Deep Point of View or How to Avoid Head-Hopping

I’ve been editing fiction for years, and the most difficult concept for many of my author clients is to portray their story world mainly through the point of view of the main character(s), rather than hovering above them, and to stick to one point of view per scene or chapter instead of jumping back and forth from one character’s viewpoint to another’s (head-hopping).

Point of view (or POV) simply refers to the character through whose perspective the story events are told. We see, hear, smell, feel, and experience events as that character would – with no additional information provided “from above” by the author. This helps your readers identify with the viewpoint character and get immersed in their world.

A hundred years ago, novels were often told from a distant authorial point of view, hovering over everything. That omniscient point of view is no longer popular today, and for good reason. Readers want to experience the events of the story vicariously through the viewpoint character, to immerse themselves in her world, and they can only do that if they’re “inside her skin,” so to speak. They know her inner thoughts, aspirations, desires, and fears; so they become emotionally invested and care what happens to her.

As Jack M. Bickham says, “You’ll never have problems with the technique of viewpoint again if you simply follow this advice: Figure out whose story it is. Get inside that character – and stay there.” Of course, you don’t have to remain in your protagonist’s point of view all the time, but most of the story should be from the main character’s POV so the reader knows his thoughts and feelings and can emotionally connect to him.

I strongly recommend writing your first chapter, and most of the book, in your protagonist’s point of view. This gives the reader a chance to figure out whose story this is and get to know him and start bonding with him and rooting for him.

If you’re writing a romance and you’re in the heroine’s point of view (which you should be most of the time, as it’s her story), you’re not going to mention her blue eyes or long blond hair unless she’s looking at herself in a mirror – and that one’s been overdone. You can have someone else comment on them, like her sister, BFF, or the hero.

To show your hero’s reactions in a scene that’s in your heroine’s POV, show us what she sees and hears: his words, tone of voice, facial expressions, movements, attitude, and body language.

As Bickham explains, “I’m sure you realize why fiction is told from a viewpoint, a character inside the story. It’s because each of us lives our real life from a single viewpoint – our own – and none other, ever.” Successful fiction writers want their story to be as convincing and lifelike as possible, so they write it like we each experience real life: from one viewpoint (at a time) inside the action.

If your fiction is to be effective and your lead character is to come alive and matter to the reader, you’ll need to show most of the action from inside the head and heart – the thoughts, senses, and emotions – of the person you have chosen as the viewpoint character.

In a sequel to this post, I’ll discuss concrete ways to tell the story mainly from your protagonist’s point of view, and how to avoid “head-hopping.”

Main resource for today’s post: The 38 Most Common Fiction Writing Mistakes (And How to Avoid Them) by Jack M. Bickham.

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Guest blogger Jodie Renner is a freelance fiction manuscript editor, specializing in thrillers, romantic suspense, mysteries, romance, YA, and historical fiction. Jodie’s services range from developmental and substantive editing to light final copy editing and proofreading, as well as manuscript critiques. Check out Jodie’s website at http://www.jodierennerediting.com/ and her blog, dedicated to advice and resources for fiction writers, at http://jodierennerediting.blogspot.com/.