Hot, Warm, and Cold Viewpoint

 QUESTION: What exactly is hot viewpoint? How is it different from other types of viewpoint?

Hot viewpoint is about the viewpoint character's emotional reaction to what is happening. Hot viewpoint is full of sensual details, strong emotions, and important/dangerous/violent actions. Most hot viewpoint moments are action scenes full of adrenaline, love scenes, or physical or emotional fight scenes which can include an argument between characters.  

Cold viewpoint has almost no emotion involved. It’s a simple recital of facts or what’s happening.

Warm viewpoint is halfway between them with emotions of importance, but not extreme importance.

Examples:

COLD: Pamela glanced at the doors' numbers as she passed them. Room 82 should be just ahead.

WARM: Pamela smiled as she glanced at the hotel room number.  Tom said he's be in Room 82.  He'd promised her champagne, roses, and a night of passion. A night to remember.  She could hardly wait.

HOT:  The slight cheesy stench of the alien made Pamela's nose twitch as she leaned against the hallway wall.  Her hands were sweating so much she feared she'd drop the Colt she held in her right hand.  With a quick prayer for courage, she eased toward Room 82 then kicked in the door.

For a writer, it's not so important to know the difference in an intellectual way, but to understand it instinctively as we write. If we are inside the character and feel what she feels, we are more likely to get it right.

Just Say No to Omniscient

On one of the blogs I follow, a reader asked about whether she should use omniscient viewpoint in her first chapter.  In omniscient viewpoint you read the thoughts of all or most of the characters' heads as well as get an overview of what is happening outside of the character viewpoint.  Here is my reply.

These days, people have so many ways to entertain themselves that reading has a hard time even being considered, let alone being in the top five of how someone wants to spend their down time and money.  As writers, we have to figure out why our stories should be part of that down time.  What does reading this story give that no other entertainment gives?  

Science has helped here by studying the brain activity of readers.  "Being there" is what readers want.  They want to be in the story and feel, see, taste and sense through character viewpoint.  The character's reactions make our brains experience the same thing, and this makes the brain and reader very happy.  Omniscient viewpoint's main target is the intellect which works for some readers, but it doesn't offer those wonderful I'm-there brain reactions a majority want.  

Another reason not to use omniscient is that newer writers suck at it, every single time.  It's a landscape of bad craft land mines that the ignorant writer skips happily through, blissfully unaware that the reader experience is being destroyed in his path.  Once the craft is master level after years of writing and the writer reaches excellence, he may decide omniscient POV should be tried.  Even then, he'll probably start a few chapters then go "Hell, no. This is tripe."  End of omniscient experience.  

As a writing teacher, I'm guessing that the real reason the question asker wants that fantasy first chapter as omniscient is she wants to info dump all her world building in one spot because she thinks the reader needs this pile of world building vomit NOW.  Spoiler alert:  They don't.  

So, listen to agents, editors, other authors, writing teachers, and readers, and just so no to omniscient.  

More than One Type of Viewpoint in a Story

QUESTION: I want to use first person point of view for my hero, and third person for my other characters. What do you think?

As a rule in popular fiction, you don't switch from first to third POV or vice versa.

Some writers have done this, but many readers and reviewers don't like this because they find it so jarring it knocks them out of the story.

This would be a particularly dangerous for a newer writer who doesn't have the experience and control to handle these changes or the reader's trust that they know what they are doing.

I can't suggest which type of POV to use. Only you can decide on that. Consider your comfort level with the different viewpoints, and the ease of telling the story with that POV. 

With first person, you must also be certain you can hear the main character's voice well enough to stay in that voice for the whole novel. It’s also extremely rare for a novel in first person to have more than one viewpoint character.  

If you do decide to write both first and third POV, you should have a very particular reason for it.