Support for Indie Authors discussion

Hey guys, a quick one for you.

Do you prefer to read a book written in first person or third person?

I like them both almost equally. I like writing both, too.

Dwayne wrote: "I like them both almost equally. I like writing both, too."

Thx Dwayne....I had a little discussion with someone today about it and she told me that she preferred first person as that better tells you the writer's point of view, not sure if she is correct though

Garfield wrote: " not sure if she is correct though..."

She is correct... in that if that is the point of view she likes best, it's the one she likes best. As for if it is the writer's point of view? It could be. It would depend greatly on the story and the writer. I know my characters, even the ones I allow to narrate their stories, do not share my point of view on everything.

Thx can you PM me for a minute?

I just got one of your book through kindle unlimited a while ago....i need to ask you something but see no where on your profile for messages

I like to read and write in third person. First person, to me, is like the character telling me her/his story. I want to be in the story, and I feel third person does that.

Actually i think i lean toward the third person.

Depends on the story and the author's voice, mostly. I have loved both first and third and I have disliked both first and third.

When it's written in a way I like, with a voice I like, I have a tendency to choose first over third.

Definitely depends on the story. I've written both and I enjoy reading both. For me, present tense is what usually kicks me out of a story. It's a tough tense to get right and I notice awkward phrasing more often in present.

As for multiple POV, I actually prefer more than two if this is being done. (I'm personally guilty of a 7 POV book and I do not apologize one bit)

Punkin Spice Mod says, "As for multiple POV, I actually prefer more than two if this is being done. (I'm personally guilty of a 7 POV book and I do not apologize one bit)"

One day I shall finish The Arteest which is being written in first and third, past and present tense. Then I'll let the literary nagging roll in via negative reviews, shaming me for attempting such a thing.

G.G. wrote: "Depends on the story and the author's voice, mostly. I have loved both first and third and I have disliked both first and third.

When it's written in a way I like, with a voice I like, I have a t..."

Ok thx

Christina wrote: "Definitely depends on the story. I've written both and I enjoy reading both. For me, present tense is what usually kicks me out of a story. It's a tough tense to get right and I notice awkward phra..."

Ok thx

One day I shall finish The Arteest which is being written in first and third, past and present tense. Then I'll let the literary nagging roll in via negative reviews, shaming me for attempting such a thing. "

The literary nagging roll is my favorite to order at the sushi bar!

In all seriousness: using more than one style is something I've seen work very well or not at all. Which just kind of proves there really is no right way or wrong way. It's all just a matter of stylistic preference. Even second person has been used to great effect by the likes of literary greats like Tom Robbins and the Choose Your Own Adventure series.

Both have their place, and in my books I sometimes alternate between first and third. I find it refreshing.

I am with almost everyone else in that this is an impossible question to answer. I have written in both first and third. First offers a window into the mind of your main protagonist. Third enables you to move around the story more easily, in that one person may not be able to see everything that occurs.

So it's horses for courses.

Most of my stories are in third-person, and I prefer it, but first-person can be fine if done well. If your story sounds better with first-person, use it, but don't try to make it go with a story it doesn't fit.

I don't mind either, and like others, I've written in both and don't like one over the other.

Not sure I can contribute much to what all these wonderful people have already said! Directly answering your question, however, I prefer to read third person (though only marginally so) and prefer to write third person (though I will dabble in first).
Mainly, this is because my style of writing is simply better in third person. First tends to be all about the main character telling the story, versus the story happening around and to the main character. I feel third person, even limited omniscient, gives me a greater feeling of freedom to really establish the scene and flesh out dialogue in a way I couldn't when constrained to character narration. These are, of course, subjective and personal feelings. I have read amazing first person novels, and it rarely will impact my choice. In general, this is all only in regards to my personal writing and experience.

Gonna chime in for one tiny nitpick... first person does not have to be written from the main character's point of view. I have read a few books where this was not the case. It's called first person peripheral and when done well will produce a fantastic story. My favorite novel of all time, A Prayer For Owen Meany was written this way. The book is about Owen, but Owen is a fantastic and complicated character and some bits of his life are shady and mysterious. So, the narrator is his best friend John, who is a first hand observer of Owen and his fascinating life, but John is not privy to all that can be known about Owen, so he gives you information at the speed he learns it himself. An example that more people will be familiar with would be the Sherlock Holmes stories. Holmes is certainly the main protagonist, but they are always told from Watson's point of view.

Dwayne wrote: "Gonna chime in for one tiny nitpick... first person does not have to be written from the main character's point of view. I have read a few books where this was not the case. It's called first perso..."

Good observation.

It matters to me more that it is done well, than who is narrating. When a writer slips out of third person limited into omniscient for plot purposes, for example, that annoys me. Or when someone writing in first person doesn't have a clear character voice, you feel like it's just the author narrating.

@Dwayne - fist bump for A Prayer for Owen Meany. God I love that book, and no one understands.

I would add Stargirl to the list of books that are first person but really about someone else - the narrator is the observer/secondary character, who observes the uniqueness/oddness of the protagonist, who is usually also the title character.

I prefer books written in third person, though first person doesn't disqualify a novel from my reading list. I like to know what's going on with the antagonist or other members of the story even if they are continents apart, and it's not always easy to do in first person.

I have an 82k word draft that I finished in March. I am literally rewriting the entire thing because it was in first person, and I have such a hard time writing like that. I'm doing it in third, and will for the rest of the series.

I think it all comes down to what you feel most comfortable writing in.

C.L. wrote: "@Dwayne - fist bump for A Prayer for Owen Meany. God I love that book, and no one understands."

Reading John Irving made me want to be a writer. I find inspiration in other authors and there are some I like even better, but the way I felt after finishing some of his books, I just sat back and cried and said, "I want to be able to do this, too."

Isaac wrote: "Not sure I can contribute much to what all these wonderful people have already said! Directly answering your question, however, I prefer to read third person (though only marginally so) and prefer ..."

I don't get why you couldn't flesh a dialogue in first person. Dialogues should be the same whether it is first, or third, or even second. And I don't understand why you say you can't flesh a story in first person. Of course, a character who isn't observant might be a challenge or maybe not material for first person in some people's mind.

That brings us back to what most people answered. It depends on the story, the characters, and of course, the writer.

Thank you Dwayne and G.G. for the clarification!
My post was discussing more of my personal writing style and some of the possible drawbacks other writers using first-person might encounter. Such an open question is pretty subjective and it really does depend.
The only reason I say the dialogue and story are sometimes constrained by first person is it can make exposition somewhat direct, where sometimes the character just tells the story. Some prefer this method, some prefer third person narration. Some first person books are nothing like this at all.
There are countless books that both support and detract from these opinions, each affected by even more subjective variables. In no way were they meant as absolutes, and I take incredible pleasure in reading both narrative styles.

Bottom line: There should be a reason for choosing your POV, it should not be an arbitrary decision.

First Person should be chosen when you want the reader to be very close to the action, and/or you want them isolated from information held characters other than your POV character. This is very much "cards close to the chest." It's a good one for springing big surprises on the reader ... BUT, it's also very restrictive for the same reason.

Third Person is most often the default because the author's free to be as close to or far away from the POV character as they want/need. You can be restrictive if you want, then widen the POV out when you need. But it doesn't really let the reader sit in the MC's head or witness the action directly from their perspective.

Of course you can mix and match, or do multiple first persons if you need the reader to be in more than one head at different parts of the book.

So do I prefer first person or third person? Yes...And no.

I prefer to write in 1st person but enjoy reading in all POVs. I wrote my book with dual 1st person POV, and I added a 3rd person narrator for the prologue, epilogue and some narration at the end of certain chapters. Don't know how often this is done, but I think it worked well for my story.

I prefer to read books written in first person but mostly write in third person.
I guess its a genre issue I tend to read adult/YA fiction but write picture books for children.

I disagree that writing in first person shows the writer's point of view. It shows the narrator's point of view. The narrator is still a character and may have vastly different feelings and opinions than the writer.

P.D. Workman (Pamela) wrote: "I disagree that writing in first person shows the writer's point of view. It shows the narrator's point of view. The narrator is still a character and may have vastly different feelings and opinion..."

Thumb's up. Especially when the narrator is of an untrustworthy nature.

P.D. Workman (Pamela) wrote: "I disagree that writing in first person shows the writer's point of view. It shows the narrator's point of view. The narrator is still a character and may have vastly different feelings and opinion..."

Right on. My book is in first person, and my main character is NOTHING like me. She doesn't act or think like me at all.

Also no problem with dialogue in my book, my reviewers are all very positive about the dialogue. I think that if a writer is prone to tell instead of show, they'll do that in any kind of person.

So really it's about the story - first person requires a close up on the main character that doesn't end, so you need to be sure that your character is capable of telling a good story, and that the story would benefit from being seen through that particular character's eyes.

P.D. Workman (Pamela) wrote: "I disagree that writing in first person shows the writer's point of view. It shows the narrator's point of view..."

Truth! A first person narrator only knows so much of what is going on, but the author knows all (or should). Even when I base a character somewhat on myself, there are still significant differences. The narrator of one of my novels is a hard drinker, a musician, a magnet for women and he loves to fight. Yeah, none of that applies to me.

P.D. Workman (Pamela) wrote: "I disagree that writing in first person shows the writer's point of view. It shows the narrator's point of view. The narrator is still a character and may have vastly different feelings and opinion..."

Totally agree. In fact, if the writer has a huge presence in the narrative, something is done wrong. It should show the character's POV. If a story is written from a POV of a psychopath for instance, I sure hope the writer doesn't have a huge presence there, if you know what I mean. :P

In my case, I used first person POV because it was easier (and funnier) to be in the head of someone who is not from Earth. To try to make the readers feel as lost as he might be. A third person POV might not have worked as well. As I said, each story has its own requirement. So really, none is better than the other. You just need to find the perfect one for YOUR story. :)

I write both fiction and nonfiction. I prefer to write fiction in 3rd person and nonfiction in first person.

Dwayne wrote: "P.D. Workman (Pamela) wrote: "I disagree that writing in first person shows the writer's point of view. It shows the narrator's point of view..."

Truth! A first person narrator only knows so much ..."

I'm with Dwayne. As I think I tried to say above, the knowing thing is the biggest downside to first person writing. That's why I use both. Some stories just couldn't be told in the first person without ridiculous convolution