Writing Down the Bones: Different Points of View

I know I've talked about POV before, but as I have been going through my mother-in-laws collection of lectures and programs form different RWA meetings and I found another little gem.

The four different points of View:

First Person POV: This - to me - is a restrictive POV. Always the 'I' POV wavering from it can confuse the reader. You are the character as you read a novel in first person and no matter what is going on in the scene the only thoughts and deductions you learn is from that character you embody.

Third Person POV: I think of this as being a witness to a scene. It's like you're a voyeur watching everything. They can't see you, but you're there, learning what they learn. seeing that they see, smelling what they smell...you get the picture?

Objective POV: This is where the author (us) tells part of the story but doesn't delve into the character's thoughts or feelings. To me a lot of those descriptive scenes that were popular in the 80's fall into this category.

Omniscient POV: Someone once explained that this viewpoint was like being a god in your story. You (the author) gives away information that the characters can't. Describes things that the characters can't see. As a writer you're intruding into the story by relating info to the reader that they wouldn't get from the characters you've created.

Most romances are written in third person. In fact when I was learning my craft it was beaten into me that I had to write in third person, and now I'm not sure I could write in any other POV. It's the one I'm most comfortable doing.

Random Thoughts: Can I put my family in my books?

I went to visit relatives on my mother's side of the family last month. They're such wonderful people with rich, funny stories that I would love to use at times. Part of me wonders if that is a smart idea. It is my family after all and I don't want to insult them, but I would never write any funny story in a negative light. I know that.

All of my family has had goofy moments. And do are our friends. I think we're magnets for the goofy in the world. My sister and her friends had done some wild stuff that I want to put in a book I just need to have a plot or story that brings it all together - I've been thinking about using a funeral because it is the time when people reminisce. Then I can create the people I want.  A German aunt using the word yonder with a sturdy German accent. A cousin who lost a finger and bragged about it. Friends climbing into the wrong cars, walking into things. I fear after I write it my readers won't believe they were true stories, but as they say truth is stranger than fiction.