Narrative Writing : Point of View

Narrative Writing

Welcome back to our blog!

This week was such a mouthful. There are so many aspects of Narrative Writing that have to be covered. This week we touched on aspects such as:

1. how to fully develop characters in stories (by using gestures, for example), 
2. the various themes that can come out of our stories ( for instance, love, forgiveness and loyalty);
3. narrative writing devices (flashback, tone and symbolism); and
4. the goals that should be set for students at lower and upper primary in regards to narrative writing (Students should be able to identify characteristics of narrative writing and develop more complex plot as they move along).

However, what stood out to us the most was the Point of View of our stories.

What is Point of View?

In simplest terms, point of view is who is telling the story. A story can be told in:

• First person
• Third person

The point of view is used as a form of expression for the writer or other characters. Readers are able to experience the story as though they are there with the writer.

First Person uses the pronouns I, me, we. Here, the characters are telling the story, from their perspective. Examples include:

I can not wait for Carnival !

We always look forward to Christmas.

If it was up to me, I would have gone to public school.

Third person point of view uses the pronouns he, she, it or they. Examples include:

She is a great dancer.

He did not want to go inside the haunted house, but he went anyway.

They could not believe it was about to be the worst day of their lives.

The word omniscient is one we want you to become familiar with. From research we learnt that the prefix Omni-, means"all," and the verb scire, means "to know". Omniscient is used in the third person point of view, there are two types:

1. Omniscient point of view - where the narrator knows everything about the characters. The narrator can be deemed as "God-like", that is, the narrator knows everything.
2. Limited omniscient - The narrator only knows about one character.

Omniscient allows you to know more about the characters. From the characters' actions, readers are able to understand the plot. It also makes the story more interesting and allows readers to draw their own conclusions, thus promoting critical thinking and reading.

One popular movie that has limited omniscient is Harry Potter. We always seem to know what Harry's feelings and observations, but, not the feelings of the other characters.

1. The reason why the second person point of view was not used is because it uses the words you, your and yours. In our opinion it is not really used for story writing, but, more or less when someone is giving directions, giving a recipe or giving a speech. 

Let's just say this is by the way information for teachers and information given for teacher enrichment. An example of second person point of view is:

You can be the best you want to be!

2. Please stick to one form of point of view when writing the story. It makes it easier for the persons reading the story.

3. Proficient writers may be able to write in the first person better than struggling writers. Guide struggling writers and have them write from the third person instead.

That's all we have to share this week. Let us know in the comments which aspect of Narrative Writing is your favourite and why. We would love to hear from you !

References

Warrican, S. J. (2012). The Complete Caribbean Teacher Literacy. Pheonix: Pearson Education.

 Spandel, Vicki (2012) Creating Writers in the Primary Classroom: 6 Traits, Process,
        Workshop & Literature (6th edition). New York: Pearson


Until next Sunday... Goodbye!