Choosing a Point of View (POV)
*originally published in the April 2019 edition of Hear Ye, Hufflepuff*

Before you can write any story, it's important to choose a point of view from which to tell it. Sometimes this feels like the easy part of planning, but other times it can take more consideration. Below, read about the four main points of view that you have to choose from and some tips for writing each one.

First Person
The first person POV utilizes the pronouns I, me, my, etc. A story told from the first person POV is told as an account of something happening to the point-of-view character. For example, if Harry were telling the story, a sentence might sound like: "I met up with Ron and Hermione on the way to Potions. I had to tell them about what Dumbledore had said to me after breakfast."
In the first person POV, readers only know about things that the POV character knows. So in the example above, Harry wouldn't know what was happening in Hagrid's hut while he was in Potions class, so you wouldn't be able to give those details until Harry went to see Hagrid or another character told him about something that happened there.

Second Person
The second person POV is the least common point of view, since it can be difficult to write. It utilizes the pronouns you, your, etc. A story told from the second person POV can be told in a few ways. For example, it can be told like the reader is being addressed by the character or like the reader is the character. A sentence told in the second person POV might sound like: "You had always known that this happiness couldn't last, but it still surprised you when everything came crashing down."
In the second person POV, it's important to choose how you want the reader to interact with the story. Is it being told as if the reader has found a letter addressed to them? Or as if they were a part of the story itself? Whatever you decide on, try your best to be consistent and remember that your reader will have to suspend his or her disbelief. Do your best to connect so that isn't insurmountable.

Third Person Limited
The third person limited POV is probably the most commonly chosen point of view. Third person limited utilizes the pronouns he, she, him, her, they, them, his, hers, theirs, etc. This tends to be the point of view that people usually associate with storytelling. It's the same point of view that the canon Harry Potter novels are written in. A third person limited sentence might sound like: "Harry stared at Snape, hating him, and counted down the minutes until Potions would be over."
In the third person limited POV, remember that the story focuses on one point-of-view character (in the above example, and canon, Harry). Readers follow that one character's journey and know the inner thoughts of that character, but no one else. The "limited" part of third person limited means that the narrative is focused only on one character, and readers don't get peeks into other characters' thoughts or intentions.

Third Person Omniscient
Third person omniscient POV, like its limited sibling above, utilizes the pronouns he, she, him, her, they, them, his, hers, theirs, etc. A third person omniscient sentence might sound like: "Harry, Ron, and Hermione were horrified, each of their thoughts racing as they tried to think of spells to use against the Death Eaters."
Third person omniscient is set apart from third person limited because it allows readers to see into the thoughts of any character, not just one. The omniscient narrator knows what everyone is thinking and feeling and can bounce through space and time to tell readers about different events that have happened in the past or are happening elsewhere in the world.

I hope these tips are useful! As always, please ask if you have any questions. Good luck, and happy writing!