Collection 3:
Truth and Consequences
Point of View
There
are three main points
of view used in stories:
 First
Person (I, Me, We)
 Second Person (You)
 Third Person (He, She, They,
Them, It)
Narrator and Voice
 When
one reads a story, one hears
somebody telling that story.
 That person is the narrator.
 The events of the story are
influenced by the narrator and a
good reader should take that into
consideration.
Omniscient Point of View
Omniscient means “all knowing.”
 The narrator is not a character in the
story.
 It usually uses 3rd person, i.e. “he, she, it,
they, them” when describing the
characters.
 The narrator knows what each character
is thinking and what his/her motivations
are.

Limited Point of View
The storyteller focuses on the
perspective of one character.
 The narrator describes what this
character thinks and feels.
 The narrator does not know what the
other characters are thinking and feeling.
 Still told using 3rd person.

Persona
Persona is the “narrator” in a first person
story.
 This is a story told using I, Me, or We.
 A persona usually has a Limited point of
view.
 In other words, the reader only knows
the persona’s thoughts and emotions.

Credible Narrator
This
is a narrator whom
the reader can trust to tell
the story accurately.
Unreliable Narrator
 This
is a narrator whom the reader
cannot trust.
 The narrator may have a problem
perceiving the world.
 The narrator may be purposely
lying to deceive the reader.
 The narrator may have incomplete
information about the other
characters.
Voice
The
writer’s use of
language and overall
style of telling a story.
Diction
The
writers choice of
specific words to
describe the characters
and setting.
Syntax
The
methods the author
uses to vary the
sentence construction
and complexity.
Pace
The
speed at which
new events and
characters are
introduced in a story.
Surprise Ending
When
the story concludes in
an unexpected yet logical
way.
The ending changes the
readers perspective about
the characters and/or setting.