Point of View

A story is always told by someone, be it the writer, the hero/villian, or another party. This angle of storytelling is called point of view.

There are four main types of point of view: first person, second person, third person omniscient and third person limited.

First Person
First person consists of the writer observing and telling through his eyes. For example, Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson, is told from primarily the first person view of Jim Hawkins the entire novel (except when events need to be filled in by the doctor; however, the doctor also uses first person.)

Example
''I went to the zoo, looking around to find my best friend, Jason. Later, I would find out that Jason had already been to my house to find me.''

Second Person
Second person is not used very much in published literature, and normally only for a brief period in the novel, however, it is quite common in "insert-reader" fanfictions. It exists when the writer talks directly to the reader. This occurs occasionally in the Lord of the Rings books, when the author is describing various locations.

Example
You were just about ready to hit the sack when Toby came up to you, trying to tell you something urgent.

Third Person Omniscient
Third person omniscient is when the author tells the story from every characters' perspective, and includes thoughts from all of the characters in the scene.

Example
''Tom and Angela were very disappointed, while Jade looked on in amusement. All of them saw that Shelby was lying.''

Third Person Limited
Third person limited is when the author tells the story from a single character's perspective. For example, The Hobbit is mainly told through Bilbo's eyes, and the Harry Potter series is mostly told from Harry's point of view. Most fiction today is in third person limited.

Example
He had realized that Sarah knew what she was talking about; that girl was truly an expert Astrologist, or so he thought.

Resources

 * Original Writerium Article