1st Person or 3rd Person?

[misaki]

I know this question is one that is frequently asked but what's your preference and why?

I'm currently writing a piece in 1st person because I wanted to get into the character's head and find her voice...however, even since an incident in high school where one of my cruel English teachers circled all my 'I's in my short story and told me to stop over-using it, I've become rather self-concious in writing 1st person narratives. Can you overuse 'I' too much in 1st person?

 

[Ophiucha]

I don't think I really have a preference. It just comes down to the story I am trying to tell. Some stories are very centered on a single character, and being in their head helps tell the story. Other times, there are several central characters - or, perhaps, none at all - and third person is better suited for the project. Or, if you're feeling a bit more artsy, you can always pull an Ishmael and make the viewpoint character a secondary character in the story. As in Ishmael of Moby Dick, where the main character was really Captain Ahab (or, arguably, the white whale). My current project is in first person POV, because the story is very much about him, and relies on his thoughts to really move the story forward.

And yes, you can overuse 'I' (and 'my', 'me', etc.), much like how you can overuse third person pronouns in a story told in the first person. This can generally be solved with enough interaction with other characters and commentary. The important thing for the last one is to just not preface most statements with "I know", "I think", etc. We accept that we're in the characters head, and any sort of matter of the mind is obviously her thoughts. That is, "I know he'd love to get that job," is no different than "He'd love to get that job."

 

[Ravana]

The important thing for the last one is to just not preface most statements with "I know", "I think", etc.

Bingo. I'd go so far as to say never to preface statements with such excess verbiage when it's only the character's internal monologue being presented, apart from perhaps rare instances where you're using it for emphasis ("I knew I left that wand around here somewhere.…")

I split fairly evenly between first and third persons; all depends on what works best for the story. No real preference.

 

[Chilari]

It depends on the story. I've got one story where the main character and his interactions with other major characters, and how he changes as a result, are the main focus, and that's in first person. I have another story with more of an ensemble cast, where the whole thing cannot be told from one point of view because it has all these different storylines with several different characters impacting each other. I have three characters in that which I have as my main POV characters, but it's all third person, because I don't like multiple POVs to mix with first person because it gets confusing. When none of those three characters are in a scene, I pick another character to be the main POV character in that scene.

 

[Kelise]

Personally I don't really like 1st person that much - but I have read and enjoyed a few books in it, so it's not a 100% dislike in all occasions. Mostly, I stick to reading (and writing) 3rd person, but that could be because I generally read books which have a variety of MCs and such.

I think as long as it's used in the right areas - listed above - then it works. Writing workshops I've been to say that writing in 1st person is a lot harder to do 'well'... would we agree with that?

And adding my agreement for the above - never do 1st person from multiple POVs unless you're pretty darn awesome. I can't think of any novel where I've seen it done well.

Speaking of, I've tried reading the Hunger Games about five times now to see what the fuss is about, and I just can't stand them at all ...That could be because I'm too attached to Battle Royale, and I can't see how this series is very different to that at all.

 

[Ophiucha]

Speaking of, I've tried reading the Hunger Games about five times now to see what the fuss is about, and I just can't stand them at all ...That could be because I'm too attached to Battle Royale, and I can't see how this series is very different to that at all.

Don't worry, all you are missing out on is some awkward writing and prettier characters.

 

[Chilari]

I'd like to add that you don't need to use first person to find a character's voice. It is possible to write third person and still have a recognisable voice to a character. One of the writing exercises I've done with my writing group is to write a scene in third person but with the point of view and voice of something/something chosen at random from a hat - an old man, a young girl, a cactus on a desk, an old receipt at the bottom of a bin, a pair of scissors, a pet cat, a DVD, etc. We've also done exercises where we've written something in our normal style, and then selected a new tense and/or person and written it again from that. Second person future tense is fun, for short things at least.

 

[Digital_Fey]

I tend to use third person the most simply because I'm more comfortable with it, and it helps me to separate the character's 'voice' from my own thoughts and opinions. (It's also much more useful if you have several plot threads running parallel - I can't stand books with multiple first person POVs. It's confusing and distracting >.>) That said, I have written some pieces - both shorter and longer - in first person narrative. I guess it depends on what each story calls for. In either case one has to be careful not to overuse pronouns unnecessarily.