The writer describes the action from what the viewpoint character sees, hears, smells, etc.
If Brad Frame is having a conversation with his associate, Sharon Porter, and the scene is in HIS viewpoint. He can report what Sharon says, how she looks when she says it, the tone of voice she uses when she speaks, but it would be a POV (point of view) mistake for Brad to report how Sharon might be feeling or what she might be thinking. If she seems grumpy, he can make note of it. If she should happen to burp during the scene, he could even speculate that perhaps her stomach is upset which is why she is grumpy. But he cannot get inside her head to tell the reader that her grumpiness is a direct result of the fact that she broke up with her boyfriend the previous evening (since Brad wasn't present and she didn't share that information with him).
Understanding viewpoint can be tricky for new writers. When we read advice not to "head hop," that is exactly what it means. Watch your viewpoint.
Most of my Brad Frame books are written with a combination of viewpoints. Brad's 3rd person view and Sharon Porter's first person viewpoint. I think it serves the stories well, although a few readers have told me that they were initially confused by it.
One of the issues I confront with each new story is the question of exactly how Brad Frame becomes involved in a case. Usually the opening chapter involves a person meeting with Brad to engage his help. In BLOOD PORN, I wanted to show the set of circumstances that lead a client to seek out Brad for his help. In the story, a man discovers images of his brother in a porn video. That same brother is missing, which prompts the man to seek Brad's help. So the opening chapter of BLOOD PORN (and a couple of other chapters) are in the viewpoint of the "client."
My approach in deciding on what viewpoint to use is to first determine what best serves the story I'm telling.
You can read the opening of BLOOD PORN by clicking this link.
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