KEY TERM!
NARRATIVE POINT OF VIEW
One of the most important questions a writer must ask when telling a story is to ask through whose eyes will my reader learn of my story? Clearly, one of the key aspects of a story is that it is told in a trustworthy, interesting and engaging manner; it is important, therefore, to create a narrator that fulfils these three key requirements. There are two main choices of 'narrative viewpoint':
First person narrativeThird person narrative
This viewpoint uses the pronouns 'he', 'she' or 'they' to tell the story. The story appears to be being told by the writer, but it needn't be so. Also the narrator can be created so as to be what is called 'omniscient' or 'all-knowing'; here, he or she seems to know about every character and every place, being able to move around at will - like an 'all-seeing' eye'; alternatively, and very commonly, the narrative voice can be 'limited-third person'; here, the narrator is biased to one of the character's - usually the protagonist. This latter viewpoint is very close to 'first person' narrative. Once again, an important consideration when discussing a story is how the third person narrator builds a sense of trust and believability.