I see the merits and times to use either, but I really just love to write in first person. I just love the potential for individual character development that comes from that kind of direct narrative.
Here's the thing, the first draft I'm working on is in third person omnipotent (think the hobbit) but I truly feel that it lacks the strength of third person personal (can't think of any examples but it's essentially third person where you experience the world through a specific character). I was planning on my second draft to be in that POV but aren't sure if I should start now. The issue is that third person omnipotent is what comes naturally to me, third person personal I'd have to actively work on and I'm primarily worried because already I keep finding lame excuses to procrastinate from writing (checking through facebook and this forum about 20 times a day being one example ). I'm just worried that rewriting into the POV will be either extremely difficult or next to impossible (although nothing as complicated as switching from third person to first).
I wold say go with trying POV, in a rough draft, and then compare it to the first draft. I, as a rule breaker, enjoy switching narrative voice/perspective. But it also depends on the tone of the story. best of luck!
Thanks, I'll take a section of what I've currently written and try rewriting it. I honestly find third person personal makes one care more for the character.
Uhoh - I've done this and I agree with Autumn try it out on something small - a scene, a chapter. One of my novels I did in third and switched to first - two drafts. First turned out to be a disaster for the character and though it was a good learning experience it was still a lot of time wasted. Also never get rid of a draft ever - one way of seeing what a disaster first turned out to be was to see the simplicity of my first draft.
My first post! I'm currently working on two pieces of fiction. One's in 1st person, by necessity. The other is in 3rd person. All of my writing up to this point has either been business-oriented, or humorous opinion pieces/rants. I see myself as a storyteller, rather than an author. Whether that changes with experience and acquired knowledge, or not, I won't know for some time. In my current inexperienced state, I'm much more comfortable writing in the 1st person. I've been working almost exclusively on the 3rd person piece lately, and it just doesn't flow. I find a lot of the language clunky. Also, while stylistically I want it to be pretty descriptive and detailed, I find myself going into too much detail in the 3rd person piece. Since the 1st person piece I'm writing is narrated by me, I don't run into that problem as much with it.
I prefer 3rd person for most pieces, but when writing noir it just feels wrong to be in anything but 1st person.
I mostly write in third person, although I've experimented with both. Third person seems to be a standard of sorts for most novels these days. What I have noticed is that whether the author uses first or third person can be heavily influenced by the genre. A lot of the top YA books are first person (hunger games, Divergent), while thrillers are almost exclusively written in the third person, often even with head-hopping (Tom Clancy, for instance). Science Fiction is usually written in third person, and I write science fiction, so I think that's what I will stick with.
I will prefer third person because when it comes to character development and also a bonus for readers. By describing it you can make fun and tedious at some point
I prefer first person, because the leading character of the story get me to the awesome trip of adventure.
I really don't seem to have a particular preference--it depends on the story, and on how I want to tell it. I usually write in third person, but my current project is in first. it could just as easily be in third person--in fact, there's one chapter that's going to be told in third person, because the main character doesn't see the scene as it unfolds, but there's a lot of action that needs to be included. I'm thinking of having it narrated in first person by the main secondary character instead... which, now that I'm thinking about it, would probably be funny, and would give me some interesting opportunities... hee.
Third person. Too insecure for people to think that I am writing from experience or of past events in my life.
I prefer third person limited, especially in the main character's voice. I used to write first person in high school.
I can't say that I prefer one over the other. It really depends on the story and what the author hopes to accomplish. Many people view first person as more intimate, but a high level of intimacy can be accomplished with third-person as well. I like experimenting with different viewpoints. Try writing your story in both viewpoints and then evaluate which you are more comfortable with for this particular character.
The topic of the story is about...? I would like to use first person if I want to discuss the topic about the school life, the family, or the autobiography. But if I want to develop far more complicated plots, I would consider adopting third person.
I think a lot of people prefer third person, usually limited. It allows us into many people's heads, but not too much so that we get confused. I myself am writing a novel where the protagonist in in first person while all the scenes without him (and even a few with him) are in 3rd limited. I love the closeness of first person but third person has many more variables. In most movies that seem to be first person, you can find a few scenes that don't include that person if you pay attention. At the same time though, you have an anchor to tell the story from the protagonist's point of view as well. Harlan Coben does this in Tell No One and Joseph Finder does so in Vanished. Hope this helps and happy writing!
I hate first person narrative when fiction is involved. It sounds like you're on a ship I, I,...Captain! It is exceedingly limited in its POV. You rely on the prespicacity of the narrator's thoughts, and mind melding with a character, whose thought patterns are slower than my own is very tough. I have to try and down shift to a level bordering on normal, something I have never functioned at. It is almost impossible for me to relate. I have ADHD, but I've always been ahead of the curve, too far for some of my teachers. I love third person and third person limited because you are viewing it from multiple levels and POVs. There is also the distinction between the characters minds and your own. There is no mind melding. You get to keep your thought and you don't have to become John Malkovich. There is a level of freedom found in the thirds. You see the world through the eyes of the characters. 360 degrees. You aren't trapped in the head of a MC, whose thoughts grate like broken glass. I know many, most in point of fact, will disagree with this, but first person is a bit of a cop out. Characters don't have the same depth, worlds aren't as rich and the vocabulary stunted. Most good fantasy is third, historical fiction, also third, and good historical romance, again, third. YA novels, these days are almost exclusively first person. I'm comfortable in my own head; I know my mind and like it. Why should I have to silence it to follow a character I cannot empathize with? POV is the first thing I check when looking at a book. If I can't deal with a character's monolgue for more than two pages, I know I won't get through the book. Because let's face it, first person is a continuous monologue. If I like the monologue, I read it.
Why not to combine first and third person? I think it can be interesting experiment. I already saw this trick in one book, don't remember the name.
Mixing POVs is almost worse than straight up first. You relax into third and suddenly...I, I,...Captain...
My personal view is that first person is appropriate only for very special kinds of story telling. It brings a lot of limitations, and a few special factors that enable a story to be told in a more intimate way. But in my view a writer needs to be a lot more skilled to use the first person successfully, and have a distinctive kind of story to tell.
To be honest, I found myself struggling more and more with first-person within the last year or so. Like Darkkin said, it's too cluttered with 'I...I...I...' and there's limited freedom to move around. I'm stuck with this one character whether I like it or not. And unlike third-person, it can come off as one long monologue rather than a community of people doing something. You also can't get a feel for someone else's motivation when you're stuck in first-person, you're stuck with whatever personal bias the narrator has for that person. In third-person, you have freedom to dedicate a chapter to that person to fully explore what he/she is thinking and doing. Mainly I had planned to use first-person with my blind MC because I thought third-person would be too confusing. I mean, imagine this sentence: Amos felt for the blue rag and gave it to the woman. He then turned to her balding husband who was stabbing at his food with a fork. If Amos were blind, how would we know if the rag was blue, or the woman's husband were bald and stabbing at his food? My other issues with first-person is that I often feel like I'm writing it like a diary. 'I gave the rag to the woman, I talked to her husband, I walked away...' Granted it could be as simple as me needing some practice writing in first person, but that's what I've noticed in my prose. Third-person seems to be a bit easier (and more fun to write in), I'll try that and see if it helps any.
