POV? 1ST, 2ND or 3RD?

Characters point of view. What us writers query about and what readers can't get enough of.

I have come across lots of questions in passing weeks on which POV should be used. Should it be 1st person where the character tells the story or the 2nd where the character or characters talk about somebody else and not themselves or do they tell it in 3rd.

This is the most challenging task of writing. Making sure that the right POV is accurate, that the information they are giving the reader is necessary and that it moves nicely. Not slow, not too fast but at a nice steady pace.

I write using first person. I like that you know things about their past, present and even their future and the fact that they know nothing. Apart from when they're going to sleep/ eat etc. It can also be really exciting when characters realise their fate or destiny but usually the writing has been on the wall the whole time.

I found writing in the 2nd person too daunting, and to have to address the reader as you was quite difficult to get the point of my biro to touch the paper and write something conjuring. Being an avid reader of Jodi Picoult who has been known to use this narrative in such books as Handle With Care and My Sister's Keeper, I found that she did this really well and that I was far more comfortable reading it than writing.

As for 3rd person, that was even more difficult because you have to know what everyone else is doing, what is going on outside the window and so on. There's a state of confusion when writing in this narrative and when reading it. I found the writing of Harry Potter really hard because of the amount of detail and of what was happening in each of the characters lives. That's not to say J.K Rowling isn't a great writer because she is after all the phenomenon is still growing and she got younger kids to read too. Such a great achievemnet.

Whichever POV you choose to right in make sure it is the right one for you and for your readers. This may take some time in getting right but it will be worth it in the end.