Is it acceptable to shift from third to first person?

[Worthy39]

For some context as to why I would, I'm starting a new story about a protagonist who already completed his journey, and he's writing about his experience. The first chapter is him debating how he wants to do it, which I wrote in third person, but for the rest of the book, I felt like first person with past tense might be more fitting. What do you think?

 

[pangmida]

Maybe a prologue would work better for the third person POV?

 

[Worthy39]

Maybe a prologue would work better for the third person POV?

Yeah, I might just make that the prologue, I'm just not sure if it's something people find readable when the perspective shifts like that.

 

[Eldoria]

For some context as to why I would, I'm starting a new story about a protagonist who already completed his journey, and he's writing about his experience. The first chapter is him debating how he wants to do it, which I wrote in third person, but for the rest of the book, I felt like first person with past tense might be more fitting. What do you think?

Yes, absolutely, as long as it serves your narrative needs, as long as the pacing isn't disrupted, and as long as the reader isn't confused. It's certainly okay to switch from the third POV to the first POV and vice versa.

 

[FRWriter]

You can do anything, not like there are rules to follow.

Though as a reader, I would get annoyed and confused, but if it's just for special chapters and has a clear reason, I'd accept it.

 

[Funatic]

The Kingkiller Chronicles do this, with most of the books being written as the main character recounts his story to a scribe and few interims being written in third person as they hang out in an inn.

So yes, it's been done and it can work very well.

 

[Tetrahedron]

who told you that it's unacceptable? Bring me his head ?

Anyways, my advice is to be careful on switching point of view, otherwise it may break immersions. If you want to play safe, make one scene had a decisive finality before switching to the other POV

 

[Envylope]

Sure thing. I did it for OP witch. Every other perspective other than the MC was in third person.

 

[foxoftheasterisk]

I've read stories that that use first, third, AND second person at various times and when done well it's the coolest shit.

 

[L1aei]

I've read stories that that use first, third, AND second person at various times and when done well it's the coolest shit.

What? I've never encountered that, but I am very interested in knowing what story you read. That sounds interesting for me to see how it worked.

 

[Worthy39]

I've read stories that that use first, third, AND second person at various times and when done well it's the coolest shit.

I had to Google what second person was. If you actually found stories that blend all three perspectives together as well as you claim, that sounds sick.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

It is really tough to do WELL. I've seen a few authors do it - Peter David did it in Howling Mad - sometimes he followed the wolfwere in first person, sometimes the love interest, sometimes the guy interviewing them - and then he'd step back and have a third person chapter or two (with a break for commentary at times).
Heck, I sort of did it in The Kaiju System with a prologue in first person (still haven't decided if that is the System talking or the Dream Spider, or someone else entirely, over a year later), and the rest in third.

But I also remember a novel I got in an Amazon Sampler for the Kindle where there were story chapters told in first person by an unseen narrator who knows more than anyone else, and then third person chapters which dealt with the, IIRC, two sisters (and alleged witches) investigating a missing persons case... The writing of the third person sections was so bad, and the writing of the first person ones so much better, it literally felt schizophrenic and was very tough to keep going (also was just the first, IIRC, eight chapters and definitely not worth shelling out any money on the rest).

Heck, I've only seen excerpts from it (well, and the movie), but I believe The Princess Bride did this - with the parts where the grandfather is reading the story in first person, but the actual story in third.

 

[KidBuu699]

Do it in sections or chapters. Like if you want to have one scene in third person where the mc is recounting what happened, then make a point of dividing it from the first person section.

Now if you are doing this for multiple characters I would suggest beginning the section with the characters name or something like that. That way the reader knows who's point of view it is.

 

[foxes]

I don't think there would be any problems with transitioning or describing personal thoughts if I didn't try to write in the first person. Although I personally prefer to write only in the first person. And there's a big problem with that. I've spent several chapters following a single character from a third-person perspective, and now I'm afraid to switch to a new one.

 

[L1aei]

I don't think there would be any problems with transitioning or describing personal thoughts if I didn't try to write in the first person. Although I personally prefer to write only in the first person. And there's a big problem with that. I've spent several chapters following a single character from a third-person perspective, and now I'm afraid to switch to a new one.

I don't share the concern, but I do know I've made mistakes with that transition before; it was one going back and forth between second and third perspective. This was in roleplay, not novelization.

 

[foxes]

This was in roleplay, not novelization.

Still, text is not a computer game. The difference between changing perspectives may be limited to changing from "I" to "HE" rather than the camera's position. However, it is precisely this feeling of changing a character with whom you have been together for a long time that hinders these changes, regardless of how the camera is positioned. Logically speaking, there are no obstacles here.

 

[L1aei]

Still, text is not a computer game. The difference between changing perspectives may be limited to changing from "I" to "HE" rather than the camera's position. However, it is precisely this feeling of changing a character with whom you have been together for a long time that hinders these changes, regardless of how the camera is positioned.

A few years ago, I had contemplated writing a novel using the first and third person perspective, but I didn't. Not because of the perspective, but due to the complexity of the scenario; I had wanted to first write in third person the character who would later die, being transitioned into a video game in the moment of death, but the consciousness copied and transferred to the character being in first person perspective. I felt like the transition would be lost on whomever read it back then and I abandoned the project.

Nowadays, I don't care what readers think. But the passion of the concept is lost, so not gonna be picking that back up.

 

[Xanderx]

Tbh ya as long as you like make it a new chapter when your switching to first person so the reader’s don’t get confused.