Choosing a point of view

[Jane]

I don't know if this thread has been done already, I'm sorry if it has been.

I just started outlining for a new novel, and couldn't decide what point of view to write it in.

I tend to do mostly first person points of view in my writing, but I don't really know what the pros and cons are of first person vs. third person.

Does anyone here write in omniscient? If so, why?

Also, does alternating points of view have an effect on whether or not you choose to do 1st person vs. 3rd person? Again, what are the pros/cons?

I'm trying to decide what POV I should use, and whether or not I should alternate views.

I would love to hear your thoughts!

[Tara]

I believe when alternating POV, third person omniscient is easier as you do not have to add a break between POV scenes. Sherrilyn Kenyon is the master of this. Best I have ever read.

I found my talent lies in first person past, and that is pretty much where I stay. However, I found a YA fantasy book I started two years ago, and wrote in third person multiple, that I wrote pretty well considering. Because of the storyline it will stay in third person as we need to bounce between the thoughts of three characters.

I do believe unless you are planning to have each protag chaptered then third person would be your better bet.

[Jane]

Tara wrote: "I believe when alternating POV, third person omniscient is easier as you do not have to add a break between POV scenes. Sherrilyn Kenyon is the master of this. Best I have ever read.

I found my ta..."

thanks for sharing your thoughts! I haven't read any of her books in a while...maybe I should do some more reading XD

would you still use third person omniscient if you only wish to include two people's POVs?

[Kaje]

I've done most of my books in either tight third person or first person.

IMO:

Tight third (a third person voice - "he/she was XXX" - but at any point you can only be in one character's head, emotions, and viewpoint at a time) is great for making the reader identify with the character. It's easy to read, and you can change from one character to another periodically to show more than one side of a story.

In YA, you often choose one main character's POV and stay in it. In romance, the most common is to alternate clearly-marked sections or chapters between the two main characters, showing their point of view in turns. In this form, for your POV character you can say : "Jack felt terror turn his guts to water. His breath came fast, tearing painfully at his throat." but the non POV character has to have "Tom was so pale he looked as though he might pass out. He was breathing fast and harshly." - things your POV character can see.

I love tight third with either one or two POVs - just don't jump back and forth within a chapter or segment, without warning (head-hopping). You can do more POVs than two, but it can become more difficult to follow if you have too many.

First person - ("I was XXX") this tells the entire story from one POV (although I have seen alternating first person chapters - if you do this mark clearly who is the speaker.) This is a good voice for stories with one main protagonist. It allows you good access to what your character is thinking. It can be a little more distancing than tight third, because it has a "storytelling" vibe to it. Still very popular for YA, and I've even done romance that way, but it will make one MC primary over the other(s)

** One advantage of first person in M/M and F/F is less pronoun confusion, when you have two guys or two girls interacting closely. Saying "I put my hand on his shoulder, and he leaned his forehead against mine. He breathed in deeply." is clear.

In third person, you would have "He put his hand on his shoulder, and leaned his forehead against his..." So then you have to use names. "Jack put his hand on Tom's shoulder and leaned his forehead against Tom's. He breathed in deeply." Except, who breathed in...

But if you want romance, it takes skill in first person to balance the reader's interest in the two characters.

Omniscient third As a writer, I actually find this hardest to do well. Maybe because I like tight emotion in my stories, and an omniscient narrator is a little further outside the characters' heads. In this voice, you can tell the reader anything, from any character's POV or even things none of the characters would know or see. "Down the coast, a storm was brewing." "None of them could see the oncoming wall of water."
While if you are in tight third, your POV character has to hear/see/get a weather phone call for the reader to find out about that, because if he has no way of knowing then the reader can't either.

I'm not as big a fan, because I think it's often done wrong. Hopping between multiple characters' POVs is not the same as omniscient.

It's partly about your story, how many MCs you want to feature, where you want your reader to sympathize, what kind of outside information you want them to have.

Second - this is a rarity, and really hard to do well, but I have seen it done. "You turn the corner, and there is your father. His large hands hold the belt, smacking it slowly, rhythmically, against his thigh. Your blood runs cold and you can't breathe."


The other issue is using past ("He walked down the street, and saw Mary.") or present tense ("He walks down the street and sees Mary.") I think present is significantly harder to do well, but there are times when it may have an advantage when you don't want the narrator to have any hindsight at all. I've never done one in present tense for more than a couple of pages. Past tense is easier to make flow well.

[Jane]

Kaje wrote: "I've done most of my books in either tight third person or first person.

IMO:

Tight third (a third person voice - "he/she was XXX" - but at any point you can only be in one character's head, emot..."

Thanks Kaje, that helped a lot!