If you’ve been writing for a while, you probably know what POV is. You also know what head-hopping is. Something I did regularly when I first started writing. I’ll give you a brief summary anyway. Bear with me. There may be newbies reading this blog.

POV (Point of view) is the perspective from which a story is told. You have three choices.

First Person – From the “I” perspective. I enjoy this POV, but it limits the information you get, since the entire novel is from one person’s perspective. It is actually narrated by a character within the story using “I” or “we”.

Second Person – From the “You” perspective. The narrator is speaking directly to the reader, using pronouns such as “you” and “your”. This point of view is less common. I must admit, I’ve never read a novel from this perspective, so I can’t comment on its effectiveness.

Third Person – From the he/she/they perspective. My preferred and easiest to manage, at least from my point of view:-) This one can be broken down further to limited or omniscient. I choose to work with limited. This perspective focuses on one character’s perspective at a time. It will jump back and forth between characters throughout the story. Just remember you can be in only one head per scene. If you start jumping back and forth in the same scene, you’re head hopping, a sure sign that you are a beginner and have no idea what you’re doing. I’m guilty of this one 🙂

Now that we’re caught up, let’s look at Deep POV. Why? Because I recently got dinged for my POV, and I’m having to do a little research to understand what I can do to get even deeper into my character’s head.

Editor’s comment to me-

“You’re a talented writer, and you’ve created a strong connection between the reader and Ariel. When you learn and employ the elements of Deep POV. This is a real winner.’

For Deep POV, you want the reader to experience each situation through the character’s POV, not just read about them, but take every step, see every object or obstacle, feel every emotion, smell every flower.

Key Techniques to remember to stay in Deep POV:

Eliminate Filter Words: Remove words that distance the reader from the character’s experience. Saw, heard, felt, thought, believed, knew.

Show Don’t Tell: Present the character’s physical reactions and internal monologue.

Use Character Voice and Language: You are creating this character, and you know them better than anyone. Just remember to stay within your creation’s specific vocabulary, slang, opinions, and worldview.

Interact with the Setting: Have the character engage with their environment rather than just describe it objectively.

Balance internal and external responses: While focusing inward, you still have to show your character reacting to external events and people.

Hope this helped you with the Deep POV. I got most of my information from Writer and YouTuber Brandon McNutty: How to Use Deep POV in Your Writing. If you’re having the same problems I am, you may want to check him out.

Thanks for stopping by.

-Jan R