Something I've been pondering lately... Two days a week, I have a long commute (125 miles) and back in January, I discovered that the local library has a big collection of audio books and that they really make the long drives go faster and more entertainingly. So, I'm currently "listening" to some books by a favourite sci fi author, and one thing she does that I've realized I really like is that she switches the perspective back and forth between the two principal (male and female) characters so that the reader (or "listener") gets both their (often highly divergent) perspectives on what's happening and each other. I realized that I nearly always use "third person limited" as a narrative point of view, in that I don't write with "I" and "me" (first person) but I do stick solely to one character and only reveal that one character's thoughts about what's happening. For some reason, this sort of half-way between "first person" and "third person omniscient" is what I'm most comfortable with. Maybe because so much of what I've written in life was essays and term papers for grad school and not fiction and I'm still not so comfortable writing "I" and "me," but "limited" feels most "real" to me, in that we go through life knowing exactly what's going on in our own heads but not anyone else's and can only infer others' thoughts from their words and actions. But is it the most effective? Hmmm... Now, of course, I'm thinking that I really should push myself to branch out and try other narrative points of view, realizing that I do enjoy them (like the current audio book I'm listening to). I'd really like to hear other people's thoughts and opinions about what points of view/perspectives they most prefer to use in their fic-writing -and prefer to read. Does it depend on which characters are principally involved, or just the structure or genre of the particular story?

I tend to use third person omniscient but I like to switch POV between characters depending on which POV is best for the scene. First person is fun - and I've written a couple in first person and it's probably been the hardest thing that I've done! There's so much you have to remember - and then you also have to decide whether your're writing first person present or a recollection. Many years ago I did a first person fic in the Harry Potter fandom and used a different character perspective for each chapter. As for reading - I don't mind what narrative is used, as long as the story is engaging and I don't have to beta as I read to make sense of it!

I love writing in the first person for narratives. In fact many of my favorite novels are first person and of the fanfics that I've written, the first person ones seem to be the ones that I think are the best. It doesn't work for every story though. I'd say if you want the reader to get a wide variety of view points from one story go with a degree of omniscience; if you want the reader focused on just one or two go with first person -- there's no rule that a story has to have just one narrator, just be clear on who the narrator is. If it doesn't work first person, than simple edit and rework it to limited omniscient. Anyway, it never hurts to play around and see what it is like.

Originally posted by Madilayn I tend to use third person omniscient but I like to switch POV between characters depending on which POV is best for the scene.

I guess the trick is deciding when to switch. It's occured to me that it might be an interesting exercise to re-write a fic I did once (Guinevere) that was "third person, limited to Jun" and change it to "third person, limited to Joe" -if I ever had lots of extra time on my hands, that is! But now I'm wondering if it would have been better to include both their perspectives, switching back and forth. But, then more decisions would have to have been made about which POV to use, and when! And it would likely have involved more writing too. At the time, if seemed most effective to keep it all from Jun's perspective because, as I mentioned before, that feels most "real" to me, not being able to know another person's (in that case, Joe's) thoughts. Now I'm wondering if it's also a form of laziness on my part, keeping fics to one perspective because it can mean less to think about and to write. The original outline for that fic included what was going on with Ken while he was missing-and-presumed-dead, and it didn't take me too long to decide to cut all that out.

Originally posted by amethyst I love writing in the first person for narratives. In fact many of my favorite novels are first person and of the fanfics that I've written, the first person ones seem to be the ones that I think are the best.

Interesting -I'm the opposite. The one time I tried first person is my least favourite of my fics!

Perspective is something most fanfic writers think least about and it really affects the story deeply. The same story, written three times with three different perspectives will be three very different stories. Tense also makes a huge impact, but that's a tangent. First person - I or me - is critical if you want the story to hit with gut-level emotion. You can't convey a visceral reaction with "...and then he broke into tears." It just doesn't work that way, the reader is at least one step away from the action, sometimes more, and any emotion you put into it will be at arms-length. There is nothing more frustrating than reading a story that you can tell is supposed to be pulling on your heart strings but it's written third person and skipping between perspectives like a butterfly. the author was the story's own worst enemy. If the storyline is complex and/or involves many characters, then you have to switch to third person or birds-eye view in order to give the reader enough depth-of-field to know what's going on, like a news chopper in the sky. Then it gets into a question of who's headspace the writer thinks the reader *needs* to know about and which they should only be guessing at. Another failing with many fics is the idea that the writer should write *every* perspective so the reader cannot possibly be confused as to what's going on. That is the writing equivalent of vertigo and some people might like it, but the rest get woozy and nauseous. It doesn't really matter who or what the story is about, to my way of thinking. The writer should decide if they are trying to evoke an emotional response - in which case, they write in first person - or if they are trying to explain something or make a point about something - in which case they write in third. The second person perspective is a trick pony with one trick, but its can really be powerful if showcased correctly.

IB- I've found the same thing with an author recently who does the same thing very successfully and I found I got a very clear picture within each scene and also the characters prospectives of each other and the very good early feel of their personalities often with a few paragraphs. Its worth exploring thats for sure. I'm not really a first person reader or writer, even if I do love Robin Hobbs "farseer" series. (Its the only one I've really liked so far, but then I found the character Fitz interesting...) I normally do third person, and since I'm not a very experienced writer (Gosh the first ficcie I've done is Gatchaman, before that they only thing I've done is dressmaking instuctions for a doll-making magazine.) I suppose I don't follow a tight set of rules when writing, just by how it feels as the scene rolls out. I do at times switch at the end of a chapter or scene I've noticed.

Third-person omniscient is good for getting a lot of information out in a short period of time. Third-person limited works for getting into a given character's head. I usually try to stay in a given character's head during a scene, because leaping from head to head can be confusing. I broke that rule a few times in some of my fics because trying to keep in one person's POV would have required some clunky transitions. You don't have to be 'fair' and show everyone's POV of every scene. A given scene might work best through Jun's eyes, and when the team busts in the door, the best POV might be the Captain of the Week's. (Now, I think an interesting fic could come from TJ's pen. A scene told from the POVs of Ken, Joe, Jun, her version of Red Impulse, and Some Schlub. Given that her RI probably thinks Patton and Rommel were dweebs, this could be fun. Hey, there's a reason writers keep ripping off 'Rashomon'.)

For me, I usually write third person-single perspective, often for 2 POVs. So I'll have two characters, and tell the entire story from the POV of those characters, but I'll write about them in the third person. This is simply because if I'm going to use first person language, it's more difficult to switch back and forth. I've done first person for a few fics, but then you *really* have to commit to a single POV. Third person omniscient is more useful when I have a large cast of characters, and I want to show something of what they're all thinking. This usually happens for me when I'm working on a humorous fic, and I want to have a lot of different motivations/interactions.

So, the general concensus seems to be that the nature of the story one is trying to tell should determine the best narrative POV to use, rather than the other way around. I do think that trying to improve one's writing inevitably requires trying new things rather than staying with what feels familiar and comfortable, over and over. I can see how first person would be more challenging as you can't use your own voice -you have to really get a feel for your main character and use their voice. Done well, I can agree that it's probably the most emotionally powerful POV. Now, how about writing characters who are children, using third person (limited or omniscient)? I rarely write child characters (granted, in real life I rarely ever talk to children who aren't at least teenagers) but in one fic I did, and other than dialogue, I didn't really didn't change my third person narrative style at all. I've since wondered if perhaps, even though the narrative voice was third person, that I ought to have made some effort to use non-dialogue language that was more on the level of how a child might perceive and express things.

Writing children is as challenging as the child that you are trying to write, and how separated you are from children. It also depends on the age. It is helpful to know what children are like at various stages because writing a precocious two year old is very different from writing a precocious twelve year old. I would definitely stick with limited omniscient until you are comfortable with a child's voice; this way you can use adult eyes to describe the child and his/her world rather than trying to do it all through the childs eyes. The hard thing about younger children is that they can be both simple and profound at the same time and not even realize it. The hard part about teenagers is they are trying to be both simple and profound and they know it, but don't realize that you know it.

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TJ ... when I first read that part I remember clearly thinking how well you've described the children's behaviour and character. You did a great job and it seems that you were quite comfortable writing it ... I could see my own children behaving and talking like that!

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I was imagining the boys as being about 5 or 6 (kindergarten age) when I wrote that scene. And yes, clearly I'm using descriptive language that Joe wouldn't know at that age, but the *concepts* are there in his head, and he speaks as a 5 year old would... well, as my son did when he was 5, anyway. It would be much more difficult to write first person from a young child's POV and use their language. I don't think it was first person, but Maddy did a wonderful job using a young childn's perspective in Chris' Wish. It is my favorite story of hers.