A Cheat Sheet to Point of View in Fiction

Learn the three main points of view in fiction: first person, third person limited, and third person omniscient.

Point of view (POV) is perhaps one of the most important aspects of writing fiction because the POV of your narration determines your characterization, style, and theme. The point of view in fiction impacts the reader’s understanding of what is happening at any given moment in the story. Writers also use POV to give varying levels of access to the character’s mind.

The three main points of view in fiction are first person, third person limited, and third person omniscient.

First Person Point of View

First person point of view is the POV that is directly inside the character’s mind. This POV uses pronouns like I, my, we, our, etc.

Some first person point of view examples:

• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

This POV restricts the reader’s knowledge to what the narrator knows, but it offers an intimate glimpse inside the character’s head.

First person point of view is most popular in genres like young adult and science fiction, but it isn’t limited to these genres.

Third Person Limited

Third person limited point of view uses pronouns like he, she, they, etc. This POV offers a glimpse of the world and inside the character’s mind, but “limited” means that the narrator only provides access to one character’s thoughts.

Some examples of third person limited point of view include:

• Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

• A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

• Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson

• Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

This POV provides one perspective at a time, but writers can switch POV’s in different chapters. You can find this POV often in romance and mystery/thrillers.

Read more: Three Elements for Writing the Setting of Your Story

Third Person Omniscient

Third person omniscient uses third person pronouns, but allows the narrator to dip in and out of multiple characters’ thoughts and feelings.

Some examples of third person omniscient include:

• Dune by Frank Herbert

• War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

• The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

• Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

This POV gives the reader access to multiple character’s interiority and more information about the world. The narrator in third person omniscient knows everything, but the characters don’t. This POV is popular in literary fiction and fantasy.

Read more: How to Develop Your Main Character

Other Points of View

Some different points of view that aren’t used as often include:

• Epistolary, which is point of view in a story told through letters, emails, diary entries, etc.

• First person plural, which uses we, our, etc.

• Second person, which uses you pronouns.

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