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1st Person or 3rd Person?

Poll closed May 24, 2012.
  1. 1st Person

    1 vote(s)
    50.0%
  2. 3rd Person

    1 vote(s)
    50.0%
  1. JPGriffin

    JPGriffin New Member

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    1st or 3rd Person POV?

    Discussion in 'Character Development' started by JPGriffin, May 22, 2012.

    Before I get too far in to this writing project, I need to know which is a more popular POV, either 1st Person or 3rd Person Limited? It's writing from a non-human character, so connections might be a bit hard to make, which is leading me to 1st Person to make up for it, but I feel like the target demographic is more fond of the traditional 3rd Person... I'm torn, and I can basically do either one on demand. It's just deciding which one that's holding me up...
     
  2. CrimsonReaper

    CrimsonReaper Active Member

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    Write what YOU ENJOY more. If you try and write in a style you don't like, it will show and the work will suffer. I personally prefer first-person so I tend to write in that exclusively.
     
  3. Cogito

    Cogito Former Mod, Retired Supporter Contributor

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    First person is an unreliable narrator, so it's worth considering if you want to present a testimony POV, i.e. what the character wants the reader to hear. This narrator can also let slip some facts that clue the reader into the other side of the story, so the reader can form his or her own opinion of the truth of the matter. However, this is by no means a piece of cake.

    For most purposes, a third person perspective is a more flexible choice. However, third person iks not generally considered an unreliable narrator, even when you use a third person limited perspective that closely mimics first person. Third person has the huge advantabe that you can more or less seamlessly switch POV between scenes, so you can introduce events your principal POV character is unaware of.

    Also third person is a better choice for new writers, as there is less temptation to wallow in introspection. First person, if done "correctly", is written to look outward rather than inward. That also avoids the excesses of I and Me that plagues novices of first person writing.

    Nevertheless, I will not vote in your poll. If you have to ask, I would urge you to go with third person, but that does not mean there is anything wrong or inferior about first person. It is simply more challenging, and more limited.
     
  4. Ettina

    Ettina Senior Member

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    Virtually any story that can be written in 1st person can be written in 3rd person limited, or vice versa. The differences are a matter of the individual author's style. There is no possible way we can tell you which one to pick. As a reader, I don't have a preference for one over the other - in fact thinking back on many stories I've read I find it hard to remember if they're in first or third person.
     
  5. Rosyln

    Rosyln New Member

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    I think 1st person's POV is much detailed and clear than 3rd person. As 1st person can narrate all the feelings he or she feels in a much better way than 3rd person. As 3rd person can miss details and depth of feelings but as the 1st person will narrate it himself so he can actually explain in detail about what he is feeling, what he saw, what he want, what he desires in a crystal clear format.
     
  6. Mckk

    Mckk Member Supporter Contributor

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    Go for the POV that will help you tell your story best.

    Or go for the POV you can actually manage.

    I tried to write my novel in first person and to cut a long story short, botched it up big-time and now on the rewrite I'm switching everything to 3rd person. It's much easier. So if you're pretty new to working on a large project, go with third person.
     
  7. Gonissa

    Gonissa New Member

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    3rd person...omniscient!!!!!

    I know everybody hates that one, and it's old-fashioned or whatever, but it's my favorite. :D
     
  8. Youniquee

    Youniquee (◡‿◡✿) Contributor

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    Love both of them and have written in both POVs. I can't really chose.
    It's pretty subjective so I don't see how other people opinions will help much.

    Do the POV you enjoy the most. If what you've written so far is fine, then keep writing in that POV. Actually, you could experiment with first person through some of the draft, to see how it's like.
     
  9. Cassiopeia Phoenix

    Cassiopeia Phoenix New Member

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    I will get along with everyone and say to do the POV you like the most. But I also take in consideration the plot while picking the POV. Do you want the narrator to be reliable? It's interesting for the story that everyone's thoughts are acessible to the reader...?
     
  10. bo_7md

    bo_7md New Member

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    I think it depends on both the genre and the writer. Personally I prefer 3rd person.
     
  11. Ettina

    Ettina Senior Member

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    Also, don't hold off starting writing because you can't decide what perspective it should be in. It's a pretty easy edit if you change your mind. Just try writing it one way, and if you don't think it works, change it. Or, if nothing else, you could restart, and still be better off because you can crib scenes from your first draft and because writing it has gotten you a better understanding of your character.
     

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