WRITING | Point of View - The Hero's Quest - Naming Your Characters

Point of View

Before you start to tell the story, ask yourself this question: Who is going to tell the story?

There are two basic types of narration you can choose from:

First-person narration. In first-person narration, there is one voice in the story from start to finish. That person - the "I" of the story - is our only source for information, and that person's voice is the only one we hear. There are a variety of formats where you can use first-person narration, such as diaries, letters, interviews, interrogations, confessions, therapy sessions, etc.

Third-person narration. In third-person narration, a story has multiple points of view, as you shift and move from one character to another. In fact, you might find it easier to think of this as "multiple first-person" narration, since you can include the voices of many different characters, each with their own point of view. You have much more freedom when writing in third-person, but it also means you have many more decisions to make.