POV -- Types of Narrators

Omniscient

You might have an omniscient narrator tell the story. This fellow is like God—he sees all, he knows all—he even peers into the depths of the characters' hearts and discerns their motives. He's the storyteller and he often tells us things the characters don’t know.

Polly rolled over in bed with a groan. A sinus headache pounded behind her eyes. If a passerby had happened to look through her window at that moment he'd have seen a teenager with shining black hair clouding about a heart-shaped face. Had he looked at the face more closely, he'd have been confronted with puffy, tired eyes that would have looked more at home on a middle-aged hooker than on a girl of sixteen.

Mrs. Wright poked her head in the door. Seeing Polly's eyes she made a sympathetic clucking noise. "Sinuses bothering, you again? I'm sorry." She crossed to the bed and laid a hand on Polly's brow. She would take the girl with her to the docks. The sea breeze may clear the pollen out of her system. She didn't like to keep Polly out of school, but she'd always had a soft spot for her youngest daughter and couldn't bear to see her suffer.

If she'd known what was to come about later in the day, though, she would have sent Polly to school. She'd never have taken her to the docks, for it was at the docks that the trouble began.

First Person

This narrator tells the story for himself. He can only tell you about things he sees and hears—not what goes on in the next room (unless he has a spy camera and mike stashed in there). He can let you in on what he thinks about anything, but he can't tell you what is going on in the hearts of others. He may guess at what motivates other characters, the way many of us like to do, but he can't know for sure.

I rolled over in bed and groaned. A killer sinus headache pounded behind my eyes.

I slid from the bed and tottered like a drunk toward the bathroom.

Mom swung open the door without knocking. As usual.

"Sinuses bothering you again?" she asked as she crossed to me and put a hand on my forehead.

I shrugged her hand off and continued to the bathroom. She was driving me nuts with her coddling. I think she would have controlled every breath I took, if I'd have let her. Maybe it made her feel superior or something.

"You can stay home from school, today," she said to my back. "I'll take you to the docks with me. The sea air will do you good."

Third Person

Here the narrator tells us a story that happened to other people, but he differs from the omniscient narrator because he can't see into everyone's hearts and minds. He also, only tells the story from one character's perspective at a time. In each scene there is a viewpoint character. That character can only tell what he thinks, sees, and hears. The narrator can't tell us anything the viewpoint character doesn't know.

Polly rolled over in bed with a groan. A sinus headache pounded behind her eyes.

She slid from the bed and tottered like a drunk toward the bathroom.

Mrs. Wright poked her head in the door. Seeing Polly's eyes she made a sympathetic clucking noise. "Sinuses bothering, you again? I'm sorry." She crossed over and laid a hand on Polly's forehead.

Polly shrugged the hand off and continued toward the bathroom. Her mom was driving her nuts with all her coddling. She acted like she wanted to control every minute of Polly's life. It probably made her feel superior.

"You can stay home from school, today," Mrs. Wright said to Polly's back. "I'll take you to the docks with me. The sea air will do you good."

There are other points of view, but these are the three major ones. We'll look at these more closely in future weeks.