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Hi AC/FICTALKers. If you see this (11/12/2024) please see new post in General Discussions about Open Doors OTW Organization for Transformative Works) offering to help preserve the AC archive and let me know your thoughts:

https://absolutechaos.net/fictalk/index.php/topic,3415.msg125627.html#new

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Author Topic: First Person vs. Third Person  (Read 14160 times)

A-RokzStalker

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Re: First Person vs. Third Person
« Reply #15 on: November 10, 2010, 07:56:31 PM »

I'll probably e-mail you tonight or tomorrow.... I ended up busy today. Sorry!
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Sevily

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Re: First Person vs. Third Person
« Reply #16 on: November 10, 2010, 09:16:16 PM »

I'll probably e-mail you tonight or tomorrow.... I ended up busy today. Sorry!

There's no rush.  I'm not sure when I'll have time to read, I have to work about 80 hours next week.  :crazy:
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luna610

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Re: First Person vs. Third Person
« Reply #17 on: November 10, 2010, 11:13:22 PM »

Sevily, let me first say that I'm reading both your stories and I think you're doing a great job with first person. I've only written a couple little challenges so my opinion isn't much. lol. But for me, I'm the opposite. They've all been written in first person. Just like everyone else was saying...I put myself in their shoes and I think it's much easier to feel how they would feel and be able to describe their feelings. To me, it's like the automatic way to go. Every time I started a new challenge I thought about trying third person and I feel like the opposite of what you said. I was scared it would be like "Brian was sad, and then he cried." LOL.

I don't know, I'm not helping much...just agreeing with what others had said. As far as switching POV's, I think it's a great idea if it's organized. And good point to whoever mentioned this: make sure that if it's first person that they can tell the whole story. I've read stories before where it'll be first person from one view the whole time and then that person is unconscious all of a sudden and it switches to third. It's like  ???

LOL
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RokofAges75

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Re: First Person vs. Third Person
« Reply #18 on: November 10, 2010, 11:29:37 PM »

And good point to whoever mentioned this: make sure that if it's first person that they can tell the whole story. I've read stories before where it'll be first person from one view the whole time and then that person is unconscious all of a sudden and it switches to third. It's like  ???

LOL

LOL that is sooo true.  I've gotten myself into that kind of a mess before; the first time I tried collaborating, we agreed to write the story in first person from Brian's POV since he was both of our favorite Boy, but since we hadn't planned out the story at all, we didn't realize we'd need to write scenes about AJ and Howie by themselves, and that by the end of the story, Brian would be unconscious in the hospital (this was my plane crash story LOL), so the whole first person thing kind of fell apart by the end.
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luna610

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Re: First Person vs. Third Person
« Reply #19 on: November 10, 2010, 11:57:37 PM »

LOL that is sooo true.  I've gotten myself into that kind of a mess before; the first time I tried collaborating, we agreed to write the story in first person from Brian's POV since he was both of our favorite Boy, but since we hadn't planned out the story at all, we didn't realize we'd need to write scenes about AJ and Howie by themselves, and that by the end of the story, Brian would be unconscious in the hospital (this was my plane crash story LOL), so the whole first person thing kind of fell apart by the end.

I LOVE that story! I mean, I know you wrote it a long time ago...but I still love it :) But yeah, it's funny when that happens. Cuz then it's like "damnit!" Uhhh...switchi ng POV now! I used to hate reading stories where the POV switches but now it's like...it depends on how it's done. When you can't even tell whose POV you're reading because it's so back and forth it's confusing!
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RokofAges75

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Re: First Person vs. Third Person
« Reply #20 on: November 11, 2010, 12:02:35 AM »

I LOVE that story! I mean, I know you wrote it a long time ago...but I still love it :) But yeah, it's funny when that happens. Cuz then it's like "damnit!" Uhhh...switchi ng POV now! I used to hate reading stories where the POV switches but now it's like...it depends on how it's done. When you can't even tell whose POV you're reading because it's so back and forth it's confusing!

LOL Fight for Survival?  It was so much fun to write... and hey, it's one of the few collabs I've actually FINISHED, so I consider it a success in that sense!  We just didn't think it through very much, beyond the basic idea of the plane crash LOL.

Yeah, I think the whole POV switching has to be done carefully.  There should be some kind of rhyme or reason to it, and if the two voices aren't distinctive from each other, labels help.  Switching POV in mid-chapter is the worst!  But not always; Sakabelle's story "Running Up That Hill" switches between Nick's, Brian's, Howie's, and Kevin's POVs in each chapter (four scenes to a chapter, each scene in a different boy's POV), without labels, and it's not hard to follow.  But she does a nice job writing in first person, and you can figure out who's narrating pretty quickly.  And because that's how the story has always been set up, it doesn't seem random; it was clearly meant to be that way.

I think planning is the key LOL.
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Sevily

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Re: First Person vs. Third Person
« Reply #21 on: November 11, 2010, 09:48:13 AM »

^ I don't think I could ever try and switch POVs when writing a story.  Julie, you're great at it with Curtain Call but I think for me, I'd get so confused and wouldn't be able to establish a strong character.

And yes, planning a story is KEY.  When I started writing my two stories, I made sure nothing happened where they wouldn't be able to tell it themselves.
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julilly

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Re: First Person vs. Third Person
« Reply #22 on: November 11, 2010, 09:55:15 AM »

^ I don't think I could ever try and switch POVs when writing a story. 

I think a lot of people do it without even noticing. Then three chapters later think 'crap, this was in 1st person!' lol
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Sevily

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Re: First Person vs. Third Person
« Reply #23 on: November 11, 2010, 11:28:05 AM »

I think a lot of people do it without even noticing. Then three chapters later think 'crap, this was in 1st person!' lol

That's true lol.  I'm not sure I've ever done it before, but I can see if you'd get so into a story that it just comes naturally.  Sometimes characters voices needed to be told.
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RokofAges75

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Re: First Person vs. Third Person
« Reply #24 on: November 11, 2010, 02:16:53 PM »

^ I don't think I could ever try and switch POVs when writing a story.  Julie, you're great at it with Curtain Call but I think for me, I'd get so confused and wouldn't be able to establish a strong character.

And yes, planning a story is KEY.  When I started writing my two stories, I made sure nothing happened where they wouldn't be able to tell it themselves.

Thanks!  I didn't even know you were reading it. :)

When I started it, I knew I was going to write in Cary's POV.  I didn't know if I was going to tell the whole thing in her POV or try to switch back and forth, and I really didn't decide for sure until I'd tried out Nick's to see how it went.  His is still harder, but I'm glad I chose to switch off between the two because I think it's more interesting that way, to see both sides of the story.  The same thing could have been done with third person, but I just always felt that this one should be in first, for some reason.
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mare

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Re: First Person vs. Third Person
« Reply #25 on: November 11, 2010, 03:35:19 PM »

LOL I remember when I first started to write in First person, i'd find myself randomly switching back to third for a paragraph or two then back to first without even realizing I was doing it.

Writing first person from mutliple people is tough but sometimes that's the best way to go if you aren't totally sure what your plot is going to be.
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luna610

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Re: First Person vs. Third Person
« Reply #26 on: November 11, 2010, 07:56:55 PM »

LOL Fight for Survival?  It was so much fun to write... and hey, it's one of the few collabs I've actually FINISHED, so I consider it a success in that sense!  We just didn't think it through very much, beyond the basic idea of the plane crash LOL.

Yeah, I think the whole POV switching has to be done carefully.  There should be some kind of rhyme or reason to it, and if the two voices aren't distinctive from each other, labels help.  Switching POV in mid-chapter is the worst!  But not always; Sakabelle's story "Running Up That Hill" switches between Nick's, Brian's, Howie's, and Kevin's POVs in each chapter (four scenes to a chapter, each scene in a different boy's POV), without labels, and it's not hard to follow.  But she does a nice job writing in first person, and you can figure out who's narrating pretty quickly.  And because that's how the story has always been set up, it doesn't seem random; it was clearly meant to be that way.

I think planning is the key LOL.

LOL! Yep, that's the one. I love it :) So old school...you know I love my crash stories.  :D And I totally agree about Sakabelle's story. I love it and it's very easy to follow. And yes, planning is key. Like for Curtain Call, if you wrote from all Cary's POV I think it would have been very tough to really tell the story. How would you show any scenes with just Nick and the guys? I think that one would have been tough.
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luna610

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Re: First Person vs. Third Person
« Reply #27 on: November 11, 2010, 07:58:16 PM »

LOL I remember when I first started to write in First person, i'd find myself randomly switching back to third for a paragraph or two then back to first without even realizing I was doing it.

Writing first person from mutliple people is tough but sometimes that's the best way to go if you aren't totally sure what your plot is going to be.

I love to read that when it's done well. I never really thought about it, but I think I prefer to read first person. I love when the author really gets in the mind of the character and it really does seem like they're talking. lol
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RokofAges75

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Re: First Person vs. Third Person
« Reply #28 on: November 11, 2010, 08:41:47 PM »

LOL! Yep, that's the one. I love it :) So old school...you know I love my crash stories.  :D And I totally agree about Sakabelle's story. I love it and it's very easy to follow. And yes, planning is key. Like for Curtain Call, if you wrote from all Cary's POV I think it would have been very tough to really tell the story. How would you show any scenes with just Nick and the guys? I think that one would have been tough.

LOL thanks!  And yeah, I agree about CC; she's kind of outside the story, so I think I really needed Nick's POV too, since he's the one going through it all.
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Sevily

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Re: First Person vs. Third Person
« Reply #29 on: November 11, 2010, 10:36:06 PM »

Thanks!  I didn't even know you were reading it. :)

That's because I suck lol.  I usually read between lapses at work, and then don't have time to review, so I make a mental note to review when I get back to my apartment...bu t that never happens...
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