First Person vs Third Person

[lankyzor]

I've got a problem with a story of mine. I wrote one part of it as a First Person experience. I think it is good based on the ratings it has been getting so far on here.

At the suggestion of a friend of mine who has been published herself, I started writing another story but it is not first person style. As I was writing the new story it fell into line with my first piece and I feel like they could actually be the chapters of a longer tale.

Would it work having one part of a tale in one style and then flip it right around to another style?

The story I posted already is available here: http://www.literotica.com/s/early-morning-sunshine

 

[sr71plt]

Yes, you can write separate parts of a series in different perspectives. As long as you mark the sections well, you can even do it in the same story. I just finished one with a third-person, past tense "memory" section sandwiched between two first-person, present tense sections. I just put section marks between them.

 

[JuneSummers]

If you're only going to write these two chapters, I think you can use the different perspectives as they are. However, if you want to write more chapters you'll probably want to consider which perspective you're using for what reason.

If there is a certain logic as to why you alternate perspectives between chapters, it will look like a stylistic choice. But if only the 1st chapter is in the 1st person and all the others in the 3rd, it will probably just look odd unless the first chapter is significantly different from the rest of the story, like a prologue of some sort.

As sr71plt said, section marks are key if you're going to switch. I don't think it's that unusual. Some people switch within the same chapter without any sort of section mark. Then it looks like a writer's mistake. But other than that, it should be fine.