Thought exercises in point of view are not uncommon—perhaps you have already considered the differences between [first person, second person (not too common in fiction), and third person](https://writingexplained.org/grammar-dictionary/first-second-third-person). Perhaps you’ve delved further into the finer points of [third person objective, omniscient, and limited](https://www.thoughtco.com/third-person-point-of-view-1692547). If you’re really curious about this sort of topic, perhaps you’ve wondered whether there wasn’t a [fourth person point of view](https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/465082), and if there is, then [what might one do with it](https://www.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2012/04/13/language-and-art-in-the-navajo-universe)? This week, I invite you to consider also how writers reveal what it’s like to inhabit a point of view. This goes beyond merely deciding whether to say “She said” or “I said” and so on. Look at this passage from [*The Three Body Problem* by Liu Cixin](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20518872-the-three-body-problem): > Wang suddenly noticed the sun. But it rose in the opposite direction from the dawn light, and the patch of sky around it was still completely dark. > The sun was very large, its half-risen disk taking up a third of the horizon. Wang’s heart beat faster: Such a large sun could only mean another great catastophe. But when Wang turned around, the old man continued to play as if nothing odd was happening. His silver hair shone brilliantly in the sun, as though it was on fire. > The sun was silvery, just like the old man’s hair. It cast a pale white light over the ground, but Wang couldn’t feel any warmth from the light. He gazed at the sun, which had now completely risen. On the giant silver disk he could pick out lines like wood grains: mountain ranges. > Wang realized that the disk did not emit light. It only reflected the light from the real sun, which was on the other side of the sky, below the horizon. What had risen wasn’t a sun at all, but a giant moon. The giant moon moved briskly up the sky at a pace that could be detected by the naked eye. In the process, it gradually waned from a full to a half moon, and then a crescent. The old man’s soothing violin strains drifted on the cold morning breeze. The majestic sight of the universe was like the music made material. Wang was intoxicated. Wow! So much going on here. Notice how the character’s perception changes as new information comes in. Liu could have just written that Wang saw something that at first he thought was a sun, but it turned out to be a moon. But would that have had as great an impact as taking us along on the character’s small journey from ignorance to epiphany? This is one way writing comes to life. Other dimensions of point of view are revealed here as well: from the diminutive, mammalian perspective of a single human being, we suddenly grasp the vast scope of planetary bodies interacting in space. Dizzying! There is also the old man playing the violin—how that sinuous presence wraps itself into the scene like a living thing. [[Experiment with point of view]] in your writing this week. Share your thoughts and reflections when you contribute to discussion boards and/or assignments!