| I recently set up a website to promote a new | | | | what they say or do. |
| suspense novel. Once it started receiving hits I | | | | Third Person Limited |
| began getting questions about why I chose to | | | | The author presents the story from the mind of |
| write in third person. The truth is, I didn't make a | | | | a single character. This is the most common voice |
| conscious decision to write that way. I just sort | | | | in fiction because it lends itself well to many |
| of happened and I went with it. As I got through | | | | different situations. |
| the manuscript, I found that writing in the third | | | | What about First and Second Person Voice? I |
| person "flowed" better than any other voice since | | | | haven't forgotten about those. Lets take a look |
| throughout the story I used a lot of dialogue | | | | briefly at Second Person since it is the least likely |
| between characters. It just fit. Other people | | | | to be used in fiction writing. Writing using the |
| wrote and asked what difference it makes which | | | | Second Person POV can be a little irritating to a |
| voice you write in and that's what I'll try to | | | | reader and is not used much anymore. Take a |
| address here. | | | | look at this example: |
| First of all, choosing which voice to use depends | | | | Example: You are going to a movie with a friend. |
| entirely on how you intend to tell your story and | | | | You know your friend doesn't want to see the |
| how you want your readers to interpret it. You | | | | movie but you stick to your dogged insistence. |
| have three choices of voice to choose from. | | | | When you get to the theatre, you see that your |
| Consider these very basic examples taken from | | | | friend is utterly frustrated. |
| my upcoming book: | | | | Writing in the Second Person POV uses "you" |
| First Voice: | | | | quite a bit and is often used in present tense. I |
| "You're welcome to live with your old dad | | | | get rather annoyed reading material which is |
| Mathew. My door is always open," I yelled as I | | | | written predominantly in this voice and would think |
| got into my car. | | | | an author would have quite a job holding a |
| Second Voice: | | | | readers attention for very long. |
| "You're welcome to live with your old dad | | | | Let's take a look at First Person POV. First Person |
| Mathew. My door is always open," you yelled as | | | | POV uses one of the characters to tell the story. |
| you got into your car. | | | | First Person POV uses the "I" voice and can be |
| Third Voice: | | | | very powerful as it personalizes the character to |
| "You're welcome to live with your old dad | | | | the reader. |
| Mathew. My door is always open," he yelled as he | | | | Example: I was going to a movie with a friend. I |
| got into his car. | | | | knew she didn't want to see the movie but I |
| As you can see from these examples, the voice | | | | stuck to my dogged insistence. When we got to |
| used gives the reader a feel for who's talking in | | | | theatre, I could see in her face how utterly |
| these situations. There are, of course other | | | | frustrated she was. |
| scenarios I could have used but this illustrates my | | | | Here you can see the same scenario, but now it |
| point on a very basic level. I use third person | | | | is told from the POV of one of the characters. |
| almost always in my books and it seems to be | | | | Your readers will identify with the character |
| the preferred voice for most fiction writing. It | | | | instead of feeling the urge to defend themselves |
| can, however get a little complicated. For instance, | | | | against your constant telling them how they feel. |
| there are different points of view (POV) of third | | | | Be careful when using First Person, however. It |
| person. | | | | limits you to the POV of only one character. Your |
| Third Person Omniscient | | | | story can easily become very one-sided or boring. |
| The author knows everything about all characters, | | | | Okay, how about combining the voices? It can be |
| including all feelings, emotions, thoughts. The | | | | done, but it takes skill, and should be done with |
| author knows it all and can choose to relay all of | | | | caution. Most writers tend to avoid combining, |
| this info to the reader, or none of it. Using third | | | | opting instead to choose a voice early on, and |
| person omniscient, the author is in complete | | | | pretty much stick with it throughout the book. |
| control to guide the reader and leave no room for | | | | Combining can easily confuse both you, while |
| interpretation. | | | | writing, as well as your readers. |
| Third Person Objective | | | | When writing fiction, remember to choose a voice |
| The author relates to the reader only what can | | | | and stick with it. Try using each of the three |
| be seen or heard by a character, usually the main | | | | points of view and use the one you feel most |
| character. The reader is left to interpret the | | | | comfortable. Combine if you must, but use |
| feelings and thoughts of the other characters by | | | | caution and do it sparingly. |