POV revisited

Another thing that comes up a lot: I like whatever works. Some stories work better in 1st, some in 3rd. My father hates 1st person, although he will read it. I like it fine, but am equally okay with 3rd, if it fits the story. Sometimes it's just a matter of personal taste.

In terms of writing, I write my short stories in either POV, whatever I think works best. My 1st novel was in 3rd, my WIP was in 3rd and I switched it to 1st because I thought it might work better (but it's still in draft form, so who knows where it'll end up).

It really depends on the story. Sometimes 1st works better, and sometimes 3rd works better. It could be that you just didn't really care for her writing in 3rd limited? I'm writing my WIP in 3rd limited now, even though my first book was written in 1st. Different stories need different POVs.

Probably the only thing that throws me is if I expect one and get the other...

POV

scfirenice said:

So I bought the new release from an author I once enjoyed and found she had switched from first to third person. Okay, I know this comes up around here all the time, but the difference really blew my mind. I appreciate that some people really like third person and I think for some books it IS the way to go. However, when I am reading a thriller I like First POV, it gets me involved, makes me feel like I AM the character. ARGH. Why did she do it? I can't get into the book. I know tastes change, maybe that's all it is. Maybe it's because I write in first person and have trouble relating to anything else. Anyone else have this problem?

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Did the POV character change throughout the novel? Third person makes it easier to change POV characters, and when a writer wants to use multiple POV characters, it's likely the entire novel will be written in third person.

I tend to prefer first person novels, but I also enjoy third person limited.

I prefer third person - - there are very few first person novels I have enjoyed, and usually if I'm at a book store searching for a certain book, find it, open it, and see that it's in first person, I usually put it back on the shelf. I like the narrator's omnipotence of third person. I feel that first person is limiting.

LightShadow said:

I prefer third person - - there are very few first person novels I have enjoyed, and usually if I'm at a book store searching for a certain book, find it, open it, and see that it's in first person, I usually put it back on the shelf. I like the narrator's omnipotence of third person. I feel that first person is limiting.

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Third person limited, which is what 90% of all novels are written in, has no more omniscience than first person.

Jamesaritchie said:

Third person limited, which is what 90% of all novels are written in, has no more omniscience than first person.

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In first person you are limited to the thoughts and opinions of the POV character, but third person gives the reader insight that the characters don't have. first person is like a movie that only showed what a single character saw the entire flick.

LightShadow said:

In first person you are limited to the thoughts and opinions of the POV character, but third person gives the reader insight that the characters don't have. first person is like a movie that only showed what a single character saw the entire flick.

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Not. There is a huge distinction between third-person limited, in which the story, though told in the "he/she" rather than the first-person "I" mode, is viewed through the eyes of one character (or a limited number of characters, but only one at a time), and third-person omniscient, in which the story is narrated through a lens removed from any single character. James is exactly correct, and this is an important distinction to understand in keeping POV consistent.

caw.

blacbird said:

Not. There is a huge distinction between third-person limited, in which the story, though told in the "he/she" rather than the first-person "I" mode, is viewed through the eyes of one character (or a limited number of characters, but only one at a time), and third-person omniscient, in which the story is narrated through a lens removed from any single character. James is exactly correct, and this is an important distinction to understand in keeping POV consistent.

caw.

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What they said, though I'm not sure about the 90% thing.
My very first novel was written in 1st as that was the easiest, but my then agent suggested I change to 3rd limited, and that did work better. Since then I kept to 3rd limited.

My WIP is different. It's in first for the most part, but recently I added a second story strand which weaves through the whole thing, and that is also in first, but told by a different character. It's working rather well; we get two perspectives of the same event from two involved characters.

One of my favourite autors is Susan Howatch, who wrote several big saga-type books. She has a wonderful technique: the book will be in several parts, and each part written in first person by a different character. This makes a fantactis read. When reading from Character A's perspective, you decide that character B is a total jerk. But thne you get to switch to character B's perspective, and you start to actually like him. The we come to charcter C, who was seen by A and B as a real wimp, but when she speaks she becomes your favourite charcter - and then at the end you get character E, who discloses stuff about A, B, C and D you'd never have guessed.

For me, this writer is one of the most underappreciated I've ever read. Anyone wanting to study POV should read her: I'd recommend The Rich are Different and Sins of the Fathers, set in the US. She aslo has a several family sgas set in Ireland, Wales and England, and then six novels setwithin the Church of England. The latter is an expansion of the changing first person POV. All six books deal with the same grop of people, but each is told from a different POV. Great books!