It’s all about perspective…..

Which point of view should I write in? Should I write from only one characters point of view or several and if I choose only one then who? Third-person POV has a lot of positive press, cited as being adaptable to most forms of story telling and easier to use but there are different kinds of third person.

The three types I’ve been researching are OMNISCIENT the traditional approach where the narrator is all knowing, CINEMATIC where the narrator is detached from the characters, just observing like a camera and LIMITED is where the narrator is using only one character perspective to tell the story.

I like writing in first person but my researching seems to be pointing towards first person being great for short stories but not as efficient or flexible as third person, in particular third person limited. There’s advice that you should take some of your writing and write it in first-person POV then try third-person POV, read and decide which version enhances the feel of the story your telling. So I experimented with this…

“Clumsily pulling off one item of clothing at a time, I headed for the bathroom. Trembling and tired from sprinting the two kilometers home, my legs felt like jelly. I turned on the shower welcoming the calming sound of the water. Shaking lose my thick dark hair, long and wavy, tangled and unruly as always I pulled out the leaves and dried grass I could see. I barely ever brushed it, preferring to roughly pull it back or plait it. If it was clean, I was happy, right now it was anything but clean. Clumps of mud and leaves, sweat and possibly bugs were all through it.”

“Clumsily Liora Beth pulled off one item of clothing at a time, as she headed for the bathroom. Trembling and tired from sprinting the two kilometers home, her legs felt like jelly. Turning on the shower she welcomed the calming sound of the water. Shaking lose her thick dark hair, long and wavy, tangled and unruly as always she managed to pull out some grass and bits of dried leaf. Liora barely ever brushed it, preferring to roughly pull it back or plait it. If it was clean she was happy, right now it was anything but clean. Clumps of mud and leaves, sweat and possibly bugs were all through it.”

I think I prefer the first version, it feels more intimate, I feel what she feels. It probably also has a lot to do with my poor writing skill with third-person POV and inexperience as a writer generally. It all feels a little intimidating right now.. Hopefully the more I write the more familiar I’ll become with different styles of expression and story telling and gradually grow as an author.

Update

So I have written more of my book and realize that for me to be able to take my story where I want to go I need to write from other characters perspectives so I’m going to start writing in third person, I am going to write a few more chapters in third POV and then rewrite the first two that way also.