I write in both. Most of my short stories are in third person. My novel is written in 1st. I'd originally written it in 3rd person but something wasn't working. I couldn't get the feel of my main character. He came more alive when I switched to 1st.
On the story I am currently working on I have both due to the past and present tense in the time line. After all of the comments on here I will be looking at this and deciding if I am going to change it to first or third only.
And also why either past or present would dictate the 'person.' @Matthew Fibbons You can write past events in present, present events in past, and either in first or third. What wonderful freedom.
LOL...What I meant to communicate was that throughout the story, I wrote it from both perspectives as the main characters came together.
I like what @Charles Gull said about reading either first or third person stories. He says that what matters is the author's ability to present the story. I think he's right. I can quite happily read either. (I've never written a story in first person, though.) One thing occurs to me. I've seen so many stories and story excerpts here on the forum which are heavy in dialogue, but seem to lack (or be avoiding) the inner thoughts and feelings of characters. Instead we just 'see' what the characters are doing—sometimes very little of this, actually—and we 'hear' the words they say, without much else at all. From this, we're supposed to be able to deduce all the hidden factors, like emotion, thinking processes, cause and effect, etc. It's almost as if we're being given screenplays in prose form and without much in the way of stage direction. I'm not a fan of this kind of storytelling, because it seems cold and clinical. Unless the point of the story is that the characters have no thoughts or feelings and the settings and actions don't really matter, I don't see the point of this minimalist approach. I wonder if using first person might encourage a writer to present more of the thoughts/feelings aspect of their story, using words. If you're in "I" mode, rather than "he" or "she" mode, as a writer, surely you'd be more inclined to let slip what's happening inside the POV character's head? I don't see how you could write a first person story without including SOME kind of inner reaction to things. It might help a writer to use first person POV, if they are unsure of how to present thoughts and feelings when writing in third person. Thoughts on this?
I suspect that some who use first person do so because of a belief that it gets the reader closer to the character. But, you're right, it's the use of internal dialogue that does this. I do think that writing in first person makes this process less awkward at the beginning - at least it did for me.
When I read a sad event in the third person, I say to myself."Oh well, people die all the time." When I read a similar event in the first person I get choked up and feel a change come over me. I'm just saying.
I'm a fan of the iceberg approach -- letting the reader suss things out for him-or herself. While it might present the danger of being meandering or pointless, I think it has the benefit of drawing in the reader. Given that, I like dialogue as a tool for those moments when I feel I'm climbing up obscurity's ass and think a little subtle exposition might be handy.
I have written mostly in third person, as I prefer to have points of view from two characters at least, but one particular book just didn't feel right. I had finished it, but wasn't happy until I began over again, this time in first person and it just flowed. I think it has to feel natural writing in first person or it won't work. You can't force it.
My story is called "Jess" which is based on the character of the same name. The majority of the story takes place from her point of view, but the story also has characters that talk and interact without her presence. Would this story be entirely better off in the third person or first? I tried to blend both POVs together in an attempt to solve this dilemma, but it came off rather confusing.
As long as you use a scene break or start a new chapter, and can make the reader aware who the POV character is, you can still have the close in focus without worrying. Don't shift viewpoints without a scene break or chapter break.
I would vote for third person limited, close in the case of your protagonist, and whatever seems right for the other scenes.
I'm usually most comfortable writing in first person. I tend to write using the inner thoughts of my MC. It seems to work very well in my preferred writing genre, comedy.
My current novel is being written in 3rd, and it's a first for me. I'm thoroughly enjoying the experience, but am unable to say at this point whether it will become my preferred POV.
Definitively third person. I've also written in first person, as a kind of an experimental work, but I realized it was not for me. First person writing has its benefits, but it's also risky at the same time.
I'm equally comfortable writing in first-person or third. Just don't ask me to read or write in present tense.
I can do both, depending on what I want to get across. If I'm trying to convey something more personal and subjective, I'll go for first person. For a broad, objective point of view, third is the way to go.
I have to quibble that the broad/objective sounds like third person omniscient. Third person limited is very different.
I completely agree- when I write in first person it doesn't sound so good because I am either stuffing unnatural prose inside of the character's head or just writing what appears to me as very plainly. Yet whenever I imagine my story I imagine it writen in first person. After much deliberating I usually go for third person, but it really depends on what you want to focus on in the story.
Writing in first person point of view seems interesting, because you get to view the story in the eyes of your character. I notice that its also really hard to do since your limited to only one character, but at the same time its very interesting to do. My question is just this......any advice on writing in this certain point of view?
