COVID-19 RESOURCES
LIT CAMS (200 Free Tokens)ADULT TOYSVOD MOVIES

Changing from first person to third person

C

Colintall

Guest
I am writing my story from a first person point of view. Is it acceptable to change to third person for some of the chapters and then go back to first person? I cannot think of a book I have read where this has been done. What do you all think?
 
It can be done. Keeping it to separate chapters is a good thing.
 
I've done it. It works when it is in a different chapter as mentioned by sr71plt. The reader would have difficulty if you switched point of view inside of a chapter.

I have also switched between characters in first person, always at a chapter break. I have read books written in 3rd person where the writer is in a different head in each chapter.
 
I've seen it done well in an "unreliable memoirs" story. Most of the action was told in first person by the protagonist, but every so often there'd be a third-person chapter, explained as an insert by his fictional "editor", giving context on things he didn't witness directly or casting doubt on his version of events.
 
I highly recommend Simon Kernick's book RELENTLESS, among others. He bounces between 1st and 3rd person with different characters and parallel storylines.
 
For me, I find it too jarring to read something that jumps from 1st to 3rd or vice versa, but that's just me. I remember in school my teachers have said to stick with one POV, the same way they said to stick with either present or past tense.
 
Bad idea. It is jarring to the reader, and comes off as unprofessional.

The only way I've seen it work is if you explain the shift in the context of the story. Such as, a 3rd person novel, but one of the characters comes across a memoir written by another character, and he begins to read it. Then it would make sense for a chapter to be in first person.
 
Colintall said:
I am writing my story from a first person point of view. Is it acceptable to change to third person for some of the chapters and then go back to first person? I cannot think of a book I have read where this has been done. What do you all think?
Click to expand...

I've switched 3d person pov from chapter to chapter between my two MC's, as in Capturing the Moment.

I wouldn't switch from 1rst to 3d. I pick one and stick with it.
 
I've done it and it worked well. I started a story with 3rd person looking at the female protagonist. The bulk of the story was 1st person from the male protagonist's POV. The ending was back to 3rd person female.

You can find it in my e-book On The Far Side of Darkness. Link in sig.
 
I did it in my story "For the Love of Two Sisters" and it's working out quite well. As mentioned above, you don't want to do it in the middle of a scene but as long as there are very clear scene breaks and the new POV is immediately established, it works quite well.
 
I'm uncomfortable switching between 1st and 3rd POVs. Yes, we can tell a tale by shifting 1st POVs. But to that end I prefer to stay in 3rd limited with focus skipping among players as needed. Shifting 3rd limited POVs lets you look inside each character's head while also including ground truth. IMHO it's a more professional approach, common in the mainstream novels I'm now reading.
 
The truly expert writers will convey what needs to be known by sticking with one POV. They also will be able to write so as to allow the reader to make discoveries him/herself without laying it all out on the plate in head hoping. That said, works can be written effectively that do change POV. That's one of the glories of fiction--it isn't all the same. Maybe spend less time thinking about what can't be done and more time actually writing and discovering how things can be done?
 
It can be done. Off the top of my head, I know JD Robb (AKA Nora Roberts) has done this in a few of her ...in Death books. The books are generally written in 3d person, with multiple POVs (and she switches POVs within scenes sometimes), but several of the books also contain sections written in first person. IIRC, these are always the criminal's POV.
 
Yes, Nora Roberts springs to mind. I think it's lazy writing when she does it, but she sells, so that's all the justification she needs. There are a lot of lazy readers out there and, on any given day, I also might be in the mood for writing that just lays it all out for me and doesn't expect me to figure anything out for myself.
 
Colintall said:
I am writing my story from a first person point of view. Is it acceptable to change to third person for some of the chapters and then go back to first person? I cannot think of a book I have read where this has been done. What do you all think?
Click to expand...

If there is anyplace in the world to break the silly writing rules, it is here. Don't let the naysayers tell you it shouldn't be done. If it works for your story, then do it. When it comes to art, success is rarely achieved by those who tow the line.

My best stories flagrantly break the single POV "rule".
 
Learn the rules, then trample on them if it suits your purposes.

I think we lose sight of a couple things here. First, have fun. If you want to try something different then, by all that's holy, have fun and do it!

Second, if you're just writing then it's a first draft. If it doesn't turn out to work, then change it back.

I wrote a short story over the past few weeks. It was kind of experimental for me, but I really liked how it turned out. I decided how I felt about it before I took it to the writer's group. It turned out they liked it too, which was a fantastic feeling of affirmation, but, I already knew that I liked it, and that was really what was important.

In short, have fun and play, try new things, or writing becomes a chore. :rose:
 
I think there would need to be a clear reason for it. I once did an extended flashback (two chapters long) that switched into first person for an otherwise third person story. Essentially two characters were recounting to the protagonist an event they both played a role in, so it was easier to pull the reader into their narration than to have quotation marks around every paragraph for two chapters.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

AG31
How do you understand "point of view?"
2
Replies
34
Views
490
StillStunned
StillStunned
KachinaDoll
Changing the point of view of a story
2
Replies
27
Views
535
ShelbyDawn57
ShelbyDawn57
dasgoodshit
Third person POV
Replies
10
Views
292
dasgoodshit
dasgoodshit
StillStunned
Can it be done? Second person POV
4 5 6
Replies
145
Views
2K
SimonDoom
SimonDoom
A
How annoying is first-person present tense?
6 7 8
Replies
192
Views
3K
holliday1960
H
Back
Top