First verses Third

[Nickeris86]

My brain keeps arguing with itself on the merits of telling a story in first person or in third person and I can't decide which one works better for my story.

When play the plot through my head I am always thinking from the point of the view of the main character, which I think makes the story more dynamic and engaging. However when I try to write in first person the story just seems kinda choppy so I convert it to third person but then I don't feel the personal connection to the main character that I did in my head.

It is very frustrating, does anyone have any input on the subject or their own conflict of point of view?

[Apocrypha]

Both certainly have their merits, I won't deny that.  I don't have time to get in depth right now, but I'll give a very general opinion.

Third person allows for a little bit more freedom.  You can swap character point of view easily and follow events that the narrator in a first person event wouldn't have any knowledge of.  Basically, it can be a bit easier to get inside more heads.

First person I have felt can be limiting.  To some degree, depending on the genre of course, I find first person perspective less dramatic.  No matter how badly the character gets beaten, or threatened, or whatever happens, you know the character is going to live or else how do they tell the tale?  Now as I said, it depends on the genre.  Involve a character in a world of magic and actual gods roaming the earth then it is possible for a character to die and still keep the tale going.  However, set the story in the year 2010 in a world identical to our own, well, death is permanent, therefore I feel it is less dramatic.  Sometimes first person can also limit the amount of heads you can tell the story from as sometimes it can confuse the reader.  If you're sticking with one head then first person works quite well as long as you remember your narrator can only speculate as to what is going on in someone else's head and not actually know (unless of course the genre allows it lol).

I'm sure someone more eloquent than myself will stop by shortly and give you a better idea.

Though most of all, I support whichever perspective you feel the most comfortable with.

Perhaps try writing the same scene in each way and see which works best for you.  If all else fails, write a chapter or two of the story from both perspectives to judge and even let a beta reader take a look at it.

[Shecky]

What sounds right to you?

[the neurovore of Zur-En-Aargh]

First person I have felt can be limiting.  To some degree, depending on the genre of course, I find first person perspective less dramatic.  No matter how badly the character gets beaten, or threatened, or whatever happens, you know the character is going to live or else how do they tell the tale?

That one's easy; put in a frame where somebody later on is reading their grandfather's diary.

[LizW65]

On the whole, I find first person a lot more difficult--you're not only limited in what your POV character can know at any given time, but you also have to find him/her a unique voice that will help define his/her character.
However, it can be deeply rewarding. See The Dresden Files for an example of first person done right.

[OZ]

I will probably repeat a lot of what's already been said but...

Third person is allows you freedom. It is easier to fill in back story or to build tension by telling what the bad guys are doing. If you like multiple story lines that all converge at various points, third person allows you to do this.

When you talk to other people you talk in the first person ( at least most of us do ) Because of this it is a much more comfortable and "natural" way to write for most.

[meg_evonne]

How about you? Have written in First before? Do you have a more comfortable handle on 3rd?

As Shecky said, "What sounds right to you?"

The story, you say, is screaming 1st, but you think its choppy, right? Is that because you haven't written a lot of 1st POV? Are you naturally more comfortable in 3rd?

If so, then you can decide to challenge your 1st POV writing, or stick with what is more comfortable. I would point out that 3rd can get very zoomed in on your main character, and some would argue it can be as close and emotional as 1st.

Tell us why you think your 1st is choppy. Maybe you want to post a couple chapters of the 'choppy' version for us to ponder on?

Either way, happy writing.

[Apocrypha]

Tell us why you think your 1st is choppy. Maybe you want to post a couple chapters of the 'choppy' version for us to ponder on?

Well, post it somewhere else, then put the link here.  I think, but I could be mistaken, we're not allowed to actually post our own work here directly. 

[meg_evonne]

Yes, but excerpts are okay. So have you written a lot of 1st? Have you resolved the issue? Was the thread helpful?

[Nickeris86]

Sorry i never posted back my bad >.>

Yeah this thread was helpful, i am going to write out the prologue in first and third person and see how the compare, will probably ask for volunteer readers after i am done.

I haven't done a whole lot of writing lately, and by that i mean absolutely none lol, but when i will soon.

And no i have not written first before, only third, but i like first person a lot when i read it. if its done right it makes me feel more connected to the character.

Three of my favorite first person novels are:
Dresden files duh
Anita Blake vampire hunter, at least when she actually had moral controversies and acted like a human being rather than a series of orifices to be filled.
and the Stare Hatchling, though its been so long i can't remember if this was a first person book.

[parthagenon]

There are a couple books that play with first/third a bit.  Both Elizabeth Bear and Patricia Briggs (and probably more that I don't know) have used a combination of first and third. 

Briggs' Dragon Blood uses first person for one main character, and third for the other.  In this case, it might be a holdover from the previous book in the duology, Dragon Bones, which had only one viewpoint character in first person- when she added the second, it would have felt strange to have the same character suddenly in third person instead.  It's a bit odd at first, but you can definitely mix it up with viewpoints, as long as you don't have fifty characters all in first person.

Bear uses first/third very well in her Promethean age and Edda of Burdens series, but it's more of a stylistic choice.  One character, after losing her name and soul, suddenly switches from third to first person narration (everybody else is third) to indicate that she no longer has a name.  Another is always in first person, present tense instead of past tense, so give an animalistic feel to the character.

[meg_evonne]

I've been told that the secret to 1st POV is an extremely strong character voice. Another sample you might try is Charlie Huston's Joe Pitt's casebooks. :-)

[Sir Huron Stone]

That one's easy; put in a frame where somebody later on is reading their grandfather's diary.

Or the person's ghost telling their story to some young person...

[teamlash]

I write part of my story in the first person, then switch it away to third person for a couple of chapters so that the reader knows what's going down, even if the protagonist doesn't. A lot of people say that you can't do that, but there are no rules to fiction write in whichever way makes you happiest and feels right!

[newtinmpls]

By habit I write third, and hop about inside different characters heads, so though I have a primary POV character, I also get into other folks' heads.

The first NaNoWriMo I succeeded at was a 1st person, done mostly as a challenge to myself. Worked out okay.