Writing it isn't as easy as choosing a point of view and running with it. There are a lot of mine fields that if not properly traversed, can end in disaster for your manuscript. I've seen it in published works, sometimes even those published by one of the Big 5 publishers. And nothing makes me put down a book~or pass on a submitted manuscript~faster than point of view written improperly.
So how do you know if you are walking the right path through this minefield? The best way is to understand each point of view, and be sure you chose the correct one for your manuscript.
In first person, the reader is in the character's head, literally. For example:
I could hardly stand the heat of summer. Sweat dripped down my brow. Into my freaking eyes, for the Gods' sakes! Ugh. Cringing, I ran a hang across my forehead.
You experience the world with the character, and you hear their inner thoughts directly in line with the narrative. The entire narrative is literally the main character's inner thoughts.
In third person is not in the character's head, though at times it is so close it can feel like it. That is the tricky part. For example:
Heather could hardly stand the heat of summer. Sweat dripped down her brow. Into my freaking eyes, for the Gods' sakes! Ugh. Cringing, she ran a hand across her forehead.
In the third person example above, the direct thought is in italics, the proper format for direct thoughts when you are writing in third person. This separates it from the narrative so you aren't slipping into first person, and affectively changing POV styles. It is true, some rules are made to be broken. But beware, when breaking rules you run the risk of it looking like (or turning into) poor grammar that looks sloppy on both the editor and author's part. This is why a lot of publishing houses won't allow their authors to break this particular rule.
