Story preference

[MilkAndSausage]

Most stories i read so far in webnovel are bunch written in first person, why is that? Is first person better than third?

 

[Deleted member 58005]

I don't think there's a "better," but it's a matter of what you're more comfortable writing with and which one fits the story narrative.

Third person could work for a story that focuses on multiple characters, while the first person is more for stories that focus on the main character. But hey, there's no rule against using either one for a different purpose.

 

[ACertainPassingUser]

Quality above everything.

First person is acceptable if the quality is good, like BOC First person pov on the chapter one for example.

It's harder to cook and write, save it for special occasions of main characters.

 

[BearlyAlive]

First person is easier to write when you start out inexperienced, that's why there are so many of them here.

Third person is the commonly known standard form of narrative, tho.

 

[LilRora]

First person allows for much more emotional storytelling, since you can show the main character's emotions directly. It's arguably much more immersive.

Generally, 1st person is better when you're writing a character-centric story, but 3rd person will be much better when you want to focus on the plot and worldbuilding, because it allows many things 1st person POV can't do.

The main reason for that is the limited knowledge of the first-person narrator, both general and at a moment in time; a single person just can't see everything. If you add the fact that everything written in first person will be skewed towards the narrator's opinion and bias, it makes a very objective, often unreliable narration. That also makes it easier to start out with, because you can get away with a lot of things, such as a sort of tunnel vision, that would be bad if you were narrating in 3rd person.

That is not to say it is worse, because it's just different. It has its own flaws and strong points, just like 3rd person narrative.

Also, webnovels often have their own rules.

 

[J_Chemist]

Shooter's preference.

Each style has it's advantages and your author can do plenty with both. I find 1st Person to be rather limiting, as I enjoy stories with a broad cast of individuals and actors moving in tandem with each other. I can hit several characters in a chapter with 3rd.

But, as LilRora said- you can get more personal with 1st person. Deeper emotions, deeper thoughts. It's all from that character's perspective so you put the reader in the seat behind their eyes, essentially. I still find ways to do it in 3rd, but you still can't get as close as you could with 1st.

 

[laccoff_mawning]

First person gives a certain intimacy/closeness to the MC of the story, as it feels like the MC is talking to you directly. 3rd person gives a more objective and wider outlook on the story. If I were making (or reading) multiple protagonists, 3rd person would probably make more sense. If I were making (or reading) a story with a MC you aren't meant to like, I'd probably want it in 3rd person as well. (Good example of this might be kidnapped dragons, which is a Korean novel)

I'm going to say first person in general, but third person if the particular story requires it. Which may happen often.

 

[Premier]

Most LitRPG and YA is written in first person. And most stuff here is LitRPG and YA so that’s what people do.

 

[Iamnotabot]

I prefer 3rd even when my writting is shit

 

[NotaNuffian]

... question.

Has anyone tried to blend 1st and 3rd together?

 

[Leti]

... question.

Has anyone tried to blend 1st and 3rd together?

I tried to use 1st and 3rd to differentiate between which character is the main actor of the scene once if that is what you mean.

 

[NotaNuffian]

I tried to use 1st and 3rd to differentiate between which character is the main actor of the scene once if that is what you mean.

Yup.

That's one of the way.

What I tried to infer is to use 1st when MC or supporting cast daily lives.

3rd person when on something else like worldbuilding, events beyond MC gang.

 

[Erysion]

I like it when the narration in the 1st person is simple and to the point. Leave all the overly verbose and poetic ramblings to the 3rd person.

 

[RepresentingCaution]

Second person, especially if it's erotic literature.

 

[bulmabriefs144]

First person is easier to write when you start out inexperienced, that's why there are so many of them here.

Third person is the commonly known standard form of narrative, tho.

I don't think this is about inexperience.

It think there are writing standards imposed by the writing community (i.e. college Creative Writing courses, editors, people who wear suits and ties who also tell people that books don't sell if they exceed X number of words for this or that genre). This same community set up such rules because they think only a certain format sells. The word count has to do with how many books can stuff in a box (Guess what? Page number and page size is a better guide to that, and provides more freedom for things like font size and margins), meaning this whole standard is about saving and making money.

And as for style or content standards, editors and publishers never think the standard is anything but what works. But like having only four types of ramen (shio, shoyu, miso, and tonkotsu), having only one approved way to write a novel is BORING. But yeah. People don't have to write a certain way to make books interesting. There are many many ways to write a book. Especially in the indie community.

1. Shifting POV (this is the one I use because it allows me to switch viewpoints as I need, including switching from first person to a third person narrator).
2. First Person Limited Perspective (Hero McHeroman is always the perspective, and we don't mention anything outside of it, so no offscreen action). This is 90% of First Person so they typically just call it First Person. But that's wrong!
3. First Person Omniscient Perspective (This is still first person but somehow notices characters who are offscreen, e.g. "While I was fishing, in another town, evil people were doing... stuff"). This perspective is never mentioned by the so-called experts above but any novel with a God Protagonist can use it.
4. Third Person Limited Perspective (The narrator stays distant from the story, yet there is distance things that cannot be seen).
5. Third Person Omnscient Perspective (Basically the third person is a possibly non-human observer, able to see offscreen events or even other people's thoughts).
6. Second Person (This is almost exclusively for choose-your-own-adventure stories, as most people find it jarring)
7. "Third" Person Hidden Perspective (Basically, you have a hero or side character who is the protagonist, and the action closely follows them. Who this character is might be hinted or outright said by the end of the story)
8. Story Within A Story (Think Princess Bride. We know who the narrator is because they are introduced as part of the main story, then they tell either a flashback or some sort of bedtime story)
9. Probably Others I Can't Think Of.

Btw, there are more than 4 types of ramen

27 Types Of Ramen, Explained - Tasting Table

Ramen's rise in popularity has created a multitude of variations. We're here to demystify the different types of Japenese ramen you'll want to know.

www.tastingtable.com

 

[BlackKnightX]

Can I choose both?