In a guest post on Writers Helping Writers, Jami Gold examines whether deep POV is always the best choice for your narrative. “For many genres, the expectation now is to use Deep POV for third-person stories, relating the story from within the POV character’s head,” she notes. “With the trends and expectations pushing toward a deeper POV, we might wonder if that means we should never drop out of Deep POV.”
Your choice of POV shapes how your readers experience your story, so the question for you is what option will bring your readers where you want them. Deep POV gives your reader an immersive experience, as they see the story world through the eyes and thoughts of one character. This also creates a stronger emotional connection between your reader and your protagonist.
“Yet sometimes that deep understanding of the POV character isn’t what we want for the story,” Gold says. She identifies five scenarios where a shallower POV will create the reader experience you want:
- Avoid reader boredom. When your protagonist has to repeat information your reader already knows or when you need a time jump, a shallower POV lets you summarize key points and move your story forward quickly.
- Share future knowledge. A shallower POV lets you hint at future events or outcomes. “While many of these stories are told by a narrator sharing a tale from their past with a framing device, some instead simply use the technique of a shallower POV to include those types of lines,” Gold says. “The story might briefly shift to a shallower POV to give a preview of events yet to come.”
- Limit the emotional connection to the POV character. Sometimes, you want your reader to connect with your story more than with your protagonist. For example, if you include a scene from your villain’s POV, a shallower perspective will prevent your reader from identifying with them too closely. You might use this technique for a story with an unreliable narrator.
- Tell the story your character can’t tell. Deep POV won’t allow you to share details your main character doesn’t know. Further, if your protagonist is asleep, unconscious, or emotionally fraught, you might slip into a shallower POV to relate what’s happening.
- Maintain immersion. “There are some instances when a Deep POV that creates a strong emotional connection with the POV character would overwhelm readers,” Gold says. If your character is experiencing extreme grief or trauma, it might be wise to pull back a bit, to avoid pushing your reader away. If your reader already has an emotional connection to your protagonist, they won’t mind if you skimp on the icky parts.
