1st person perspective VS 3rd person perspective

[MarkoAaron]

I'm currently at a crossroad on deciding which perspective to write in. I lean more toward the third perspective for a few reasons. One, I'm a guy and my protagonist is usually female. I can't describe the sensation or what a woman feels during sex. When I try, I found myself stumped and it halts my progress.

The scene plays in my mind and I just write what I think, it's easier, but I want more detail. It was easy with one of my stories, where 2 girls are having sex and each sees it happening and I use their perspectives to write it.

For you authors, which do you prefer? I'm open to any suggestions.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

Depends on the story. I have stories in first person and third. Third is great for seeing all the action, unfortunately the only way to get what they are feeling is via dialog.

First person lets you know the feelings of one of the characters.

I have dabbled in a change of perspective with a number of stories. But you have to let the reader know about the shift or it gets confusing. It even get confusing for the author once you start switching between characters. You really have to concentrate on who is narrating.

 

[MarkoAaron]

Depends on the story. I have stories in first person and third. Third is great for seeing all the action, unfortunately the only way to get what they are feeling is via dialog.

First person lets you know the feelings of one of the characters.

I have dabbled in a change of perspective with a number of stories. But you have to let the reader know about the shift or it gets confusing. It even get confusing for the author once you start switching between characters. You really have to concentrate on who is narrating.

Totally agree, if I find it confusing and I'm the one wiring it, then the reader will definitely get lost. I've read stories in both perspectives. I've wrote in both and I just find the 3rd so much easier.

I was working on a draft of a story I'm working on, last night. I found my problem when writing out the first scene. I was writing in her perspective, but a lot things were being left out and I had trouble writing her experience.

 

[geronimo_appleby]

horses for courses, as we say.

if there are only 2 characters, first is okay. if it gets up to more complex designs, maybe third is better. but, having said that, it's entirely a matter of choice.

some readers say they hate first POV. i don't mind, personally.

jodi piccoult mixes it up quite well. but if you're going to go down the first and third route, make it a clear cut in-between scenes or chapters or whatever.

anyway, in the end, just enjoy yourself.

...and good luck.

 

[MarkoAaron]

horses for courses, as we say.

if there are only 2 characters, first is okay. if it gets up to more complex designs, maybe third is better. but, having said that, it's entirely a matter of choice.

some readers say they hate first POV. i don't mind, personally.

jodi piccoult mixes it up quite well. but if you're going to go down the first and third route, make it a clear cut in-between scenes or chapters or whatever.

anyway, in the end, just enjoy yourself.

...and good luck.

Thank you. I think I'm gonna go with 3rd person. The 1st person slows me down and kinda kills the mood for me lol

 

[tomlitilia]

I'm currently at a crossroad on deciding which perspective to write in. I lean more toward the third perspective for a few reasons. One, I'm a guy and my protagonist is usually female. I can't describe the sensation or what a woman feels during sex. When I try, I found myself stumped and it halts my progress.

The scene plays in my mind and I just write what I think, it's easier, but I want more detail. It was easy with one of my stories, where 2 girls are having sex and each sees it happening and I use their perspectives to write it.

For you authors, which do you prefer? I'm open to any suggestions.

I too usually go with the third person perspective, focusing on the female lead character's experience. But I wouldn't say that it prevents describing the sensations and feelings. It's just like "She felt" instead of "I felt". But it flows easier to write it in third person for me too.

On my latest story I however tried first person instead, partly because I wanted to see if I could do it, and there was a bit of a twist ending so it worked better to hide some facts that way. One mistake that many third person perspective stories make is to not make it clear what sex the "I" is. Sometimes you have to read half a page before realizing that the person talking has a penis. So I started the story with an email from "my" (it's not really me) wife.
The story can be found here for anyone interested: https://www.literotica.com/s/unusual-dinner-party

 

[lovecraft68]

I do both first and third. Usually first for what I consider fun stories and third for things that are longer and more serious.

However, lately I have found I am doing everything in third and here is why.

First person is good in erotica because it puts the reader in the action. They become the "I" in the story. "I'm" getting a blow job they are getting it with me, etc...

So if you're writing a lot of flat out smut, its great. But I write a lot of slow burns and conflict. Now that first is more difficult because all that turmoil and conflict has to be voiced in "my' thoughts so I have to show all the reasons, in detail I have to show all the should I, shouldn't I...this is wrong because, I can't because, what if...

Now I'm realizing in third person you can still show that conflict but it does not have to be blow by blow(pardon the porn pun) I don't have to give the reader every freaken thought in so and so's head, I just have to show them having a few thoughts or misgivings, but not explain every little thing

So now I am finding third to be an easier and in a way more liberating POV than I did before.

 

[Handley_Page]

This one prefers 3rd person; I like to hear a narrator in my head.

 

[Serafina1210]

Agree with LC: third person is extremely flexible, giving you very fine control of what your reader is getting. There are still choices to make with third person: how subjective or objective (see the third-person objective thread now running)? I favor "free indirect style" in third-person writing, omitting most or all tags like "he thought," "she felt." This can fuzz the distinction between various points of view--authorial, character A, character B--and allow seamless and almost invisible POV switching.

 

[lovecraft68]

This one prefers 3rd person; I like to hear a narrator in my head.

Me too, for all reading purposes. I think I started writing erotica first person because that's what I saw a ton of when I first came here.

But anytime I wanted to write something 'novel like' I always did third because there's more characters and first is hard to follow when jumping one person to another.

 

[tomlitilia]

First person is good in erotica because it puts the reader in the action. They become the "I" in the story. "I'm" getting a blow job they are getting it with me, etc...

Is that really true in general? It certainly isn't for me. When I read a story written in 1st person, I don't emphasize with the narrator to the extent that I put myself in the described situation. No more than I do when a friend is telling me about something that occurred to them. I mean, I enjoy a female narrator 1st person as much as I would a male, and I don't think I can put myself in the position where I picture myself having my pussy licked.

 

[lovecraft68]

Is that really true in general? It certainly isn't for me. When I read a story written in 1st person, I don't emphasize with the narrator to the extent that I put myself in the described situation. No more than I do when a friend is telling me about something that occurred to them. I mean, I enjoy a female narrator 1st person as much as I would a male, and I don't think I can put myself in the position where I picture myself having my pussy licked.

Personally I don't either, well not past a certain extent, but a lot of readers I've conversed with over the years here have said that's why they like it.

It can be a good test of writing opposite gender. In first person as a woman "I" have to be giving the BJ and describing the feelings, which I have no real clue about from the giving end, so I think of how I like to receive it and 'reverse it' sort of...

I think in most of my work I come across as a man writing as a woman, but in a couple pieces I really worked hard on staying 'feminine' I pulled off. In fact one of them Bard reviewed and said he saw no trace of maleness and he never hesitates to tell a writer how it is.

 

[NOIRTRASH]

The problem with POV is as follows:

Pilot: To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep;
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep;
To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub;
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause: there's the respect
That makes calamity of so long life;
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely,
The pangs of despised love, the law's delay,
The insolence of office and the spurns
That patient merit of the unworthy takes,
When he himself might his quietus make
With a bare bodkin? who would fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscover'd country from whose bourn
No traveller returns, puzzles the will
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of?
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all;
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought,
And enterprises of great pith and moment
With this regard their currents turn awry,
And lose the name of action

Serafina: Did you know I jus luv Moon Pies and RC Cola?

 

[NOIRTRASH]

Personally I don't either, well not past a certain extent, but a lot of readers I've conversed with over the years here have said that's why they like it.

It can be a good test of writing opposite gender. In first person as a woman "I" have to be giving the BJ and describing the feelings, which I have no real clue about from the giving end, so I think of how I like to receive it and 'reverse it' sort of...

I think in most of my work I come across as a man writing as a woman, but in a couple pieces I really worked hard on staying 'feminine' I pulled off. In fact one of them Bard reviewed and said he saw no trace of maleness and he never hesitates to tell a writer how it is.

Readers want all in the scene to be on the same page, and definitely not a LIT forum page.

 

[lovecraft68]

Another good place for third is if your character has a secret or is tricking someone, including the reader. If its first person and the reader is in the characters head, you can't do that, or if you try, it looks like it came totally out of left field.

Third allows the character to maintain some privacy and you could drop subtle hints that something is not as it seems

That point was made to me by a friend who writes a fair amount of non con and he does them in the style of it looks like a forced scene, then at the end its....role plays, a birthday surprise, a movie shoot....

But if he were doing first person from the 'victim' or the 'attackers' you would have to know early on.

 

[NOIRTRASH]

Another good place for third is if your character has a secret or is tricking someone, including the reader. If its first person and the reader is in the characters head, you can't do that, or if you try, it looks like it came totally out of left field.

Third allows the character to maintain some privacy and you could drop subtle hints that something is not as it seems

That point was made to me by a friend who writes a fair amount of non con and he does them in the style of it looks like a forced scene, then at the end its....role plays, a birthday surprise, a movie shoot....

But if he were doing first person from the 'victim' or the 'attackers' you would have to know early on.

What part don't you get about all in the scene being on the same page? On the same page resolves POV confusion. What sort of POV is ALL TALKED OUT THEIR ASS....its the most common at LIT.

 

[sr71plt]

What part don't you get about all in the scene being on the same page? On the same page resolves POV confusion. What sort of POV is ALL TALKED OUT THEIR ASS....its the most common at LIT.

What in the hell are you nattering on about a scene being on the same page solving a POV problem?

 

[sr71plt]

Is that really true in general? It certainly isn't for me. When I read a story written in 1st person, I don't emphasize with the narrator to the extent that I put myself in the described situation. No more than I do when a friend is telling me about something that occurred to them. I mean, I enjoy a female narrator 1st person as much as I would a male, and I don't think I can put myself in the position where I picture myself having my pussy licked.

Yes, I think first person being more intimate is true in general. And I don't think there is any requirement for the reader to "emphasize" (?empathize) with the narrator or even identify with the narrator (which is what I think you meant). You could loathe the narrator and it could still be a great story. You don't have to identify with the narrator for it to be a great story. A smplistic story, yes. A great story, no.

 

[Serafina1210]

What in the hell are you nattering on about a scene being on the same page solving a POV problem?

For my part, I try to keep my scenes on the same page. It totally breaks the POV if there's a page break in the middle of the scene.

 

[oggbashan]

The problem with POV is as follows:

Pilot: To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them? ...

For Literotica I prefer my version as jeanne_d_artois:

https://www.literotica.com/p/danish-parody

To post or not to post: that is the question.
Whether it is better in a file to bury
The twists and turns of a disorder’d mind
Or submit a spell-check’d copy to this site
And by posting end them? To post: no doubt;
No more: and by one act to say we end
The heartache, and a thousand natural shocks
Of writing frenzy – ‘tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wished. To post – to show
The same font as greater poets, well rhym’d:
To sleep unread, unheard – Ay, there’s the rub –
To low views, no votes, a poet may be doomed
When writing poems not classifi-ed erotic
Must give us pause. There’s the fear
That keeps an willing poet unnaturally silenc’d; .
For who would bear the taunts and jibes of some:
The unlicensed critics, the tearful importunity,
The pangs of well-meaning friends that may
Tear the matter from the meaning and spoil
The patent merit of the author’s words
When she herself might her quietus make
With the delete key? Who would creation bear
To grind and sweat under a Muse’s whip
But that the hope of something more like fame
The undiscovered acclaim whose happy warmth
No author can shun, puzzles the brain
And makes rather bare such skills we have
Than try some other that we know not of?
Thus creation does make authors of us all;
And how the native wit of composition
Is striven over with the pale art of thought
And anecdotes of great sex and passion
With the sweep of editing turn all awry
And lose all hope of recognition.

 

[NOIRTRASH]

PILOT?

POV is simple to understand.

It means something or someone guides the scene from start to finish, and the whole deal is coherent, cohesive, and congruent. There's no confusion of who's speaking, and no confusion of the thesis.

TALK OUT YOUR ASS is the most popular POV at LIT. It means youre reciting Hamlet, Lovecraft is studying his horoscope, and Serafina is imagining the decadence of a moon pie and a royal crown cola. And the reader wonders, WTF!

1st person, 2nd person, and 3rd person is dependent on whether youre navel gazing or star gazing. Its the focal point of the POV.

 

[Serafina1210]

Serafina is imagining the decadence of a moon pie and a royal crown cola.

You're just totally wrecking my afternoon trying to figure out WTF you're talking about.

Time for a drink . . .

 

[NOIRTRASH]

You're just totally wrecking my afternoon trying to figure out WTF you're talking about.

Time for a drink . . .

I'm not that powerful, but right.

 

[sr71plt]

For my part, I try to keep my scenes on the same page. It totally breaks the POV if there's a page break in the middle of the scene.

Only for the anal retentive, I think. This is really getting into the weeds on reader requirements. If you got back a proof copy from a publisher and you tried to enforce this, you'd get a horse laugh.

 

[sr71plt]

PILOT?

POV is simple to understand.

It means something or someone guides the scene from start to finish, and the whole deal is coherent, cohesive, and congruent. There's no confusion of who's speaking, and no confusion of the thesis.

Then you're totally misusing the word "page" and obviously purposely trying your usual of sounding oh so clever and knowledgeable, when you're just being silly and incoherent.