First or Third Person?

[StillStunned]

This is why I'm stuck on my fantasy novel. Most of what I write is first person. I just like that I can be semi-conversational with the reader like I'm telling them a personal anecdote. I started My fantasy novel that way, too. But now I'm several chapters in and I'm finding I need to expand my horizons. I have other characters who have a point of view I want to explore, backstory I need to expose, and I can't do that in first person. On the other hand, I love the wonder my MC experiences as she explores her new world and discovers things. I don't want to lose that. What I'm thinking of doing is keeping her POV first person and writing the rest in third.

For my multi-chapter sci-fi and fantasy stories I use 3P almost by default. There are too many perspectives to limit yourself to you just one. In "The Dome", there's Mother the AI, Xero the helpless naïve hero, Ro-Gara the leader on a mission, and Dunia the woman whose eyes are opened to what's really happening. And in "The Rivals" it's all about the differences between the two main characters and how they interact.

You could have the whole thing first person and just have several point-of-view characters. A novel is not restricted following only one person.

-Eddie

Heinlein's "The Number of the Beast" does this. I read it in the 1980s, I think, and I thought it was both annoying and lazy. The characters weren't distinct enough that they all required their own voice. He could have managed just as well in 3P, or with a single 1P.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

For my multi-chapter sci-fi and fantasy stories I use 3P almost by default. There are too many perspectives to limit yourself to you just one. In "The Dome", there's Mother the AI, Xero the helpless naïve hero, Ro-Gara the leader on a mission, and Dunia the woman whose eyes are opened to what's really happening. And in "The Rivals" it's all about the differences between the two main characters and how they interact.

Heinlein's "The Number of the Beast" does this. I read it in the 1980s, I think, and I thought it was both annoying and lazy. The characters weren't distinct enough that they all required their own voice. He could have managed just as well in 3P, or with a single 1P.

Treasure Island is probably the most famous example of multiple first person perspectives. Jim Hawkins tells the first couple of parts, then the Squire and the Doctor each get a turn and then it comes back to Jim, if I recall. But each part is clearly labelled ex. Chapter 15: the Doctor's Account, etc.

 

[Morevinila]

This is why I'm stuck on my fantasy novel. Most of what I write is first person. I just like that I can be semi-conversational with the reader like I'm telling them a personal anecdote. I started My fantasy novel that way, too. But now I'm several chapters in and I'm finding I need to expand my horizons. I have other characters who have a point of view I want to explore, backstory I need to expose, and I can't do that in first person. On the other hand, I love the wonder my MC experiences as she explores her new world and discovers things. I don't want to lose that. What I'm thinking of doing is keeping her POV first person and writing the rest in third.

Can I suggest something? I think it might work. Continue writing first person, just indicate at the beginning who is speaking/writing (I'm just answering your posts. I haven't read any of your stories so I can't give concrete examples from your work). So let's say your main character is Anna. You start with 'Anna' like a sort of title or subtitle then move along. When you need to change to another person's POV, you just put a nre 'title/subtitle' with that person's name. Doesn't matter if it's for 2 or 3 paragraphs only. If you need to give background details you either choose the character whose POV would fit better or you use brackets and/or italics to show it's no longer your character speaking. You can also use section breakers (things like *** or --- or &&& or anything you want) to separate the different POVs - they will come in handy when you want to give 3rd person background details. After your section break, you just write without any reference to a particular character, no I, me, my - so it should work.
Hope it helps

 

[SimonDoom]

This is why I'm stuck on my fantasy novel. Most of what I write is first person. I just like that I can be semi-conversational with the reader like I'm telling them a personal anecdote. I started My fantasy novel that way, too. But now I'm several chapters in and I'm finding I need to expand my horizons. I have other characters who have a point of view I want to explore, backstory I need to expose, and I can't do that in first person. On the other hand, I love the wonder my MC experiences as she explores her new world and discovers things. I don't want to lose that. What I'm thinking of doing is keeping her POV first person and writing the rest in third.

This can work as long as the perspectives are clearly separated by chapters. Perhaps for some reason you want to offer different perspectives, but one character's perspective is particularly important.

Dickens made it work in Bleak House, so it can be done.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

This can work as long as the perspectives are clearly separated by chapters. Perhaps for some reason you want to offer different perspectives, but one character's perspective is particularly important.

Dickens made it work in Bleak House, so it can be done.

I've been thinking about a certain book series that reminded me of this topic. I am not sure how many people here read Red Rising - SciFi novel series by Pierce Brown (I highly recommend it). I think that series is a good example of how First Person can work both great and awkwardly in the same series.
The first three books are all written in First Person from the POV of the protagonist, Darrow. It all works great in those books because as a reader you slide perfectly into his character, you can feel his emotions and pain, his doubts and desires. But starting from book four, the author uses multiple POVs but still keeps the First Person. That means that the "I" changes from chapter to chapter, and in my opinion doesn't work nearly as well. It feels weird to change the "I" in every chapter - it kills the immersion to a good degree. I think that Third Person would have worked much better but I guess the author didn't want to change it. Still, those books are very good.

 

[Britva415]

I think the problem with a manuscript with changing points of view is… how is this a manuscript?

It only works for me if the story itself explains why and how and for what intended in-universe audience the various parts were recorded and compiled into a manuscript.

If this element is absent, it drives me nuts.

At the very very least, framing why each character recorded their part of the narrative is called-for. From there, I’m OK with an omniscient narrator providing access to each of these separate records in the aggregated story, and there are stories which are otherwise good enough to make me forget this objection, but in general it really bugs me when any 1pPOV story or section of a larger story utterly overlooks the matter of “why am I (reader) hearing this from you (first-person narrator).”

 

[Plathfan]

My story ideas usually stem from a word or phrase that sparks an image, unfolding into a scene. The perspective from which I initially view that scene ultimately determines the story’s point of view. Once I make that choice, it’s set in stone; I won’t budge under any circumstances, not even in the face of a nuclear threat. Lol.

As arbitrary as my preferences may be, I still reserve the right to critique others’. First-person narration is akin to acting; it requires the actor to fully embody the character. If you can't play anyone but yourself, why even bother?

What interest do I have in a potentially great story if I can’t tolerate the narrator? It’s like dining at a restaurant with great food that reeks and has bearded waitresses.

I won’t count the number of HoF stories I’ve abandoned due to the narrator’s remarkable talent for irritating me right from the start. If it’s any consolation, the same applies to most of the Temple of Degeneracy and Progressive Lunacy’s best sellers (aka, the NYT).

So, to answer the original question: if you have any doubts, always prefer the third person!

But I’m a comically minor opposition here, so don’t mind me.

 

[UnexpectedLuggage]

I prefer to write in first person. If only because I know the sensations and can describe them more accurately. I don't think I could accurately describe what a woman feels when she's getting fucked.

 

[Wonderer67]

I’m having with this same issue sort of. I almost always write in third person.

But I am writing a story with my wife. It’s sort of like I am describing some hot sexual moments we’ve had and getting her insights and opinions on it.

I am trying for a biographical third person view of something, then inserting her description. Almost like an objective third person was writing it and then inserting in her quote like a biography where the author inserts quotes of people.

It’s not quite working for me. One person who looked at it said the shift from third person to first was a bit confusing.

 

[TheWritingGroup]

I’m having with this same issue sort of. I almost always write in third person.

But I am writing a story with my wife. It’s sort of like I am describing some hot sexual moments we’ve had and getting her insights and opinions on it.

I am trying for a biographical third person view of something, then inserting her description. Almost like an objective third person was writing it and then inserting in her quote like a biography where the author inserts quotes of people.

It’s not quite working for me. One person who looked at it said the shift from third person to first was a bit confusing.

You could frame the first-person parts somehow, make them journal quotes or a recorded conversation with a therapist or something. Let them be first-person inside the third-person narrative.

-Annie

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

You could frame the first-person parts somehow, make them journal quotes or a recorded conversation with a therapist or something. Let them be first-person inside the third-person narrative.
-Annie

Pocket stories. Stories within stories. I used them in Boat Talk, and think it worked quite well. Two old friends reminiscing, the MC tells the main story in 1P, and each of them recount another story, each in 1P.

You just have to make sure you set up the voice changes very clearly so the reader doesn’t get confused.

 

[TheWritingGroup]

You just have to make sure you set up the voice changes very clearly so the reader doesn’t get confused.

That's exactly where I failed in my first story here, "Coffee With Blushes".

-Annie

 

[ElectricBlue]

It’s not quite working for me. One person who looked at it said the shift from third person to first was a bit confusing.

But you're writing a story, not a biography, that's never going to work. I'd do it all in close (aka intimate) third person, where you can get in close to the mind of each character, turn and turn about.

 

[Britva415]

It’s not quite working for me. One person who looked at it said the shift from third person to first was a bit confusing.

Why can't these parts be written in 3p voice instead of 1p voice? "He felt this, she felt that."

 

[KinderRiegel]

I prefer to write in first person. If only because I know the sensations and can describe them more accurately. I don't think I could accurately describe what a woman feels when she's getting fucked.

Why do you think you couldn't write from a woman's POV? You have so many stories to get inspired. Not only to describe the sexual act, but also the orgasm. And always remember: Every person experiences their orgasm differently. So whatever you write, it can't really be "wrong".

Some people describe the feelings of characters during a daring climb or a skydiving trip, even though they wouldn't dare step on a household ladder in real life. Use your imagination, maybe contact someone to proofread so you can be sure it comes across correctly.

 

[LustyLux]

It's funny because I tend to exclusively write in third person, but I prefer first person when I'm reading (regardless of genre.)

 

[Rob_Royale]

When I first started writing I thought of first person as a writers crutch. Because at the time, it felt simpler. One POV.

So I did my first two stories in first person just to get used to writing. On my third, I did third person and it suited the story. But as I've gone along, I've realized that one isn't easier than the other and each has a place in writing.

For me it depends on the cast. Whose story is it, his or theirs? Few characters or many? I feel very at home in either perspective now and I'm very glad I was able to get past my initial assumptions.