Do you write novels in first person, third person, or something else?

[CJYoung]

Haha, it might sound like a silly question, but I mean it! What person/presence do you write or read in?

I ask because for all of my books, I use third person. I'm not sure why, expect that some of my favorite books were written like that, and for me personally I find it easier to describe the character's thoughts or surroundings. Plus, it feels a lot easier to switch between characters for different chapters or at a chapter break.

But I remember one day that I started getting complaints because some fans said the story would have been better in first person. Recently, I tried to write a book like this, but honestly I didn't like it too much.

So, what's your favorite/preferred method? And, as a bonus question, do you think the masses have a preference?

[therosesword]

For me the story dictates how it wants to be written. My 'Dead Souls Doing the Samba" is first person. Everything else isn't.

[cherrystark]

For me, it depends on the story. My default in my earlier days was writing in first person. But then, I realized that 3rd person had its perks, especially when writing a large cast.

As a reader, I love first person IF the narrator has a strong and unique voice. In one of my favorite books, the protagonist quickly tells us after introducing herself that she really needs to cut out her powdered sugar donut addiction because of a recurring nightmare of her, as Batgirl, being laughed back into the BatCave because of her muffin top. Her unique voice carries through the adventure as we see the hero as just as awkward and loveable as the rest of us.

On the other hand, if the narrator's voice isn't as clear - I prefer reading 3rd person. We can stick with the story and not deal with the internal monologues that can slow things down.

[mrtoontastic]

Most of my novels are written in third person. I really love character interaction and dialogue. Although, I've wanted to try writing one of my character-based novels in first person at least for a story or two. Maybe to truly get into the minds of the insane lives that my characters live in on a daily basis.

[WillowTree]

Always third. I struggle to read 1st person novels usually and have zero interest in writing one lol. I guess third just fits my style better plus I’m more comfortable with it so I stick to it

[HopefulAttempt]

All mine are in third person. I've tried to write first person, but I like having the flexibility of third to follow other characters without it being jarring for the reader. The only first person I've done is a story where the main character is a mute, and I added little bonus chapters throughout that are first person from her perspective to give her view on things.

[WinterFall]

My current novel is written in first person, it's told through the perspective of one of my protagonists. Novels that are told from first person fascinate me, and I wanted to try writing one. I'm quite comfortable with writing in first person, I think it's a part of my writing style. I'm also interested in third person, though. Maybe I'll try practicing it some other time, but as of now, I'll stick to first.

[Ordinaryaverageguy]

Like the others, it depends on how it feels like the story needs to be told.

[linaket]

I prefer to both write and read third person. Preferably third person close as opposed to omniscient.

I think it's pretty important to point out the difference between close and omniscient here. "Close" would be the third person following a single character, including their thoughts (scenes and settings are "shot" through their perspective). Omniscient would follow all, like an eye watching things happen, so typically you don't get character thoughts without a "god" style narrator voice.

First person is difficult for me to read because it places the reader in the MC's headspace, so it will most likely appeal to readers that share some similarities with that MC. It's often used in YA and I am... not YA... so I just get kicked right out of these kinds of narratives sometimes.

Third close does the same but isn't as active of an engagement and doesn't force perspective. I still get the thoughts of the character, but I'm allowed to have my own with regards to what shenanigans they are up to. This is the one I prefer to write and read.

[DasIstWunderblyat]

Third person omniscient. I chose it because it is simply the easiest. I am naturally a boring annoying person, If I am writing a first-person it is quick to turn shitty . Moreover, I like the freedom third-person-omniscient gives.

[milejdyvan]

Third person omniscient is actually the hardest though, mainly because you have so much free will. It is by far the least used perspective for modern published works and people don't suggest using it.... Which is why I use it too I just don't know how you would call it easiest since so much free will basically means you need to be super careful what you add. If you add too much unnecessary info, it gets boring, and if you add none, then there's no point in it being omniscient.

Saying that, omniscient is great for myself I think. It fits the theme and certain meta aspects I plan to involve too which wouldn't make sense with subjective or first person.

[DasIstWunderblyat]

I don't read many modern published book, but almost all book I have read in the past is third person. I am actually surprised hearing this, I thought third-person omniscient is the basic form .

IMO the first-person needs more personality to pull off (I don't have one) and we have to constantly walk in the skin of our character. It also relies on your character likeability and how relatable they are.

Using third-person-omniscient doesn't mean I am good at it, though. Haha. I need to tell you that I often can't immediately point out which is the subject of a sentence.

[milejdyvan]

Well it depends.. I would say that third person omniscient is out-dated if you will but not completely dead either. It's just that modern writers opt for first person or third person subjective. Why this is, well I read about it and it's pretty much what I said. It's just hard to do. If you think about big franchises like Harry Potter or Game Of Thrones, both are written in third person subjective. The one example of an omniscient writing I can think off rn is Lord Of The Rings, which again, is an older book.

You could also say that it's easier to follow for a reader. Personally as a reader myself, I prefer third person, and don't care whether it is subjective or omniscient. But if omniscient is written badly, it can be jarring. You can't really make a mistake with point of view if you are writing subjective after all, since you are only describing one person and what they are witness to. But if you focus omniscient too much on a single character and then only occasionally switch heads, or switch heads in places where it's unnecessary, it can get annoying to read. That's why omniscient is all about balancing and saying what matters most. Don't put in info if it doesn't matter.

[AnimeKitty]

I'm honestly fine with either. I enjoy reading both first person and third person. I've wrote in first person, third person limited, and now attempting third person subjective, which has been the most difficult for me so far. It's easy to want to show emotions and thoughts from both my characters in a single chapter, but I can't do that. I've never given third person omni a shot, just because I don't really have a story that fits it and I haven't found many novels that attempt writing it.

Personally, third person limited was the easiest for me. I'd recommend that POV to anyone just starting out writing. I find first person somewhat difficult too, as it's hard to make interesting enough by having a character with an engaging enough personality. But I do have a story up currently in first person and enjoyed writing it a lot. I just don't plan to write in first person again any time soon.

A lot of readers I've noticed do prefer first person, but just write what you feel most comfortable with.

[Freemints30]

Overall. I generally have no preference. I write what feels most natural be it first person or third person.

Currently Im doing one in third person deep. (We are a demon living inside a character as thier thoughts and opinions meshes with the actual narration). Because my novel would eventually shift perspectives very often thus making it first person would be a bit too confusing and jarring and 3rd person limited doesn't give you the full phycological horror with thoughts.

Ominicent is too hard to pull of in plot all about not knowing enough info.

1st person is good to begin an act with for us to really get to know the character, which is fun

[rajillustration]

I tend to like third person, I tend to write third person, but I won't knock first person too much, youknow. Even though it's not usually my taste, I'll still read it. It's mostly just a stylistic choice.

I find that a lot of online fiction is first person--which is interesting because most published books I've read were in third (depending on the genre).

[joannekwan]

Third person for sure.

In general I approach many things in life from an observer standpoint so it just comes naturally for me.
I usually do third person close unless I have a lot of moving parts and a larger cast. Secunda is basically third close whereas for the sequel it's developing as omniscient.

As for reading preference, third as well. Though I welcome first person if the story is told through journal entries or if the narrator is recollecting something and is coming from an autobiographical space.

As for others' preferences, I believe a lot of the young folk these days enjoy first person since it more effectively puts them in the protagonist's shoes. But I don't like being forced like that.

[darkone4587]

It depends.
Depending on the type of novel and what I'm going for it could be 1st or 3rd.

[Cyena]

For me, writing in first person is the easiest/most natural. But it really depends on the story and your characters.
Right now, I'm actually writing a story in third person, since I want to focus on more than one character.

[Iris-Grimoire]

Third person kinda omniscient but not quite. I like following the thoughts of the main cast as opposed to just one person, but it's usually the protagonist, and anyone outside of that wouldn't get such a focus. First person isn't my style since I much prefer having control over the whole scene rather than just their POV.