The narrative perspective or Point of View (POV) you use can make or break your novel. Using it incorrectly will hurt your reader's trust and negatively affect your credibility as a writer. 

Choosing the POV for a character is not a simple issue since the four different POVs have specific uses. Let's look at these POVs and when you should use them. 

1. First Person POV

With First Person POV, the narrator is in the story and tells it from personal experience. Often used in fiction, this perspective uses pronouns like I, me, and my. This POV shows the character's voice and perspective and brings readers closer through insight into the characters' thoughts and feelings.  

This POV limits the writer since they can only reveal what the characters know and experience, which can also be biased. The character is not omniscient and can't tell all the sides of a story.

First Person POV is ideal for memoirs and autobiographies where someone tells their story. It is also used in fiction to convey a specific character's story or show your novel's setting through an outsider's eyes. 

2. Second Person POV

Writers use this perspective mostly in non-fiction, and it uses the pronouns you and your. 'You' refer to the protagonist, and this perspective draws the reader into the story and makes it personal. It surprises the reader with a new way to tell a story or reveal a character. And if you use the present tense, the reader will feel as if the story is their own, and the action pushes the story forward.  

Writing in this POV is challenging and can alienate some readers because they don't like anyone telling them what they should do and think. Use this POV if you want the reader to walk in someone else's shoes. 

3. Third Person Omniscient

The Third Person perspective puts the narrator outside the story and tells about a characters' experiences. This POV uses pronouns like he/she, his/hers, and they/theirs.

The Third Person POV can be omniscient, where the narrator can tell you about the inner world of all the characters in the story. The disadvantage is that readers can feel disconnected from the characters and must keep track when the author switches to a different character.  

Use this perspective when you want your reader to know things that the characters don't, and as an easy way to reveal the backstory and build the setting. A meaningful advantage is that the author's voice is not limited to a specific character. It is the POV primarily used by classic authors, but not as much today.

4. Third Person Limited

Should an author decide on this POV, he has only limited access to the thoughts and experiences of his characters. Third Person Limited also uses the pronouns he/she, his/hers, and they/theirs, and it lets the readers access various characters' thoughts and feelings. They can know more about any character and feel closer to them. Although, this perspective can become confusing with a vast number of characters, and readers can feel frustrated when the writer switches from their favorite character. 

This POV is ideal for telling a story that is bigger than one character and for showing many different perspectives. Writers can also use it to create surprising irony. 

An easy way to understand POV is to remember the German word Gesichtspunkt,  which means 'face point.' In other words, where are you pointing the view of your reader?

Authors! Which POV will you choose for your next novel?

Sources

Point of View in 2022: Third Person Omniscient vs. Third Person Limited vs. First Person

https://thewritepractice.com/point-of-view-guide/

Why You Should Try Writing in Second Person

https://thewritepractice.com/second-person/

3 Types of First-Person Narrators: Benefits and Pitfalls

https://www.ignitedinkwriting.com/ignite-your-ink-blog-for-writers/types-of-first-person-narrators/2017

Comparing Points of View

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZqdQUNMcuB0MuBiBaDOXD7QPY0_qkWm1/view