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First, second and third-person writing are points of views used in narrative writing. Writing that tells a story. That makes it feel like any piece of writing is narrative. Well… No.
Table of Contents
A Quick Summary of Non And Narrative Writing
Narrative writing develops a story, their story can be told out of order for example by recalling a memory. Also by jumping back and forth between future, present and past, with a plot that ties them together. This includes novels, comics, musicals, poetry etc.
On the other hand, non-narrative writing is organized by elements such as to cause and effect, the main idea and supporting evidence. This includes research papers, manuals, dictionaries etc.
Before we get started, here’s a tool to help you make a lot fewer mistakes (spelling, grammar etc) in your drafts. Grammarly, I personally use it all the time to ensure my writing is at the best it can be. Now I don’t want to type without it!
What is First-Person Writing?
First-person POV writing is when the narrator refers to themselves. A story would largely describe events with I, Me, We, My, Our, Mine.
Many novels are written in the first-person, for example:
‘In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since.’
‘The Great Gatsby’ By F. Scott Fitzgerald
‘I’m pretty much f*****.’
‘The Martian’ By Andy Weir
When would I use first-person? In instances when you’d like to write autobiographic pieces. If your story was regarding your characters memoirs, diary and life story perhaps. This is because you are telling a story as if you are in the characters head, seeing first-hand the events that unfold around them.
What is Second-Person?
The second person POV depicts the reader is directly addressed. A story would use ‘you’, ‘your’, ‘yours’, ‘yourself’ to describe the events.
It is uncommon to write stories in the second-person, enjoy these novels:
‘You are she. She is you. You are Essun. Remember? The woman whose son is dead.’
‘Fifth season’ by N.K. Jemisin
‘You are about to begin reading Italo calvino’s new novel, If on a winter’s night a traveler. Relax. Concentrate. Dispel every other thought. Let the world around you fade.’
‘If on a Winter’s Night a Traveller’ by Italo Calvino
Why would I write in the second person? What finer way to propel an idea than to let the reader experience it themselves. As if they are a character.
What is Third-Person?
Third-person, this narrative POV describes what is going on from a bird’s eye view, like an out-of-body experience. The narrator can tell you both what a person looks like on all sides or what’s happening outside their range of senses but also what an individual thinks and feels. In other words, talking about a closely followed person and what goes on around them. A story would use ‘they’, ‘she’, ‘he’.
In this case, there are 2 types of third-person:
Third-person limited– when the narrator can only disclose the thoughts and feelings of one character.
Third-person Omniscient– when the narrator is all-knowing and can divulge information of events that has or has not happened at any part of the story.
Example from books first sentence:
‘Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the western spiral arm of the galaxy lies a small, unregarded yellow sun’.
‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy’ By Douglas Adams (Third person omniscient)
‘Mr. and Mrs. Dursley of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.’
‘Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone’ By J.K. Rowling (Third person limited)
My Experience Utilizing These When Writing My First Book
It’s a tricky business knowing what kind of voice you want to give your story. When I started writing my first book, it did not matter to me what had been formed as long as my ideas were becoming more vivid and detailed with depth and meaning with the help of Grammarly.
However saying this, one of my first instincts were to write in the narrative I knew best, the one in constant daily use. The first person. Now as the explanation above suggests, this is a commonly used POV, yet, by hitting the 10,000 words mark in my story. I had realized that this may not be the POV for this book. I had too many characters thoughts and feelings to convey and I wanted to convey some of their perspectives too. Yet, that would be jumping back and forth between them all, making the view seem messy.
A compromise had to be struck, a book that exhibited both first and third-person seemed like it would fit the content best. I need to get to know the rules of POV so I can break them. Time will tell if it is possible for this book. As I continue writing this story, I will inevitably be altering a lot of the story. That is the time where will finalize what POV it will be. Though I assure you, I will be constantly worried about what POV a scenario sounds best in every step of the way.
For now, I will be going back and forth, testing how it’ll sound.
Let me know how you decided your story POV? Did you change it at some point? Planning to write about the defining elements that distinguish different narratives POV in a singular book at some point. Is that something you’d like to read? Until then.
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