Drop Everything And Read discussion

I agree, I like third person because you get a bigger picture of what is happening all over the story and not in just one place. I was very surprised that Suzanne Collins was able to pull off such a great story with The Hunger Games while telling it in first person; however, Stephanie Meyers was as lucky when she wrote the Twilight saga. She lost so much of the story and by the third book I could not stand it anymore. I really don't know of many books that are written in second person but I have read a couple of short stories in the horror genre that are written from this pov and it works to draw the reader in for that short amount of time to make you feel like you are the one being hunted by this creature, so that totally works in the horror genre.

I guess I don't like first person because you only know about them and how THEY feel. Like let's say you were in a fight, first person really only gives you one side of the story

Precisely!

Can someone else explain their opinion, too? I'm trying to study about it.

I honestly like both first and 3rd person!

I like 3rd person, it gives you a bigger picture on whats happening in the story

This topic should be first person vs third person instead.

I like them both, but if I had to pick, I'd have to say third person.

First person is good when you like the character who's narrating. If you want to see all of their thoughts, what's happening to them. In the Hunger Games, Katniss is the narrator. You can see what's she thinking, and not the other characters. I don't like this as much as third person because in third person you can read the thoughts of more people. If Katniss was in a room and Peeta and Gale were in another at a very important part, you can't read about the other room because Katniss would have to be narrating who can't hear them.

So I already explained third person...

Third person. You get a much grander view of all the other characters that way.

I like first person better. You get a more intimate version of what's happening.

I love both, and 2nd person freaks me out.

between the two, I'd have to say that I prefer 3rd person. You switch personalities much easier, and you can see the whole picture much clearer. It's the difference between a foggy day where you can only see the hand in front of your face, and an overcast day where your vision is impaired only slightly.

This was something I said to my brother when I was younger:

"I hate first person! But I understand why they use that. It's because they're too lazy to use the name again and again, and using I will space time and ink!

And I thought that was a clever comment! I'm such an idiot!

Honestly, I like first person better just because you get a more detailed and better look at the character's emotions and thoughts.

I think there are pros and cons to both styles. first person gives a more in depth view of one (or more) character/s where as third person gives a more thorough and, arguably, balanced overview of the story. I personally like writing in first person. not because I'm lazy, but because I like to imagine I am the character so their reactions are more realistic. I prefer to read either in the third person or in first person with multiple viewpoints.

I'll read first person, but I write in third and tend to enjoy third person more. I like how you can get all perspectives with third person.

I think both narratives have good and bad points but personally I enjoy the first person more due to the real insight and as if you're reading as if you are the person. A real sense of character .

I think it depends on whether you really want to connect to one character, getting to know the other characters through that one, or get a general overview of all of them. I personally prefer first person. In some cases third person is more suited. a romantic novel centered around two or three main characters wouldn't work so well as a first person. But in a series, which I prefer reading, I find it easier to read as first person because you can experience the authors world directly through that one character. hope that makes sense.

I like both first person and Third person as it depends on the story and the authors style.

Same with me. Although I do find First Person more realistic because it's coming right from the character's POV.

Cosmos wrote: "Same with me. Although I do find First Person more realistic because it's coming right from the character's POV."

I agree with you there

Tim wrote: "I think it depends on the story and how the author wants to tell it. Delphian is told in third person because it is important for the reader to be aware of the movement and communication of other c..."

Are you an author or do you want to be one? I also love reading and I enjoy creative writing :)

Well said, Tim!

I like both. It does depend on the author style and genre!

My novels were written in third person although most of the scenes are from the POV of just a few characters but in epic fantasy it's expected to write in this fashion because of the scope of things that happen to the story.

If I had written solely in first person we would have missed out on the scene where Nelida locates the chest that contained the Ominous Book or Richard's rescue when he was kidnapped from bandits. The intimate scene where Nelida swims in the frozen lake alongside Herb predicts some events that become important in the second book. If everything that happened in the book had been from Spaulding's POV it would have limited the story too much.

I really like the third person. Other people said it earlier, but it's possible to explain the entire internal and external environment, which is difficult to do in first-person. That being said, first-person sometimes has to be used (like in autobiographies of course!).

Hope this helps!

-Nihar
www.niharsuthar.com

I like both. I like when the novel starts with a first person narrator, and you have to guess if it's a man or a woman, his/her age, voice, intonation, and so on...
I also like when I have the feeling that I can know every thing about the characters, and I eventually discover that I was wrong.
Both can lead you to great surprises!

I am a huge fan of first person narration. I don't know what it is, but a book that's written in the first person POV always appeals to me over third person narration. I suppose I really like the feeling of being so close to a character that they are referring to themselves as 'I,' plus I just feel more like you're following them along on their story, not reading a story written by someone else about them (even though, in both cases, that's most likely exactly what's happening, unless it's an autobiography or something), if that makes any sense... Though, as said above, that can also be a downside; you generally only get that person's perspective on things, too, instead of a wider view on the events unfolding. Yet I like that, to be honest. Most of the time. I mean, imagine A Game of Thrones being written in the first person... that would not work at all. Yet when it does work (such as in the Kingkiller Chronicle books), it is absolutely amazing.

It depends on the story. I love books that are written in first person, but I also love books that are written in third person. With first person, I'm able to really get to know the narrator and view the world through their eyes and predict what they may do next in the story. With third person narration, I'm able to see what's going on around them from many perspectives, almost like I'm floating above them and observing the characters.

3rd person is definitely my favorite and always will be but if done right then a 1st person POV can be utterly amazing and make you feel like you're the character.

I like third person because I can see through their eyes and envision what is happening.

I meant first person.

Sally wrote: "Honestly, I like first person better just because you get a more detailed and better look at the character's emotions and thoughts."

I'm with you all the way... The inner person is brought out by first person...
True Third Person gives you all side of the 'discussion'... It's useful when there are many main characters... but First Person makes me connect so much more easily!

Sally wrote: "Honestly, I like first person better just because you get a more detailed and better look at the character's emotions and thoughts."

This is so true. I generally prefer third person for the greater overview, but I also like well done first person for the reason stated. Why not enjoy variety in reading?

First person is interesting because any first person narrator is unreliable in some way (if nothing else in what he or she chooses to emphasise).

I prefer third person. I want to imagine myself in every character's shoes. That doesn't happen for me somehow in case of first person, where my imagination gets limited to that person's version of the story.
"There is always more than one side to a story."

I actually have no preference as long as the book is good

Joanne♥~Bookworm Extraordinaire wrote: "I actually have no preference as long as the book is good"

LOL :)

Rumell wrote: "Joanne♥~Bookworm Extraordinaire wrote: "I actually have no preference as long as the book is good"

You are very accurate."

:)

There are some excellent example of 'multiple 1st', such as John Masters Bhowani Junction. Hard to pull off, but it can be fascinating to see the same events through different eyes. Paula Hawkins did a great job of overlapping 'flawed narrators' in Girl on the Train.

I don't care as long as the book is good.

Rumell wrote: "I am getting bored of this game. Who agrees?"

This isn't a game. It's a debate.

I think when we choose either first or third, we need to put some examples with it.

We could then talk about these examples.
Do you like it? What do you think of the writer? Something along these lines. You can talk about the settings, the character, the writers ideas, themes or events of your example.

It doesn't have to be great does it.

Rumell wrote: "I think when we choose either first or third, we need to put some examples with it.

We could then talk about these examples.
Do you like it? What do you think of the writer? Something along these lines. You can talk about the settings, the character, the writers ideas, themes or events of your example.

It doesn't have to be great does it."

Um, that isn't the point of the debate. What we need is opinions on which narrative they prefer. Examples, of course, to express their thoughts are fine, but talking about the setting, characters and so on are not for this particular thread.

Couldn't we say why we chose; first or third?

Rumell wrote: "Couldn't we say why we chose; first or third?"

Of course!

Not sure, definitely read more 3rd person books. It takes me a while to get into the first person books

I don't care as long as the book is good.

I like 1 person, because you understand better the main character, but my favourite is when there is a multi pov story. You can see the story through the perspective of all of the characters.
Also in the Night Circus the story was told with 1, 2 and 3 person and it was amazing.

somehow to me third person narrative keeps me attached to the book. first person limits the field of vision... however books like gone girl could not have been better with the narrative in frst person.....

I think that short stories using first person can be really wonderful. Of course it depends on the writer's skill to make it that way. After reading short stories in first person I am inspired to try to write my own. Though after reading books in third person I don't have that feeling.

I like third person. It feels more poetic and I'm much more attached to the story.

I don't care as long as the story is good.