In a previous post for #authortoolboxbloghop, I spoke about narrative perspective and character interiority. I did so by distinguishing between the narrator and the focal character. The narrator speaks the narrative, but the point of view and opinions that drive the narrative belong to the focal character.  They can be the same person, but not necessarily.

As a quick reminder, there are three patterns of focalization:

1. Zero / Non-Focalization
2. Internal Focalization
3. External focalization

In this post, I’ll be focusing on internal focalization. If you’d like to learn about the others, click here.

When using internal focalization, the narrative perspective limits itself to a single point of view. We don’t know any more than the focal character whose POV drives the narrative. For example, in Six of Crows, the focal character changes each chapter. When Kaz is the focal character, we only have access to his thoughts/opinions/feelings…