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 Posted: Tue May 26, 2015 3:42 pm
The entire question wouldn't fit in the subject box.
I was curious if you prefer reading fanfiction in first person or in third person? What about writing?
I find it much easier to write in first person because I can really get in that character's head, though reading wouldn't be my first choice in stories. I guess it just depends on the story.
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Posted: Tue May 26, 2015 10:37 pm
I've heard a lot of people say the same thing about writing (and reading) in the first person, that it really helps them get in the characters' heads. But that just doesn't work for me.
I find first person to be to limiting. Being trapped telling a story from only one angle? What if important, plot-relevant, things happen when the narrator isn't around? I find third person omnipotent and third person partial limited to be much more comfortable. First person omnipotent gives me the freedom to tell a large and complicated story effectively. First person partial limited allows me to focus on narrating a scene from a particular character's point of view and give the same effect of "getting in their head" that people talk about in first person, but it still gives me the freedom to switch points of view at any time without confusing the reader.
My feelings on the matter are the same when reading. I prefer to read third person stories as opposed to first person, same as my writing.
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Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2015 12:41 am
For me it depends... Both with reading and writing. When I read, all I want is for the story to be interesting and well written. As a writer, I like to try different things, instead of religiously getting stuck in one way or style of writing... So I've tried pretty much every genre and style there is with both reading and writing (minus things like horror etc. I prefer to not fill my mind with certain things.).
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Posted: Wed Jun 10, 2015 4:19 pm
I have to say, I prefer third person most of the time in fanfiction, whether it be writing or reading. Reading first person is just an immediate turn-off for me - it immediately makes me feel as if everything is a YA romance novel and it just bothers me. I guess it's mainly because I view fanfiction as heavily character-oriented and first person as very self-oriented. Which is why I don't really mix the two.
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Posted: Wed Jun 10, 2015 5:33 pm
coyness […] and first person as very self-oriented. […] I've heard others say this too. How the narrator constantly uses 'I', 'me', or 'my' so frequently that it get annoying or frustrating. "Villain threw sand at me. My vision was obscured. I didn't know how to fight back!" As opposed to… "Villain threw sand at Hero. Her vision was obscured. She didn't know how to fight back!" In first person, the scene sounds self-centered, whiny, and scared. While in third person the exact same scene sounds dramatic, tense, and apprehensive.
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Posted: Sat Jun 20, 2015 1:24 am
I generally write in 3rd person far more often than in 1st person. 1st person is difficult to really nail, especially since I'm a bit nitpicky when it comes to sticking to canon and I really want to get the voice of the character right (and not have my own voice take over and make them sound more like me and less like the actual character from the series). It gets even tougher for each story that I might write that has a different character narrating it because that's just a whole lot of extra research I have to do to make sure I get it right.
And, well, I really enjoy writing from 3rd person point of view. So, a glance at my stories confirmed my suspicions, and I do write from 3rd person more often than first... though poems are an exception. But poems are an entirely different style and feeling of writing than prose (at least mine are). There's a rhythm to the words, each one selected far more carefully than in prose; it's almost musical.
When reading, I usually don't really care what point of view the story is from as long as I enjoy it and it's well-written. I really like stories that grasp the characters well (they feel like canon), have a solid plot (they are concise enough, not extraneous with useless-to-the-overall-plot sentences, paragraphs, or scenes), and an excellent ending (which definitely seems to have been thought-out).
So that usually means 3rd person point of view stories are those that I enjoy the most, because people do not often get the 1st person point of view right (doesn't sound like that character's voice). But that's not to say there aren't a few gems out there that are written in 1st person point of view! (And really, I read a ton of things that aren't that great at all, but my faves are those that adhere to the above criteria).
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Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2015 9:51 am
If I'm trying to keep the big reveals of the story a secret, I use first person perspective to keep things in the now. Nothing that hasn't happened can be commented on just yet.
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Posted: Fri Jul 03, 2015 11:16 am
I read and write both first and third person (you couldn't waterboard me into writing/reading second person, but that's off-topic) since I don't like limiting myself on style. If the story is something tried and true, where every reader pretty much knows how it will end since canon dictates certain things in that universe (e.g., in some fandoms where a character is terminally ill, everyone knows how a story following them will end), I'll use third person. However, I really prefer first person because I'm a jerk and I like to surprise my readers with truths that an unreliable narrator was too blind to see until the last possible moment. Or if the readers know what's up and the character is clueless, I've found that dramatic irony can sometimes be painful for readers. I also really like the challenge of first person. As a writer, you have to get into a character's head. You have to think exactly like them- to the T if it's a beloved character and/or the character has a well-established personality. If you don't execute it well, you're sure to have fire rain down on your head from that character's fanbase. Seriously, if there's one thing fans don't like it's when a writer messes up their favorite character's personality. That's sure to make you public enemy number one in some people's books. Well, unless you put "crack!" somewhere in your summary to take some of the heat off. What I don't like, however, is mixing first and third. I prefer to keep my POV consistent through my stories as a courtesy to my readers. And I expect everyone else to do the same. Nothing turns me off of a story more than reading chapter one as "I" and then reading chapter two as "She". Am I a spirit that occasionally possesses someone and then becomes omniscient on a whim? To me, that's disorienting and comes across as sloppy. Unless there's a good reason for it (e.g., the third person chapters follow someone else and not the character with the first person POV) I don't want to read it.
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Posted: Fri Jul 03, 2015 6:47 pm
she dictator What I don't like, however, is mixing first and third. […]. Nothing turns me off of a story more than reading chapter one as "I" and then reading chapter two as "She". […] To me, that's disorienting and comes across as sloppy. Unless there's a good reason for it (e.g., the third person chapters follow someone else and not the character with the first person POV) I don't want to read it. OMG! Yes! This bothers me more than authors putting "Character's POV" at the beginning to chapters! Its one thing to have a story written in first person that constantly jumps from first person viewpoint to different first person viewpoint, but to have a story that switches between first person and third person… no. Just, no. Nothing will get me to drop a story faster. Not only will I drop the story, but I will leave a very strongly worded review before shutting the door behind me. If you're gonna write in first person, write in first person. If you're gonna write in third, write in third. Don't be wishy-washy and jump between the two! That's just sloppy writing.
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Posted: Thu Nov 19, 2015 3:40 pm
The Millenium Walken I use first person perspective to keep things in the now. So, first person, present tense? That's actually an interesting discussion to have alongside this one. The tense, I mean. I've found that most often first person works best with present tense, and third person works best with past tense. But I've seen it the other way around. I've written it the other way around too: first person past and third person present. I usually find it tricky keeping to present tense, for any point of view, but I will say, it was also a bit weird writing first person past. I got it to work, and it flowed, but I had to pay extra attention during editing to make sure I stuck to the proper tense. The hardest part was probably when I needed the character's thoughts to come out (which would naturally be in present tense), but overall they were narrating in past tense, so sometimes that felt a bit jumbled till I worked out how to make sure it was coming across as thoughts in that moment separate from the past-tense narration.
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Posted: Sun Jan 03, 2016 4:11 am
I prefer writing and reading in Third person. It is the one I am most comfortable with and for some reason writing in First person never worked well for me.
As for reading First Person... while it isn't my preference I'll still give stories a shot. There have been cases where I've been blown away with how good it is done. The best first person fiction I've ever read (and the first that comes to mind) was Underdark by Nekotsuki.
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Posted: Sun Jan 17, 2016 1:13 pm
I usually write in first person as a draft, and then I rewrite it to third person. It helps me get into the story more. But I know first person is actually rubbish to read. gonk
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Posted: Sun Aug 28, 2016 7:56 am
God I suck at first person writing... I feel like I don't know how to say what I actually feel even though technically I should be putting myself in their shoes. I always drift back to third person.
I have a prompt from a reader for like, 2 months and according to the title of it, something like, If I Never, so I feel like it's only appropriate to write it in first person but I can write 4000 words in one night AND YET when I finally decide to start it... I've been stuck on it for over a week...
I like to read first person. Makes me feel like i'm there. But I prefer third. That way I can read from all the p.o.vs
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Posted: Sun Sep 04, 2016 12:46 am
Depends on the story. I prefer to read and write in third person, but once in a while a first person perspective better helps the story and makes it feel more personal.
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Posted: Wed Feb 14, 2018 10:05 pm
I read/write in 1st person and 2nd person considering the niche part of the fanfiction community I occupy (OC/SI and reader-inserts). 3nodding
I think it really depends on the author for whether a story sinks or swims, despite POV, so I don't really judge things until I read that first chapter. When it comes to reader-inserts, proper grammar and at least semi-unique topics for the story will get you far on whatever sites you're using since the majority of stories in that niche won't have that (unfortunately).
Also, a personal pet-peeve of mine is when people write "reader-inserts" in 1st person... they're basically missing the entire point. sweatdrop
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