One of the most common issues I see from new writers is not having a clear point of view. Sometimes, the point of view starts with one character, then suddenly it jumps to a different character’s perspective. I’ve even seen a story switch between first person and third person between one paragraph and the next.

Without a clear POV, readers can become disoriented—enough to put down the book, which is the last thing we want as writers. So I’ve put together this guide to help you navigate the confusing terrain that is point of view.

Point of View Types

Depending on how you divide it, there are three different point of view types: first person, second person, and third person. We can further break down third person point of view into limited and omniscient.

Let’s take a closer look at each point of view type.

First Person

In the first-person point of view, the author tells the story through one character at a time, and this character uses first-person pronouns (I, me, my) to refer to themselves. Usually, this character is the main character or one of the main characters.

First person can allow you to delve deeply into your character’s thoughts and feelings. You’re quite literally in that person’s head, which allows you to provide an intimacy with that character that the other point of view types don’t have.

However, first person can also be limiting. When you write in a first-person perspective, you must filter everything through that character. They can only convey information that they would know. This doesn’t have to be a disadvantage though. As the author, you can play with how and when to reveal information and the reliability of a narrator when using a first-person perspective.

You’ll often see first-person narratives in young adult books, science fiction novels, and memoirs. Some popular books written in first person include The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Educated by Tara Westover.

First-person excerpt from The Fault in Our Stars:

Late in the winter of my seventeenth year, my mother decided I was depressed, presumably because I rarely left the house, spent quite a lot of time in bed, read the same book over and over, ate infrequently, and devoted quite a bit of my abundant free time to thinking about death.

Second Person

The second-person perspective employs second-person pronouns (you, your, yours). This is the least common perspective in fiction—for good reason, it can be tricky to pull off.

Second-person point of view puts the reader front and center in the narrative, right into the action. And readers don’t always like this. It can make them feel uncomfortable. If you’re considering using this point of view type, you’ll have to work hard to convince readers that the narrative requires it.

Because it can be hard for readers to swallow second person in novel-length works, the second person is often used in shorter pieces like poetry and short stories. Second person is also found in pick-your-own-path books for children and self-help books. Some popular books will use second person in portions of the story while the rest is in another point of view type. Erin Morgenstern’s The Night Circus and N. K. Jemisin’s The Fifth Season both do this.

Second-person excerpt from The Night Circus:

The circus looks abandoned and empty. But you think perhaps you can smell caramel wafting through the evening breeze, beneath the crisp scent of the autumn leaves. A subtle sweetness at the edges of the cold.

The sun disappears completely beyond the horizon, and the remaining luminosity shifts from dusk to twilight. The people around you are growing restless from waiting, a sea of shuffling feet, murmuring about abandoning the endeavor in search of someplace warmer to pass the evening. You yourself are debating departing when it happens.

First, there is a popping sound. It is barely audible over the wind and conversation. A soft noise like a kettle about to boil for tea. Then comes the light.

Third Person Limited

Perhaps the most common point of view type these days, third person limited is told with third-person pronouns (he, she, they) sharing one character’s thoughts and feelings. The narration is limited to only sharing that character’s perspective.

This type, also known as close third, has some of the same advantages of first in that the author can give readers an intimate view of a character (though not quite as intimate as first person), but it can also add a level of intrigue as readers still can only learn what the chosen character knows.

It’s common in books written in third person limited to showcase multiple points of view. When changing from one character’s perspective to another, you should use a scene or chapter break to indicate the shift to the reader.

Third person is common across genres, including thriller, mystery, romance, science fiction, and fantasy. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo, A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin, and 1984 by George Orwell are all written in third person limited.

Third-person limited excerpt from Six of Crows:

Kaz Brekker didn’t need a reason. Those were the words whispered on the streets of Ketterdam, in the taverns and coffeehouses, in the dark and bleeding alleys of the pleasure district known as the Barrel. The boy they called Dirtyhands didn’t need a reason any more than he needed permission—to break a leg, sever an alliance, or change a man’s fortunes with the turn of a card.

Of course they were wrong, Inej considered as she crossed the bridge over the black waters of the Beurskanal to the deserted main square that fronted the Exchange. Every act of violence was deliberate, and every favor came with enough strings attached to stage a puppet show. Kaz always had his reasons. Inej could just never be sure they were good ones. Especially tonight.

Third person omniscient excerpt from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe:

Once there were four children whose names were Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy. This story is about something that happened to them when they were sent away from London during the war because of the air-raids. They were sent to the house of an old Professor who lived in the heart of the country, ten miles from the nearest railway station and two miles from the nearest post office. He had no wife and he lived in a very large house with a housekeeper called Mrs Macready and three servants. (Their names were Ivy, Margaret and Betty, but they do not come into the story much.) He himself was a very old man with shaggy white hair which grew over most of his face as well as on his head, and they liked him almost at once; but on the first evening when he came out to meet them at the front door he was so odd-looking that Lucy (who was the youngest) was a little afraid of him, and Edmund (who was the next youngest) wanted to laugh and had to keep on pretending he was blowing his nose to hide it.

How to Choose the Right Point of View

If you don’t have a firm grasp on the different point of view types, I would say stick to first person or third person limited since they are the easiest for many to write. Unfortunately, I’ve seen many writers attempt third person omniscient, but it usually ends up being somewhere between limited and omniscient.

But when choosing a POV for a specific story think about the advantages and disadvantages of each point of view type. Do you want to be deep in a character’s head or even have an unreliable narrator? First person is probably a good choice. Do you want to give readers all the information possible? Third person omniscient might be for you.

It all depends on what you want to accomplish with the POV.

You may also want to consider what POV you feel most comfortable writing. If you’re new to writing, there’s nothing wrong with choosing that POV. Or perhaps you want to stretch yourself. Maybe it’s time to play with a POV type that you’re not used to.

No matter what POV you choose, you’ll want to establish it from the very beginning and stay consistent with it. You can switch POV characters or POV types within a story (from first to third for example), just make sure you have a scene break before you do.

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Happy writing!