I am writing a story from the heroine's pov and am considering coming out of her pov for the last sentence. I need something particular to be said , to tie in with the story's title - but if she says it, it'll come across as bigheaded, if the hero says it, he'll sound nerdy. So, i am just going to make an authorial comment.

I could get around this by eg changing the title, but i've decided i don't think this one comment, out of pov, negatively affects the piece.

So, this got me thinking, do you ever come out of pov? I don't mean switching pov regularly between characters, i mean leaving the pov (or povs) you've decided on for your piece.

If you have, what were the reasons and do you think it worked?

hmm, that's an interesting one, Petal. I try to stay utterly in pov, because I find it irritating when authors jump around from one to another. But if it's only one sentence, as you say, it might work the other way and actually have more impact. Difficult to say without reading it! You've obviously thought it through and made an informed decision

I say, do it. As it's for the last sentence, there's no readjustment to make, and your readers will think you're making a brilliant and audacious sleight of hand (or pen).

Could you leave a blank line before the last sentence?

Yes, Freebird, i stay utterly in pov too - especially for novels! I just wondered whether it was one of those rules that people broke every now and again - like every good rule!

Hmm, maybe they will, maybe they won't Alan!
Good idea that, leaving a blank line, i'll see how that reads.

Oh I do. All the time. I think it's a rule for writers but not readers. Of course, it's got to work.

I guess it feels less of a big think with a short story, cos you haven't writtten eg 50,000 previous words in one pov. But yes, it can't be done willy nilly.

I don't think a lot of readers notice these bloomin things anyway (unless they are writers )

Why not?

Meself - but that's only me - if I wanted to do this at the end, I'd "frame" the story, by starting it with an external, knowledgeable narrator's PoV as well. That gets the reader reading the story the right way, and when we return to it at the end, it'll feel like a return - a rounding-off - not a sudden move into unknown territory. And I would consider making it - say - two sentences top and bottom, not one, just to make sure that the effect is properly effective, not half-hearted IYSWIM.

(And then I would, personally, probably be sorely tempted to make use of that external narrator's pov as well in a couple of other places, because it's so useful. But that's just me, because I'm as addicted now to the relationship between external narrators and internal characters, as I used to be to first-person character narrators. It would change the feel of the story rather more.)

I don't think a lot of readers notice these bloomin things anyway

Not consciously, but that doesn't mean it doesn't affect how they experience the story - see head-hopping (which of course is very different from a controlled and confident use of moving point-of-view), which lots of readers won't notice, just fail to be as gripped and convinced by the story as they would if the pov-moves had been properly handled.

Somehting I have seen done a treat and have tried myself is to use a document or text or summat to say the un-POV thing that needs to be said. Does that make any sense?
HB x

Hmm, framing it is an interesting idea, Emma, and i'll bear that in mind in the future - i think for this story, that might be over-thinking it.

And i agree, a reader would notice in terms of eg the voice suddenly sounding different because of a pov change.

It feels very naughty doing it, but i think it's absolutely right in this case!

Yes, that does make sense, Helen - although i'm not sure it would work, for this story.

Thanks all.

use a document or text or summat to say the un-POV thing that needs to be said.

And great fun can be had putting 'voices' into phone texts.