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The Ongoing Debate Over First vs. Third Person POV
- Jennifer Peaslee
- 13 minutes ago
- 3 min read
I've seen this question come up a lot lately in the writing forums: Is third person better than first person?
Supposedly, readers prefer third-person POV. I have zero data on this, aside from a casual poll I saw on Facebook once and can no longer find. But it's something I've seen repeated several times, so it must be true, right?
And so, novice writers see someone repeating this factoid, and they start to doubt writing in the first person. After all, shouldn't they cater to readers?
First off, no. That is, honestly, the worst reason for choosing a POV to write in.
Second, I promise you that most readers don't care about POV. Hell, I'm convinced that most readers don't even care about good writing; they care about a good story.
So what should you do?
Choose Your POV Based on What Story You're Telling
There really is no easy answer to choosing a POV. Look:
For a character-driven story, first-person is usually a great choice. But deep third-person is equally immersive when done right.
If your main character has a strong voice, first-person can be the best way to showcase it.
Third-person omniscient is difficult to pull off, but can be good for when you have a large cast of characters.
Then again, third-person limited lets your readers attach themselves to one character in one chapter and another character in the next. This is also good for when you have multiple important characters.
Meg Cabot uses first person to great effect in her Heather Wells Mysteries series. Seeing Heather's thoughts helps balance the serious subject matter (murder) with levity. In the below passage from Size 14 Is Not Fat Either, Heather has just stumbled onto the scene of an active stabbing.
When all three men hear my scream—because if you come across a scene like this when you are just walking along minding your own business, thinking about nachos, you're going to scream—they turn their heads toward me–three half basketballs, with eye slits cut in them, swiveling my way. Of course, I scream again. Because, excuse me, but, creepy.
Heather's voice is so strong, it would be criminal to write in anything other than first person.
Whereas The Goblin Emperor, written in third person, opens with Maia learning that he has unexpectedly inherited the throne. We don't see Maia's thoughts or feelings at this time, but we don't need to. We can see what kind of person Maia is by his actions.
On impulse, when the captain greeted him with a mumbled "Serenity" at the foot of the mooring mast, Maia stopped and said quietly, "We have nothing but confidence in you and your crew." The captain was startled into looking up; Maia met his eyes and smiled at him. After a moment, the captain's ears came up, and he bowed again, more deeply. "Serenity," he said in a clear and far stronger voice.
So, you see, there's no "right" answer. It depends entirely on your story. Are you trying to convey a specific emotion or focus on the action? Do you want to keep the reader at a distance or draw them in? And so on.
If you can't decide, one way to choose a POV is to write your first paragraph in each POV: first person, third person omniscient, third person limited, and deep third person. Which one felt right? Choose that one!
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