1st person or third person in a story?

[Cosmo_ac]

I've been working on what could be called a tickling fetish novel for the last few months on and off, and I've really been debating about if it should be first person or third person? What do people think?

 

[tbone]

I personally enjoy reading books in the first person much better. It almost makes me feel like the book is about me.

 

[Vanillaphant]

Yes, I think I also prefer first person. Also, if you're writing something which is fetish-based, I think it's a good thing to get into the protagonist's psychology - which is easier done through a first person narrative, I would say. Just gives it an edge. But then, I am no expert on the matter! I suppose it all depends on the writer - how they feel, what their strengths are, what sort of tone they're trying to achieve etc.

 

[Myriads]

As a writer viewpoint is your call. Both work, and it comes down to the style and tone you want to convey. Unless your work is a commissioned piece where you have a specific clients desires to fill, writing to the majority demand, in my opinion serves you the writer poorly.

Write it the way that sounds best to you.

Myriads.

 

[Mitchell]

I like this thread.

As Myriads said, it is your call. However.

I don't know if you saw, cos, but, I wrote a long series of stories, about a baseball team into tickling, that played on a tropical island, for a few people that liked the series, several years ago.

I was one of the players on the fictional baseball team. However, whenever I described something that Mitch the baseball player did.., I always wrote it as "Mitch did this" or.. "Mitch said that", as it just seemed to serve the situations better, if I described things I said or did in the third person.

That's only my way of how I did things. My view, do what you feel most comfortable.

 

[PiedPiper]

Remember,... there are two sides to a fetish. 'Lee/'ler, hmm? Your audience could be either, as well, and the limitations of the 1st person point of view,... let's say the 'ler, may be an impediment in providing sufficient (and entertaining) information for a 'lee-identifying reader. It's not a toss-up,.. it's your angle.

 

[Vanillaphant]

Remember,... there are two sides to a fetish. 'Lee/'ler, hmm? Your audience could be either, as well, and the limitations of the 1st person point of view,... let's say the 'ler, may be an impediment in providing sufficient (and entertaining) information for a 'lee-identifying reader.

This is true, but a novel can have multiple narrators, don't forget.

 

[Vanillaphant]

Also (and I'm only mentioning this cos it literally just occurred to me now), if the protagonist is a switch, or at any rate has tickling experiences from both ler and lee perspectives, then the ler/lee persuasion of the reader shouldn't really matter. 🙂

 

[milagros317]

Just personal taste, but I prefer to read fiction in the third person, with an omniscient narrator. 😀

 

[PiedPiper]

This is true, but a novel can have multiple narrators, don't forget.

__________________________

Thanks. I didn't forget.

 

[Tysuio]

I tend to switch back and forth. I know it's not really kosher. I also tend to switch viewpoints from one character to another depending on who has the better viewpoint at the time. I wouldn't consider myself a "good" writer but I enjoy writing and people seem to like my stories.

 

[Amnesiac]

When it comes to writing ANYTHING, ANY stylistic choice should be done because it is the best execution for the intention you're trying to convey. If you write in 1st person, it should be because the content of the story can best be conveyed through that tense; if it's 3rd person, then do that.

1st person will give you the dissociate objective viewpoint that will allow you to delve further into a character's mind. 3rd person is limited in this because a person doesn't go about analyzing their own thoughts as they're having them, but the 1st person allows the narrator the omniscient view necessary to describe the action and the subjective view of the character without confusing the reader or breaking the narrative construct. HOWEVER, the 1st person also diminishes the intensity of the subjective experience of a character.

So if you're tying to place more emphasis on ambiance and detail, then 1st person works well. If you're trying to convey the subjective experiences of a character, 3rd person works better. But be aware that 3rd person will also make it easier for the reader to DISENGAGE if the gender or name of the character becomes a significant aggregate in the prose: EX: "Oh man, oh man, this is so fucking hot, it's like I'm right there with...'Margaret'? My name's not Margaret! Ah DAMMIT, now my headspace is all shot to hell!"

You can also use tense to deceptive effect without alienating the reader, but this is an advanced tactic that requires skill and the right type of story to pull off.

Mixing tenses is a stylistic no-no, but I suppose it can be done. One tactic is to write the 1st person in regular type, and the 3rd person in italic type, provided you use paragraph breaks between the tenses when switching so the reader recognizes that there's a break.

 

[piyr]

Interesting question. I never much considered it before but I have a clear preference for 3rd.

 

[crap_game]

When it comes to writing ANYTHING, ANY stylistic choice should be done because it is the best execution for the intention you're trying to convey. If you write in 1st person, it should be because the content of the story can best be conveyed through that tense; if it's 3rd person, then do that.

1st person will give you the dissociate objective viewpoint that will allow you to delve further into a character's mind. 3rd person is limited in this because a person doesn't go about analyzing their own thoughts as they're having them, but the 1st person allows the narrator the omniscient view necessary to describe the action and the subjective view of the character without confusing the reader or breaking the narrative construct. HOWEVER, the 1st person also diminishes the intensity of the subjective experience of a character.

So if you're tying to place more emphasis on ambiance and detail, then 1st person works well. If you're trying to convey the subjective experiences of a character, 3rd person works better. But be aware that 3rd person will also make it easier for the reader to DISENGAGE if the gender or name of the character becomes a significant aggregate in the prose: EX: "Oh man, oh man, this is so fucking hot, it's like I'm right there with...'Margaret'? My name's not Margaret! Ah DAMMIT, now my headspace is all shot to hell!"

You can also use tense to deceptive effect without alienating the reader, but this is an advanced tactic that requires skill and the right type of story to pull off.

Mixing tenses is a stylistic no-no, but I suppose it can be done. One tactic is to write the 1st person in regular type, and the 3rd person in italic type, provided you use paragraph breaks between the tenses when switching so the reader recognizes that there's a break.

What he said!

 

[Cosmo_ac]

Well, first I have to say thanks to all the people who posted a response. I wasn't actually expecting this many responses, or so many well thought out posts. What I have been thinking about is a mixture between first and third person. Ie, chapters would begin as a first person journal entry by the main protagonist, and once that was done, the story would revert to third person until the next chapter. I believe this could allow a combination of both worlds that would work well.