Point of View in Fiction: First Person, Third Person and Which to Choose

Point of view (POV) is the perspective from which a story is told. The main options are first person ("I opened the door"), second person ("You open the door"), third person limited ("She opened the door," staying inside one character's head), and third person omniscient ("She opened the door, unaware that her brother was watching," with a narrator who knows everything). Choosing the right POV controls how close readers feel to your characters and what information they get.

Quick Comparison

POV	Pronouns	Access to thoughts	Best for
First person	I, me, we	One narrator's	Intimacy, voice, unreliable narrators
Second person	You	The "you" character's	Experimental fiction, short stories
Third limited	He, she, they	One character per scene or chapter	Most modern novels
Third omniscient	He, she, they	Anyone's	Epics, fairy tales, wide casts

First Person

The narrator is a character in the story, telling it as "I."

I didn't mean to open the forbidden door. I only meant to look at the key.

Pros: - Deep intimacy with the narrator - Strong, distinctive voice - Natural for unreliable narrators, whose version of events can't be trusted

Cons: - Limited to what the narrator knows and sees - Can feel claustrophobic - Harder to describe the narrator objectively

First person can be past tense ("I walked") or present tense ("I walk"), which is common in young adult fiction.

Second Person

The reader becomes the protagonist, addressed as "you."

You find the key in the drawer. You know you shouldn't. You turn it anyway.

Pros: immersive, unusual, can create urgency or unease. Cons: hard to sustain over a long book; can feel gimmicky.

It's most common in short fiction, interactive stories and some literary novels.

Third Person Limited

The narrator uses "he," "she" or "they," but stays close to one character's thoughts and perceptions at a time.

She turned the key. The lock gave too easily, as if it had been waiting for her.

Pros: - Intimacy combined with flexibility - Can switch viewpoint characters between chapters or scene breaks - The most common choice in modern fiction

Cons: - Requires discipline to avoid accidentally slipping into other characters' heads ("head-hopping")

Deep POV is an extreme form of third limited, where narration almost fully merges with the character's voice.

Third Person Omniscient

An all-knowing narrator can enter any character's mind, comment on events and reveal what characters don't know.

She turned the key, and in the cellar below, the old servant stopped sweeping and listened. Neither of them knew that in three days, the house would burn.

Pros: - Wide scope for large casts and complex plots - Allows foreshadowing and narrative commentary - Classic storytelling voice, used in most traditional fairy tales

Cons: - Less intimacy with any single character - Can confuse readers if handled poorly

Notice how Andersen's The Little Match Girl ends in omniscient mode: the narrator tells us what the passersby don't know about her visions.

Fairy Tales and Point of View

Traditional fairy tales are almost always told in a detached third person omniscient voice: "Once upon a time there lived a king..." This is part of what gives them their timeless quality. Many modern retellings change the POV to create something new:

First-person villain narration
Third limited from a minor character
Multiple POVs to show different sides of the tale

If you're writing a fairy tale retelling, changing the POV is one of the easiest ways to make an old story feel fresh.

How to Choose a Point of View

Ask yourself:

Whose story is it? Who changes most?
How close should readers be? Intimate or panoramic?
What must readers not know? Limited POV helps hide secrets; omniscient can create dramatic irony.
How many important characters are there? Many viewpoints may suit omniscient or multiple third limited.
What voice excites you? Try writing a page in each POV and see which feels alive.

Common POV Mistakes

Head-hopping: switching between characters' thoughts within a scene in third limited, confusing readers.
Knowing too much: a first-person narrator describing things they couldn't know.
Inconsistent distance: shifting between deep and distant POV without purpose.
Describing the narrator through a mirror: a cliché in first person. Find other ways to reveal appearance.

Exercise

Rewrite the moment Bluebeard's wife opens the forbidden room (read the full tale in Bluebeard explained) in three versions:

First person, from the wife
Third limited, from Sister Anne
Omniscient, revealing what Bluebeard is doing at that moment

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the four types of point of view?

First person, second person, third person limited and third person omniscient.

Which point of view is most common?

Third person limited is the most common in modern fiction, followed closely by first person.

Can I use multiple points of view in a novel?

Yes. Many novels alternate between several viewpoint characters, usually switching at chapter or scene breaks.

What is head-hopping?

Switching between different characters' thoughts within the same scene, which can confuse readers in limited POV.

What point of view are fairy tales written in?

Traditional fairy tales are usually written in third person omniscient.