Every story has a point of view, and because POV is a basic element of story-telling, it’s important for beginning writers to understand the term. There are some choices to make, and you’ll want to select the one that maximizes the reader’s enjoyment of your story.
Think of POV as knowing who’s holding the camera that “sees” the story. There are three basic types. First person POV is told from a single character’s perspective as if the narrator is the character–“I walked into the room.” Second person POV is told from the reader’s perspective–“You walked into the room.” Third person POV is told from a perspective outside both reader and the character–“She (or Susan) walked into the room.” There are two kinds of 3rd person POV: omniscient and limited. In 3rd person omniscient, the narrator can relate the thoughts and emotions of any character. In 3rd person limited, the narrator can only get in one character’s head, and can only describe other characters as sensed from that one character’s viewpoint.
In the early years of novels and short stories, 3rd person omniscient was, by far, the most common POV used. I guess that’s because it’s easier. Since authors feel a strong need to make the reader understand what each major character is thinking, 3rd person omniscient is a logical, safe choice. Today, the most common is 3rd person limited, with 1st person coming in second.
Of the types, 1st person is the most personal. The POV character may or may not be the focal character for the story, but the POV character should have an interesting, engaging personality, and not be just the boring person who happens to be standing there whenever something interesting happens. The POV character can be an “unreliable narrator,” a person who sees things that aren’t there or thinks things that aren’t true. The challenges with writing 1st person are to avoid repeating the word “I” an annoying number of times, and ensuring your POV character has a reason to be in all the key, dramatic scenes. The major uses of 1st person are in horror and Young Adult (YA) fiction.
2nd person is rare in fiction, but more common in songs. It can really make the reader feel a part of the story.
As I’ve said, 3rd person limited is the most common. It allows a more objective view of the story. Some markets accept only stories with this POV. The challenges with 3rd person limited are (1) choosing a POV character who is intriguing to the reader and has a reason to be right there in every dramatic scene, and (2) avoiding what’s known as “POV wobble.” POV wobble is where the writer shifts to a different character’s POV without a break in the narration. This can be disconcerting to readers who suddenly find themselves “in another character’s head.” This mistake sounds easier to avoid than it is.
For beginning writers, I recommend using 3rd person limited as the default POV for your early stories. If you find a story not working, you could try rewriting 
it in a different POV. It’s amazing how you can gain new insights in trying this. Leonardo da Vinci invented the idea of various perspectives in art and engineering. It’s a technique used in engineering drawings ever since. Artists find that by looking at an object from the front, above, and one side, they understand more about its three dimensions. There’s an analog there for POV in fiction, I think.
So whether it’s “I’ll conclude by saying I’m–” or “You’ve been reading a blog entry by–” or “He signed off by stating his name as–” the ending is the same…
Poseidon’s Scribe
