What's Your Point Of View?
by Helena Settimana

The perspective from which a story is told is referred to as the 'point of view' (POV). In fiction this is typically in the 'First Person' (in which the narrator tells the story in the "I" voice) and the 'Third Person' in which the story is told from an omniscient viewpoint where the actions of 'he' and/or 'she' are described from a distance. Less common is the 'Second Person' point of view, in which the narrator dictates to 'you' what 'you' are doing. 

Occasionally one encounters a hybrid 'first/second' POV, in which the storyteller "I" refers to "you." It's generally found tucked within the pages of a story told in First or Third Person, in the form of a letter or a one-sided telephone conversation. It is rarely used in the telling of an entire short story. The POV is distinct from tense—any POV may be written in any tense.

Here's a run-down on these perspectives. In order to save myself copyright troubles I've clipped the opening lines from a few of my own pieces as illustration.

The First Person POV ("I") is useful in that it generates an intimacy between the reader and the storyteller. The reader is privy to the innermost thoughts and feelings of the narrator as they follow the action.

"In the fall of 1978, our first year, we all came to live together in a walk-up flat overlooking the busy, smelly streets of Kensington Market. The flat smelled like curry. The shrunken remains of once-filled synagogues, old Hebrew chicken vendors, screaming Portugese goat-sellers, Chinese grocers spilling their wares into the narrow streets and Indian spice merchants reeking of cardamom and cumin—all these were our neighbors. Agnes, Leo, Wulf and I shared the space while we tried to make it through art school."

It is limited in that it allows only for the narrator's thoughts and reactions. The narrator interprets the world, responds to events and to the behavior of others. Everything is filtered through the eyes and mind of "I."

The Second Person POV (You) is more problematic. It, too, has a narrow focus—the voice is highly directive, as if the narrator were a puppeteer controlling the action of 'you:'

"This is the way it goes down: you are in the Bureau des Postes in Boulogne-sur-mer trying to mail a postcard to your sister in London while Charles Aznavour is humming 'La Vie en Rose' into the back of your head. Of course it is not Charles, who might be dead, but the man is trying hard. The tiny hairs on your neck start to prickle as his breath rolls in a wave over your collar. Eventually he says in English, to no one in particular, "I don't think she is French". This is where you turn with the sweetest smile, and in your plummiest tones, tell him that he is right. This is where your words pile into your throat like dead flies between windowpanes, and know that the singer of the songs is someone you might lie with. You like trying to see the world without leaving your bed. He has black eyes, spiraled, coiled Tunisian hair; biblical teeth."

Typically, opponents of the form argue that it is too narrow, too 'show-offy' and occasionally I've heard critics say that it insults the intelligence of the reader by telling him/her what to think! It's often used by writers who are attempting to sound edgy and modern. I think it succeeds or fails based not on the point of view but the skill of the storyteller. Recently I got a note from an editor asking me to change an accepted story from Second to First POV. Attached to her letter was a second one from the publishing editor telling me that he actually liked the story in Second Person and told me it was up to me whether I changed it or not! There was dissent in the publishing house itself! I did change it, but not because I thought it was bad as it was. You rarely see Second Person POVs in published fiction, but there are some great pieces such as Maryanne Mohanraj's story Kali. I like it—it is kick-y and I'll not underestimate the intelligence of the reader, but it's hard to pull off.

It's up to you. Try it.

Third Person is arguably the most common and versatile of the 'voices.' It's the one that deals with 'he' and she.' It is fairly omniscient and from its crane's-eye-view the author can examine the action and inner thoughts of all characters within the story—or can weigh its perspective in the favour of one character. Typically, novels give us more of the former, given their breadth and scope, while short stories tend to focus on the latter and are more effective if one character or one couple's experience is kept to the forefront.

"Gunnar Torvaldson rode in his cutter, his horse pulling with its head down against the combined weight of sleigh and occupant. Lamps swung on its sides. He watched the horse's haunches rise and fall, the crystalline air blowing from its nostrils. It was mid-December, in fact approaching Lucia's Day, where candles would be lit to celebrate the return of the fugitive sun. Today, it made a brief appearance, then sank again into darkness short hours later. The naked trees by the track crowded in and creaked, snapping in the cold. He had been driving all day. In this near-darkness, lit in part by the brilliance of stars and wavering curtains of aurora, Gunnar fled to Oslo."

It's chiefest defect is that it is considerably less intimate in tone, somewhat detached and can be cold.

The final perspective is the First/Second Person hybrid which sounds like a letter. Many burgeoning erotica writers start with this 'I/You' point of view as many start by writing love letters or sharing fantasies in this manner. I've been sternly warned by several editors that they will not even look at a story written in such a voice. The glaring defect of this perspective is that it usually comes off sounding cloying, especially when it is used for the entire story. I think it can be useful, not as a story in itself, but as an insertion in a larger narrative. Hanne Blank's short story, Severine has such a device repeating in it as the title character walks about her apartment (Third Person) reading a letter (First/Second Person). The POV shifts back and forth and it's quite effective. Colin Channer has used the letter device in his novels (written in First and Third Person) to great, heated, effect. The advice I'd offer to new, interested writers is to use this POV sparingly, where it is appropriate, but be prepared for rejection should you attempt it as a piece unto itself. That said, I did manage, once, to do the majority of a story in this voice, in the guise of a one-sided telephone conversation:

"Her lips crept closer to the receiver; breath echoing back into her ear.

I want to fuck you. I want to fuck you across Europe like stampeding bulls: a humping Pamplona! I want to fuck you in a chintzy hotel with red velvet on the windows and a grimy carpet on the floor. London; pigeon shit on the window; pigeons on the sill. I'm wetter than the fog: listen! My pussy is drizzling for you; pink, red and alive in a misty grey-and-black world. It'll splatter the pavement: better watch your step!"

So there you have it. As with all 'rules' there are exceptions, and I've talked here in broad generalities. The choice of POV is yours. For more reading online a simple Google.com search on "point of view" or "First (or Third, etc.) Person Point of View" will reveal many articles, some far more detailed than this. Try writing from different perspectives. You'll find what feels right for you.

_______
© 2003 by Helena Settimana. All rights reserved.

Quoted paragraphs are from the following works by Helena Settimana:
1) "When We Were One" (2001):  Shameless: Women's Intimate Erotica (Seal Press, New York, 2002, Hanne Blank, ed), Penthouse, April 2003f
2) "The Horse Butcher's Son" (2000): ERWA (January 2001); Clean Sheets (April 2001), Desires: (2nd edition, Venus Book Club - Adrienne Benedicks, .ed), Best of the Best Meat Erotica (Suspect Thoughts Press, 2002. Greg Wharton ed)
3) "St Lucy's Day" (2003).
4) "Europa" (2001): ERWA (Feb.2001); Erotic Travel Tales (Cleis Press, San Francisco, 2001,Mitzi Szereto, ed)

About the Author:  Helena Settimana lives in Toronto, Canada. Her short fiction, poetry, and essays have appeared on the web at The Erotica Readers and Writers Association, Scarlet Letters, Clean Sheets and Dare. In print, her work has been featured in many of the popular anthologies, including Best Women's Erotica (Cleis Press), The Mammoth Book of Best New Erotica (Carroll and Graf), and Best Bondage Erotica (Cleis Press).
Email: Helena Settimana

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