First vs Third Person

[pbbj]

What are your preferences and thoughts about it?

I've begun writing a story from third person perspective, but limited to the point of view of one protagonist. I'm starting to question if it should be in first person instead. Perhaps it would feel more personal?

Give me your thoughts.

 

[MSTarot]

I think it's as much a matter of finding your own style and voice as to which you prefer.

I do a lot of first person.

Some readers prefer Third person, some could care less so long as the story is good.

Which is, in the end, more of a telling point than point of view. If you feel that you can tell the story you are wanting to tell better from behind the eyes of one main character then, by all means, go with first person.

If you feel that is too limiting then change up. Or do a part two taken from the point of view of a second character. That is also a way to round out the story.

In the end it comes down to what kind of story you want to tell.

MST

 

[sr71plt]

(Here we go again). It depends on the specific story.

 

[StrangeLife]

First person provides a much greater immersibility for the reader because he is experiencing the story "through his own eyes". That is the one major advantage with first person narrative and the reason I prefer using it whenever I can. I wan't the reader to "be" the protagonist, so to speak.

I use third person when I write female characters, because I'm really bad at simulating the opposite sex. But generally I avoid it, because the story becomes too detached from the reader. When reading a story in third person you are a spectator rather than a participant, and that doesn't work so well in erotica (unless you are a voyeur ).

 

[lovecraft68]

I think first works best for erotica as the reader can really experience the action through the character.

For things that involve more serious story lines and multiple characters I go with third.

I do find that after writing a lot of first person it takes a little bit to slip into third. My Halloween entry is in third person and the first few paragraphs were so clunky they had to be rewritten.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

I've used both. I do however find 1st person rather limiting as you can only tell what that person sees or experiences. To learn about others the one whose eyes you are using must ask. I found a way around this by having the POV shift from person to person...each telling/showing what their experiences are/were.

Using 3rd person, you are not limited to a single perspective. You have a third person telling the story...that person knows all, sees all, tells all. It knows what everyone says and thinks. Yes certain aspects are a little remote, but I think you get a better story over all.

Now, having said that...A lot of my erotic stories are in 1st person, while a lot of my non-erotic stories are in 3rd person.

 

[redzinger]

My stories are all third person.

I like the freedom to do the odd POV shift, but generally don't, unless there is something I really can't explain from the main character's view.

I don't know why I don't like first person, maybe it feels too personal to me?

 

[RoyceConnors]

(Here we go again). It depends on the specific story.

I tend to agree here. Some stories play out better in 1st and some better in 3rd. As another pointed out, once you find your style, you'll gravitate towards one or the other, or know how each plays a part in the story you're writing.

 

[Stella_Omega]

I've written first person and gotten stuck-- shift to third person and moved ahead. Or, shift to a different character's POV.

I think that the editing work of re-writing the POV all the way through what was already written can sometimes help.

 

[SamScribble]

First person is fine - except when the first person purports to know what is going on in the head of someone else.

'I knew exactly what I was thinking. Bridget thought that I was thing something else.' Really? How do you know what Bridget is thinking?

 

[Zeb_Carter]

First person is fine - except when the first person purports to know what is going on in the head of someone else.

'I knew exactly what I was thinking. Bridget thought that I was thing something else.' Really? How do you know what Bridget is thinking?

He's a closet mind reader? Which will be revealed in the next installment.

 

[Handley_Page]

I have a preference for third person, as a Narrator of the tale.
The one thing I cannot get used to is, I think, called 'present tense'.

 

[oggbashan]

I have a preference for third person, as a Narrator of the tale.
The one thing I cannot get used to is, I think, called 'present tense'.

Present tense can be useful in a longer story written in past tense.

If you switch to present during the sex, it adds immediacy and impact - as long you are aware what you are doing and when and why you switch tenses.

Sometimes I slip between tenses without noticing. I don't necessarily notice even during the edit.

 

[Handley_Page]

Present tense can be useful in a longer story written in past tense.

If you switch to present during the sex, it adds immediacy and impact - as long you are aware what you are doing and when and why you switch tenses.

Sometimes I slip between tenses without noticing. I don't necessarily notice even during the edit.

Thank you, Ogg, for the guidance. I might even try it myself.

 

[PayDay]

Thank you, Ogg, for the guidance. I might even try it myself.

It ain't easy, unless you do it by accident, like Ogg said. An easy trick is to take out the adverbs in the present tense, or 3rd person omni (3po, ha), section, using 'then' adverbs for the story and 'now' verbs for the tense change.

 

[Carnevil9]

First person takes commitment - you have to be sure you can tell the entire story from one person's perspective. That isn't always easy, especially with an intricate plot. Even R.L. Stevenson found it necessary to have a middle chapter of Treasure Island told from the perspective of a different character, even though all other chapters were told by young Jim Hawkins.

On the other hand, first person allows you the luxury of being dishonest with the reader, which is great for mysteries and suspense. You can use misdirection, by having the main character believe something that turns out not to be true. The reader won't blame the MC for being wrong, as that happens in real life all the time. But.... if a supposedly omniscient narrator (third person) tells the reader something that turns out to be untrue, it is like a broken promise. It would really grate.

 

[RoyceConnors]

I find that if the story revolves around one central character, 1st person is best. With multiple main characters, 3rd is best to tell the story.

 

[Sammael Bard]

Works both ways, IMO.

Third person has its own advantages like switching scenes and narrating a vast array of Characters, or even staying/narrating the experience of one single person. You can easily switch scenes if you want to.

First Person is difficult to write, but the end results will be beautiful if done artfully. It adds an intimacy to the story, a thrill that you can connect with and a suspense of what's going to happen next because of that connection. Unlike Third person, you can't switch scenes, but you can change POV if it is necessary.


Personally, I'm comfortable with writing in First Person Past tense or, better still, Present Tense. I like the intimate feel that the story gives to myself and, hopefully, others who are reading it. I like the experience when I go through such a story. Most of my favourite stories are in First Person, or written in Third Person which sticks to the narration of one single person.


To each their own.

I have my own preferences, but general suggestion would be to write things in the form that you're comfortable with, otherwise you'll end up cooking a thing that is highly unsatisfactory.

Hope that helps.


Regards,

Bard.

 

[SEVERUSMAX]

It depends on my mood, the overall thrust of the story, that sort of thing. There are plenty of tales that I have written third-person to show so many different perspectives, but there are key ones where I elected first-person because on some level, I identify with that character more, have borrowed some of myself for it. I don't know if that sounds right, but that's how it comes across to me.

 

[PennLady]

I think it's been said many times that neither first nor third person is inherently better or worse than the other. I don't disagree with those who feel it works better for erotica because there's an intimacy angle, but I find that for me personally it doesn't matter. I can get just as involved with a character that's written in 3d person as I can in first person and to some degree more; I'm wondering if perhaps I don't want to be that close to my narrator.

I prefer to write and read in 3d person, most of the time, but I certainly have read good stories using both POVs.

So there could be a difference, too, between whether one prefers to read in either POV, or write in them.

 

[sr71plt]

I write in both, but I guess first person is more natural for me. I try to live in the skin of one of the characters when I write. When it's the narrator, even when I'm writing the story in third person, I sometimes get lost in the character and find I'm writing in first. I usually change it to third in review, though, rather than changing everything into first.

The thing with third is that there are multiple options on perspective (so it isn't necessarily easier to write than first person is), and you need to be careful you stay in perspective. One option of third person is still to remain in the perspective of one character (at a time). When you are in the minds of some simultaneously, you have to be careful to just be in the minds of these (and this usually turns out to be an awkward choice). When you go with third-person omniscient, you are in the mind of all of the characters. The problem here is that you have trouble fully engaging the readers--you don't leave much room for them to be engaged enough to figure out some things for themselves. Of course, in light reading, often the reader doesn't want to expend energy getting engaged, and then third-person omniscient is just fine with them. So, I think that third-person omniscient is probably the laziest approach for a writer. You don't have to figure out how to give the reader revelations without just flatly stating everything--because you're omniscient. You already know it all.

 

[49greg]

OK, skip all below. My post is just what y'all have already said.

In my head, when I'm putting the story, the plot, and the dialog together, it always seems to be in first person. And I've started a lot of stories that way, only to re-do it in third person very quickly. I've done first person, and it feels better and more intimate, especially in the sex scenes. But it does limit you to what one person or character can see or know. I like it better for shorter stories.

My personal preference is not to read shifting point of views. I would prefer third person to that.

I have, in a third person story, used an individuals' thoughts and feelings to get a little more intimacy in a situation. I think it's confused some readers. And I have to admit I haven't yet developed a style for my writing yet. Some of my stories have been out and out experiments of the "run it up the flagpole and see if anyone salutes" type of thing.

 

[StrangeLife]

I like to look at it in terms of computer games (yeah, I'm a nerd)...

http://s28.postimg.org/dakxswf59/person.jpg


First person gives you the real driving experience. With a decent rig and a force feedback wheel you feel almost as if you're actually driving the car and experiences some of the thrills of an actual race car driver.

Third person gives you a better overview and you can monitor the action of other cars outside a normal drivers field of vision. On the downside, your experience is more like piloting an RC car. You control a game rather than taking part in a simulation.

 

[Aurelius_PG]

I think if we're interested in the craft of the writer, then writing from the different perspectives is a challenge that has to be done.

Don't forget that there are different kinds of third person: Limited, Objective, Omniscient and others, and its important to understand when writing longer works. For example do you as the author tell the readers things that are outside of the scene being described?

I think third person can include quasi first person content, because if you're adept with dialogue, then for example, a character can recount a past incident in some detail to a friend.

My current novel-length project uses this method of filling in background events as it gives a more emotionally involving view of an event than a third party recounting could do.

 

[StrangeLife]

It could be interesting to write something in second person, just for fun. That is something you see very rarely on Lit...

-------------------------------

You wake up with no idea where you are and how you got there. Your throat feels like parchment and you can vaguely recall the interior of a lot of bars and night clubs.

"I'm in my bedroom", you think to yourself after spotting the framed and autographed Starwars Poster on the wall next to the bed.

But you are not alone, because there is a mob of unruly blonde hair on the pillow next to you. From somewhere inside it emanates a sound like an idling chainsaw, so you feel pretty confident that the owner of said peroxide jungle is sound asleep.

"Who the fuck are you?" You mumble to yourself while carefully clearing a path though the wilderness to the face below. You do not like what you find.

"CRAP ON TOAST!" You exclaim as you realise that the hair belongs to your neighbors wife Irene, and that she is sleeping stark naked right next to you. The panic is causing your body to charge itself with adrenaline, and you go from drowsy to alert in a heartbeat.

"Oh shit! Oh shit! Did I fuck her?" you question yourself while desperately trying to jumpstart your alcohol-numbed memory. But it's pretty much a rhetorical question. Two drunk people in bed together? You do not need a degree in math in order to figure that one out.

Your train of thought is suddenly interrupted when the door flies open with a force that almost rips it of the hinges and Maynard stands in the doorway cradling his Mossberg pumpgun. His face is contorted with barely controlled rage.

"So it's true? You and Irene! HOW COULD YOU? You ASSHOLE! You were my best friend, but you just couldn't keep your greasy gonads away from my wife, eh?"

You quickly decide that your only chance is trying to talk him down very carefully. You know all about Maynard's explosive temper and you have no doubt that the Mossberg is loaded.

"Listen Mayn," you say in as even a voice as you can muster. "I know how bad this looks. But we didn't do anything man. I swear on a mountain of bibles. She must have confused the rooms last night - maybe after taking a piss - and simply gone to sleep on my bed without waking me up. I would never touch a friends wife. I'm not like that. You know me."

You sense that your words are getting through to Maynard, who is starting to look visibly relaxed. The scary 12 gauge muzzle starts swinging towards the floor.

"Yeah it was quite a party" Maynard growls. "We were all pretty plastered, weren't we?"

"Fucking A" you agree and sinks back onto your pillow with a sigh of relief.

The resulting shift in the mattress is probably what wakes up Irene. To your horror you feel her hand wander over your stomach in the direction of your groin.

"Please fuck me some more with that big hard salami Dave..." she mumbles still halfway asleep.

The next thing you hear is a roar of rage from the doorway and the unmistakable sound of a Mossberg being cocked...