Today I want to talk to you about the perspective of our narrator or the eyes with which we view the world.
Your viewpoint will determine just how well the methods work. For the first person view, I prefer a little bit less to allow the reader to see through the character’s eyes. This is simply because a person in the moment is going to be concerned more with the danger than the carnage. That’s not to say that they would not notice it but it’s not going to take a page to describe a shattered skull, unless your character is a mortician or forensics’ investigator, then those skills would come into play. Also when you think about it a first person story is centered more on the one individual and their perspective so if you want to run off on tangents that the character is not a party to then the third person view will work better. After all the third person perspective lends to an all knowing, all seeing, detached narrator. Either perspective can work well when combined correctly with the other elements of a story.
The first person narrator puts the people firmly in the shoes of a character and gives them a perspective to view the world through. It also gives a reader a more personal stake in the story putting them directly into the conflict. However some stories work better with a third person perspective and depending on how large a cast of characters that you have this third person perspective will give the reader the greater capability to follow and enjoy your characters by delving into all of their minds and thoughts. However there is no right story and wrong story to use either perspective with, it is for the creator to try and determine which will make the better story. However I will encourage anyone who has never written a story from the first person perspective to do so. I tried this for the first time my sophomore year of high school and have been using it more and more. I like the personal feel, plus it gives the character a greater voice. However for the epic stories or large cast productions I still use third person. Mainly because I feel that all my characters are awesome and deserve an opportunity to shape the story. When you tell the story from one characters perspective then the only character that can take control of the story is the storyteller.
I realize that some of you may still be wondering which is better, well again you as the artist/creator/imagination in control are the judge of that and there is no right or wrong answer there is only the story and which angle you view it through. So create and view the world through the eyes of one lone character or through an all seeing eye to know the thoughts and dreams of all your cast. So please write and view the world through the perspective that suits your needs best.
For an example of first person perspective check out Richard Rex & the Succubus of Whitechapel:
And for the third person, see Terror Beneach Cactus Flats (A Weird Western):
Thanks for reading and keep checking back!
RadioActive Rabbit Ink 