CHOOSING A PERSPECTIVE
by Donald Uzoka (Donaldprince)
• Author of Before Sixteen
• The African Awards Admin (Head Judge)

The truth of the matter is that most writers (especially on Wattpad) don't know or simply don't care about considering what perspective they should use in writing their story.

Using the right perspective is very essential when it comes to writing a captiving story. If a writer is able to use the right perspective in writing their story, then they are on the right path to making that book a complete success. But, if a writer uses the wrong perspective, they will probably end up hating their own story even if they had the best plot and storyline.

People tend to overlook the fact that using the wrong perspective could hinder character development and also make the author's ideas look bland.

Firstly, what are the types of perspective?

1. First person
2. Third person.

Those are the types of perspective we use when writing a story. You might be wondering; what about second person?

Well, the use second person isn't really advisable when it comes to writing a story because it is difficult and could easily come out as confusing. Second person is usually used in writing articles like this. What I used in writing this is a fair example of second person.

What exactly are First person and Third person?

First person: The first person point of view gives your readers a personal interaction and relationship with your main character or narrator in the sense that anyone reading your story would be seeing things through your main character's eyes. Your readers are only able to know what your main character knows and see what your main character sees.

In first person, we use the pronouns 'I', 'me', 'myself', 'mine', etc.

A good example of a book written in first person is Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

Third person: Third person point of view uses the pronouns 'he' and 'she' and allows the reader to see and analyze things from a general aspect.

There are actually two types of third person. We have the third person omniscient and the third person limited but to me, they don't make much difference.

The third person omniscient is when the writer jumps from one character's thoughts to the other.

E.g 1

Ella stormed into the room, looking furious and ready to raise hell. She wore a scowl on her face and Mike thought it made her look like a zombie. As a result of that, he burst into a fit laughter.

Third person limited on the other hand is when you only focus on one character (usually the main character). Here, the readers don't necessarily need to know what other characters are thinking, they are only aware of their actions.

E.g 2

Ella stormed into the room, looking furious and ready to raise hell. She wore a scowl on her face and Mike suddenly burst into a fit of laughter after he'd seen her.

Did you spot the difference between example 1 and 2?

In example 2, we don't really know why Mike suddenly began laughing but in example 1, we could actually see what was so amusing to him.

A good example of books written in third person are MAY by love_richie and The ORION Project by KweenKlara both here on wattpad.

Points To Consider When Choosing a Perspective.

You might ask yourself, "How do I know what perspective to use for my story?" Well, here are a few pointers to consider when choosing a perspective.

• Story Genre

Now, this is very important because your story genre actually matters a lot when it comes to choosing a perspective. If you're writing a mystery story, check other mystery stories and find out what perspective they were written in and if the perspective the writer used was actually suitable. Did it make the story look dull?  Did you find it difficult to understand some certain things? Or perhaps, the perspective used didn't look right for the story. You need to take note of these things.

While some people might tell you that teen fiction and romance must be written in first person before it is relatable or that mystery and historical fiction must be written in third person before they can be understood, I believe that it all depends on the writer and how they use these perspectives.

• Story Mood / Tone

Is your story dark and spooky? Or is it humorous and uplifting? Believe it or not, these things do count.

If you're telling me a story about a girl who is very funny, sarcastic and badass, I think that story would be better off written in first person because I'd like to have a personal relationship with that kind of character (this is exactly why most teen fiction and romance books are written in first person point of view).

• Characterization (Number of Main Characters)

I once read a book here on Wattpad and noticed that the writer just kept jumping from one character's point of view to another and before I could even get to chapter five, I could already count eight different characters who I'd read from their point of view and yet, I still couldn't identify and differentiate from which character was which all because the writer wanted to write in first person.

This is actually very crucial because most writers on Wattpad fall victim of this. I understand that a story could have more than two main characters but that doesn't mean you should jump from one POV to the other. I believe a story like that is better off written in third person omniscient.

Personally, I think any book written in first person perspective should not have more than two point of views. When you start telling one story from four different characters' POV, it becomes disorienting and disorganized even for the writer.

Therefore, I advise that if your story is going to have more than two main characters or perhaps, there are parts that need to be told from minor characters' POV, it should be written in third person omniscient.

Remember, not every story needs to be written in first person.

Finally, when writing, you must stick to one perspective. Don't start with third person and along the way, you decide that you want the main character to start narrating the story. And switching back and forth isn't advisable either.

I hope this was clear enough and would help you when next you're writing a story and deciding the right perspective to use.