(MUSIC)
Hellooo, everybody!
Before we get started I have a couple of announcements.
Most of you know the audiobook for The Savior's Champion is currently in production.
Narrator Nick Denton has been hard at work recording that TSC goodness.
He recently released some raw, unedited footage of one of his recording sessions, and I’ve
got a sneak peek of it right here.
(Nick Denton Narrating TSC) - “You shit!
You’re cheating!”
“I'm cheating?”
Tobias forced a chuckle.
“I've told you, the mirrors.”
“Fuck the mirrors!”
“Even if I was cheating, what would it matter?
You're The Giant.
And as you've said, I'm beneath you.
Surely I couldn’t possibly intimidate you in any way.”
- If you wanna see the rest, I've got a link to his video listed below.
Check it out!
We are both super excited for the TSC audio book and cannot wait for the release.
Second announcement, Indiecember is officially over, and I won!
This is what my bingo board looked like by the end of the month.
I totally nailed it.
As if there was any doubt.
If you won too, you've got the chance to win a bunch of awesome prizes including a signed copy
of The Savior's Champion!
Megan Tennant has the sign-up sheet ready to go. I've got it linked below, get on it!
Moving on.
Today's topic comes as a special request from one of my patrons over on Patreon.
This video is dedicated to the incomparable Jadki92 who wanted to learn about the differences
between first person and third person point of view.
I think this is a great topic.
A lot of you have asked me to cover point of view.
So, I'm going to be tackling the most popular questions I receive about first person versus
third person.
Let's start with the basics.
What is point of view?
Point of view refers to the narration of the book. The voice through which the readers are
hearing, seeing and learning the events of the story.
And the two most popular points of view are first person and third person.
What is first person point of view?
First person point of view is when a character of the novel, usually the main character,
is also the narrator.
The perspective of the story is told using the pronouns I or we.
For example, ‘I plunged my sword through the dragon's chest.’
It's also possible for there to be more than one first person perspective in a novel. For
example, maybe two characters are narrating every other chapter within the book.
What are some of the downsides of first person point of view?
The first downside is voice.
The story is being told by a character, which means you have to have their voice down.
You can't slip in and out between your personal voice and their voice.
They are the narrator, not you.
If you're not skilled at carrying that voice, the narration is either going to be really
inconsistent or really flat.
The second con is limitation.
You are stuck in the mind of this character.
So you don't get to narrate anything that's happening outside of their frame of reference.
If something goes down at the villain’s headquarters,
oh well, reader’s just not gonna see it.
The last con is more of a stereotype, and that's that first person is juvenile or annoying.
First person gets a bad rap for being whiny because first person is the preferred point
of view for young adult novels.
And young adult novels often follow teenagers, sometimes whiny ones.
The root of the problem isn't actually first person point of view.
It's the fact that authors are choosing to write about annoying characters.
So maybe don't do that.
Basically, if your main character sucks, this point of view is gonna really suck, because
they're narrating the book.
The reader is stuck with them, and if they can't stand them, that's a problem.
What are some of the positives of writing in first person point of view?
The first pro is also voice.
“But Jenna, you just said it was a con!”
Shut up.
I'm getting there.
If characterization is your strong suit, then first person is going to be really fun, because
it allows you to breathe life and authenticity into whatever character is narrating your
novel.
This will also make your story easy and enjoyable for readers to follow.
The second positive is casualness.
Your character is telling their story to the reader.
There's an informal, almost conversational feel to it.
If this is what you're going for, then first person is the perfect choice.
The last benefit of first person is ease.
Many people claim that first person point of view is the easiest perspective to write
in because you're using the pronouns I and we, which makes it much easier for you to
put yourself in the character's position.
Now there's one thing I haven't touched on that you’ve probably noticed because it's usually
cited as the number one benefit of first person and that's that writing in first person makes
it easier for the reader to connect with the character.
However, this isn't exactly true.
There are multiple forms of third person point of view and some of them go very deep into
what the character is experiencing and feeling, much like first person does.
So while it's definitely possible to establish a deep connection between the reader and character
in first person, you can also do this in third person.
So this doesn't count as a benefit exclusive to one point of view.
Which brings up my next point.
What is a third person point of view?
Third person point of view is when the story is being told by an outside narrator, a disembodied
voice that doesn't belong to one of the characters in the book.
In this case, the narration is going to include the pronouns he, she, or they.
For example, ‘She plunged her sword through the dragon's chest.’
Now, unlike first person point of view, there are a bunch of different kinds of third person
points of view, but I'm going to focus on the ones that I see most often in fiction.
The first one is third person omniscient, which means the narrator knows literally everything.
Think of them as an omnipotent god. They know everything about everyone, even if the
characters don't.
The next one is third person limited, which means the perspective is limited to one character.
Think of the narrator as a shadow following one of the characters.
They only see what that character sees. If that character is in the dark about something
so is the narrator.
Then there's third person deep, which is similar to third person limited except it goes a step
deeper, hence the name.
Instead of a shadow, think of the narrator as a demon inhabiting the character's brain.
They know exactly what the character knows, they experience everything the character experiences.
That means the character's thoughts, emotions and perceptions are translated directly through
the narrator similar to how it's done in first person.
Other third person points of view include third person multiple, which means the narrator
follows multiple characters.
And third person objective, which means the narrator takes a very neutral, objective point
of view.
What are the downsides of third person?
The first con is specific to third person omniscient, and that's distance.
With third person omniscient, an outside narrator is recounting all of the events as opposed
to a character themselves doing so, or a narrator who's following one character very
closely.
This can create a divide between the reader and the cast which may make them less invested
in the story.
An easy way to solve this issue is to utilize third person deep instead!
Just saying.
The second con is that third person can be tricky to write for a variety of reasons.
Sometimes writers get confused by the different third person types and start blending ‘em,
and then this confusion transfers over to the reader.
There's also the issue with pronouns. The main character is he, she, or they, but all
the other characters are he, she, or they as well.
You gotta start getting creative when referring to characters so the reader can easily differentiate
them.
The last con is yet another stereotype, and that's that third person is stuffy and boring.
In my opinion this stems from two sources.
One is the aforementioned distance between the reader and the cast in third person omniscient
stories.
If the readers don't feel connected to the characters, they're probably gonna find
the story boring. Obviously.
Two is narration style.
If the author is a lame narrator, then the story is gonna be boring, bottom line.
In other words, if you haven't found your narrative voice or style yet, third person
is going to be a challenge.
What are the benefits of third person?
The first benefit is variety.
Unlike with first person, you have a ton of different third person points of view to choose
from.
If your story requires knowing the intricate lives of tons of different characters, bam!
You got third person omniscient.
If your story follows one character in particular, bam! You got third person limited.
And if you wanna really hone in on the mental or emotional connection to that character,
bam! You got third person deep.
The second pro is voice.
If you are very comfortable in your personal narration style, third person is gonna
be a breeze.
You don't have to worry about sticking to one character's voice throughout the entire
novel.
You get to write in your own voice.
The last pro is formality.
While first person has a more informal feel, third person is the opposite. It feels serious
and refined.
If that's the feel you're going for, then third person is the obvious choice.
It sets a very clear tone and intention.
“Which point of view should I choose for my story?”
How the hell should I know!
Ultimately you gotta choose whatever fits your plot and tone.
Sometimes you gotta experiment with different points of view to see what works better.
Other times it's just gut instinct.
Certain stories are naturally better suited for specific points of view.
“But Jenna, what if readers don't like the point of view that I've chosen?”
I've got bad news for you.
Human beings are a varied and unique species with their own likes and preferences.
Some people love first person, and hate third person.
Others are the exact opposite.
But if you tell a good, entertaining story, that should translate past the point of view
you've chosen.
You might as well stop worrying about flack, because first of all, it's just a narrative
voice.
It's not that deep.
Second, no matter what you choose, someone's gonna hate it.
Save the stress for something you can actually control.
So that's all I got for you today!
A huge thank you to Jadki92 for requesting this topic.
If you'd like the chance to have a video dedicated to you, or if you want access to tons of other
prizes, check me out on Patreon.
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Bye!