I write my historical stories in third person past tense. My fantasy I write in first person present tense which I know appears to be controversial on the boards. I personally love writing in first person present tense - it allows me to become the character to feel what they feel etc. Also it forces me to be that bit more creative in finding ways to tell the story. Third person is much easier to write from. EDIT: It has now become the style I write in. It gives my novels a strong narrative tone. That I personally feels stands out a bit - I like effect. Also it has turned the character into the story. My stories couldn't have been accomplished in third person. They would have lost the asides and humour - the strong identification with the main character. When I started my latest project I received over 30 emails of disgust that I had killed off the Main Character from my first book. Except the current one is set a hundred years in the furture and he died aged 97 day after his wife after a glorious reign. I don't feel the identification with Angus and now Socrates would be as great in third person. I could still produce a good story but it wouldn't work the same.
Well, to be technical, I really like limited third-person omniscient because while it lets us see into a character's mind, it will also go to another scene and it's like I'm in the story and watching it play out, it feels exciting for me. And I can understand why you like writing in first-person Elgaisma. I used to write like that because that's what I found enjoyable writing and I personally don't see anything wrong with writing in the first person.
there are already many threads on the site that are devoted to pov[maybe even a sticky?]... just do a search and you'll find out all you never knew you wanted to know on the subject...
Either first or third can be just as enjoyable and effective to write in as the other. I'm currently using limited 3rd omnicient because, well... it just seems to work for this story. I use multiple viewpoint characters and it just seemed like the best way to go. I'm not sure I could pull off multiple VPCs using 1st person.
I naturally write in 3rd person omniscient past tense. This is largely popular because it gives the writer the most freedom of movement. Also, the reader has a full knowledge of everything the author knows. I often write in a solid 1st person past tense however, with no switching to 3rd person over other characters as I've seen done. I have made attempts at first person. There are many instances where it is preferred. It's just harder for me to convert to that after so long of writing a different way. Old habits die hard I suppose.
I write in 3rd person limited and jump heads as necessary. I have a thing against first person, and second is just bleh.
