Reading Tip of the Week: Point of View

Point of view means who is telling the story. Who's point of view is it?

If the person telling the story is an actual character in the story and says "I did this" and "I said that," the story is told in first person. If that person also knows what all of the other characters are doing and thinking, the point of view is first person omnicient.If he only knows things because he saw them or because another character told him, the point of view is first person limited.

If the person telling the story is not an actual participant in the story and says "he did this" and "she said that," the story is told in third person point of view. If speaker, or narrator, knows what is happening with all of the other characters, the point of view is third person omnicient. If the narrator only follows one character, it is third person limited.

There is a second person point of view, but it is rarely used.