IT can be difficult to decide which point of view will best tell your story. You may want your audience to feel a deep connection to your character(s) through first person. Or, you may want to keep your audience on their toes through a form of third person. Written below, I have described the two main points of view that you can write in. As you read about the first and third person points of views, think about how much you want to give away in your story and how much you want to keep hidden.
First Person
When you write in the first person, you have to really think like/be your character. Authors who write in this point of view typically use the pronouns I, we, our, and my. For instance a character may think…
I felt my heart beat faster as the teacher called my name.
We stopped by the bank on our way to the store.
Writing in first person however, is not as easy as it seems. Consistency will be your best friend and biggest challenge. Because your audience will see all of your character’s thoughts and feelings, they will easily notice if you deter from the character’s normal personality traits. You will need to have a clear understanding of the beliefs, thoughts, and motives of your character.
Have you ever seen a movie where a character makes an uncharacteristic decision? It bothers you doesn’t it? You may get frustrated at the unrealistic action. If a character switches sides too fast or all of the sudden overcomes their greatest fear, your audience may be annoyed at how unreal the action was. Especially since you are writing from the first person point of view, your audience has an even better understanding of your characters to begin with. A sudden change like this may hurt their emotional connection with the character(s). It may also ruin their trust in you as the author.
Third Person
Writing in third person is defined as “a set of words or forms (such as pronouns or verb forms) that refer to people or things that the speaker or writer is not addressing directly.” Third person uses the pronouns he, she, or they when describing characters. Some examples include:
As she ran out the door, tears filled her eyes.
He proudly stood up and left.
They hurried through the halls to get to class on time.
When it comes to writing in third person their three different points of view that you can write in:
Third-person omniscient point of view- In the omniscient point of view, the author can go into the mind of any of their characters. They can switch between characters and can describe their personal thoughts and feelings. “Little Women” by Louisa May Alcott for instance, was written from an omniscient point of view. She wrote out the thoughts and feelings of many characters, not just one.
Third-person limited point of view- In the limited point of view, the author sticks with one character. Whether they decide to stay with one character the whole book, or switch, chapter by chapter, this is considered a limited point of view. If you want to create suspense and provide your audience with little information, this is a great point of view to choose. By focusing on one character, readers will have to guess for themselves what the other characters’ motives are.
Third-person objective point of view- In the objective point of view, you as the author are completely neutral. You as the narrator are more of observing a story live, instead telling what’s already occurred. Readers should feel like they are eavesdropping on what is going on in the scene.
Think about what kind of story you are telling before choosing one of these points of views. Are you wanting to have mystery and suspense, or are you wanting to connect your audience with all of your characters?
Ultimately, when it comes down to it, any story can work in first or third person. However, it is up to you to decide whether you want your focus to be on your readers’ connection to your characters, or if you want your emphasis to be more focused on your plot. It is also important to think about your strengths and weaknesses. Do you feel confident in describing every emotion your character feels in first person, or do you feel better about writing from an outside point of view? If you feel stuck or unsure, that is perfectly fine! Start writing your story from multiple points of views until you feel good about one. As you experiment with different ones, you will find which one suits you and your story best.