1. alvin123

    alvin123 New Member

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    3rd person POV

    Discussion in 'Word Mechanics' started by alvin123, Sep 3, 2008.

    3rd person. I've seriously thought about writing this story(duo fo des) in third person, because there are alot of elements i wanted add, that cannot be demonstrated in first person.
    If i may ask, (For some reason, i find third person difficult to write)
    Do you know any good website that will offer any tips/advice on writng in third-preson.
    Oh yeah, sixteen-year-olds, probably do need to act much more mature.
    (TO samswriting)
     
  2. AnonymousWriter

    AnonymousWriter New Member

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    Wrong section I think. Should be somewhere like General Writing.
     
  3. ciavyn

    ciavyn New Member

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    This probably is the wrong section, but as for your question - I suppose there probably is. Cogito has a post on his blog about POV. I enjoy going back and forth sometimes, only for the practice. You need to decide - do you want a limited 3rd person, or an omniscient third person? How many POV do you want to use? Then you should be able to pick it up pretty easily.

    One person I enjoy reading, because she vacillates between 3rd person, 1st person, and everything in between, all in the same book, is Jodi Picoult.

    Good luck!
     
  4. alvin123

    alvin123 New Member

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    Cotigo, or any moderater,
    is there anyway you can move this to General writing?
     
  5. Cogito

    Cogito Former Mod, Retired Supporter Contributor

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    Moved.
     
  6. Shadow Reeves

    Shadow Reeves Active Member

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    i always wite in the 3rd person and have only recentally started writing in first. i find that when using third you can spend alot more time explaning and describing the scenery and get away with it, i know that is not always true, just something i have found in my writing. i origionally did not write in first as the transition from chatacter to character if required was ever so difficult, another joy of third person.
    just something to get you thinking.

    ShadowReeves
     
  7. Blossom

    Blossom New Member

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    I generally write in 3rd person myself, though I do try with 1st person which I find harder to write. I think it just depends on your style of writing though. I've read some books written in the 3rd person, but focusing on one character's POV and reactions, making very much like the 1st person. Conversely, I've read books written in the 1st person that are so descriptive it's like a 3rd person narrative. And both are excellent in their own ways.

    I think it's a good idea to read around, pick up tips and try to improve your writing, but personally I'd say just write what comes naturally. And, of course, you can always switch between 1st person and 3rd person in different scenes, depending on which will work better.

    Good luck!
     
  8. AnonyMouse

    AnonyMouse Contributor Contributor

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    I've always preferred 1st person. It has that "you and I" feel, while 3rd person feels like "them." 1st just feels more personal, especially when you want to focus on a particular character's development. Even though 3rd can go inside a character's mind, it's usually a reflection of what the narrator thinks that character is thinking, while first takes the thoughts right out of their head. Only problem is, it's tough (as a writer) to get in that character's head and stay in-character. And if you change charcters (.i.e switching POVs every chapter) you now have to play multiple roles.
     
  9. Cogito

    Cogito Former Mod, Retired Supporter Contributor

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    Third person can be every bit as intimate as first person. From what I've seen, if third person is not holding that intimacy, it's because the POV is "loose". The author needs to be the imp perched on the POV character's shoulder, seeinng the events from just outside the POV character's head.

    From that POV, you cannot typically hear the POV character's thoughts, although it's your imp to have occasional flasdhes of ESP. But mostly you want to reveal teh POV character's thoughts through his or her actions and dialogue.

    If you're continually getting into the character's thoughts, it's really a first person POV in a narrative context, even though the sentence structure uses first person syntax. There is a lot of latitude in the sentence voice, even when you are sticking ightly to a narrative voice, Do not confuse the two!

    But if you do decide to drill into the MC's head and adopt a first person POV, you have to be all the more restrained about shifting to a different POV. Readers tensd to tolerate a camera angle switch much more readily than a brain transfer.

    First person, unless you are careful, makes it much easier to slip into a habit of telling rather than showing. I don't mean there is anything inherently more "show" than "tell" about third person. But whereas the challenge in third person is to stick close to the MC, the challenge in first person is to look outward rather than induging too much in the inner landscape of thoughts and sensations.
     
  10. alvin123

    alvin123 New Member

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    I agree with the first person POV. For some reason i just find first person much easier to write than third person. its probably because i read a lot of 1stPOV books, or because in first person, you don't have to describe as much detail as 3rd person. However, i decided to try third person in order to challenge myself and learn it as a writer and a future novelist.
     

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