Talk to me about POV

[black ink]

Do you tend to write in one particular point of view (1st person? 3rd person?) How do you decide what POV to use when writing a story (I know that some of this decision is organic, but if you could elaborate, that would be great!)?

Do you have a preference regarding POV in the YA lit you read? Can you name any good examples of 3rd person perspective novels (since 1st person abounds)?

I've just outlined my latest wip and I'm having a tough time figuring out what perspective to use (either 1st or 3rd limited). I probably should just start writing and see what happens, but I'd appreciate any and all thoughts on this as well.

Thanks!

[Shady Lane]

I've written in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, past and present. 1st present is my favorite, but I usually use 1st past since present pisses so many people off. My last ms was 3rd past. It turned out all right, but it wasn't really by cup of tea. I'm back to 1st now.

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is 3rd. So's the Saffy's Angel MG series...which I adore.

[TurkeyLurkey]

If your story has a lot of emotion that you want the reader to feel from your MC, then try 1st person.

If there is a lot of other stuff going on around your MC that you want the reader to know about, but maybe your MC shouldn't know about it yet, then you may want to try 3rd person.

Midnighters by Scott Westerfeld is 3rd person. (Just finished it)

Shady, I am writing 3rd POV in present tense. Why does present tense anger readers? I find it to be a lot more fun to write. (Just wondering.)

[Dancre]

Do you tend to write in one particular point of view (1st person? 3rd person?) How do you decide what POV to use when writing a story (I know that some of this decision is organic, but if you could elaborate, that would be great!)?

Do you have a preference regarding POV in the YA lit you read? Can you name any good examples of 3rd person perspective novels (since 1st person abounds)?

I've just outlined my latest wip and I'm having a tough time figuring out what perspective to use (either 1st or 3rd limited). I probably should just start writing and see what happens, but I'd appreciate any and all thoughts on this as well.

Thanks!

3rd limited, here. It all depends upon the person. It seems we all have a favorite POV that is as natural as breathing. (I"m sure there's some psychological mumbo jumbo behind that statement.) You use the pov that makes you comfortable. Glutton loves Omni POV and she does it like a pro. It all depends upon you and what you like to do.

As for books. mmm . . . The Golden Compass is a great 3rd limited. You use whatever makes you feel comfy.

kim

[Dancre]

If your story has a lot of emotion that you want the reader to feel from your MC, then try 1st person.

If there is a lot of other stuff going on around your MC that you want the reader to know about, but maybe your MC shouldn't know about it yet, then you may want to try 3rd person.

Midnighters by Scott Westerfeld is 3rd person. (Just finished it)

Shady, I am writing 3rd POV in present tense. Why does present tense anger readers? I find it to be a lot more fun to write. (Just wondering.)

It's not that it angers readers, it's just that readers are used to past. And change is bad. Very bad, evil. That's why they don't like it.

kim

[Harper K]

I'm all about 1st person. My favorite tense / POV combination is 1st person present, but my current WIP is told in 1st person past because the narrative necessitates that. I can't remember the last thing I wrote in 3rd person. It's been a long while.

I mostly read contemporary YA, the vast majority of which is in 1st person. The one exception out of my whole reading year was An Abundance of Katherines, by John Green.

[Shady Lane]

I'm all about 1st person. My favorite tense / POV combination is 1st person present, but my current WIP is told in 1st person past because the narrative necessitates that. I can't remember the last thing I wrote in 3rd person. It's been a long while.

I mostly read contemporary YA, the vast majority of which is in 1st person. The one exception out of my whole reading year was An Abundance of Katherines, by John Green.


I think John Green should stick to 1st.

And...*sigh.* Just the mention of "persent tense" here is enough to put people in a tizzy. They think it's show-offy, pretend experimental, fake edgy. It hasn't quite pushed through yet as a legitimate technique.

It will.

[Harper K]

I think John Green should stick to 1st.

I agree. I enjoyed Katherines, but it didn't stick with me the way LFA has. I think POV had a lot to do with that.

And...*sigh.* Just the mention of "persent tense" here is enough to put people in a tizzy. They think it's show-offy, pretend experimental, fake edgy. It hasn't quite pushed through yet as a legitimate technique.

It will.

In my world -- the lonely place known as Lit Fic Island -- it already has! Sometimes I read and write so much present tense that past tense has a way of seeming weird and unnatural.

[Shady Lane]

Yep, yep, me too. Let's get the rest of the world on board.

[black ink]

Thanks everyone. The more I think about it, the more I'm convinced my novel needs a first person (past) perspective. It's definitely about the character and her emotions above everything else.

As for 1st person present tense, I'm not well-versed, but the few books I've read did it well. Dare I admit they were chick lit?? ;)

[MerryDay]

I agree. I enjoyed Katherines, but it didn't stick with me the way LFA has. I think POV had a lot to do with that.



That is too funny, because I feel the exact opposite from y'all. I loved LFA, yes, but Katherines is one of my top 5 books ever. I thought he did a great job with 3rd, his tone was perfect throughout. But I'm partial to 3rd anyway, so that probably explains it...gotta love how people read things differently.

As for the original question...I am, again, partial to 3rd - both limited and omniscient. This is most likely because my formative reading years were spent reading Romances and not YAs (I stopped reading YA around age 13 and only started again last year at 21), so I'm just used to 3rd. I've come around a lot more on 1st person, even 1st present to an extent - Libba Bray does it really well - but I find that my own narrators can get a little annoying in 1st. I love Meg Cabot, but I sound entirely too much like her when writing in that POV. And not in a way that is good for my story or will make me as successful as her! ;)

[emsuniverse]

I'm actually writing first person past tense - and I'm head-hopping between the 2 main characters.

It's only a first draft, I most likely won't keep it that way....

[Writer2011]

Rachel Hawthorne (the two books i've read) have been told in 1st person. Personally I like 1st person because you can get "inside" the MC's head if you will. At least that's my take on it :)

But it doesn't matter---just depends on what you're comfortable with.

[Danger Jane]

Donna Jo Napoli and Libba Bray write only in first/present and it works really well. Among others.

I prefer first/present but will do whatever's best for the story.

[Hopcus]

I almost always write in 1st person because I feel my writing sounds artificial in 3rd.

[timewaster]

Thanks everyone. The more I think about it, the more I'm convinced my novel needs a first person (past) perspective. It's definitely about the character and her emotions above everything else.

As for 1st person present tense, I'm not well-versed, but the few books I've read did it well. Dare I admit they were chick lit?? ;)

A lot of chick lit and girl's YA/MG is first because it suits the kind of confessional story in which everything in the plot happens to the protagonist. It is much harder to do when the plot incorporates a lot of stuff to which the protag is not a direct witness. When that happens you have to resort to telling the story through more indirect means - journals, direct/indirect speech or by having the protag tell the reader information not known to them at the time.
'I didn't know it yet, but Dan had been banging my ex best friend all afternoon, which was why he looked so hot and bothered and why he was ten minutes late.'

It is also quite easy to let a powerful first person narrator slow down the story by hijacking the plot in favour of endless rumination about their feelings etc. so some first person narratives need ruthless editing to keep the story on track.

A good way to find out what will work is to try writing your opening paragraph in 1st, third, and omni and see which grabs you most. YMMV