If you picked up a random book from your local bookstore, chances are you’ll find that it was written in one of the two perspectives: First- or third-person, and less commonly second-person. Now, when the author of that book made the decision to write from that particular perspective, there was a reason. Of course, I’m sure it’s a burning question on a lot of aspiring writers’ minds: Which perspective should I pick for my book? Well, today’s post will cover the differences between the first-person, third-person, and second-person point of view, which one is right for you, and why it’s important.
THIRD-PERSON POINT OF VIEW
WHAT IS THIRD-PERSON POV
Third-person point of view is when there is a narrator of some sort telling the story for the protagonist and/or other characters. Third-person does not use possessive words like “I,” “my,” “we,” “us,” and so on. Rather, you’ll often find that in third-person perspective, the words used are things like “her,” “she,” “their,” and so on.
Third-person point of view is a very commonly used one by authors who write with multiple main characters, as a narrator can talk about all of them, switch between them, and narrate their stories equally.
However, there are a few different versions of third-person point of view, which I’ll cover below.
LIMITED THIRD-PERSON POV
Limited third-person point of view is when the author has the narrator tell the story focusing on a single character. In this sort of story, we are up close and personal with the character without hearing the character speaking about themself. Rather, we are listening to a narrator tell us this character’s thoughts, feelings, and actions.
OBJECTIVE THIRD-PERSON POV
Objective third-person point of view is a less commonly used one, but it’s basically when the narrator hones in on the character or characters without telling us the thoughts and feelings of the protagonists. Instead, it’s sort of like watching a movie where you don’t hear the inner monologue of the characters and are just watching the action unfolding on screen.
OMNISCIENT THIRD-PERSON POV
Omniscient third-person point of view is a very popular one used by authors all the time. In this story, the narrator is an omniscient presence that sees and knows everything about every character that is important to the story. This narrator tells the reader the thoughts, actions, feelings, reactions, etc… of many characters.
FIRST-PERSON POINT OF VIEW
In first-person point of view, we follow the main character or main characters from their own perspectives and their views on the events surrounding them. We are living the story with them as they experience it or they are telling us their own story when it happened.
First person point of view tends to be very common in YA novels like The Cruel Prince or A Court of Thorns and Roses, but it’s not necessary for YA.
SECOND-PERSON POINT OF VIEW
The least commonly used perspective in literature is second-person point of view, which is when the writer is talking to us as readers. This is when you see words like “your” and “you” placed in stories.
If you were ever on Wattpad at any point in time, you’ve probably seen this written in a lot of fanfictions where you are the narrator of the story. Though, in standard published novels, this is basically never used.
COMBINING PERSPECTIVES
Can you combine perspectives? Actually, yes, you can. I do this in my own books where I combine first- and third-person points of view. In The Fallen Age Saga, the first book features first-person point of view and third-person point of view, with the first-person point of view being Blide Stevens. In the second book, there are more than one first-person points of view and there is also third-person point of view, allowing for the story to feel more like it covers the many perspectives I am talking about while highlighting the real main characters of the story.
It is a complicated way of writing books, but I think it’s a lot of fun and that it’s a great way of doing it if you’re up to the challenge.
WHICH PERSPECTIVE SHOULD YOU USE?
If there is one perspective I recommend you stay away from, it’s second-person point of view. Second-person point of view almost never gets published and it turns a lot of readers away from the story. I would stay away from this.
First- and third-person points of view are the most commonly used perspectives in books and ultimately, which one you choose depends on what sort of story you are attempting to convey.
Stories with more character growth and coming-of-age tend to work best in first-person points of view because it’s more personal for the reader and it lets the reader see the world from that character’s perspective, giving them a deep glimpse into that character’s growth.
A lot of high fantasy and epic fantasy tends to work from third-person perspectives because of the fact that epic fantasy tells more world-based stories than character-based stories. Characters are obviously present in these books, but due to the sheer scope of world building required, they often find it more fitting to go with third-person.
And if you’re like me, combining first and third-person perspectives is an interesting way of blending the two together. My series, The Fallen Age Saga, goes heavy in the world building but is equally a story about character growth, change, and development from different players in the tale. That’s why I picked to use both perspectives. I’ve been doing that in my writing actually since I first learned about it in 8th grade–and that’s been a LONG TIME!
Either way, whatever perspective you pick, it should fit your personal story-telling goals and it should help the reader engage best with your story.
Before you go, check out my series, The Fallen Age Saga and don’t forget to subscribe to get updates on everything I’m writing as well as my new WIPs!