This post is part of the “From Dreaming to Publishing” series.
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1st person
- The good: intimacy, feelings, attachment of the reader to the character
- The bad: reduced perspective, biased world, one time/place storyline
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Omniscient
- The good: know-all, more detail, multiple storylines
- The bad: cold voice, too analytical
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3rd person is the balance and mix of the two; the language and the knowledge shows which type of narrator is speaking
Omniscient narrator “hears a motor noise”.
The 1st person narrator “hears the distinct roar of a Mustang B32”.Omniscient narrator sees “a smothering landscape”.
The 1st person narrator sees “the greenest field”.
Checklist
- Which point of view do you use the most? Why? Vary!
- Do you jump from head to head? What a headache! Focus on one and create different scenes
- Is the language of your character’s inner thoughts adequate?
This post is a personal summary of a chapter from the book Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, which I read when preparing for NaNoWriMo. It warns amateur writers for the common pitfalls and provides solutions with examples. I’m sure you’ll find it useful too.