1. Mr Mr

    Mr Mr Active Member

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    1st person vs 3rd person

    Discussion in 'Point of View, and Voice' started by Mr Mr, Jun 19, 2011.

    Which do you prefer and which do you think is more useful when writing a story?

    I prefer first person but I'm trying to write in 3rd as my story wouldn't work in 1st person.
     
  2. Jack Martinez

    Jack Martinez New Member

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    I enjoy first person in order to flesh out the main characters qualities and values through his point of view, while third person is useful for stories with more characters involved through actions.
     
  3. Declan

    Declan New Member

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    1st person. I just find it more open to creativity.
     
  4. EdFromNY

    EdFromNY Hope to improve with age Supporter Contributor

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    This topic has been discussed numerous times. I've written four novels. The first was written in 3rd person, the second in 3rd person limited, the third in 1st person, and the fourth had the first chapter in 1st person and the rest of the novel in 3rd person.

    I find that my choice is based on what I think will work best for the story at hand.
     
  5. Sang Hee

    Sang Hee New Member

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    3rd person, definitely. One character can't perceive everything that's going on around them.
     
  6. WriterDude

    WriterDude Contributor Contributor

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    3rd person by far. No offense to stories in 1st person, but I hate them. It puts too much focus on a character we never really get to know.
     
  7. Tesoro

    Tesoro Contributor Contributor

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    When I started off with my first novel I was writing the mc's pov in first and the others in 3rd, that wasn't a conscious choice, it just came naturally that way since I wasn't comfortable with writing a guys pov in 1st person. But eventually I came to change the first into third as well and now I like it a lot more. I also happen to dislike most books written in first person and maybe realising that was the first step towards writing in third.
     
  8. Mr Mr

    Mr Mr Active Member

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    Does anyone know any good books that switch between the two effectively?
     
  9. Lord Malum

    Lord Malum New Member

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    Third person comes more naturally to me than first person. I've recently been doing workshops to improve my first person. The most challenging one being a story purely in diary form. Always push your writing. Don't get too comfortable in a certain style, you may not always notice when you've gone wrong.
     
  10. Trish

    Trish Damned if I do and damned if I don't Contributor

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    Huh? What have you been reading in first person? That's a major point of writing in first person - getting to know the person whose POV it's in :confused:
     
  11. SteamWolf

    SteamWolf New Member

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    3rd person for sure. However, there's a few exceptions such as the Dresden Files which are written in 1st person and done well. 3rd person means you can move the story between characters and locations, whereas 1st person you're basically stuck with only the MC's perspective and experiences. Exceptions to this are stories written as a collection of journal entrys or letters, such as Dracula.
     
  12. Gigi_GNR

    Gigi_GNR Guys, come on. WAFFLE-O. Contributor

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    I usually prefer 3rd person because it gives you more sides to a story, but if a story is well-written in 1st person, I like it a lot. I prefer writing in 3rd.
     

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