1st, 2nd or 3rd?

by Eleanor Knowles
10th September 2018

Do you prefer writing in the first, second or third person and why? Or does the story dictate which persona to use?

Replies

The story always dictates it for me and it's usually 3rd person. I've never liked 2nd person but having said that, I've just had a short story accepted for online publishing and it is both 2nd person and present tense just because the story dictated it.

I prefer 3rd person because I feel like it gives me an overview of everything that's going on, even though stories/novels are generally told from the one point of view.

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Andrew
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11/09/2018

Hi Eleanor. I always write several pages in the third person to begin with. I will then write them in the first person and decide which reads the best. Most of what I do is usually in the first person. This works for me, but not for everyone.

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ELSIE
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ELSIE BYRON
10/09/2018

I didn't think about whether to write in the first, second or third person. I just started writing in the third person, naturally.

The story didn't dictate which persona to use, I automatically started writing using an omniscient narrator.

I have no idea whether would-be authors consider what P.O.V to use beforehand.

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Adrian Sroka
10/09/2018