As a writer, you are constantly making decisions that could affect the entire outcome of a story. If your main character ends up cheating on his wife, that type of storyline could have repercussions throughout the rest of a book. A quick introduction to a side character could become the main suspect in a murder case. Even the setting can affect how people talk or react to a situation. But one of the first decisions a writer is faced with making is the literary device point of view (POV): first person, third person limited, third person omniscient, even second person is a (sparsely used) option. We learned the terms back in middle school, and we understand the differences at a fundamental level. The type of POV that an author uses can help to drive the story along, and depending on which form you use, can give you insight into what a character is thinking. 

As a quick refresher, in first person, everything that happens is experienced through the eyes of the main protagonist, the person who takes on the ‘I’ character. Third-person (both limited and omniscient) offers some distance between the reader and the characters.

How much information do you want to present to your reader? What’s the tone that you’re looking for in your novel? These are important questions that could change how you go about your story. Whatever choice you make before you even put one word onto paper is a commitment.

In the first novel that I wrote (still hidden in a drawer that I’ve kept locked away for the better part of three years), I used third person since my story involved jumping between multiple points of view. When beginning my current novel, I opted for first person. I focus on one character’s experiences, and I wanted my audience to see and uncover things at the same time as my main character, to get her honest and real reactions. 

A few observations when writing in first person:

• I often have an urge to share information or events that would only be possible to know if we followed another character. I usually need to remind myself that most everything should be seen from my main character’s eyes.
• There is no need for “I thought,” “I saw,” or similar statements. Everything that I write is from my main character’s perspective, so there is no need to reiterate that fact.
• I need to be conscious (and careful) of which tense I’m in. It’s a rookie mistake to waiver between past and present tense.
• Just because I’m writing from the mind of one character, not all descriptions should be introspective about her thoughts and feelings. I shouldn’t forget to describe scenes, settings in order to build out the world we’re in.

One of the latest books I recently read (see my review on my Instagram account) is Everybody in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson. In the novel, Stevenson also used first person, which allowed for a more quirky voice. Overall, the murder mystery from the perspective of a crime novelist who comes from a family steeped in history full of murder made the story fun. Ernest Cunnigham (aka Ernie, the main character), could’ve taken a more straight, serious approach, but instead, he referenced famous mystery writers and often broke the fourth wall, going so far as to offer spoilers as to when major events would actually happen. The result: a fun book that didn’t take itself so seriously, and was the first time that I actually appreciated an author’s decision to use one point of view over another.

Though I’m early in my novel editing process, I believe that my choice to use first person will pay off in the end, the way Stevenson was able to do with his novel. And when it comes to determining if I made the right decision as to which literary device point of view to use, it’s hard to tell at this point. I know I wanted my audience to be as close to my main character’s journey as possible, uncovering things as she uncovers them. And ultimately, it’s up to me to apply everything I learned when it comes to storytelling to drive my story forward. I need to trust that everything I’ve done up to this point as a writer is for the good of the story.