the character/reader, purchase a book of the same title, only to find there are missing pages. You return the book to the store and you’re sent on a wild goose chase trying to find the right book with the ‘correct’ story.

Here’s an example of how Calvino uses second person to create suspense:

Here is page 31 again, page 32… and then what comes next? Page 17 all over again, a third time! What kind of book did they sell you, anyway? They bound together all these copies of the same signature, not another page in the whole book is any good. Y ou fling the book on the floor… Calvino,  If on a winter’s night a traveler,  p. 46

The second-person POV works because Calvino assigns you, the protagonist of the story, dramatic, surprising, and comical actions and discoveries. The familiar element of characters with ‘real’ psychology thus isn’t missed. Because not knowing what ‘you’ will do or encounter next keeps you guessing.

[ Use the ‘Characters’  section of Now Novel’s story dashboard to outline detailed character profiles and build your story’s cast .]

2: Write third person points of view with personality

Narrator’s who use ‘I’ often endear themselves to us fast. Because the effect of the narration is to hear someone’s experiences, views and emotions directly from them. The story reads as the character’s most personal, private experience.

Charlotte Bronte’s line ‘Reader, I married him’ in Jane Eyre is a good example of this effect.

Third person, however, can also create this intimacy. You can do this by:

• Using colourful language in narration that a character might use themselves (for example ‘It was an effing travesty , and now there’d be all that malarkey for him to contend with’)
• Focusing narration on subjects, ideas and images that would matter to the narrator (for example, an artist might refer to light, colour, the composition of a room)

Virginia Woolf is a master of describing characters’ most private thoughts and feelings in third person. Here, in To the Lighthouse (1927), she describes Mrs. Ramsay’s unease when her children are rude about her husband’s friend, Tansley:

Strife, divisions, difference of opinion, prejudices twisted into the very fibre of being, oh that they should begin so early, Mrs. Ramsay deplored. They were so critical, her children. They talked such nonsense. Woolf, To the Lighthouse (1927), p. 12.

Without Mrs Ramsay saying ‘I’ (she doesn’t say ‘I wish my children weren’t so critical’), Woolf creates a strong sense of Ramsay’s voice and values. She also shows Ramsay’s disappointment in her children not upholding these values.

The way Woolf includes the interjection ‘oh’, a word that would usually be said out loud, in narration, makes this passage come across in Ramsay’s voice.

The sentence structure towards the end, how Woolf adds ‘her children’ (almost as an afterthought) also creates the effect of a personal stream of thoughts and reflections from Ramsay’s viewpoint.

3: Change points of view mid-scene

Changing points of view within a scene may jolt readers. Especially if you change from one type of narration to another (for example first-person to third-person narration). At worst, this simply has a confusing effect:

I get up in the dark and fumble for the light switch. He finally finds it, turns it on and it’s blinding – there’s no cover over the bulb. I quickly turn it off again.

Because the action involving the light switch is continuous, we can guess the same character performs the action throughout. But when the pronoun ‘he’ first appears, we think ‘who is this?’ because we expect the ‘I’, the first-person narrator, to remain the actor in the scene.

Where changing points of view mid-scene works is when changing between different third-person narrators.

Example of changing points of view mid-scene

Virginia Woolf does this in many of her novels. Ursula le Guin offers a caveat about this type of POV shift in Steering the Craft :

A writer must be aware of, have a reason for, and be in control of all shifts of viewpoint character. Le Guin, Steering the Craft , p. 91 .

Here’s an example from To the Lighthouse . The Ramsays’ young son James feels irritated by his father competing for attention:

James, as he stood stiff between her knees, felt her rise in a rosy-flowered fruit tree laid with leaves and dancing boughs into which the beak of brass, the arid scimitar of his father, the egotistical man, plunged and smote, demanding sympathy.   Filled with her words, like a child who drops off satisfied, he said, at last, looking at her with humble gratitude, restored, renewed, that he would take a turn [a walk – ed’s note …] He went.   Immediately, Mrs Ramsay seemed to fold herself together, one petal closed in another, and the whole fabric fell in exhaustion upon itself…’ Woolf, To the Lighthouse, p. 44 . 

In the space of one page, Woolf moves effortlessly from James’ feelings (his anger at his father demanding his mother’s attention), to Mr Ramsay’s satisfaction at being reassured and his departure. From here, Woolf switches to Mrs Ramsay’s POV, describing her exhaustion.

By giving different points of view in one scene, Woolf shows us the complex relationships between characters.

We can see in this small exchange James’s protective and possessive nature towards his mother, Mr Ramsey’s demanding need for emotional support, and Mrs Ramsay’s exhaustion at having little space from these competing male needs.

4: Create the patterns of an individual voice

First person point of view enables us to filter characters’ quirks into their narration.

Compare the cynical Holden Caulfield who narrates J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye (1951) to the narrator Saleem in Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children (1981).

Both books open with the first-person narrator sharing their backstory:

If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you’ll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don’t feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye , p.3.

Compare the voice of the disaffected teen (including angsty descriptive words such as ‘lousy’) with Saleem Sinai in Midnight’s Children :

I was born in the city of Bombay … once upon a time. No, that won’t do, there’s no getting away from the date. I was born in Doctor Narlikar’s Nursing Home on August 15th, 1947. And the time? The time matters, too. Well then: at night. No, it’s important to be more … On the stroke of midnight, as a matter of fact. Rushdie, Midnight’s Children , p. 3.

When you write in first-person POV, read examples such as the two above. How does Salinger create an angry teen viewpoint character? With forceful slang (‘lousy’, ‘crap’) and his implied rejection of authority and how he ‘should’ tell a story (his rejection of ‘David Copperfield kind of crap’.)

Rushdie, in contrast, creates his thoughtful, gifted character by using speech patterns – pauses – to show him as a character who takes pains to find the right words. The two narrators are clearly distinct.

Similarly, use elements such as word choice, grammar and sentence structure to make your first person narrator’s reflect their age, environment and outlook.

5: Switch points of views between chapters well

Although authors like Woolf are skilled at changing viewpoint characters within a single scene, it’s more common to change POV between chapters or sections.

There are multiple ways to do this. One way to show the reader that a different character is narrating is simply to title each chapter with its narrator’s name.

William Faulkner does this in his poignant novella, As I Lay Dying (1930). Each character in the Bundren family (along with several secondary characters) narrates a chapter.

You can also do as Gabriel Garcia Marquez in Love in the Time of Cholera (1985) and simply signal a shift of viewpoint character with the wording of your new chapter’s first sentence.

Fermina Daza’s husband has died. She spies a former suitor, Florentino Ariza, who has come to the wake to pay his respects. Florentino is the viewpoint character when the next chapter begins. Here is the tail end of Fermina’s chapter, followed by the viewpoint change:

Only then did she realize that she had slept a long time without dying, sobbing in her sleep, and that while she slept, sobbing, she had thought more about Florentino Ariza than about her dead husband. * Florentino Ariza, on the other hand, had not stopped thinking of her for a single moment since Fermina Daza had rejected him out of hand after a long and troubled love affair fifty-one years, nine months, and four days ago. Marquez, Love in the Time of Cholera , pp. 51-53.

It’s clear who the focal character is with the change in chapter. The moment Marquez chooses to shift between the two points of view is brilliant because we see how both characters react to a reunion long in the making.

Struggle with character description? Get our workbook How to Write Real Characters: Character description   for practical tips and exercises to write memorable description.

Related Posts:

• How to write multiple points of view in a novel: 8 tips
• 6 creative writing exercises for rich character
• Plot structure examples: Creative plot lessons from stories
• Tags first person POV , how to create characters , point of view , POV , second person POV , third person POV

Jordan is a writer, editor, community manager and product developer. He received his BA Honours in English Literature and his undergraduate in English Literature and Music from the University of Cape Town.

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What is Point of View in Creative Writing?

Point of View is the perspective from which a  narrative  is designed and told. Point of view is considered to be the pivotal component in  creative writing  and literature especially in the work of  fiction . In this creative  writing  lesson, we will learn the following:

What is “Point of View” in Creative Writing?

Importance of point of view in creative writing, first-person point of view, second-person point of view, third-person point of view, other examples of point of view in creative writing.

The Point of view is said to be the “eyes” of the narratives. It describes the perspective which the author wants to pass on to the readers or the audiences through their creative work. Authors hold the prime hold of how he wants to shape the story so that a particular mindset of the reader is shaped through the work of literature. Various famous writers have re-told stories in such a manner that their point of view to the readers have got completely changed in comparison to the original text.

Point of view adds to the innovation and attractiveness of literature. Change in the viewpoint of a story may affect the readers to a great extent. It gives them an entirely new experience to read the text.

Point of view changes according to the character, their background, the boldness of the character, and also according to the situations that the characters of the story face throughout the narrative. There is also a possibility that the  protagonist  of the story represents the author himself.

Point of View is a big weapon in the hands of the author to make it appealing and interesting enough for the readers. In simple terms point of view is the process in which a writer expresses his intentions to the readers.

Terms related to Point of View

It is extremely important to understand the terms which are related to the concept of Point of View. Two such terms are the narrator and the viewpoint.

The narrator is the one who tells the story. There are various  types  of narrators like that of the external narrator or internal narrator.

Viewpoint is something that explains how a particular thing is looked at or how a certain situation is judged in literature. A single event can result in varied viewpoints which are possessed by different individuals.

Point of view makes the readers understand the  emotions  and feelings which the characters in a narrative are going through. Moreover, each character of a story gives a different and unique perspective to the story. Adding to this if we read a story from a character’s point of view and the perspective externally as a character is two different things. These perspectives gradually unfold the story in a better way.

A story may be given a different point of view by the author but it can be revealed in a much different way by the readers and the audiences. This is how point of view is significant to literature.

Types of Point of View in Literature

There are three types of point of view in the literature that is the first-person point of view, second-person point of view and third-person point of view. Although, the first and third-person point of view is more commonly used in literature. The usage of a second-person point of view is less.

The first-person point of view means that one of the characters of the story is narrating the work of literature. The viewpoint of the story is explained by using the pronoun ‘I’. The reader in the first person gets a close look and gets a very intimate perspective regarding the character of the story. Also, this helps us to understand the feelings and thoughts of the character better. But the only drawback in this is there is a limited perspective of only what the character depicts. 

For example, first person point of view was used in “The  Adventures  of Huckleberry Finn”.

In the second-person point of view the pronoun ‘you’ is used. Using this pronoun, the author wants to attract the reader and involve them in the story in a better way. This is a rarely used point of view in literature. The second-person point of view is quite a confusing point of view for the writer and may also alienate the readers from reading the text. This is also less used in novels because of the various drawbacks attached to this point of view. 

‘The Dark’ by Carol Ann Duffy’ is a great example of second-person point of view.

In the third person of pronouns like ‘he’, ‘she’, and ‘it’ is used to depict the narrative. This point of view is further divided into two types. The first one is Omniscient which means that the narrator is fully aware of the complete story and its happenings. The second type is limited where the narrator does not know every detail of how the story goes about. 

Examples  which are included in third person point of view are ‘Beloved’, ‘Lord of the Flies’, and ‘Little Women’.

It is not necessary for authors to only choose one particular type of point of view but it can be an amalgamation of all three types or two of them.

•  “Invisible Man” by Ralph Ellison  uses the first-person point of view in narration. The protagonist gives a very close but limited thought by expressing himself in the story. It gives the reader to understand the point of view only according to what the narrator expresses about himself. 
• “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin  uses a third-person point of view in the short story. It involves a relationship that is built between the narrator of the story and the reader to understand the character of the story that is Louise Mallard. 
• “The Death of Ivan Ilych” by Leo Tolstoy  uses an omniscient point of view which the author uses to relay the messages to its readers.

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The Art of Narrative

Learn to write.

Point of View: The Ultimate Guide

Answer all your questions about how to write in first, second, and third person point of view. Every point of view is covered including how to use tense.

I’ve been staring at my screen for ten minutes trying to come up with a hook that somehow, someway will lead off an article about literary point of view. I’ve come to a definite conclusion: you can’t. To do so would subvert the laws of man, physics and God. It’s impossible. I defy you to try it.

Anyway, let’s talk about POV.  

If you’re a beginning writer you might not think much about point of view. But, you should.

All writers should spend significant time considering what POV they’ll use for a story, and why. POV is as important to a story as is your plot , characters , setting , etc.

What is point of view in writing?

Point of view tells your reader who is important in your story. It affects the relationship your reader builds with your characters. And, if done poorly, the point of view can ruin an otherwise perfect story.

You’d like to avoid that, wouldn’t you? Of course! So, for your consideration, I bring to you the ultimate guide to point of view.

(Is it really the ultimate guide to POV? Probably not, but it makes for a good title, right?)

In this article I will explain every type of POV you could possibly use in your writing, and when to use each one. I’ll also answer all your burning questions about POV. You know the ones you’ve always wondered about but didn’t want to ask.

More importantly, I’ll cover some of the common POV mistakes and how to avoid them.

But first, let’s start with the basics-

Point of view is the term used to describe who the author chooses to tell their story. But really, and more importantly, it’s who your reader is engaging with.

When we talk about point of view we’re talking about the narrator. An author might have the main character or a secondary character speak directly to the reader as if you are reading that character’s journal.

Or, the narrator might not be in the story at all, but a voice above the fray who can describe the action of a story.

The narrator may also know certain characters’ thoughts and feelings about the events unfolding. While some POVs will insert the reader directly into the action of the story.

The point is, point of view is an important consideration for any story, and mistakes in POV can ruin a story. So, it’s important to choose your POV carefully and avoid the common pitfalls.

With that said, let’s discuss the different types of POV, why they are used, and the common POV mistakes that you need to avoid.

What are the different types of point of view?

Point of view can be divided into three categories- first person, second person, and third person. Third person point of view can be broken down further into limited, omniscient, and objective.

All POVs can be written either in the past or present tense.

Let’s take a look at each of these individually.

First Person Point of View

What is First Person Point of View?

You’re the reader and the character is telling you the story. You and the character are like old friends; they’re very open with you about their thoughts and feelings. It’s as if you’re reading their journal. Usually, the perspective character is the main character of the story, but not always.

Take, for instance, The Great Gatsby which is written in the first person, but the perspective character is Nick Caraway. Nick takes part in the events of the story and relays them to the reader, but he is not the main character.

However, this is an exception, not the rule. Your point of view character should be the protagonist unless you have a good reason for them not to be.

You’ll know your reading a story in the first person when you see pronouns like I, me, or my. The character is the narrator, so they will be speaking directly to the reader.  

How to write First Person Point of View

Writing from a first person point of view is a solid choice if your beginning writer. It’s a straightforward perspective that isn’t too difficult to work with. Choose a character, like your protagonist, and write the story as if they are retelling the events to the reader.

If you choose the first person perspective you’ll need to know your character intimately. You want their personality to remain consistent throughout the narrative. That is unless they’re a dynamic character . Even then, changes in the character will need to have a cause that develops from your plot.

Interview your point of view character. Know their background, what their fears are, and what motivates them. The challenge of the first-person perspective is keeping your character’s voice, actions, and reactions consistent and believable.  

In other words, don’t change your character’s personality for the needs of the plot. What does that mean? If your character has been even-keeled and calm throughout the story don’t force them to blow up in anger because you need to inject some tension into a scene.

Know your perspective character, and don’t deviate from the personality that you’ve established, unless that change is earned through the narrative. Your reader will notice otherwise.  

When to use First Person Point of View

There are times when using the first person perspective is axiomatic like when writing a memoir or a personal essay. The first person POV is a good choice for writers who are just starting out. The limited nature of first person will help beginning writers avoid some common POV mistakes such as head-hopping. But, more on that later.

Because of its natural limits, the first person is a good choice if there are details of the plot that you want to hide from the reader. Take the example of an unreliable narrator who is lying about the events of the story. Discovering new information a narrator has kept hidden can be an exciting revelation for your reader.

Or, because your writing from the perspective of one character, the reader can discover story details as your character does. This works to great effect in the genres of mystery, horror, and romance. These genres require the character, and reader to work through the details of an event slowly to discover startling truths.

Lastly, the first person POV is a good choice if you’re writing a small, character-driven plot with a limited cast. However, it’s not the best choice for your epic, world-building fantasy.

Example of First Person Point of View

“I couldn’t forgive him or like him, but I saw that what he had done was, to him, entirely justified. It was all very careless and confused. They were careless people, Tom and Daisy—they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made.”

― F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

Learn about first-person point of view here!

What is Second Person Point of View?

You, the reader, are now in the story. You are the protagonist. You’re taking part in the action. Not literally, obviously. Not yet anyway. Until some advances in VR second person will remain figurative.

The writer uses pronouns like you and your. In fiction, this is not a very common practice. But, you will find the second person POV a lot in non-fiction works. Instructional texts like cookbooks are written in second-person. Think, “You’ll need to preheat your oven to 450 degrees. ”

Why isn’t Second Person Point of View popular?

The limitation of the second person perspective is that you’re asking your readers to put themselves directly into the story. This takes considerable suspension of disbelief on their part. And, it may put your reader off as they’re not used to reading this kind of narrative.

The second person point of view tells your reader that they are someone they’re not. That the events of the story are happening to them, the reader. It’s a funky style, let’s be honest. Reserved, mostly, for those “choose your adventure” books we read as children.

However, when executed well, this funkiness is the secret strength of the second-person perspective. What better way to encourage your reader to empathize with a character and experience a new perspective.

While not traditional, a story written in the second-person perspective could be a great way to set your work apart from the pack. But, only if you put in the effort to make it work. Know that an editor will ask the question- “Why did you choose second person POV?” If you don’t have an obvious answer, revealed in the text, this may be a weakness.

When it comes to digital storytelling though, second person POV could be the dominant perspective. Maybe we should start practicing…  

Example of Second Person Point of View

“Things happen, people change,’ is what Amanda said. For her that covered it. You wanted an explanation, and ending that would assign blame and dish up justice. You considered violence and you considered reconciliation. But what you are left with is a premonition of the way your life will fade behind you, like a book you have read too quickly, leaving a dwindling trail of images and emotions, until all you can remember is a name.”

― Jay McInerney, Bright Lights, Big City

Third Person Limited Point of View

What is Third Person Limited Point of View?

Take one step above the story. The narrator is no longer in the fray and action. They are on the outside looking in, commenting on the action. The narrator tells the reader what is happening, and what the perspective character is thinking and feeling.

A third person limited perspective means that we are limited (get it?) to a single character at a time. So, it’s like the first person perspective, but rather than a character speaking directly to us, the narrator is telling us what the character is doing, thinking and feeling.

How to write Third Person Limited Point of View

The first thing you want to do is choose a character to limit yourself to. More than likely, this will be your protagonist. You may also switch to another perspective character in your story.

However, don’t switch character perspectives within the confines of a single scene, or even a chapter. In truth, you may want to keep your perspective limited to the same character throughout the narrative.

There are examples of rotating perspective when using third person limited. Authors who do this will change the perspective characters from one character to the next. For clarity, chapters are usually named after the point of view character in that chapter.

How to describe characters in Third Person Limited Point of View

This is a question that comes up when writing from a limited point of view. Character descriptions can be tricky because overtly describing a non-POV character’s emotions would count as a slip in POV. You don’t want that.

Rely on the old adage- show, don’t tell. If a non-POV character is upset then have them slam a door, throw a punch, or break a window. Demonstrate emotion through action, not through adverbs.  

Remember that your narration is limited physically, as well. Your narration can’t describe anything the point of view character isn’t able to see, touch, taste, hear or smell directly. The character’s eyes are your window into the world of the story. Keep this in mind when describing the different aspects of your story.

When to use Third Person Limited Point of View

Much like first person point of view, the third person is used when you want to limit the reader’s perspective. Use this POV when you want your readers to spend time with, and become very familiar with a character or cast of characters. When you want your reader to become attached to your protagonist(s). Third person POV is perfect for your character-driven story arcs.

Choose third person POV over first person when your story has several character arcs to explore. An example would be the Harry Potter series. Sure, Harry is important, but we care about Hermione and Ron too.  

Also, the third person limited POV works well in mysteries, horrors, and crime stories. This is because you can easily hide information from your reader like you can with first person POV.

Because of its versatility, third person limited is the most popular POV in modern fiction. Readers and editors are used to reading in third person limited POV. In most cases, third person limited POV will be a good choice for your story. .  

Example of Third Person Limited Point of View

“For the first time, he heard something that he knew to be music. He heard people singing. Behind him, across vast distances of space and time, from the place he had left, he thought he heard music too. But perhaps, it was only an echo.”

― Lois Lowry, The Giver

Third Person Omniscient Point of View

What is Third Person Omniscient Point of View?

You’re the reader, and the narrator is God. They can give you access to every character’s thoughts and feelings, at the same time. Third person omniscient is like third person limited in that the narrator is separate from the story.

However, the narrator is not limited to one character’s viewpoint when describing the story. The narrator has full knowledge of all the characters and has no preference for any single character. Common pronouns used with third person omniscient are “he,” and “she.”

How to write in Third Person Omniscient Point of View

Third person omniscient can be challenging as you have a lot of characters to keep up with. Each major character will need the same attention from the narrator. It can also be difficult to keep your narrative focused with the POV spread out like this.

Use this perspective to insert your own authorial voice into the narrative. As the narrator, you can comment on the action of the story, or the characters. But, beware that this is not a style of writing that is currently in vogue.

The third person omniscient POV does provide a lot of creative freedom, though. Because of the “God-like” presence of the narrator, you’re not hemmed in by a lot of rules. The author can describe anything that a character is thinking, wearing, doing, seeing, etc.

When to use Third Person Omniscient Point of View

Never. Just kidding, but keep this in mind:

The third person omniscient perspective, while once omnipresent, is not very popular anymore. It’s a good choice if you have a plethora of characters in your story. This is because this perspective gives you the ability to inhabit any character in the story. However, realize this will make developing any single character difficult.

Choose the third person omniscient POV when you have a very strong voice, and you want the narrative commentary to take the center stage of your story.

Example of Third Person Omniscient Point of View  

“A man’s at odds to know his mind cause his mind is aught he has to know it with. He can know his heart, but he don’t want to. Rightly so. Best not to look in there. It ain’t the heart of a creature that is bound in the way that God has set for it. You can find meanness in the least of creatures, but when God made man the devil was at his elbow. A creature that can do anything. Make a machine. And a machine to make the machine. And evil that can run itself a thousand years, no need to tend it.”

― Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian, or the Evening Redness in the West

Third Person Objective Point of View

What is Third Person Objective Point of View?

In the third person objective POV, the reader does not have access to any character’s thoughts or feelings. The narrator is completely objective.

How and when to use Third Person Objective POV

Again, show don’t tell.  

With third person objective, a writer will have to convey all the characters’ emotions through action alone. If you’re a beginning writer try and write at least one story in the third person objective POV. It’s good for practice.

In order to master this POV, a writer must be a keen observer of people in the real world. How do people show their emotions- on their face, in their body language, with words?

How does someone demonstrate they’re angry with their boss? A real person wouldn’t act out dramatically. They wouldn’t flip a table or punch a hole in the drywall (hopefully). Because acting like that would get them fired, probably arrested. They may, instead, make a snide remark, purse their lips, or cross their arms.

The point is, people can be very subtle in how they display their inward feelings. Many people do their best to mask emotions. Others act out for attention. As a writer, you should be able to identify these subtle tells and insert them into your story. Especially if you plan on using the third person objective.

Third person objective POV is also useful in non-fiction. A biographer can’t always comment on the thoughts of feelings of their subject. Especially if the subject has been dead for hundreds of years. In that case, they can only convey a sense of emotion through their subject’s words or actions.

Example of Third Person Objective POV

“When a friend of Abigail and John Adams was killed at Bunker Hill, Abigail’s response was to write a letter to her husband and include these words, “My bursting heart must find vent at my pen.”

― David McCullough, John Adams

Present Tense versus Past Tense in Writing

Most authors choose the past tense when writing fiction. However, some writers choose present tense for their stories. Why?  Immediacy is one reason. Like with second person POV, the use of the present tense can pull a reader into a story in a way that feels intimate. They are experiencing the story along with the narrator in real time.

The downside of writing in the present tense is that you’ll be working against the grain. Most stories are told in the past tense, so unless you have a good narrative purpose for using the present tense you should probably avoid it. Without a clear purpose, using the present tense will come off as gimmicky.

But, I’m no expert on this subject and you can find a very informative post on writing in the past tense here .

Example of Present Tense POV

“I can feel Peeta press his forehead into my temple and he asks, ‘So now that you’ve got me, what are you going to do with me?’ I turn into him. ‘Put you somewhere you can’t get hurt.”

― Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games

Common Point of View mistakes

Head-hopping.

What is head hopping in writing?

Head-hopping is when a writer suddenly changes the viewpoint character without purpose. A story will be narrated from one character’s point of view then that point of view shifts to another character mid-paragraph, or worst mid-sentence.

Head-hopping will leave readers feeling confused and frustrated. It’s a mistake that signals your in the hands of a careless writer. As such, head-hopping should be avoided at all costs.

How to avoid head hopping.

The obvious way to avoid this is to stay in one character’s point of view throughout a story.

If you need to shift perspective wait until a logical point like a scene or chapter break. Think of your character’s viewpoint as a camera lens. The action is being recorded by that single lens. You cannot describe anything that isn’t within the view of that single lens.

When shifting perspective, be sure to establish the change by mentioning the character’s name and something about the setting in your narration. Do this immediately to establish the shift in your reader’s mind.

Here’s an example of how to open a scene that has shifted perspective to a new character:

“Paul glanced at his watch and realized he’d been waiting in the coffee shop for over an hour.”

Who’s the POV character? Paul. Where is he? A coffee shop. What is he doing? Waiting.

Only shift the POV if it serves your narrative. And, establish any shift in POV at the opening of the scene or chapter.

Inconsistent POV

What is an Inconsistent Point of View?

An inconsistent point of view means that the writer is switching point of view throughout the narrative. One scene may be told in the first person and the next scene’s narration switches to the third person omniscient. Like head-hopping, this will confuse your reader.

How to fix Inconsistent Point of View

Choose a point of view and stick to it. If your a first-time writer then the first person is the way to go. The first person point of view limits your opportunities to make mistakes like head-hopping.

Third person limited is the most widely used perspective and one that the modern reader is very comfortable with. Again, like the first person, you’re limited to a single character, and this will ensure a consistent POV.

Familiarize yourself with the rules of each of these POVs. Be mindful of what POV you’ve chosen. If your writing in the third person limited POV, don’t describe something that your POV character couldn’t possibly know.

These mistakes will probably occur in your early drafts and that’s okay. But, planning and outlining is key. As well as purposely choosing your POV. And, most importantly, find good editors! Preferably, fiction writers who are more experienced than you.

Also, don’t shift your point of view unless you have a very good narrative purpose behind the shift. I really can’t say that enough.

Choosing the wrong POV for your story

Choosing the right point of view is vital in effective storytelling. Each POV has its pros and cons. Do you want to tell a story that is an intimate character study? Use the first person. Don’t use the third person omniscient. But, if your book is an epic fantasy that spans multiple worlds or realms, then the third person is the way to go.

POV is also how you tell your reader who is important. If a writer is narrating from a single character’s point of view then the reader will assume that character is important. Using the POV of a character who is not essential to the plot will confuse your reader.

The point is, spend a lot of time thinking about what point of view you’ll use and how it will affect your reader’s experience. This should be part of your pre-writing. POV is not a decision to be taken lightly.

Too many POVs

Using more than one POV character can help give your reader a broad view of your story. It can also be used as a way of slowly revealing important plot points.

I once read a story where the author effectively used POV shifts to explain the same event four times. Each time the new character would have a different perspective on the event, like a game of telephone. It was a clever use of shifting POV.

However, if you’re shifting the POV every chapter or scene for no apparent reason than your reader will get annoyed. POV should indicate an important character. And, shifts in POV should have a narrative purpose behind them.

Choose POV characters for a reason. The reader will feel loyal to a POV character, intuitively. The POV character should have something at stake in the story, or a goal. They should be someone like, oh I don’t know, a protagonist! Or, someone equally important. Who could that be? Hmmm. Maybe, an antagonist ! Don’t give the POV to any old, schlub, though.  

Bottom line- don’t waste time using the POV of a character who isn’t important to your narrative. And, make sure that any shifts in POV are done for a specific narrative purpose. An example would be retelling an event of the story from a new perspective that adds new information the reader didn’t already know.

So, that’s everything I can think of when it comes to POV. Still, have questions? Drop them in the comments and I’ll do my best to answer them. Or check out some of these other great resources on POV!

All About Point of View: Which One Should You Choose?

How to Choose Your Novel’s Point of View

Published by John

View all posts by John

6 comments on “Point of View: The Ultimate Guide”

Excellent post!

Thanks, KM!

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21 Lesson 8: Exploring Points of View

Narrators are a tool that writers use to tell stories. As stated before, stories are generally told in one of two points of views:

• First-person point of view
• Third-person point of view

First-person point of view means that one of the characters in the story will narrate–give an account–of the story. The narrator may be the protagonist, the main character. Writing in first-person point of view brings the readers closer to the story. They can read it as if they are the narrator because of the personal pronouns I, me, my, we,  us, and  our.

Third-person point of view means that the narrator is not in the story. The third-person narrator is not a character. They are like the reader; they are outside of the story and watching it unfold. Third-person point of view can be done two ways:

• Third-person limited
• Third-person omniscient

Third-person limited means that the narrator limits him/herself by being able to be in one character’s thoughts.  Whereas, third-person omniscient means the narrator has unlimited ability to be in various character’s thoughts.  Writing in third-person point of view removes readers from the story because of the pronouns  he, she, it, him, her, his, hers, they, them , and  theirs .

Types of Narrators

In addition to the point of view writers select for the narration of the story, narrators can be unreliable, reliable, naive, or detached observers.

Unreliable Narrators

Unreliable narrators cannot be trusted to present the story accurately or with credibility because they have a skewed view of life events. This may be due to the narrator’s mental health state (i.e.: depression, psychosis, schizophrenia, etc.), or it may be due to the narrator’s devious nature (i.e.: murderer, rapist, thief, compulsive liar, etc.). The unreliable narrator may tell lies, withhold information, assess situations incorrectly, contradict information, etc.

Unreliable narrators may reveal their character flaws in three ways:

• They may openly admit their problem at the beginning of the story.
• They may gradually reveal it throughout the story.
• They may wait until the end of the story, which can create a plot twist for readers.

Reliable Narrators

Reliable narrators also have their own view of life events. However, they generally are attempting to present the story in an accurate, impartial way. Reliable narrators often have a strong sense of observation that is seen in how they present the events (scenes) in the story.

Naive  Narrators

Naive narrators are innocent, inexperienced individuals. They lack knowledge about the events (scenes) that are unfolding in the story. This may be due to age, such as a young narrator or senile narrator, or it may be the narrator’s limited experience with a different culture or country. Readers may view the narrator as unreliable because of their lack of experience and/or knowledge.

Detached Observers

Narrators that are detached observers stick to the facts. They are a witness to the story. They report what unfolds in the story. They do not interject their conscious thoughts or opinions about the events or other characters.

Choosing a Narrator and Point of View

Writers sometimes choose their narrator and point of view via the trial-and-error method. They might start out with a third-person point of view, detached observer, and a few pages into the story realize they want a first-person, unreliable narrator instead. They either scrap the first draft and start again or they revise it into the new point of view.

However, writers can ask themselves questions in the prewriting stage to determine a closer match to selecting the right type of narrator and point of view for a story before they begin to write. The questions may include, but are not limited to these:

• Do you want your readers to identify closely with the main character? Then, choose first-person reliable.
• Do you want your readers to experience mystery, intrigue, and fear? Then, choose first-person unreliable.
• Do you want to write a story about a young naive character or a senile, old character?  Then, choose first-person or third-person, limited naive.
• Do you want to strictly write a factual account of a story? Then, choose third-person, detached observer.

Multiple Points of View in Novels

Because a novel has multiple chapters, it’s possible to have more than one narrator. Chapter 1 may be told in first-person point of view by one character, and chapter 2 may be told in first-person point of view by another character.  Usually, this is done with two narrators (characters) alternating in the chapters. However, it can be three or more narrators if the writer knows what he or she is doing. This type of writing requires a strategic plan identifying which scenes which narrators will tell to move the plot, so that scenes are not repeated by the different narrators. It also requires that the writer develop a unique voice for each character who narrates.

Introduction to Creative Writing Copyright © by Lumen Learning is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Writing Point of View: 1st, 2nd, 3rd & 4th POV (with Examples)

Point of view (POV) in book writing is the perspective from which a story is told. The common points of view from which an author can narrate a story are:

• 1st person POV uses the pronouns “I” and “we.”
• 2nd person POV uses the pronoun “you.”
• 3rd person limited is when the narrator only knows the thoughts of one person.
• 3rd person omniscient is when the narrator knows more than the thoughts of just one person.
• 4th person POV uses indefinite pronouns like “one,” “oneself,” “someone,” “anyone.”

Inconsistent point of view is one of the top things a professional editor has to proofread and correct. If that mistake makes it through to readers, they may leave negative reviews about how unprofessional and confusing the book is. POV is necessary to understand.

This article details how point of view functions, which POV you should use, and examples of each.

What are the points of view in a story? Points of view are literary terms that refer to the person who tells a story. This narrator usually tells the story from 1st person, 3rd person omniscient, or 3rd person limited point of view. There are rare instances where you would also use 2nd or 4th point of view.

What are 1st, 2nd, and 3rd person points of view? 1st, 2nd, and 3rd person points of view describe a character’s perspectives, from which a story is told. 1st person POV uses “I” and “we.” 2nd person POV uses “you.” 3rd person POV uses “he,” “she,” “it,” and “they.”

Below, I’ll even talk about the uncommon 2nd and 4th person perspectives. You may not use them in your overall book, but it’s good to know for dialogue and everyday speech.

• Why point of view is important
• Differences between first, second, third, and fourth person POV
• Limited vs. omniscient perspective
• Examples for the different points of view
• Why is point of view important?

Table of contents

• Examples of Third Person Omniscient
• Examples of Third Person Limited
• First Person Point of View Examples
• Examples of Second Person POV
• Examples of Fourth Person POV

Every story has a narrator, whether the narrator exists inside or outside the story. Understanding the narrator’s point of view strengthens your writing and clarifies the story for your readers. Establishing this when you begin writing your book helps you make good writing choices and avoid POV writing mistakes.

Consistently maintain a character’s point of view throughout your book. Abrupt changes and mistakes with POV distract readers and increase negative reviews attached to your book.

Some POVs limit the amount of information an author can share with the reader, such as a first-person point of view in which the main character can’t understand the protagonist’s motivations.

Other POVs may expand the amount of information you can convey and how an author can convey it. Third-person limited point of view means that no character’s motivations may be crystal clear.

Choosing a limited 3rd person POV and sticking with it limits the info you can give your audience — for better or worse. The unreliable narrator is a tricky but satisfying tactic usually only available when a story is told from a limited perspective.

What are the 4 types of point of view? In order of how common they are, the 4 most common types of point of view include:

• Third-person limited point of view
• Third-person omniscient point of view
• First-person point of view
• Second-person point of view

Third Person Point of View

3rd person point of view is when the narrator(s) of your story goes by any of the following third-person pronouns:

• She/her/hers
• They/them/their/theirs

Only in dialogue and thought bubbles should the pronouns “you,” “I,” and “we” be used.

This is, by far, the most common point of view to use in stories. It is the most traditional and the least distracting for readers.

3rd person can be broken up into omniscient and limited perspectives.

Third Person Omniscient

The third-person omniscient point of view is when the narrator (still referred to by “he,” “she,” or “it”) knows more than a single character’s thoughts and feelings. Usually, this omniscient narrator knows everything .

This perspective was more common in classical literature, such as Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace . It is less common in today’s novels.

Authors would often “jump heads” — offer thoughts and feelings for more than one character.

I’m also thinking of Moby Dick , in which Herman Melville often broke from the narrative and described a tangential concept of which the character(s) have little understanding. (Melville switches back and forth between an omniscient third-person narrator and a first-person POV.)

Picture books for very young children are often written from an omniscient viewpoint. Check out this article on How to Write a Children’s Book .

• “Norbert had doubts rooted in childhood trauma, but Maria was sure based on her own past experiences.”
• “The doctor’s hypothesis would prove incorrect, for the laws of gravity could not permit his grand plans.”
• “They each harbored their own misgivings; however, none of them knew that Queen Regina would be an easy target because of what lingered in the Huntsman’s heart.”

Third Person Limited

Third-person limited point of view is when the narrator (still referred to by “he,” “she,” or “it”) can see into only one character’s mind. Famous examples include The Great Gatsby and the Harry Potter series.

In the 3rd person limited perspective, you cannot head hop within a scene. Hopping into more than one character’s head is when you describe multiple people’s inner thoughts.

Think about J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter . You experience the story through Harry’s third-person narration, including his internal motivations and silent feelings, but you don’t know precisely what Ron and Hermione are really thinking.

Ernest Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls used a unique limited omniscient narrator. The narrator could read multiple characters’ thoughts, but only one at a time.

Since HBO’s Game of Thrones and the accompanying book series, writing multiple third-person limited POVs within one book has become increasingly popular. (Of course, famous authors have been doing this for centuries — but maybe not as expansively as in the Game of Thrones books.)

Multiple 3rd person POV still requires individual narrators to only know what’s in their heads. However, authors may switch the narrator between scenes or chapters.

If you intend to use multiple narrators, ensure readers do not get confused about the POV. Clearly delineate where the POV switches. If readers get confused, you’re opening the door for negative reviews, and we don’t want that.

If you really want multiple POVs, George R.R. Martin is the exception to the following rule : Don’t use more than 3-6 narrators in a story. If you're a first-time author, use only 1-3 POVs.

This is the most common point of view in modern literature. Third-person limited perspective is also the most common POV used in children’s books , especially stories for kids aged 3 and up. Check out my article on How to Write a Children’s Book .

• “She wanted the cricket to live in her hair forever.”
• “Their taxes might as well have been rocket science for all the sense it made to them.”
• “Mason craned his neck to make out where the wall met the ceiling, a hundred yards above them.”

First Person Point of View

In 1st person point of view, you can write “I” and “us” as well as “you,” “them,” and “it.” The first person narrator refers to themself with first-person pronouns, such as:

In real life, we all speak in the first person.

Romance and young adult novels, in particular, may benefit from a first-person perspective. This could help immediately connect young readers to your main character (like Katniss in Hunger Games , or Ishmael in Moby Dick , or Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises ) — as long as they’re well-written, of course.

However, beware. First-person narrative can easily sound whiny and unlikable. Too much introspection feels unnatural and unrelatable. (I’m looking at you, Bella from Twilight .)

Reviews and blog posts may be written in the first person. When I say, “I recommend this,” I’m speaking in the first person.

• “Much to my surprise, I liked the truck Charlie bought me.”
• “I recommend Scrivener because it’s the best word processor on the market.”
• “We gave him five of our best pineapples.”

Second Person Point of View

2nd person point of view uses second-person pronouns like “you” and “your” as well as third-person POV words like “hers,” “they,” and “itself” — but not “I” or “us.” In this uncommon POV, the narrator is usually an unspoken “me” talking to the spoken “you.”

This is a strange POV and is very rarely used in literature. Bright Lights, Big City by Jay McInerney is probably the most famous example. Short stories and short-form creative writing assignments are easier to incorporate 2nd person perspective into.

However, blog posts and self-help books are often written in the second person. If the narrator never mentions “I” or “me” but does mention “you” and “yourself,” it’s technically told in the 2nd person perspective.

I also think of text-based games, where it tells you that you’ve come upon a door and asks you what you want to do. Those games never mention “me” or “our.” They are told in the second person.

Check out this article on 12 Books Written in the Second Person .

• “You should read these great examples of second-person point of view. You’ll learn a lot.”
• “You walk down the empty street and see a deflated ball. What do you do with it?”
• “Your parents should be ashamed of themselves, and you should be ashamed of yourself.”

Fourth Person Point of View

This is an uncommon POV. The fourth person perspective is a more recent development of modern storytelling. It uses the following pronouns:

Some say this refers to the collective perspective told in the pronouns “we” and “our” without the use of “I” and “me.” However, the more common use of the 4th person perspective is indefinite pronouns.

The main advantage of speaking in the fourth person is to either refer to something that many people do (“One’s hand may slip if the tube were lubricated”) or to avoid passive voice (“Someone can do this,” instead of “This can be done”).

• “One would think you could simply bend the rules.”
• “Somebody could break their arm.”
• “Anyone can refer to oneself in the fourth person.”

Which point of view will you choose?

There are many reasons why you might want to use one point of view over another. For example, you probably already have one that you are comfortable with, one used more commonly in the books you read.

One factor to consider is genre. While you can use any of these POVs in any genre, there are some that are more commonly used in one genre compared to another one. For example, here are the most common points of few for some of the larger genres:

Nonfiction: Second person POV is most common, though first person is also used for some types of nonfiction, such as a memoir.

• Young Adult: First person is most common, with third person limited a close second.
• Romance: First person is most common, with third person limited a close second.
• Epic Fantasy: Third person limited is most common, with some third person omniscient.
• Urban Fantasy: First person
• Mystery/Thriller/Suspense: Third person limited
• Children's/Middle grade: Third person limited, although Omniscient is also quite common with narrators like that of The Hobbit .
• Literary: Any point of view is common

Whatever POV you choose, make sure to read up on the conventions on that style, and read books written in it. This will greatly improve your writing and put you on the path toward success in your prose.

Dave Chesson

When I’m not sipping tea with princesses or lightsaber dueling with little Jedi, I’m a book marketing nut. Having consulted multiple publishing companies and NYT best-selling authors, I created Kindlepreneur to help authors sell more books. I’ve even been called “The Kindlepreneur” by Amazon publicly, and I’m here to help you with your author journey.

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A Writer’s Guide to Point of View

Budding writers often ask me:

“How do I master Point of View?”

The inability to grasp this concept is the most common problem I see in aspiring novelists.

Veteran editor Dave Lambert says, “No decision you make will impact the shape and texture of your story more than your choice of Point of View.”

So let’s straighten it out, shall we?

After you read this post, you’ll know the crucial POV rules and techniques professional writers use (and publishers look for)—and how to apply them to your story .

• What is Point of View?

Things to understand about Point of View before we break it down:

1. Point of View is really two things:

A. The Voice with which you tell your story.

Not to be confused with the tone or sound of your writing (think of that Voice as your writing attitude), this is your choice to tell it in First Person (I), Second Person (you), or Third Person (he, she, or it).

B. Your Perspective Character.

Basically, that answers “Whose story is this?”

2. The cardinal rule of Point of View:

Limit yourself to one Perspective Character per scene, preferably per chapter, ideally per book .

That means no switching POV characters within the same scene, let alone within the same paragraph or sentence.

(Yes, that’s a common amateur mistake, and it results in head-hopping—a giant Point of View no-no I cover in more detail below.)

Point of View is worth stressing over, it’s that important .

Even pros have to remind themselves to avoid sliding into an Omniscient viewpoint.

I avoid that by imagining my Point of View or Perspective Character as my camera—I’m limited to writing only what my character “camera” sees, hears, and knows.

In essence, I’m limited to his or her perspective.

• Breaking Down the Point of View Voices

While POV is limited to one perspective character at a time, each of the three primary voices may be written in the present or past tense.

First Person Point of View

In this POV, the perspective character tells the story.

First Person is the second most common voice in fiction, but I recommend it for many beginning novelists, because it forces you to limit your viewpoint to one Perspective Character—which you should do with all POVs except Omniscient.

My first 13 novels (The Margo Mysteries) were written in first-person past tense.

First Person Examples

The most common use of first-person is past tense.

Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick begins in present tense but immediately switches to past:

Call me Ishmael. Some years ago, never mind how long precisely, having little or no money in my purse and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world.

While I recommend first-person, I think you’d find present tense awkward and difficult to sustain.

On the other hand, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is rendered that way and has become one of the most successful novel series ever.

If you have colossal writing talent and an idea as cosmic as hers, feel free to ignore my counsel and go for it. Here’s how hers begins:

When I wake up, the other side of the bed is cold. My fingers stretch out, seeking Prim’s warmth but finding only the rough canvas cover of the mattress. She must have had bad dreams and climbed in with our mother. Of course, she did. This is the day of reaping.

Second Person Point of View

This point of view uses “you, your” construction, and the narrator makes  “you,” the reader, become the protagonist.

Though rare in fiction and far more popular in nonfiction, it’s been said that because it plunges the reader into the action of the story, second person can bring a sense of immediacy to a novel.

I wouldn’t dare attempt it and don’t recommend it.

Second Person Examples

Jay McInerney used second-person present tense in Bright Lights, Big City this way:

You are not the kind of guy who would be at a place like this at this time of the morning. But here you are, and you cannot say that the terrain is entirely unfamiliar, although the details are fuzzy. You are at a nightclub talking to a girl with a shaved head.

You can see how this method forces the reader, in essence, to become a character and how difficult that might be for the writer to sustain for 300 or 400 pages.

Third Person Point of View

Finally, we’ve come to the most commonly used point of view in storytelling — third-person.

Third Person Limited

When written in third-person limited, the story is about he or she/him or her , or the character is mentioned by name.

As with all other POVs besides Omniscient, the writer is limited to one perspective character—your camera.

Everything you write must be seen through that camera: your perspective character’s eyes, ears, and mind.

Third Person Omniscient

Here the story is still about he or she , but the narrator writes from the all-knowing, all-seeing perspective and is not even limited by time.

Because so many of us were raised on the classics with their Omniscient author/narrator, it seems ingrained in us to want to know and tell all about every character onstage and off.

We even want to tell unseen things and things yet unseen. Such miraculous foretellings were often worded like: “Little did our hero know that 20 miles away, what would happen to him the next day was already being planned.”

Writing from that perspective might sound like an advantage, but fiction from an Omniscient viewpoint rarely succeeds in the traditional or indie markets today.

In nonfiction, the Omniscient narrator is common and makes sense, because you’re an expert trying to teach or persuade, and so you adopt a posture of knowing everything and telling everything.

Third Person Examples

Because many readers find third-person present tense weird, you won’t find it in many novels.

It would sound something like this:

Fritz skips out to the garage, fishing in his pocket for his keys. He slips behind the wheel and starts the car.

You can imagine how distracting that would be to the reader if maintained throughout.

By far, the most common choice for modern fiction is third-person past tense.

My perspective character at the start of Left Behind is an airline pilot.

I write it in third-person limited, past tense:

Rayford Steele’s mind was on a woman he had never touched. With his fully loaded 747 on autopilot above the Atlantic en route to a 6 a.m. landing at Heathrow, Rayford had pushed from his mind thoughts of his family.

As I mentioned above, the cardinal rule of POV is to limit yourself to one perspective character per scene, preferably per chapter, ideally per book.

If you’re J.K. Rowling, however, whose bestselling Harry Potter series gloriously breaks this rule, you have my wholehearted permission to ignore this advice.

Head-hopping is the problem .

Here’s an example of what it would have looked like, had I forgotten to limit myself to a single camera (Rayford) as the Perspective Character in Left Behind :

Rayford Steele’s mind was on a woman he had never touched. Meanwhile, his co-pilot was wondering what Rayford was thinking as he gazed out the cockpit window.

See how I slipped out of Rayford’s perspective and into the copilot’s from one sentence to the next?

That’s head hopping—hopping in and out of various characters’ heads.

That takes me from Third Person Limited to Omniscient. And Omniscient narrators are decades out of fashion.

• The Secret to Using Multiple Points of View in the Same Story

In the Left Behind novel series (Tyndale House Publishers), I alternated between as many as five perspective characters per book , but never within the same scene. And I made it crystal clear every time I switched.

I would add an extra space between paragraphs, insert what’s called a typographical dingbat—like this: ###—and fully introduce the new POV character:

Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, Buck Williams sat hunched over his laptop…

In my novel The Valley of the Dry Bones (Worthy Publishing), I employ a single Perspective Character for the entire book.

• Employing The Most Popular Point of View

If you’re a beginning writer , you might assume you must write in the first person, your Perspective Character referring to himself or herself as I .

But third-person limited is the most common choice for contemporary fiction.

Following is an example of how to effectively employ that voice.

A writer asked how he could better describe his character to portray her legalism and self-righteousness.

You can see how this would be easy if written in first person from her standpoint.

But how do we do it in third person limited?

His original:

Mother Clotilde sat at an ornate desk absentmindedly fingering a string of beads encircling her waist as she leafed through a thick leather-bound Bible. She looked like something unearthed at a dig.

Did you catch the POV violation?

Mother Clotilde is the perspective character, but because she’s alone, we can’t really say she “looked like something unearthed at a dig.”

Another character could say that or think that, if we were in that character’s POV. Needless to say, Mother Clotilde would not describe herself that way.

• Which POV Will You Choose?

Choose wisely, because the decision could make the difference between your manuscript landing a contract or being rejected.

Our job as novelists is to pull our readers so deeply into our story that they even forget they’re turning the pages.

Your Point of View choices can make that happen.

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Point of View

In creative nonfiction, especially in personal narratives, we can easily begin to feel imprisoned by the bars of “I, I, I” that tend to pepper our prose.

Obi-Wan: So what I told you was TRUE…from a certain point of view.

Luke: A certain point of view?

Obi-Wan: Luke, you’re going to find that many of the truths we cling to… depend greatly on our own points of view.

—“Star Wars: Episode VI—Return of the Jedi”

I think that I have discovered a possible form for these notes. That is, to make them include the present—at least enough of the present to serve as a platform to stand upon. It would be interesting to make the two people—I now, I then—come out in contrast. And further, this past is much affected by the present moment. What I write today I should not write in a year’s time.

—Virginia Woolf, “A Sketch of the Past”

In creative nonfiction, especially in personal narratives, we can easily begin to feel imprisoned by the bars of “I, I, I” that tend to pepper our prose. Our points of view can feel limited, isolated or small. But if, as Virginia Woolf suggests, we perch on a platform for viewing the past, why not invite a multiplicity of spectators to join us on the veranda? The variables of point of view in creative nonfiction can be just as numerous and just as effective as those used in fiction and poetry, perhaps even more so since the point (or points) of view in which we choose to tell our stories could, in fact, be the point of the story as well. As the wise Obi-Wan so succinctly tells us, truth is not a fixed adage but a concept that shifts under our gaze, multifaceted, determined by whatever self or persona happens to be in charge at the moment.

In fact, when we think of the term point of view in all its implications, we can see that it’s really an essential aspect of creative nonfiction’s groundwork. “Try to see it from MY point of view,” we often say in heated conversation or, “It’s MY point of view,” when we’re trying to put forth an argument or an opinion. But these phrases often make it seem as though a point of view is a fixed thing, immutable, easily ascertained. The joy of writing and reading creative nonfiction can be precisely that we come to have a multidimensional apprehension of the “truth” of experience. Sometimes this approach means that we will employ literal point-of-view digressions, such as second or third person, but we might consider variables of the I-narrator as different points of view as well.

Often we assume that if we speak in an I-voice, it is always the same “I.” But this “I” is shaped by time, by experience and by mood. There’s the “I” with a sense of humor about the whole thing, the “I” who is still puzzled, the “I” who has wisdom to impart, the “I” who has an ax to grind. There is also what we might call the “Lyric I”: the “I” who is silent; the “I” who speaks through fragmentation, through pure observation, through white space—the “I” who disappears into the gaps, eclipsed by language and metaphor.

We can also think of point of view as donning a pair of binoculars: How far can we see across time and space? Tense and time are just as much a part of point of view as the use of first, second or third person. When we speak from a child’s point of view in the present tense, it is obviously not the child writing the prose, but we imagine ourselves into her point of view for a while, and the present tense lends itself to the immediacy of such childlike encounters. And when we look back on that child from the adult point of view, we are pretending to be a wiser adult, but it’s still a mere persona, or point of view, we’re assuming and trying to make credible. When we imagine a time before we were born—imagining the points of view of our parents or grandparents, say—we are assuming a high-powered pair of binoculars. Here we are stretching the boundaries of creative nonfiction but still staying in that realm since we give clues that this is not a literal truth but an imaginative one. We are exercising our facilities of empathy.

Bernard Cooper, author of “Truth Serum,” often uses the future tense, looking ahead into the future beyond the moment he’s describing, using key phrases such as “I don’t yet know that…” or “I can’t know it at the time, but. …” These kinds of phrases automatically elicit a complex sense of point of view: The narrator is consciously positioned in a place where he knows both the past and the future; therefore, the point of view is not necessarily the author’s but that of a persona he has created to afford the best view of both.

So these issues of point of view really point to one of the most fundamental skills in creative nonfiction: writing not as the “author” but from a constructed persona, even if that persona is taking on the “I” to tell the story. That persona is formed by time, mood and distance from the events that are being narrated. And if we decide to literally foreground the artifice of this construction by using more stylized points of view, such as second and third person, we create even more of a relationship between the narrator and the narrated, a high awareness that we are engaged in the reconstruction of experience and not pretending to be mere transcribers of that experience.

Some Variables You (or I/One/We/She/He/They) Might Consider When Thinking About Point of View in Creative Nonfiction

The “I” point of view (First person, singular and/or plural: How far can “I” see?)

• First person, present, childlike

• First person, present, adult

• First person, past, looking back (into the distance or just to yesterday)

• First person, future (looking ahead)

• First person, moody: variables of the “I” that determine voice— funny, rueful, nostalgic, earnest, sad, etc.

• The Lyric I: speaking through silence, through poetic devices or through other forms/voices (For example: use of the fragmented braided essay form or the collage essay, where white space implies silence, and meaning is created through oblique connections of images and metaphors rather than through a straightforward narrative story)

• The “I” who is “We” or “One” (From Virginia Woolf’s “Street Haunting”: “No one perhaps has ever felt passionately toward a lead pencil. But there are circumstances in which it can become supremely desirable to possess one; moments when we are set upon having an object, an excuse for walking half across London between tea and dinner. … The hour should be the evening and the season winter. …”)

The “You” point of view

(Second person, singular and/or plural)

• The commanding “You” (as in “how to” pieces): the “You” that is kind of the “I” but could also be “You.” (From Brenda Miller’s “How to Meditate”: “On arrival, huddle in the Volkswagen with your friends and eat all the chocolate in the car. Chocolate chips, old KitKats, the tag end of a Hershey’s bar—do not discriminate.”)

• The “You” who is definitely the “I”: talking to yourself, about yourself, by way of talking to the reader. (From Nick Flynn’s “Another Bullshit Night in Suck City”: “If you had been raised in a village 200 years ago, somewhere in Eastern Europe, say, or even on the coast of Massachusetts, and your father was a drunk, or a little off, or both, then everyone in the village, those you grew up with and those who knew you only from a distance, they would all know that the town drunk or the village idiot was your father. …They would look into your eyes to see if they were his eyes, they would notice if you were to stumble slightly as you stepped into a shop, they would remember that your father, too, had started with promise, like you.”)

• The “You”who is definitely “You”: direct address to another character (implies an “I” is speaking). (From Abigail Thomas’s “Safekeeping”: “Before I met you I played my music on a child’s Victrola. …I am remembering this time just before I knew you, and then I knew you, and then you died. It makes the parentheses within which I lived most of my life. Not knowing you, knowing you, and then you died.”)

• The “You” who is all of us: “You do this. You do that. …”

The “She/He/They” point of view

(Third person, omniscient or another character’s perspective altogether)

• The “She” that is “I”: speaking of the self in the third person (From Abigail Thomas’ “Safekeeping”: “A middle-aged teacher is walking down Broadway in her big white sneakers and her yellow socks, her too long skirt (stained where three drops of hair-tinting stuff fell on it); she is wearing her daughter’s jacket, a new red velvet scarf and her two haircuts, both bad, and she is thinking about desire. …”)

• The “She” that is “She” told by an “I”: describing events you can’t really know about, but maintaining a subtle “I” (from Paisley Rekdal’s “The Night My Mother Met Bruce Lee”: “Age 16, my mother loads up red tubs of noodles, teacups chipped and white-gray as teeth, rice clumps that glue themselves to the plastic tub sides or dissolve and turn papery in the weak tea sloshing around the bottom.”)

• The “He” that is really “He”: inhabiting someone else’s point of view entirely (from Nick Flynn’s “Another Bullshit Night in Suck City”: “My father lifts the receiver in the night, speaks into it, asks Where’s the money? asks Why can’t I sleep? asks Who left me outside? The phone rings on a desk when he lifts it, the desk somewhere in Texas, someone is always supposed to be at that desk but no one ever is, not at night. A machine speaks while my father tries to speak, it doesn’t listen, it only speaks, my father’s face reflected dimly on the screen.”)

All of these variables are artistic constructions, but if a particular technique is used too self-consciously, it may feel shallow, like a gimmick. There must be some deeper reason to shift point of view, and ideally the right point of view will find its way to the writer, not the other way around. For instance, if we need physical distance from the self in order to speak about the self truthfully, then the third-person point of view will enhance that distance and help bolster the meaning of the essay. If we feel we are writing a universal experience, not just a private one, the second-person point of view may come in handy. Point of view is innately tied to voice, and a strong, well-executed point of view will also lead to a strong voice, one that will be clearly heard above the mayhem of the world.

Point of View

Point of view is  everything in film, television, and literature. Just watch this short clip from  The Shining  and notice the impact sudden shifts in camera perspectives have on you, the terrified audience member. You’re either witnessing Wendy swing a bat in terror or peeking through closed hands as Jack unravels.  But what exactly is point of view?  Point of view is the perspective of the narrative. As a writer, point of view means asking yourself  who should tell this story? and where are they telling this story from.  We’re all familiar with the different types of point of views a story can have:  first person, third person, second person,  but it’s also important to note some of the advantages each point of view can have in developing plot. Just as important is noting some of the possible disadvantages. Remember, point of view is  on purpose. You don’t just write in first person because it’s easy, you write in first person because it’s  the only way to tell your story. 

Below you’ll find the specifics for each type of point of view:

First Person (central):  The central figure of the work is responsible for narrating the story. Features of first person include: a unique voice, unreliable storytelling, and filtered perspective. Writers often choose first person point of view when they’ve got a character’s voice buzzing around in their head. Sometimes, in fact, the story isn’t all there, just the character’s interesting perspective of the world. Be mindful though, a first person narrator can be as funny as Ferris Bueller, or as moving as Holden Caulfield, but if there’s no  plot,  there’s no story. Often writers fall into the trap of spending too much time letting a first person narrator share  their perspective and forgetting that  something needs to happen.  Of course, action doesn’t mean jumping from building to building; it can also mean a change in the character that only readers can see  or  a decision that the narrator is finally able to come to terms with.  Small or momentous,  change is necessary, so if you choose to tell your story through first person narration, be mindful of planning the conflict ahead of time.

For more insight into first person point of view, read “The Beauty Treatment,” “Bullet in the Brain,” “Bigfoot Stole my Wife,” and watch  Eternal Sunshine, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Fight Club, A Christmas Story

First Person (peripheral):  Here you have a narrative told by a person or object on the outskirts of the action. The story isn’t really  about  this person; but this narrator has the access and interesting storytelling technique necessary. The  best example of this type of point of view is  The Great Gatsby.  The story isn’t about Nick Caraway, it’s about Jay Gatsby. Yet, Nick is the one who tells us Jay’s tale. In a lot of ways, First person peripheral can be a way to have the intimacy of first person (“I”, “me” “I can’t believe…”) and maintain the complicated mystery of the protagonist. Think about it– knowing Jay Gatsby, would he have been an effective narrator? Not at all! He’s way too secretive and detached. For other examples of first person peripheral point of view, check out the beginning of  Aladdin, Shawshank Redemption, Gossip Girl

Second Person:  You’re writing a story. You want it to be interesting. You also want it to be something that no one has ever done before. So, you decide second person is the way to go. After all, it’s when “You” narrates. That is, the reader becomes the narrator, and you the author tell the reader exactly what to do, think, and say. Junot Diaz does this quite effectively in the short story, “Alma.” Another interesting use of second person occurs in youtube parody videos where a character talks to the camera as though the camera is another character in the skit (Think of the “Things women hear” or “Things everyone says to an Indian,” etc. parody videos). The most important thing to consider here is  why. Why use second person?  If it’s related to the overall theme of the work or the purpose of the work, then great! If it’s just because it’s new and no one has done it before,  stop right there! You run the risk of writing something that is gimmicky. 

Third Person (omniscient):  This is the most traditional mode of storytelling. Think of a camera that has access to all involved in the narration. That’s third person. The narrator can tell readers what all characters are thinking, seeing, feeling, and doing. A trap though that often happens here is we forget the golden rule of  creative writing: Show don’t tell!  Even though your narrator has access to what people are feeling, don’t forget to  show your readers through a gesture or a line of dialogue rather than tell them directly. 

Third Person (limited):  This is where you still adhere to the third person perspective and pronouns: he, she, they– but your narrator is specifically interested in the thoughts, feelings, and actions of a few characters or maybe even  one  character.  Think of a Harry Potter film or novel. Sure, there’s hundreds of wizards to follow, but the narrator is only interested in following  three dashing wizards. 

Third Person (objective):  This is a true test of how much you can show to a reader through  actions and dialogue.  This narrator is a reporter, and as such, can only report on what is seen and heard. In fact, this is a great practice for playwriting. We have  so many examples of third person in film now given the recent surge of horror films that use technology as the “third person objective” narrator. Think  Paranormal Activity, UnFriend Me, etc. 

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Narrators are a tool that writers use to tell stories. As stated before, stories are generally told in one of two points of views:

• First-person point of view
• Third-person point of view

First-person point of view means that one of the characters in the story will narrate–give an account–of the story. The narrator may be the protagonist, the main character. Writing in first-person point of view brings the readers closer to the story. They can read it as if they are the narrator because of the personal pronouns I, me, my, we,  us, and  our.

Third-person point of view means that the narrator is not in the story. The third-person narrator is not a character. They are like the reader; they are outside of the story and watching it unfold. Third-person point of view can be done two ways:

• Third-person limited
• Third-person omniscient

Third-person limited means that the narrator limits him/herself by being able to be in one character’s thoughts.  Whereas, third-person omniscient means the narrator has unlimited ability to be in various character’s thoughts.  Writing in third-person point of view removes readers from the story because of the pronouns  he, she, it, him, her, his, hers, they, them , and  theirs .

Types of Narrators

In addition to the point of view writers select for the narration of the story, narrators can be unreliable, reliable, naive, or detached observers.

Unreliable Narrators

Unreliable narrators cannot be trusted to present the story accurately or with credibility because they have a skewed view of life events. This may be due to the narrator’s mental health state (i.e.: depression, psychosis, schizophrenia, etc.), or it may be due to the narrator’s devious nature (i.e.: murderer, rapist, thief, compulsive liar, etc.). The unreliable narrator may tell lies, withhold information, assess situations incorrectly, contradict information, etc.

Unreliable narrators may reveal their character flaws in three ways:

• They may openly admit their problem at the beginning of the story.
• They may gradually reveal it throughout the story.
• They may wait until the end of the story, which can create a plot twist for readers.

Reliable Narrators

Reliable narrators also have their own view of life events. However, they generally are attempting to present the story in an accurate, impartial way. Reliable narrators often have a strong sense of observation that is seen in how they present the events (scenes) in the story.

Naive  Narrators

Naive narrators are innocent, inexperienced individuals. They lack knowledge about the events (scenes) that are unfolding in the story. This may be due to age, such as a young narrator or senile narrator, or it may be the narrator’s limited experience with a different culture or country. Readers may view the narrator as unreliable because of their lack of experience and/or knowledge.

Detached Observers

Narrators that are detached observers stick to the facts. They are a witness to the story. They report what unfolds in the story. They do not interject their conscious thoughts or opinions about the events or other characters.

Choosing a Narrator and Point of View

Writers sometimes choose their narrator and point of view via the trial-and-error method. They might start out with a third-person point of view, detached observer, and a few pages into the story realize they want a first-person, unreliable narrator instead. They either scrap the first draft and start again or they revise it into the new point of view.

However, writers can ask themselves questions in the prewriting stage to determine a closer match to selecting the right type of narrator and point of view for a story before they begin to write. The questions may include, but are not limited to these:

• Do you want your readers to identify closely with the main character? Then, choose first-person reliable.
• Do you want your readers to experience mystery, intrigue, and fear? Then, choose first-person unreliable.
• Do you want to write a story about a young naive character or a senile, old character?  Then, choose first-person or third-person, limited naive.
• Do you want to strictly write a factual account of a story? Then, choose third-person, detached observer.

Multiple Points of View in Novels

Because a novel has multiple chapters, it’s possible to have more than one narrator. Chapter 1 may be told in first-person point of view by one character, and chapter 2 may be told in first-person point of view by another character.  Usually, this is done with two narrators (characters) alternating in the chapters. However, it can be three or more narrators if the writer knows what he or she is doing. This type of writing requires a strategic plan identifying which scenes which narrators will tell to move the plot, so that scenes are not repeated by the different narrators. It also requires that the writer develop a unique voice for each character who narrates.

Introduction to Creative Writing by Lumen Learning is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Point of View Writing Prompts and Activities

Point of view is one of my favorite skills to teach. When students begin to think more about points of view that differ from their own, they become more understanding towards other kids. I don't know any 3rd, 4th, or 5th grade classroom that wouldn't benefit that!  And the point of view writing prompts and activities below are designed for just that.

These no prep point of view writing activities can be used with almost any book. All students need is a sheet of paper! And, even better, these point of view writing prompts can be repeated multiple times, making them great for a reading or writing center. (The links below for books are affiliate links.)

You can find even more point of view activities here.

Point of View Writing Ideas for Fiction Texts

1. have students rewrite the narrative from a different character's point of view..

But this activity is not limited to fairy tales - students can rewrite ANY narrative (find some good fiction books for teaching point of view here)   that has multiple characters from a different point of view, and usually they will have a lot of fun doing it!

2. Have Students Rewrite the Narrative From Their Own Point of View.

Ask students to replace the main character of the story with themselves, thinking about what they would have done differently from the main character. What decisions would they have made differently? How would the plot have changed? What would they have said differently?

This writing activity directly relates to the Third Grade Common Core English Language Arts Reading Literature Standard 3.6: Distinguish their own point of view from that of the narrator or those of the characters.

3. Have Students Rewrite the Narrative From A Different Perspective.

This is a good activity for students that are working on distinguishing between first, second, and third person points of view. If the narrative was written in a first person point of view, have students rewrite the same story from a third person point of view or vice versa.

This point of view writing activity relates to the Fourth Grade Common Core English Language Arts Reading Literature Standard 4.6: Compare and contrast the point of view from which different stories are narrated, including the difference between first- and third-person narrations.

This point of view freebie might also come in handy as you have students write from different perspectives.  Or, consider having students use what they are learning about point of view to create a comic strip.

Point of View Writing Ideas for Nonfiction Texts

1. have students rewrite a nonfiction passage from an opposing viewpoint..

In 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade nonfiction books, sometimes the author's point of view is not very clear. In a nonfiction children's book about sharks, for example, it might seem that the author is simply stating shark facts. However, all nonfiction is written with the author's point of view, however subtle it comes across. Does the author thinks sharks are dangerous? Does the author think people overreact in their fear of sharks?

Help students figure out what the author's point of view is in a nonfiction text, and then have them rewrite the passage from a different viewpoint. If the author believes sharks are dangerous, have students write about how sharks are not dangerous if you take safety precautions.

2. Have Students Write About A Topic From Two Different Points of View.

This is a great activity to get kids thinking critically about points of view other than their own. Have students write about the same topic from two different points of view. For example, you could have students write about why a cat would make a good pet, as well as why a cat would make a terrible pet.

Students in 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade have a hard time understanding other people's points of view if it contrasts with their own. This activity can help make them more open-minded about people with views that oppose their own.

Here are some possible topics for students to write about:

• asking permission to use the restroom vs going to the restroom whenever you need to
• homework vs no homework
• raising your hand before speaking in class vs speaking whenever you want

When students have to start writing from different points of view, it makes them think more critically and behave more empathetically towards those that are different from them, as well as gives them practice writing!

If you are trying to teach your students more about understanding different points of view and how to disagree respectfully, check out these teaching tips.  

Never Stress Over Sub Plans Again!

Make copies, find a fiction book, and you'll be ready for any emergency that comes your way!

thank you, this really helps me.

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Stavropol Krai

• 2 Other destinations
• 3 Understand
• 6 Get around
• 11 Stay safe

Stavropol Krai is a region in Southern Russia , which borders Krasnodar Krai to the west, Rostov Oblast to the north, Kalmykia to the east, and all the republics of the North Caucasus to the south.

Cities [ edit ]

• 45.05 41.983333 1 Stavropol — this capital city is located in a particularly mountainous area of the region and was one of Russia's most important bases during the Russian conquest of the Caucasus ; former home to Mikhail Gorbachev and it has a particularly nice urban park
• 44.200833 43.1125 5 Mineralnye Vody — a health spa city named for its "Mineral Waters" at the edge of the; a common flight destination for visitors to the North Caucasus

Other destinations [ edit ]

Understand [ edit ].

Stavropol Krai contains a large number of Caucasian health spas/sanatoria, which Russians have visited for over 200 years to treat various ailments (and just to escape the northern climate of Moscow and Saint Petersburg . As such, the region has been home to many of Russia's most prominent figures, including writers such as A.S. Pushkin and Mikhail Lermontov, whose works have embedded the Pyatigorsk region into the national consciousness. A great read for anyone visiting the region is Lermontov's short novel, A Hero of Our Time , which is set in various areas in the south of the Krai.

Stavropol Krai is also notable for its exceptionally diverse climactic and topographic diversity. The environments range from sand deserts, to mud flats, to steppe, to forest, to mountains, to permafrost!

Talk [ edit ]

Russian is the soup of the day.

Get in [ edit ]

By rail, most visitors will arrive at the regional transit hub of Stavropol .

Domestic flights to Stavropol ( STW  IATA )and to Mineralnye Vody ( MRV  IATA ) (which is closer to Mount Elbrus, the North Caucasus , and the health spas) are common around Russia.

Get around [ edit ]

See [ edit ].

• Mountain Beshtau Uranium Mines (RU) . 238 kilometers of mines inside Mount Beshtau 7 km from Pyatigorsk city. Closed in ~ 1971, but explored by diggers today. The site guides offers adventure descend into the mines with ropes and equipment. ( updated Mar 2019 )

Do [ edit ]

• Mountain climbing
• Quail hunting
• Sulphur baths

Eat [ edit ]

Drink [ edit ], stay safe [ edit ].

Because of its proximity to the conflict in Chechnya , the security situation is very poor in Stavropol Krai. While kidnappings are unlikely, there have been fairly regular bombings of public areas and official facilities in the southern cities and in Stavropol over the years. While a visitor is fairly unlikely to be victim to such terroristic attacks, the resulting crackdown has led to strict and unfortunately corrupt policing of the area — a visitor is quite likely to be harassed for bribes.

Stavropol Krai is the nearest “island of freedom” (in every sense) for residents of neighboring Chechnya and Ingushetia, who often visit this region for entertainment purposes (alcohol, nightclubs), therefore, it is not uncommon to run into them in entertainment establishments and at night on the streets. They are often armed with knives and pistols. To prevent conflicts, it is better to refrain from reacting to possible provocations on their part and simply walk away from them.

Learn [ edit ]

• Stavropol State University — located in Stavropol, owned in 1996
• North Caucasus Gumanitarium Technological University — main located in Stavropol, but have own filials in Pyatigorsk, Kislovodsk and Ingushetia
• North Caucasus Gumanitarium Technological Institute;
• Stavropol State Medical Academy
• Stavropol State Agrarium University — one of the best agrarium university in Russia;
• Pyatigorsk State Linguistic University — one of the best linguistic university in Russia.Located in Pyatigorsk;
• Pyatigorsk State Technological University — located in Pyatigorsk
• Kislovodsk State Technological University — located in Kislovodsk

Connect [ edit ]

Mobile [ edit ].

In Stavropol krai there are three GSM operators (MTS, Beeline, Megafon), one 3G-UMTS operator (Beeline) and one CDMA operator on 800 MHz frequency (RusSDO) and they often have offers that give you a SIM card for free or at least very cheap. If you are planning to stay a while and to keep in touch with Stavropolean and other North-Caucasus, South-Russians people, then you should consider buying a local SIM card instead of going on roaming. If you buy a SIM card from a shop you'll need your passport for identification. It only takes five minutes to do the paperwork and it will cost less than $10.

Go next [ edit ]

Stavropol Krai is a common jumping off point for tourists venturing into the North Caucasus . Basically any city in the region can be reached via minibus or taxi from Mineralnye Vody.

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