Perspective
- Thread starter fun_tracy
- Start date
LexxRuthless
Captain Corruption
- Joined
- May 19, 2018
- Posts
- 6,220
We just had a bit of a discussion on this very topic a few days back. I always think it's interesting to get others' perspectives on it. Personally, I have about an even split between first-person (always male, so far) and third person. The actual number of submissions is skewed in my catalogue, though, because I have a few series in there that are all first-person.
NotWise
Desert Rat
- Joined
- Sep 7, 2015
- Posts
- 15,289
I think people are most likely to enjoy what you feel most comfortable writing.
Lifestyle66
Literotica Guru
- Joined
- Feb 3, 2021
- Posts
- 3,042
I write mostly in first person (male) because I can better relate to that perspective. I think it provides me with more realistic dialog and scene descriptions, because I can see and say it in my mind and know it's possible. If I try to write third person, it takes more focus on keeping it realistic. I think my best rated story so far has a lot of third-person writing, but that's probably due to the content of the story (a couple goes to tryout to join a sex club).
Whether readers like first-person or not is problematic. It's the way I like to write.
Whether readers like first-person or not is problematic. It's the way I like to write.
Kumquatqueen
Literotica Guru
- Joined
- Aug 20, 2017
- Posts
- 4,397
You write what you want to write,but sure, why not challenge yourself? You can always change it back if it doesn't seem to be working.
There was a rare active thread in the Writers Challenges & Exercises forum here when I joined, which challenged you to write a first kiss from the other person's perspective. It was really interesting thinking of a story from the other person's POV, and made a nice story - but then I realised I couldn't post it here due to way too much underage sexual content for Lit.
Since then I've written from a variety of perspectives, rarely simply my own, but I need to 'know' a character to write them - some I just have to wonder 'what would X say' and they tell me, but others are much harder to get to know to my satisfaction.
Voboy
Sometime Wordwright
- Joined
- Mar 21, 2016
- Posts
- 5,900
For me, I write about 90% first person, 10% third. When in FP, I'd guess I go about 60/40 female/male narrators, though I don't really know.
Invariably, the story itself tells me how it wants to be told. My TP stories are usually my SF ones, but not always. In any case, although I usually start with one perspective and stick with it, there have been a handful of times that I've started with one kind of narrator and moved to another, always within the first thousand words or so.
The story should develop its own voice, I think. If your stories feel right in your head, go for it. If not? Switch up! I'm male, but I enjoy writing in a female voice too.
Invariably, the story itself tells me how it wants to be told. My TP stories are usually my SF ones, but not always. In any case, although I usually start with one perspective and stick with it, there have been a handful of times that I've started with one kind of narrator and moved to another, always within the first thousand words or so.
The story should develop its own voice, I think. If your stories feel right in your head, go for it. If not? Switch up! I'm male, but I enjoy writing in a female voice too.
SimonDoom
Kink Lord
- Joined
- Apr 9, 2015
- Posts
- 19,144
I'm of two minds. I can't argue with what Notwise said: If you feel comfortable writing from your own perspective (I assume you mean first-person POV) then go ahead and do it. Many Literotica readers prefer first-person point of view. It feels more intimate and sexy to them. If it feels that way to you, then it probably will come across in your stories and your readers probably will like it.
My attitude for my stories is different. My default perspective is third-person limited, which gives me, in my opinion, more creative range, so I can separate the point of view of the narrator (me) from my main character. If the story is long enough I'll tell it from more than one point of view.
I like to mix it up. I think you learn as a writer when you do that. So I'd suggest giving it a try. Write in 1st person and 3d person, from male and from female perspectives.
My attitude for my stories is different. My default perspective is third-person limited, which gives me, in my opinion, more creative range, so I can separate the point of view of the narrator (me) from my main character. If the story is long enough I'll tell it from more than one point of view.
I like to mix it up. I think you learn as a writer when you do that. So I'd suggest giving it a try. Write in 1st person and 3d person, from male and from female perspectives.
PennameWombat
Literotica Guru
- Joined
- Oct 5, 2018
- Posts
- 1,282
The bulk of my stories are third person limited. I prefer that for a couple of reasons, it's my favorite viewpoint in terms of "how" I think. It's also easy to rotate among multiple POV characters in a single story, both men and women, which I regularly do. It allows me to go deep or stay shallow, in terms of revealing my narrator's thoughts.
About a third of my stories are first person. All but one of those is from a male perspective. It's not "me," in terms of being biographical, but I am male. I have one story that's first-person female POV (Sales & Development). It's never quite received the H, but it's hovered close. It's also the story that received the only comment I've ever deleted. I left up the other, not quite so rude comment. Those weren't just from the use of a female's first-person POV, but also that for the first half of a lit page (total length, 3 pages, 9,000 words) I only dropped hints. Apparently the commenters missed her embarrassment at accidentally offering a coworker a flash down her blouse during a work meeting in that section. That seemed like a... big hint to me. If I write a first-person story, it's because I want to tell THAT person's story.
About a third of my stories are first person. All but one of those is from a male perspective. It's not "me," in terms of being biographical, but I am male. I have one story that's first-person female POV (Sales & Development). It's never quite received the H, but it's hovered close. It's also the story that received the only comment I've ever deleted. I left up the other, not quite so rude comment. Those weren't just from the use of a female's first-person POV, but also that for the first half of a lit page (total length, 3 pages, 9,000 words) I only dropped hints. Apparently the commenters missed her embarrassment at accidentally offering a coworker a flash down her blouse during a work meeting in that section. That seemed like a... big hint to me. If I write a first-person story, it's because I want to tell THAT person's story.
Nylonian
Silky Smooth
- Joined
- Mar 24, 2021
- Posts
- 792
It wouldn't hurt to experiment with a guy's perspective and try to put yourself in his position.
You might be surprised at the outcome.I think 3rd person works best in group situations such as orgies, freeuse, swingers etc.
I'm a lazy, ignorant bastard so I only write in first person POV. I used to think it was more a philosophical choice, but I finally tried a third-person POV and got so hopelessly lost there wouldn't have been a way out for 200k words. I already write too long in 1st person. I write in both male and female voices. The only consistent complaint is that they're too long, but I know that before I start writing.
ElectricBlue
Joined 11 Years Ago
- Joined
- May 10, 2014
- Posts
- 18,005
I laughed at this, and it immediately made me think of the Leonard Cohen song lyric, "I'm a lazy bastard, living in a suit." So you're in exceptionally good company!
For the OP though: these days I tend to use third person limited narration for most of my writing, because I find it's just as intimate as a first person POV, but in fact allows me to go deeper into the story, because I can go close to more than one character.
