Have you ever heard of deep point of view? As a  writer, you want to transport the reader into the story. You want them there with the characters, feeling and experiencing everything they are. Deep point of view accomplishes that.

It’s a more intimate way of writing. The writer removes the narrator and settles into a comfy chair in the chosen character’s head. Although deep POV usually refers to third person, I’ve also found writing this way helpful in first person as well. It is limiting, though. You can’t know what the other characters are thinking because you’re firmly entrenched in your comfy chair. You can see reactions, but the other characters’ thoughts are hidden.

There are several other things to remember with deep POV.

You have to pick a character to inhabit. You can’t do two or three characters at a time. When you change scenes or chapters, you can slip into someone else’s head, but don’t do it within the scene. It’s sometimes referred to as head-hoppping, and it’s very confusing to the reader.

Avoid dialogue tags (in third person.) If you’re in Ron’s head, you wouldn’t say Ron snapped at Sharon. You’d use interiority to give the reader a window into what’s he thinking. For example: “No, you can’t have the last pickle.” He gritted his teeth. I’ve never seen someone as selfish as Sharon.

Avoid “distancing” words. She felt, noticed, realized, thought, looked at, etc. For example: Shari exited the shop. She noticed the dark sky. In seconds, she felt the heavy raindrops soak her clothes as she ran for her car. I’ll have to drive home carefully, she thought.

The same passage with deep viewpoint: Shari exited the shop. Dark clouds loomed, blocking the sun. In seconds, raindrops soaked her clothes as she ran for her car. I’ll have to drive home carefully.

Although these aren’t excerpts from the great American novel, the reader is closer to the characters. They sense Ron’s irritation and experience the storm as Shari does.

A couple of books cover this writing technique. A good one is Rivet Your Reader with Deep Point of View by Jill Elizabeth Nelson. Another is Writing Deep Viewpoint by Kathy Tyers.

Try this technique the next time you sit down to write. It’ll make your characters come alive for your readers.