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To summarize the main difference: Point of view is about who is narrating – the pronouns used and relationship to the reader. Perspective is about how the narrator sees the world – their worldview and personal experiences. Point of view is a technical choice by the author.
In the simplest terms, the difference between the two is that point of view is how the story is written and who is narrating, while perspective is the character’s overall worldview. But what does this mean in practice when it comes to writing?
Point of view simply refers to who is telling us the story. Whose head are we in? From whose perspective is the story told? Most adult commercial fiction is written in third person POV. E.g.: Lex began writing his next blog post, hoping this time he’d manage not to stick his foot in his mouth.
Here’s how it compares with point of view: Point of view focuses on the type of narrator used to tell the story; Perspective focuses on how this narrator perceives what’s happening within the story; You can use perspective in all points of view to help define your narrator’s attitude and personality.
Sometimes, perspective and point of view (POV) in writing are used interchangeably, but they shouldn’t be. They are different. Point of view in writing refers to who is telling the story. Perspective is about how that person sees the story.
Each POV option shows a different perspective of your story. Unlike POV’s reader focus, perspective is your narrator’s opinion. Even third person omniscient POV, where the reader knows more than the characters, provides little clues as to what the narrator thinks and feels about what’s happening.
Point of view focuses on who is telling the story (the narrator), while perspective focuses on how the story is told. Writers need to express the uniqueness of every character for the story to be realistic, unique, and multidimensional.
