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1. Anne can't see her
In the previous example, the viewpoint slips are shown in italics. This is why they disturb the reader:
Looking AT: The Same Scene Through McPherson's Point of View
The Author's Decision on Viewpoint: Looking Out or Looking At?
The viewpoint character (that is, the character who is telling the story) in the following excerpt is called Anne. At the moment, Anne is not too happy with life. The following paragraph is written looking through her eyes:
A cold gust of wind whipped her hair into her eyes. She shivered [link widoczny dla zalogowanych],and pulled her jacket closed.
The following example shows what happens if the reader (while in Anne's head) is told about (a) something that Anne can't see, or (b) something that she is unlikely to be thinking about at the time.
An Accidental Slip out of Anne's Viewpoint
How to Identify Viewpoint Slips
She'd have to get back to work soon. If she took too long over lunch McPherson would have more reasons to hound her.
When writing in third person limited point of view, it's all too easy to accidentally slip out of viewpoint. Usually, this happens because writers momentarily lose focus on who the viewpoint character is supposed to be. They unthinkingly pass on some information that could not be known or seen by the person who is telling the story. Voila [link widoczny dla zalogowanych]! A 'viewpoint slip' has occurred – and the story spell has been broken; the jarring note reminds the reader that they are part of the real world.
A cold gust of wind whipped her straw-like blonde hair into her eyes, and she pulled her cheap red vinyl jacket more firmly around herself. She'd have to get back to work soon. If she took too long over lunch McPherson would have more reasons to hound her.
McPherson watched while Anne White came into view and sat at a table outside the cafe. Perched on the very edge of her seat, she stared out to sea. Anger still showed in her pinched face and rigid posture. While he watched, the wind blew her straw-like blonde hair into her eyes. Instead of moving inside like any sensible person, she just pulled her cheap red vinyl jacket more tightly around herself. Stubborn, that was Anne. No doubt she'd be late back from lunch again.
Anger making her chest tight, Anne perched on the edge of a chair outside the Overlook cafe and stared out to sea. McPherson had no right to bawl her out in front of everyone like that. Now they'd all think she was some loser, unable to cope with the workload.
Anne stared out to sea, her pinched face and rigid posture showing the world that she was still angry. McPherson had no right to bawl her out in front of everyone like that. Now they'd all think she was some kind of loser, unable to cope with the workload.
Regardless of which viewpoint character is chosen when using third person limited point of view, the reader can quite happily exist in either character's skin, immersed in the story world. However, if the writer slips out of viewpoint, the reader becomes uncomfortable.
Looking OUT: Anne's Point of View
This excerpt is true to McPherson's point of view – the reader understands where he's coming from. No matter which viewpoint we're in, we know that these two people don't like each other.
So far, so good. All of the above is true to Anne's thoughts and feelings. The reader is inside Anne's skin [link widoczny dla zalogowanych], looking out through her eyes, feeling the cold wind and the burn of righteous anger. (Well, Anne thinks it's righteous, anyway.)
Read on
Omniscient Versus Third Person Limited POV
Choosing the Point of View For a Story or Novel
Writing in Third Person Point of View