by Lisa Hall-Wilson

I've gotten several requests for a Deep POV checklist, and I searched my archives and found that I'd written about this on WITS back in 2018 -- so it felt like time for an update!

Now, let's be clear. Deep Point of View is a collection of stylistic tools that work together to create a specific effect for readers. If you search the bestseller lists, you'll find those authors don't write Deep Point of View exclusively, but they do use many of the tools of Deep POV. So, use the tools that fit your voice and genre, to create specific effects for readers as you need/want them.

What is this Deep POV List?

This list is a not a checklist in the sense that you're guaranteed anything if you follow them all. I also don't have the space for many examples here. This Deep POV checklist WILL serve as a starting place if you're trying to learn the technique, or need the language to do more research or learning.

I like to think of Deep POV like renovating a house. Plot, characterization, pacing -- these are all demolition issues (what we're removing). Then we move to the rebuilding stage, and finally the finishing touches with decorating.

The Demo Stage of Deep POV Checklist

These are the basic tenets of deep point of view you'll find in any succinct 800-word blog post on the interwebs. Don't fall into the trap of believing this is all there is to Deep POV.

No one buys a house and after finishing the demo stage considers the house an adequate place to live. Sure, we've got walls and a roof, but there's no door on the bathroom and the kitchen countertops are on backorder. It's not functional.

Author Voice

I use this term to cover any place where the author inserts themselves into a story (either as an outside storyteller voice or a narrator of any stripe) to summarize, explain or justify. This includes thinking words (wanted, thought, decided, etc), emotion words (naming emotions: loved, anxious, hated); and filter words that create distance (made, heard, saw). This all has to go.

The author voice is usually the one giving backstory, describing a setting, giving context to new characters or situations, covering leaps in time, and answering WHY.

Why is the character making this decision? Why does the character have this priority? Why Why Why. The character needs a reason to think of things they already know.

Deep POV wants every word on the page to come from within the character. Now, is that realistic? No. Not really. You have to cheat this rule simply to keep the story moving, avoid unnecessary navel gazing, and on-the-nose pace-killing. But know why you're cheating Deep POV in every instance and know how Deep POV wants you to write. Then decide if Deep POV or the author voice best serves your voice and the story in each instance.

Immediacy

The power of Deep Point of View is creating a sense for readers that they’re IN the story AS IT’S HAPPENING with your characters. This isn’t a question of using past or present tense, instead write as though the action is happening in real time for readers.

If you have backstory, ask how much of that information the reader needs right now, to understand what's going on in the story. Understand that immediacy dictates what's going through the character's mind at any given moment.

Incorporating Senses

If every word on the page comes from within the character, the reader is then privy to whatever raw information is used to decide what to do next. This has to include sensory information. A character needs a reason to turn around in their chair, look in any direction, or react (hair raising, startle, tensing) and often sensory details provide that information. Deep POV doesn't want the unnamed "something" to force them to turn around.

Specificity and particularity are two of the driving forces behind Deep POV.

The Rebuilding Stage of Deep POV Checklist

This is where we look at everything we took out and removed in the previous stage, and now we're building back up again. The Deep POV checklist gives us an idea of what we add instead.

This is where we want to focus on characterization, character voice, emotions and emotional arcs, answering the WHY, setting and description. We're not hanging wallpaper yet, but we're choosing new windows, framing in new walls, and rerouting plumbing. Many authors trying to learn Deep POV understand (or think they understand) the demo stage, but then they skip ahead to hanging wallpaper and curtains.

Characterization

This is all about what's important to your character. What is their priority in any given scene? What are their prejudices, morals and ethics, pain points, limited thinking, past trauma, etc. How do you capture that without using the author voice to explain, summarize, or justify? You lean on internal sensations (how things FEEL), internal dialogue, spoken dialogue, and actions. What do they avoid? What are they afraid of? This is all part of the rebuilding phase of deep POV.

When a child is upset and throwing things, if we know that child we often know WHY they're behaving that way, and a good parent helps them find the words for their feelings. Maybe they're frustrated, or tired, or feel unheard, sick, or scared. It's your job to make sure the reader knows your POV character. What makes them tick.

Character Voice

Voice is focused on how the character expresses themselves. This of course includes spoken dialogue, but also mannerisms, expressions, gestures, cadence, tone, turns of phrases, and thought patterns.

Emotions And Emotional Arcs

THESE are the glue of deep POV. In the demo phase, you removed all the ways you expressed your character's emotions to readers, and now you're stuck. How do you show anger? How do you show frustration? How do you show they're torn between two or three emotions?

You have to turn to what psychology calls the orchestra of communication referenced above, under Character Voice.

An example...

What goes through the mind of a person who's scared? Do they tell themselves they're scared? No, probably not. They're going to make threat assessments, they're going to look for exits. Their thinking will be impaired by past experiences, priorities, etc.

How do you show someone who's insecure? Maybe they actively avoid looking at themselves in the mirror below the neckline. Maybe they fastidiously pick all the imagined lint off their sweater. Be creative. You have to know your character really really well, but also just be a good observer of people.

Make a chart if it helps.

Charting the emotional arc of any given scene can help ensure you're building in surprise for readers. What emotion does your scene begin with? What is the emotion at the peak of the tension or conflict in that scene? What emotion does the scene end with? I try not to have the scene begin and end with the same emotion, or at least ensure the WHY behind that emotion is different.

Answering The Why

This is about exploring and becoming curious about why your character does or says anything. And instead of using the author voice to explain or summarize, show what why instead. This includes building in emotional reactions, using emotional layering, using compelling backstory that doesn't slow the pace, and tracking shifting goals and priorities. Being specific and particular is crucial here. The character isn't just angry, there's a specific reason for the anger coloured by the inherent stakes or risks they perceive for expressing or suppressing or ignoring or acknowledging that anger. Go deeper!

Setting And Description

These keep the reader rooted in time and place. They want to be IN the scene with the character. They don't want to just be in the backseat of the story car watching everything happen, they don't want to ride shotgun -- they want to be in the character's head and privy to every emotion and sensation and thought that's led to every decision. Setting and description can set the mood, and reflect back attitudes and expectations as well.

The Decorating Stage Of Deep POV

This is where we really take our writing to the next level. Most people, all things being equal, would choose high-end finishes for their home.

Go big!

The biggest caution I have for students is not to fear melodrama. We undercut the emotions in a scene because we're afraid of being melodramatic. Most of the time, I'm encouraging people to write the emotions bigger. You can scale it back if you feel it's necessary, but when you're in the moment -- when you're immersed in your character's perspective -- don't pull back.

It's like the guy who initially chooses to chase a purse snatcher, but then gets scared and pretends to pull a hamstring. He was within reach, but then didn't know what to do with the thief or was scared of what *might* happen once he caught him.

So, go for the gold faucet, the vintage solid brass drawer pulls, import King Henry VIII's throne, choose the vintage wallpaper that's $5000 a roll -- whatever it is. This is where the magic happens!

Subtext

This is what K.M. Weiland called "the blackbelt of writing". So much of our experience of the world is nonverbal. This is the unspoken exchange behind the dialogue between two characters, the juxtaposition between a character’s thoughts and their outward actions.

This is the husband glaring at his wife across the room and tapping his watch at the party. This is the wife raising her brows and folding her arms over her chest. This is the husband straightening his spine and raising his brows, his right hand wrapping around his closed left fist. This is the wife's shoulders drooping and a curt nod, before she turns to the host and says they need to go.

Subtext is the mob boss asking an underling if he's taken out the trash. Yeah, took it out last night.

Subtext is about who has authority or power in a scene, and the consequences of defying that dynamic. It's using touch, or the absence of touch, to show the WHY. The boss who leans in too close when making a request. The secretary who offers to stay, doesn't matter how late. These are cliche, but this is all subtext.

Beats

Beats are about more than attributing dialogue via stage directions. Complex beats not only attribute dialogue, but also show character emotion, priorities, or stakes. Make each beat move the story ahead in some way rather than just attribute speech.

Literary Devices

Use these to give readers information through connotation, repetition, personification, metaphor, and simile. The reader can articulate how a character feels, but may not know where they got that idea from. Look into devices like foreshadowing, pathetic fallacy, metonymy, etc.

What's your biggest pain point when it comes to learning deep POV?

I'll be running my 4 week Deep POV Masterclass again in May 2025, watch my blog for registration to open in April and/or join the Deep POV Facebook group (see bio below for links) for updates and free tips.

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About Lisa

Lisa Hall-Wilson is a writing teacher and award-winning writer and author. She’s the author of Method Acting For Writers: Learn Deep Point Of View Using Emotional Layers. Her blog, Beyond Basics For Writers, explores all facets of the popular writing style deep point of view and offers practical tips for writers. 

 Interested In Deep Point Of View? Here's the place to learn! https://deepdiveauthorclub.vipmembervault.com/ Class begins May 2025!