Spot the difference between these almost identical sentences:
Gerard doesn’t like being given instructions.
Gerard clearly doesn’t like being given instructions.
The word “clearly” before the verb changes everything. The reason is that it informs the point of view. Point of view is subtle, delicate. Even after many drafts, I sometimes find mistakes in pov because it can be changed with a single word. In this case, the word “clearly”.
If I write, Gerard doesn’t like being given instructions and I write nothing more, it might be that we’re inside Gerard’s head (third person) or it could be that we’re being told the story from a different third person character inside the story, or from a narrator not in the story. It could be a first person narrator, too. Gerard is simply being described. He doesn’t like being given instructions and maybe doesn’t like spicy food or walking in the cold either. Whatever he doesn’t like, a narrator outside of the story, or character within the story, including perhaps Gerard himself, is telling us.
Now look at the sentence with the word “clearly” stuck in there. One word – and it’s not even a pronoun – tells me we are not in Gerard’s point of view. He isn’t observing himself at this moment. He is acting in a way that demonstrates his displeasure at being given instructions. Someone else is observing this action. Whatever Gerard is doing shows he doesn’t like being given instructions. We are now going to see what made that so clear to the observer.
For example:
Gerard clearly doesn’t like being given instructions, especially from the likes of Gloria. He gives her a side glance before stomping off.
(third person point of view. Could be from a narrator, too, but it is definitely not Gerard as he’s not watching himself “clearly”)
Or,
Gerard clearly doesn’t like being given instructions. I can tell by the way he stomps off. (first person point of view)
I might write, Gerard clearly doesn’t like being given instructions, He grips the steering wheel tightly, his face reddening, looking like he might explode. She wants to push him out at the next traffic light. How hard would it be to reach across, open the car door, kick him aside, and take over the wheel? (close third person point of view from a character inside the story)
Whatever else, once we see that word, “clearly”, we need an observer of some sort. It could be the narrator or it could be another character inside the story, but we’re not inside Gerard’s head.
I find point of view slippery and also boring as hell to talk about, but it’s important. I have to remind myself to watch every word and what it conveys of point of view. It never hurts to realise the power of even a single word in a story.