Characters and Point of View
By Laura Backes, Publisher, Children's Book Insider, the Newsletter for Children's
Writers
The point of view — how you choose to tell your story — determines the voice
of your writing. Children's stories are told from the viewpoint of your main
character. Who this character is — his or her personality, temperament, strengths
and weaknesses —- will affect how the story is told.
Whichever viewpoint technique you choose also impacts the way you develop
your main character for the reader.
First person: The first person viewpoint uses the "I". Your main
character is telling the story in his or her own words. This point of view
allows the writer to easily show the character's personality because every
thought, feeling and opinion expressed in the narrative comes from that character.
The author must know the main character very well before starting the story;
a flat, undeveloped character will not hold the reader's interest. The limitations
to this viewpoint are that the character must remain actively involved in the
story at all times, otherwise he ends up standing on the sidelines and describing
the action in long, telling passages. Physical descriptions of the main character
come through dialogue from other characters ("I've always loved your curly
hair, "Sue told me) or by the main character comparing himself to another
person (I have my dad's blue eyes). Rarely does a character stop and describe
herself for no reason.
When working in first person, you can only show the thoughts of your main
character, and you can only see the events your main character sees. The thoughts
of other characters must be expressed through dialogue. First person, past
tense is the most common, and effective, narration technique. Some young adult
novels use first person, present tense, but avoid using this in picture books
or novels for young children because it is sometimes difficult to read as it
sounds like everything is happening simultaneously. (I am running down the
walk I open the gate and step into the yard.)
Third person, subjective: With third person you use the pronouns "he" and "she," but
you are still telling the story through one character's eyes. You get close
to your main character by showing only his or her thoughts and feelings and
following that character through the story, but you don't have to write the
narration as if it's coming out of your main character's mouth. This is often
the easiest point of view for beginning writers to master. Be careful not to
comment or editorialize upon your character's actions (Billy should have known
better), or speak directly to the reader (Can you guess what happened next?).
You as the author must remain invisible so your readers can immerse themselves
within the world of your story.
Omniscient: The omniscient point of view is like looking at the story through
a movie camera. You can show the reader what's happening in several places
at once, but you don't get close to any one character or see their thoughts.
This can be useful at the beginning of a chapter to set the scene (as E.B.
White does in Charlotte's Web), but after a paragraph or two switch to the
viewpoint of your main character. An entire book written with the omniscient
point of view does not allow the reader to identify with any one character
or know whose story you are telling.
While most children's books encompass one main character and one point of
view, some young adult novels alternate points of view between two or three
main characters. This is best done when entire chapters focus on one character
and one viewpoint. It's difficult to do this successfully in books for younger
children unless each character has a very different role in the book, and you
are a talented writer (as in Natalie Babbitt's Tuck Everlasting). •
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for Kids Articles
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Copyright 2001, Children's Book Insider, LLC.
10/27/04
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