Multiple perspective disorder!

[Klazart]

First person, third person or both.. I can't decide, please help!

My WIP is a story primarily of three charecters. Two of the charecters are together for most of the book, the third charecter has a seemingly seperate story until the two stories converge towards the end.

Two of these charecters also die at the end. The third charecter with the seperate story as well as one of the two charecters who are always together.

For the third charecter I find that a limit 3rd person perspective fits fell, and is easy to write. It is the other two charecters that I'm having trouble with.

I can't decide whether to write them in first person or third and keep switching back and forth. Sometimes it feels right to use the first person as the charecters disclose their inner most feelings and thoughts on what's happening around them, at other times I feel more distance is needed or the novel will become far too introspective.

The other problem here is that the charecter that lives in the end is the one who's inner most thoughts I'm focussing the least on, so I can't really right it from their first person perspective.

So I guess the questions are...

How okay is it to have different POV's in the same book?

Say 3rd person all the way for the sperate charecter.
1st person for the two other charecters (switching between them from chapter to chapter)

The problem with this is that will readers accept having a first person perspective told in the past tense from a charecter who dies in the end? If he's dead.. then how can he be telling his story. (i've thought of the journal workaround but it feels too cliched)

Sometimes I think it would be easier just to make the whole thing 3rd person..

any advice or help is greatly appreciated!

[Britchik]

From a reader's perspective, I would find switching between first and third person very distracting. It might even irritate me enough to put the book down. My advice is to pick one or the other, so it's less jarring for the reader when you switch the character POV.

As to whether to write in first or third, I think it depends on your genre and target audience. I personally don't like reading in first person, but that's probably because I mainly read (and write) fantasy with several POV characters.

[Klazart]

well it's literary/contemprary/mainstream which tends to have a good few in the first person perspective but also a lot in 3rd person. Though most multi-char stories in the genre tend to be in the 3rd person and that's prolly what i'll have to stick to in the end

[veinglory]

You can report thoughts in first even when the book is in third.

[Shady Lane]

I had a book with multiple POVs, where each POV used his own combination of either 1st, 3rd, or 2nd, and past or present.

None of my betas found it jarring.

[Danger Jane]

Honestly, as with most things, this all depends on execution. Some books have this and it's crazy distracting. Some have this and it's great. All depends on execution--and necessity. You really have to evaluate how necessary switching perspectives is. If that's the best way to tell it and you write it meticulously, you can pull it off.