Do you guys prefer first or third person view in a story? This includes Third Person Limited, Third person Multiple, and Third Person Omniscient. I have also been wondering what seems to be the trend in popular novels. Knowing this would be very helpful for a story that I have had on hold for a while, and for my boyfriend who wants to become a writer. If you need help, this website is great for finding out the meanings of these terms: https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-differences-between-1st-2nd-and-3rd-person-point-of-view
. .. ... Are you absolutely sure you want to leave that up to popular vote ? They all have their uses. No offense but if you can' t tell which one you want to use or why, chances are you' d be a shitty writer (though that doesn' t necessarily mean you can' t be a popular one).
Yeeesh calm down there. I'm not asking for anyone to pick out specifically what I should do. I am just wondering what people think about the different views, how they work and don't work in different situations, and what people personally prefer. I believe my favorite book "Dragon and Thief" uses Third Person Multuple. I'm just here to get some insight on the different types of points of view to see what I would like to use.
Oh okay. I don' t have any personal preference, nor have I really pondered on each one' s merits since writing has never been my thing, but my favorite author is San-Antonio. He mostly sticks to the first person, but will often break the fourth wall :
I'm weird. First-person feels uncomfortable and distant to me, while my third-person writing is often praised for a distinctive narrative voice. Maybe it's because when it's first-person I imagine I'm thinking/saying the words, and then I can't inject the actual perspective character into them. As far as the degrees of third-person, I feel like limited is harder to sustain in long, novel-length stories, but is almost mandatory for short-form writing. The difference between multiple and omniscient is a bit foggy these days, since most of the time you really want to be in your characters' heads, not playing the impartial observer. Your distance is proportionate to your reader's distance, and they want to be right up in the guts of your characters. Not literally. You get the idea. You should know that writing is not an exact science. It is perhaps more of one than most writers would like you to think, but not so much that you can call it one and leave it at that. Experimentation is what's important. Try different styles and see which one grabs you. Maybe ask your boyfriend to read different versions and see which he likes. Don't neglect second-person, either! What used to be a forbidden art is now fast on the rise, especially with the advent of hypermedia.
When I was younger I LOVE first person for the same but opposite reasons. I loved it because I felt I was there experiencing that characters ( I ) feelings, thoughts and events. I was more creative though and now I no longer enjoy first person because I feel like it's always the same feelings. "I signed" vs "She signed", ya know? And I personally think first person doesn't describe enough for me now. "I saw the sunset set." vs "She watched as the sky bled red, the horizon setting it self for nightfall." That's just ME though. Like stated before you can creative a good story- but be a ****** at it and still be famous. As for the answer to the question? I enjoy most subs for third-person.
