The point of view that a novelist chooses for their story from has an enormous impact on how they write it, and the way that their readers will receive the book. A thriller narrated by a serial killer will be miles away from one that follows the perspective of the detective on his trail, even if they both have the same plot.

POV is also one of the few things that authors should nail down before their first draft. Other story elements like plot and characterization can change at the editing stage without too much trouble. But if you want to change your point of view, it will likely mean a rewrite from page one.

Not fun.

In this post, we’ll take a quick tour of the most common points of view, and help you figure out which one will be best for your book.