Which is Better: First Person or Third Person POV?

[Trillian]

I've been working on a story and I have trouble accidentally go from first to third person in my story. It seems I can't choose which one I should use. Does anyone have any opinions on which one should be used?

[Melaniep]

If I have to choose, I'd say third person. But I also enjoy first person if it's done well.

[Butterbescotch]

It depends on your intention and feeling you want to convey. If you want to have a personal and intimate story, its best in first person, like "Catcher in the Rye". If you are going for adventure, horror or any moving action, try in third person, like "Harry Potter".

But of course it can be interchanged like how Suzanne Collins wrote "Hunger Games". It is entirely on your discretion.

[Maud Fitch]

If you relate more strongly to your first person character, I'd say go first person.

My friends all like third person because they say they can 'be the character' more easily. I will happily read either. It depends on your story but it may seem untidy to switch from first person to third person POV without different chapters or proper delineation (spacing, italics, etc) so the reader can understand what's happening.

Please post some of your story when you are ready.

[Sophius]

If your narrative is constantly switching between third person and first person, I honestly would say to keep it that way. It is apparrent that that is the manner in which the story is writing itself, and so, you should make all attempts to bring that style or vision to fruition, for only then will you achieve the height of your story's creative potential.( I hate how cheesy that sounds )

[Trillian]

If your narrative is constantly switching between third person and first person, I honestly would say to keep it that way. It is apparrent that that is the manner in which the story is writing itself, and so, you should make all attempts to bring that style or vision to fruition, for only then will you achieve the height of your story's creative potential.( I hate how cheesy that sounds )

It doesn't sound too cheesy lol I might actually have to section my story out that way because I want to use third person for the action that happens within the story but I also want to use first person to show more of the characters side, like the characters opinion and feelings on what's going on around them. It's possible to do a third and first person story right? It might be a while before I can put some of the story on here though cause I've been spending all of my spare time practicing for my drivers test.

[Diy-day]

I seem to remember reading 2 horror/murder novels - one by Stephen King and the other by Agatha Christie - where I found out at their respective ends that the people telling the stories were the killers. Very chilling: just when you thought you knew a character...

So if you're writing a whodunit, horror or suspense tale, the 1st person perspective is, I believe, a very good way to go...

[Miche]

If you use a first person narrator, it'd better be an interesting character. There's the the possibility of looking into the mind of a mentally ill person, such as a phsychopath or a schizophrenic. I also like unreliable narrators and they are often in first person point of view.

[Carrie R]

If you want to have a personal and intimate story, its best in first person, like "Catcher in the Rye". If you are going for adventure, horror or any moving action, try in third person, like "Harry Potter".

Agreed. First person will grant you more intimacy. It can also lend itself to a more casual writing style. Third person offers a bit more distance.

[jkl102106]

I personally prefer to read first person vs third person (or a combination of the two) so I would probably write in the way that I prefer to read!

[DATo]

I've been working on a story and I have trouble accidentally go from first to third person in my story. It seems I can't choose which one I should use. Does anyone have any opinions on which one should be used?

Given your tendency to accidentally switch between First and Third you might consider First Person Quasi-Omniscient (AKA "a lens view"). This would not be TRUE Omniscient POV but about as close as you can get in First Person tense. This could be employed if the story were told as a retrospective, thus giving the narrator the ability to selectively include things which were not known to him/her when the story actually occurred but are known now since the story took place in the narrator's past. This would also allow you to retrospectively analyze and comment on the hidden motives, emotions and actions of other characters since these things have since been revealed to you as a result of your participation in the past events of the story.

Sample:

I employed all my skills with a firm resolve to succeed but, unknown to me at the time, there were forces at work which would render all of my dedicated efforts meaningless.

[michelet3005]

I like either. If I had to pick I'd say third. It's easier to show different plot points that way and can show the protagonist in a different light than what they would portray themselves.

[Carrie R]

If I had to pick I'd say third. It's easier to show different plot points that way and can show the protagonist in a different light than what they would portray themselves.

Great point! And one I hadn't thought of before.

[kaybru]

It all kind of depends on the subject

[CaseyFry]

Everyone has their own persona preference to read and to write. Sometimes, a particular type of subject matter can determine which would be better. Sometimes, it can determine which would be more difficult, and then it would be up to the writer to decide whether he wanted to take the easier path or the more challenging.

There are benefits and losses to both. First person point-of-view allows for the reader to become intimate with one particular character (unless you change character perspectives by chapter or whatnot, but still). The reader sees the story unfold through that character's eyes, and through their perspective. First person can sometimes be harder to write (at least, it occasionally is for me) because while the writer knows everything going on in the story, the limited first person will allow the reader to know only what the narrator knows.

Third person [omniscient] has always been easier for me. It allows for a greater range of view, as you can tell the story from beyond the perspective of the characters, looking down upon them and the world they live in. You're able to tell the reader things that the characters do not know and let the dramatic irony tremble in their minds as the story unfolds and the characters move closer and closer to victory or doom.

It can be easier to manipulate perspective through an unreliable narrator with first person, though it's not impossible with third. Some things can be better told through third person, like descriptions or the history of a new world. Really, it depends on the writer, the kind of story he or she wants to tell, and the characters.