First or Third Person?

[deadpunk]

which point-of-view do you prefer to tell a story from?

Personally, I have always steered away from First Person because I feel it hampers character development in the side characters. If not done carefully, the only character we get a feel for is the main character.

On top of which, you now only have one chance to catch your audience. If you don't create a main protagonist that ayour reader can identify with, or if they just don't like them, they're not going to give the story much of a chance.

I've always felt that the Third Person P.O.V. enabled me to capture and present a more diverse feeling to my stories. I love being able to create and tell the exact same story through various eyes. And a decent supporting cast will often carry a main character that doesn't appeal to the reader 100%.

Also, in Third, I feel I have a far greater chance of having multiple things happening simultaneously in multiple locations.

Thoughts?

[krakenslayer]

It depends on the needs of the story, really. If a story required a lot if internal/emotional stuff, then first person is better.

You have to be very careful if you decide to express characters' internal thoughts in third person because if often ends up jumping between viewpoints ad nauseum and sometimes comes across quite childish-sounding, like:

A bullet flew past his ear.
"Wow!" thought Billy "That was close! Must have been a warning shot. Who's shooting?"

It sounds kinda lame, you know? So in third person I've found it better to express characters inner working through describing their actions, impusles and senses. Like:

A bullet flew past his ear.
Billy stopped dead in his tracks. He raised a trembling hand and brushed it gingerly against the side of his head. No blood, no sharp sting of pain. And no second shot. In a slow and deliberate motion, he turned in the direction of the shot.

[Graebel]

What, no love for second?:clown:

While I love first and third, I've found that 3rd allows you to be either intimate or omniscient. If you hide things from the reader in 1st the narrator quickly becomes unreliable and then pisses you off.

Just read this stupid first person story that spent the entire story hiding the truth to have a twist at the end. Grrr.

[darth los]

What, no love for second?:clown:

While I love first and third, I've found that 3rd allows you to be either intimate or omniscient. If you hide things from the reader in 1st the narrator quickly becomes unreliable and then pisses you off.

Just read this stupid first person story that spent the entire story hiding the truth to have a twist at the end. Grrr.


Welcome you back to the forums. It's been a while.

I agree. Third person just gives you a better sense of the totality of both the immediate surroundings as well as the entirety of the story.

:cool: