by Janine Mick Wills
It is imperative to decide which POV (Point of View) to use in your fictional writing. Editors spot “head-hopping” from one character to another faster than a thirsty horse to water. There are exceptions, but switching POV within a scene marks you as a newbie writer.
It’s ok to switch POVs in another scene. But even then, don’t give every character in your novel a POV. Save them for your protagonist(s) and antagonist(s). Too many can confuse your reader.
Here’s an example from my first book before I understood the importance of consistent POVs. Don’t judge this too harshly. I was a beginner! 
The following sentence is in Big Jim’s POV.)
Big Jim was fully aware that he would be skating on thin ice if he tried playing matchmaker again. But he couldn’t help himself. This tiny woman with luminous brown eyes could make Michael happy.
Jennifer eyed Big Jim apprehensively and pondered his silence. What was he thinking?
In the last two sentences, I switched POVs to Jennifer, the female protagonist.
Want to learn more about POV? There are 100s of articles online, but here’s one to get you started. What Is Point of View in Writing, and How Does It Work?
And want to know what omniscient POV is? Check out this blog post. What is Omniscient Point of View (POV)?
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