FictionPress.com - let the words flow
| FictionPress.com - let the words flow |
|
| Home Just In Communities Forums Beta Readers Dictionary Search | Login Register Extras |
| Scooz's Forums » Muse Juice Cafe |  Topic Subscription |
 Forums » Muse Juice Cafe » What Point of View (PoV) do you use? |
|||
| Author | Post | ||
 Ness3665Topic: What Point of View (PoV) do you use?Yar. This probably isn't very important at all in your opinion. WRONG! Point of view can make the reader think your antagonist is a protagonist. It can make the reader look on all your characters with hate (for example, if you use the omniscient point of view to show that everyone's hell-bent on achieving their goals for their own good), or maybe even on all your characters with love. Anyways. What point of view do you use? Omniscient? Third-Person? First-Person? Limited Third-Person? Second-Person (and yes, second-person PoV exists)? Tell me! And if you're using Third/Limited Third/First/Maybe Second-Person, tell me what perspective you usually use - your antagonist, your protagonist, maybe even a minor character? If you're using Omniscient, tell me what character you usually center around! Also, hand out tips for those writers who need help with their PoVs! And stuff like that!
|
|||
| Evil Minion Number 2Personally, I think first person should be avoided whenever possiable in fantasy. It makes it look like it's not the character talking, rather the author daydreaming. Sure, that works for some people, but I honestly don't want to read about someone else's knight adventure and dreams about chicks. Though, a lot of my favorite stories are written in first person, so I say go for it, if you've got a good reason for it. The book "Fight Club" wouldn't be half as cool if it were any other perspective, and all of Edgar Allen Poe's stories in first person have the flavor of a madman. And, if your character has an interesting way of putting things, then go for it. I've never read any second person books beyond those "choose your own adventure" books, so if you have any reccomendations, gimme!
|
|||
 Music by MoonlightI write in First Person - but only because that's hard for me to write. Strangely enough, some of my reviewers have told me it comes out well...creepy? But it's very hard to wrist First Person in a fantasy - even if it's told from the protagonist's POV. Many things just aren't covered, but it makes your characters look less Mary-Sueish if they talk by themselves.PS: What IS second-person POV?
|
|||
| ElevatorSecond-person is like, "You wake up and see that the sun is coming up. You yawn and get out of bed." I write mainly in third person and depending on the situation I use limited or omniscient. Lately I've been using third limited a lot, though. I'll use first person occasionally, but I only have a few characters that I can write well in first person.
|
|||
Sakka-FenikkusuMost of the time, I use the third person, but there are a couple of stories that it doesn't work with. Really, it's ever-changing, for me.
|
|||
ArejHmmm...I usually use third person limited, but the person I focus on changes with what part of the story I'm writing.
|
|||
 ScoozIt all depends on the story. When I tell it from multiple points of view, then I always do it in third person, because first person would get way too confusing. When I tell the story from only one point of view, then I do first person because I want to create a close connection to the reader and my main character by letting them really get into the character's head. I have seen some writers use first and third person points of view in the same story; some successfully, but more often than not, unsucessfully. It is really tricky.
|
|||
| Marie SilverI always write from third person using multiple POV's. I get bored when I have just one POV character as I find it limiting and I always want to show what the other characters are thinking or feeling. I never use omniscient because I find it confusing. Saying that, I don't mind what view point I read in books or how many POV characters they are. ~Marie Silver~
|
|||
Lord-of-FoolsThird person, either omniscient or subjective, usually centering around one person in shorter stories, whereas in longer ones, I have to change characters because they're not often together and one of the main points of the story is their interractions.
|
|||
| GirlbrainiacUsually third person, omniscient if I have more than one main character, or limited if there is only one. Occasionally I branch out into first person, but usually for a different genre than fantasy. Girlbrainiac
|
|||
Running SunriseI'm a bit omniscient in fantasy, but limited third-person for horror.
|
|||
Meelu the BoldI like writing from first person views, since I feel guilty for whatever reason if I jump around from character to character within a scene. Clearly, that's never stopped me, but I do. And first person is a great way to write in the character's voice, which is fun, and more interesting, I think.
|
|||
| Ness3665A lot of writing is done from a third-person view, especially in fiction. In nonfiction books, the author tends to use an omniscient PoV, since they're just writing facts. However.... the perks of the PoVs (for fiction writing) are... - In first-person PoV, you tend to get much closer to the character... because you're IN his/her mind, FEELING his/her emotions! First-person is great for stories where you really want your reader to get DEEP inside your character's mind and sympathize or even strongly hate that character! However, some readers might feel a bit restricted, so first-person is all about letting the reader be so fully engrossed that they don't have that feeling of claustrophobia. - In third-person PoV, you can delve into anyone else's mind other than the main character almost any time (Every paragraph, if you're so inclined to changing viewpoints so often - but it'll get confusing if you do it too much) but you still retain a slightly first-personish view, keeping some character views and getting close to the character (but not as close as first-person) and at the same time being able to see OTHER views of characters and getting to describe more of the setting. There is limited, medium-ish (not really a category, but...), and distant third-person. There's also omniscient, but that requires a part of its own. - In omniscient third-person PoV, you can go into characters' minds at will, anytime, anywhere. For example: Mary felt confused. She wondered, 'What is Frank thinking?' Ironically, Frank was thinking almost the same thought. See, in that one paragraph I went into TWO different character views, and I switched in a SENTENCE! The positives of omniscient are pretty obvious - you get to see everyone's thoughts. However, there's a big downside - the reader doesn't get that close to the character(s)! Examples: First-Person PoV: I felt confused. What is Frank thinking? I saw a little frown on Frank's face, almost as if he were confused. Third-Person PoV: Mary felt confused. What is Frank thinking? she thought. In the corner of the room, Frank seemed slightly flustered as well, a little frown appearing on his face. Omniscient PoV: Mary felt confused. She wondered, 'What is Frank thinking?' Ironically, Frank was thinking almost the same thought. Second-Person PoV: You feel confused. 'What's Frank thinking?' you wonder. You see a small frown on Frank's face, and you think he seems a bit confused as well. Second-person PoV is sort of confusing to write with, and unless done extremely well, most readers will turn away from second-person PoV books and laugh in the author's face. The main problem for writers who use second-person is the fear that the reader might think, 'Well... no! I would NOT do THAT!' since it uses "you" instead of "he" or "she" or "I." It's pretty original to use second-person though, and if you do it well you'll have an original masterpiece on your hands. Like always, of course, it has to be a good story though.
|
|||
In Darkest NightGenerally, I write first person narratives...but those stories are on the hazy border between fantasy and plain ol' fiction. When I'm really going full out with mages and myths, etc, I'll use a thirdperson. Maybe switch for particular scenes to get a point across...
|
|||
| Miriam DoyleDepending on the character or the situation they're in, I choose either first-person or third person limited. If I want the reader to view the story's world in a different way, I will make the first-person character more interesting to read about. This is why I chose to make my story Oculus Exanimus in Paul's POV, and what's so special about him is that he's blind. But I think the best way to carry out a fantasy story in the first-person is to make the reader seem as if the narrator is hiding something from them, because even though the reader knows what the character is thinking, that doesn't mean the character is writing down ALL his thoughts, is he? Apart from that, I usually use the first-person if the main character is one that I can relate to, or like alot. On the third-person limited thing, keeping the reader in the dark about what exactly is going on in their head is also a key element. I don't like to show the reader the thoughts of characters besides the main one, either, although I like writing about what the main character's interpretations of the others' emotions are. This, I think, is good for letting the reader know what relationships the main character shares are like.
|
|||
you'll seeGenerally I use omniscient. Basically, that is because I know the thoughts behind what the charaters are doing and the reader won't be able to understand my point unless they know that too. That works well for me to show the scenes I see to the reader; they can judge the characters equally. With a few things I have trouble deciding whether to use first or third because I see it in my head from one person's POV, but it doesn't quite make sense if you write it is first person.
|
|||
| darkShadow201068i try not writing in 1st person view. If it is in first person view the story has already given me the guarantee that the main character can't die. So i feel less concerned about him. I write in third person limited.
|
|||
 Iggy and Disraeli feat. jofoI always write in third person. Sometimes, I write in third person omniscient if I feel like it, and I write in limited if I'm supposed to be a narrator or something. I like omniscient third person because it helps in making the reader wonder who is really right, and who's in the wrong.
|
|||
RudersovgyThird Person: Complete winner.
|
|||
 FireskyI write in first, and use many characters so I can kill off a few here and there. I always felt that 1st is a little more personal. It also helps you feel the characters death more strongly if you must kill them off.Just my opinion.
|
|||
HirushenI always found it easier to write in a semi-omniscient POV. My current style would be similar to following around one character for a chapter, as if they were featured for that one part. Then I'd occasionally switch to another character in the next chapter to tell the next event one from that character's point of view. It's always in third person though, since using "I" in this style would be very confusing.
|
|||
| AkhdarMy own style mainly focuses on using limited third person, but from there I go with whatever would fit best in the story. In most of my stories, I only follow around one character and never switch over, ever, to another character. This I feel helps you get immersed in the character without using first person, but you should only use this if it's a character novel (Character novels focus on the character, whereas event novels focus on the events). For event novels, I switch between the characters many times, but at definite breaks, so it doesn't classify as omniscient. I do this to help the readers better understand the events and not the characters, who aren't our main focus. A quick example of character vs event is a movie I saw recently with Nicholas Cage about 9-11. In the beginning you're just following around these cops as they go running into the towers. You never see the second plane hit or the towers start to crumble, you just see the main characters reacting to it, not really knowing what's going on. Even when it switches to other characters, it's not to help you understand the event better, but to understand the characters. They use it to really make you feel for the two cops who survive and are buried under the rubble. That's a good example of a character 'novel'. However, I've posted one story in first person and it's... creepy. It's only a page long and it's from the point of view of the villian, but you end up getting so immersed in the character that, despite the fact that he's spreading some plague and could be crazy, you sort of feel sorry for him when the 'heroes' come to stop him. First person is a powerful tool and if used correctly, can get your reader to really love or hate the main character. But handle with care, many times it can flop.
|
|||
FireskyNever mind. Third helps me, though I go into a sort of omnipotent view with the people around the character my chapters focused on.
|
|||
| Tawny OwlI used to always write in third person because I used to feel that it gave me more descriptive freedom. If that makes sense? Now I have a particular group of stories that I do in the first person. Haven't had much feed back yet, but I like it because the character I use has lots of interesting things to say about the other characters in the story. She has a unique perspective on some of them. I think I'll go with the majority then and say it depends on the type of story, or sometimes the character. I do like playing about with perspective though. It's just fun to sometimes take something I've written in third and then re write it in first from a different characters point of view. It helps to keep me looking at things differently.
|
|||
| awilla the hunIf it's serious stuff, mostly third person. It lets me be multiple characters without (say) making one a psychotic to distinguish him from everyone else. And it lets me keep secrets far more effectively (everyone will notice if, say, I never use A's viewpoint, meaning that he's hiding something.) In comedies, it's first person. This is mostly to make it more like Bill Bryson, who is my main comedic influence.
|
|||
| Angel of Ink I write in a mixture of third and first person. Not in the same story- I mean I write some stories in first person, some in third. I'm trying to write more in first lately, because when I write first person, I tend to have a more natural voice; I'm more dry and sarcastic, and I tend to be funnier. When I write in third person, I'm much more serious and formal.
|
|||
| Moderator(s): | Scooz, J.D. deFaye, Islandbreeze, |
| Rule(s): |
|
| Members: |
|
Apprentice (on site for more than a week)
Newbie (on site for less than a week)