The View

Let's talk about View. Not the show. Point of View. The perspective from which our story is told! Here are the choices we have:

First Person ("I") - The writer tell the story from one character's point of view (usually the main character). I like stories told in first person because I feel connected to the story. I'm in the moment. I am the character! This works incredibly well in The Hunger Games with Katniss. The drawback to first person is that the reader only gets one side of the story. We only get to know what that character knows, go where they go, see what they see and experience life as them. It's very limiting. Like driving through a very thick fog and only being able to see what your fog lights illuminate. All else around you remains foggy, unknown.

Second Person ("You") - I debated mentioning this because it is so rarely used. The writer speaks to the reader. I'm about to completely date myself but - do you remember the Choose Your Own Adventure Series? Oh, how I loved those books. I still have all mine from childhood! Those are written in second person and work quite well because you, the reader, are the main character and you, the reader, have the fun adventures! Or reach THE END if you don't choose well. (Ooooooh, I think I just came up with an idea for a fun blogfest! I'll have to flush this idea out to see how it's going to work...see, amazing when inspiration can strike!)

Third Person ("He/She") - And now you have MY Point of View. Here is where it gets tricky, though. There are two types of Third Person.
Limited Omniscient - The writer lets you in on the thoughts and feelings of ONE character.
Omniscient - All knowing. :-) The reader gets to know EVERYTHING (thoughts/feelings of all the characters).

Third Person is more versatile. I have heard writer's say that they started in one point of view, then switched because it wasn't working for the story they were trying to tell. We can always change our minds. We don't ever have to married to anything. I started DARK FOREST in first person very briefly - a few scenes as I was trying to find my main character and flush a few things out. But it didn't work. Switching to Third Person allowed me to create a richer world. It helped me flush Eva out, to be sure that she wasn't ME. I could breathe life into her, and my other characters. My vision broadened. It works for me in this story. Now, I have the problem of switching from limited to omniscient at times. I have to really watch myself or I can do that. Yikes!

What about you? Do you have a tendency towards one point of view or the other? Or do you vary by story? Have you ever started in one and finished in the other? Anyone out there with a Second Person POV story?