p.o.v.

[exploringpen]

So, I'm working on my second story. My first one was written in the 1st person and I feel like I did a good job describing the arousal and sensations. My new story is written from the 3rd person. It's about a married couple that invites another man to join them. I guess my concern is that by using a third person p.o.v. the sensory descriptions aren't as strong and that it might diminish the reader's experience. Any suggestions for avoiding that problem? Or any recommendations for good 3rd person pov erotic stories?

 

[i_would]

In 3rd person you can go very much into one's head; actually it allows to jump between heads, and describing what the various people feel/see/experience/think.
The extremes are basically 1) you look from a distance at the action and describe what happens (as narrator), and the characters can only reveal their internals by their actions and what they say; 2) the god-like omniscient narration where you can get into any character's head and read their feelings and thoughts. And anywhere in between. Many options here.
Looking at my own work (The Hunt and Full Moon Beach Party) most of what I've written is third person, with the story as seen through the eyes of that character. This is very close to the first person narration, no way to directly describe the thoughts/inner feelings of other characters or what happens outside the field of vision from the main character.
Another series I wrote is in the first person (Full Moon Beach Part Pt 2 - this is basically the same story as above but told by a different character), this is a narration, written as if the person is retelling his experiences to a friend or so. This means basically no conversation in the whole story, as conversations become described instead of transcribed.
The first person is indeed often used to get closer to the main character, as you really dive into their head. Though you can do that in the third person just as well. One advantage I found for using first person is that when you have some F/F or M/M action it's much easier to refer to the two by pronouns (I vs she or I vs he instead of the she/she and he/he problem of the third person).

 

[MaxSebastian]

I think if you've found it engaging writing first person POV, and now you're struggling a little to move into third person on your next story, you just need to focus your narrative on one character's POV - even though it's from his or her perspective (not 'I'), keep in one character's head, connect with them, describe how that person sees things and feels about what is happening.

As soon as you start switching to other characters' POV, and stepping back as narrator to dip into the heads of multiple people, it is harder to go for intimacy in your writing.

Be more subjective, less omniscient, and you may find what worked well for you in the first person writing emerges in your third person POV.

Later, as you get more confident in third person, you can start trying out including more characters' POVs (perhaps initially writing about a couple experiencing erotic events with or without others, then as you progress try adding other perspectives).

I prefer sticking to a central character in either first person or third in my writing, I find it works better for erotic fiction.

 

[Euphony]

I think if you've found it engaging writing first person POV, and now you're struggling a little to move into third person on your next story, you just need to focus your narrative on one character's POV - even though it's from his or her perspective (not 'I'), keep in one character's head, connect with them, describe how that person sees things and feels about what is happening.

As soon as you start switching to other characters' POV, and stepping back as narrator to dip into the heads of multiple people, it is harder to go for intimacy in your writing.

Be more subjective, less omniscient, and you may find what worked well for you in the first person writing emerges in your third person POV.

Later, as you get more confident in third person, you can start trying out including more characters' POVs (perhaps initially writing about a couple experiencing erotic events with or without others, then as you progress try adding other perspectives).

I prefer sticking to a central character in either first person or third in my writing, I find it works better for erotic fiction.

This is one of the best posts on POV I've seen and Ive read a lot.



I would also offer a link to a thread where I asked my own POV related questions. I felt it was a great help to me and led me to widening my POV range ( I was a 1st person devotee but now make myself really justify my POV choices. My story's needs and not y comfort level is now the deciding factor.

http://forum.literotica.com/showthread.php?t=808687

 

[nicecthulhu]

Okay, I'm certainly no expert.
I've found that first person can draw the reader in to a character's head more, but it's easy to lose any suspense about what is actually rattling around in there (i.e. in A Princess of Mars, you know exactly what John Carter is planning and intends, but everyone else is a mystery). Third person allows the author to keep the plans/plots/intentions of all the characters hidden from the reader.
Otherwise, they can be used to produce similar effects in a reader, by a good author. So the sex, arousal, interactions, emotions, etc. can be maintained in either point of view.
Now for writing...I think about whether or not I want the reader to know exactly what's going on inside the main character's head before I decided between first and third person.

 

[exploringpen]

I actually do a lot of writiing and I've actually written novella length works. I'm getting close to being publishable. What I'm new to is writing erotica (though I've been reading it for years). I normally write in distant 3rd person. I'm struggling with it in the new genre because I think it's important in erotica to get into the heads of the characters.

I think a great example for me is bondage. I really find nothing arousing about bondage videos. Bondage stories on the other hand I enjoy a lot. It's because the story puts me in the heads of the paticipants and helps me undeerstamd why an act that objectively I might feel unappealing is sexy to the participants.

I don't want to abandon 3rd person because it's a useful writing tool. I think I need to user a closer 3rd person, but I want to show rather than tell.

 

[geronimo_appleby]

I think if you've found it engaging writing first person POV, and now you're struggling a little to move into third person on your next story, you just need to focus your narrative on one character's POV - even though it's from his or her perspective (not 'I'), keep in one character's head, connect with them, describe how that person sees things and feels about what is happening.

As soon as you start switching to other characters' POV, and stepping back as narrator to dip into the heads of multiple people, it is harder to go for intimacy in your writing.

Be more subjective, less omniscient, and you may find what worked well for you in the first person writing emerges in your third person POV.

Later, as you get more confident in third person, you can start trying out including more characters' POVs (perhaps initially writing about a couple experiencing erotic events with or without others, then as you progress try adding other perspectives).

I prefer sticking to a central character in either first person or third in my writing, I find it works better for erotic fiction.

you, are a fucking genius.

 

[Brandie69]

A few observations from a relative newbie:

In first person, and third person limited (where the narrative voice can only get inside one skull), it is a nice challenge to convey the feelings and thoughts of a supporting character using nothing but that character's words and actions.

And on a barely-related note, right now I am working my way through a lesbian story in the third person. As someone else has mentioned, this means I can't use the simple distinction, "I reached...," "she touched..." to keep the characters apart. It has to be "Annabelle reached..." and "Melinda touched...."

If it had been a hetero story, I could have resorted to "he reached," and "she touched." But, oh, no. Not in a lesbian story.

So, take my advice. When writing a lesbian sex story in the third person, choose names that aren't three syllables long.

 

[bashfullyshameless]

I have come to the conclusion that I despise writing in 1st person, and shall likely never do so again. I tried it out with one of my serial pieces... and it's one of the reasons I rarely post anything new with it. Sadly, this has left a lot of my readers waiting for more 'cause they like the series, but I hate writing it.

3rd person allows for multiple perspectives. It allows for scene shifts. It lets your reader know what's going on while your main character(s) perhaps don't know it. But yeah, you can totally get as far into a given character's head in 3rd person as you want. You just have to decide how to phrase it.

 

[Brandie69]

I have come to the conclusion that I despise writing in 1st person, and shall likely never do so again. I tried it out with one of my serial pieces... and it's one of the reasons I rarely post anything new with it. Sadly, this has left a lot of my readers waiting for more 'cause they like the series, but I hate writing it.

3rd person allows for multiple perspectives. It allows for scene shifts. It lets your reader know what's going on while your main character(s) perhaps don't know it. But yeah, you can totally get as far into a given character's head in 3rd person as you want. You just have to decide how to phrase it.

Of course, this is purely a matter of opinion, but I happen to like the first person for erotic stories. Unlike video, which handles action well, written erotica is uniquely about thought and feeling, and I think the most plausible way to invite the reader to have a 100% access pass to a character's thoughts and feelings is to speak to the reader directly in the first person.

Again, just a matter of opinion, but there's mine.

 

[geronimo_appleby]

I have come to the conclusion that I despise writing in 1st person, and shall likely never do so again. I tried it out with one of my serial pieces... and it's one of the reasons I rarely post anything new with it. Sadly, this has left a lot of my readers waiting for more 'cause they like the series, but I hate writing it.

3rd person allows for multiple perspectives. It allows for scene shifts. It lets your reader know what's going on while your main character(s) perhaps don't know it. But yeah, you can totally get as far into a given character's head in 3rd person as you want. You just have to decide how to phrase it.

why not just do the next in the series from the 3rd POV? they prolly won't even notice.

 

[sr71plt]

Third person is fine if you don't have much skill in showing rather than telling. If you do and think of erotica as an intimate form of storytelling and have the capability of telling a story from inside the story, then, yes, first person is, I think, the best. Ironically, first person probably is the best for both the neophyte writer (third person has more pitfalls to fall into; nothing's more basic than writing from the personal perspective) and the expert writer (it takes real skill to show rather than tell).

The laziest, flatest of all POVs for both the writer and the reader is the third-person omniscient. This POV fell out of popularity in the U.S. market (but not so much in the British market) back in the 1930s and 1940s. Self-publishing is bringing it back into popularity (among the self-publishers).

 

[rjordan]

I think if you've found it engaging writing first person POV, and now you're struggling a little to move into third person on your next story, you just need to focus your narrative on one character's POV - even though it's from his or her perspective (not 'I'), keep in one character's head, connect with them, describe how that person sees things and feels about what is happening.

As soon as you start switching to other characters' POV, and stepping back as narrator to dip into the heads of multiple people, it is harder to go for intimacy in your writing.

Be more subjective, less omniscient, and you may find what worked well for you in the first person writing emerges in your third person POV.

Later, as you get more confident in third person, you can start trying out including more characters' POVs (perhaps initially writing about a couple experiencing erotic events with or without others, then as you progress try adding other perspectives).

I prefer sticking to a central character in either first person or third in my writing, I find it works better for erotic fiction.

I keep a notebook in Evernote of writing gems I find in the forum. This got copied over immediately. Can't get any clearer or more concise than this advice.

rj

 

[rjordan]

But yeah, you can totally get as far into a given character's head in 3rd person as you want. You just have to decide how to phrase it.

This is a really good point. You can reveal as much about their thinking as 1st person if you want. And you can show rather than tell with dialog and internal dialog that will reveal anything you want about the character.

On the other hand, even in 1st person you don't have to give the reader unrestricted access to the character's thoughts or knowledge. The writer is still in control.

rj

 

[Tx Tall Tales]

I think if you've found it engaging writing first person POV, and now you're struggling a little to move into third person on your next story, you just need to focus your narrative on one character's POV - even though it's from his or her perspective (not 'I'), keep in one character's head, connect with them, describe how that person sees things and feels about what is happening.

As soon as you start switching to other characters' POV, and stepping back as narrator to dip into the heads of multiple people, it is harder to go for intimacy in your writing.

Be more subjective, less omniscient, and you may find what worked well for you in the first person writing emerges in your third person POV.

Later, as you get more confident in third person, you can start trying out including more characters' POVs (perhaps initially writing about a couple experiencing erotic events with or without others, then as you progress try adding other perspectives).

I prefer sticking to a central character in either first person or third in my writing, I find it works better for erotic fiction.

Brilliantly stated. No surprise if you've read his work. MaxSebastian has been on my favorite's list for probably close to 9 years, ever since I first read The New Playmate

The only thing I'd add is the thing I most like about third person (which is less than 10% of my writing) it that is allows you insight to something that's happening away from the protagonist. Stick to one main character's POV, but allow yourself to delve into another's when it's in a different scene, essential to the story, where the protagonist can't know what's going on. A little tricky but very useful.

 

[sr71plt]

The only thing I'd add is the thing I most like about third person (which is less than 10% of my writing) it that is allows you insight to something that's happening away from the protagonist.

Agree with this. It's the only time I'm frustrated about not being in third person--when I am not in third person. And it's usually the major reason that determines that I write something in third person.