Inspired Romance
by Gail Gaymer Martin

Selecting the RIGHT POV Character

Point of View (POV) is complex and can trip up even a seasoned author. Besides deciding on which POV to use whether first or third singular or multiple POV in a story, how does an author decide which character should "own" which scenes. It's important that the reader becomes drawn and attached to both the hero and heroine. They care about them and want to know what's going to happen. They can relate to their emotions and cry and laugh as things go right or go wrong. So it's the author's task to determine which character needs to be the focus of a particular scene and which can provide the reader with the more satisfying read at that moment in time.

As you develop your plot, you will begin to know the hero and heroine and what is going to happen. You know that each scene must present important information that moves the story forward in some way. This means that what happens will have an impact on the hero and heroine of the novel. Sometimes one character in particular will feel the impact more dramatically than another. Sometimes the action is important to both characters so deciding which one should be the focal character of the scene or be the POV character, will force you to ask yourself some questions. Who has most to lose in this scene? Who has the most at stake? Whose response will arouse deeper emotion from the reader?

Having the most to lose or the most at stake means that either the hero or heroine will feel the greatest impact on having the new information come to light. It might mean he or she will lose something like respect or his home or his job. Maybe he will lose his privacy by telling a dreaded secret that he's covered for years. Maybe he will lose the love of his life.

Once you answer the questions above, you will have a better idea which character's emotions, reaction, and introspection (thoughts) are most important to revealing something significant and will add to the impact of the story. Which character will relate more completely to the reader. Remember, once you selected the POV character, then the scene is viewed through that person's eyes. What the POV character thinks, feels, knows, and senses is made known to the reader. The other characters attitudes and feelings can only be speculated.

For example, look at this scenario, a story that involves the hero, Jim, who once embezzled from his employer. He’s kept this a secret since he's found faith and fallen in love, but his friend, Bill, relates a story to him about someone in his company who's embezzled and he fears the problem may put scrutiny on him even though he's innocent. Both points of view might be important. Certainly it's important to understand the feelings of the man relating the story. He fears for his well-being, and if he's a major character, the reader cares about him. Still, if the reader knows about the hero's embezzlement, his reaction might be the one the reader wants to witness first, because this will bring out his feelings of guilt and shame, and worse, it will affect his relationship to the heroine when he also tells her. The heroine, then, must deal with his illegal behavior, and if he's a good friend, he may want to provide some insight for Bill, but Jim can only do that by confessing what he did in the past.

An author will have to decide which of these characters can best provide the shock and emotional impact on readers and can add zing to the plot. The decision is easier if the readers are not aware of Jim's crime. The reader would then view the scene through Bill's eyes with only Jim's reactions witnessed by Bill. Jim's reactions could cause Bill and the reader to question Jim's peculiar behavior. Later in the sequel (the scene that allows Jim to relive the scene with Bill). The author will let the reader view Jim's reaction and his quandary. He will then show the guilt and shame and his added guilt of not telling his friend the truth so that he can support him and the additional fear of how this will affect his relationship with the heroine. In truth, he knows that if theirs would be a relationship based on trust, the way the Lord expects, then he must tell her the truth some time.

If the author can't decide which POV is best, picture the scene from each character's POV and look for the pros and cons. What will be gained or lost when choosing one character over the other? Which will have the greatest impact on the story for the readers? Challenging the options helps make a good decision, which is part of the writing process.

Making the best POV decision possible helps to deepen characterization, and it also provides what it takes to write a romance that grabs the reader and holds on.