Pick a Person
When it comes to telling a story, you have options. Where do you want to set the tale? Should you add romance? What genre do you want to write? Is the narration going to be first person, second person, or third person?
Hang on… that last question sounds like a good idea for a blog post…
*clears throat*
Three narrative styles, equal in dignity, but with their own advantages and disadvantages! When do they work best? When should you try something else? I’ll answer these questions and more in this amazing blog post!
(For examples, I’ll be using stories from Stories to Take To Your Grave, Mortuary Edition, available for free on our website!)
Let’s start by defining our terms:
First Person stories are told from the perspective of the protagonist; the main character is telling their own story, with their biases, assumptions, and blindspots acting as filters for the narrative's events. There are two types of first-person narration: first-person central and first-person peripheral; but those will be explored in another post. All first-person stories will see frequent use of “I” as the story is told.
Examples: “The Monster Maker” and “Sackcloth & Ashes.”
Second Person stories are told with the reader being inserted as the protagonist. An excellent example of second-person narration can be found in old “choose-your-own-adventure” books. Second person stories will see frequent use of “you” and “your” in the narration.
Example: “You Are in a Motel Room.”
Third Person stories are told from the perspective of a narrator outside of the story's events—none of the characters are telling the story directly, nor is the reader fitted in as protagonist. This is the most common type of narration, and there are three subtypes: omniscient, limited, and objective (but those breakdowns are for another post). These stories are told from a fixed point of distance from the characters, and lack the personal “I” or “you” perspectives in the other two types of narration. Instead, they use names and pronouns like "he," "she," and "they."
Examples: “Smoking Kills,” “Your Dad’s Disease,” and “Last Burn of the Day.”
Now that we’ve defined our terms, let’s look at when to use these narrative styles and how to maximize their potential.
First Person works great when you want to keep the perspective of the story tightly focused and you don't want the reader to learn everything all at once. By telling the story through one character’s eyes, you can introduce information gradually and show developments in real time. It does limit the perspective to one character though, denying you the ability to show the internal monologue and thoughts of other characters (this can be fantastic for when a character is investigating and you want to let the evidence slowly develop).
Second Person is a very niche narrative style*—easily the rarest of the three. It drafts the reader and puts them in the position of the protagonist. In some ways, it’s almost like an instruction manual or a set of commands—you do this, you feel this, etc…
But, by increasing the reader’s involvement in the story, you can potentially have more influence over the emotions they experience. Well-done second person is, in my opinion, the best kind of horror, and a great way to draw readers in. There’s a reason I start as many anthologies as I can with an awesome second person story—it grabs you and doesn’t let you go.
*Fair warning: Some editors hate this, and even mention that in their guidelines.
Third Person is the most broad of the three, and allows you to pick and choose where and when you dive into a story (and with which character, and how close to them you want to be). If you want to tell a story from multiple perspectives, this is your best choice. It’s also the most frequently used, but that doesn’t mean you can’t stand out using it—many popular and bestselling books are written in third person narration despite how often it is chosen.
So, which one is right for your story?
*shrugs*
That’s a decision you have to make yourself. But if you don’t get it right on your first draft, you can always correct it during revision. I’ve had stories I started in third person that I changed to first person, and first person stories that switched to third person (as much as I love reading second person stories, I haven’t written anything in that narrative form yet). Sometimes you know from the start, and sometimes, you have to get the story out before you understand how it needs to be told.
The important thing is that the story is told effectively, no matter the narrative style.
Hang on… that last question sounds like a good idea for a blog post…
*clears throat*
Three narrative styles, equal in dignity, but with their own advantages and disadvantages! When do they work best? When should you try something else? I’ll answer these questions and more in this amazing blog post!
(For examples, I’ll be using stories from Stories to Take To Your Grave, Mortuary Edition, available for free on our website!)
Let’s start by defining our terms:
First Person stories are told from the perspective of the protagonist; the main character is telling their own story, with their biases, assumptions, and blindspots acting as filters for the narrative's events. There are two types of first-person narration: first-person central and first-person peripheral; but those will be explored in another post. All first-person stories will see frequent use of “I” as the story is told.
Examples: “The Monster Maker” and “Sackcloth & Ashes.”
Second Person stories are told with the reader being inserted as the protagonist. An excellent example of second-person narration can be found in old “choose-your-own-adventure” books. Second person stories will see frequent use of “you” and “your” in the narration.
Example: “You Are in a Motel Room.”
Third Person stories are told from the perspective of a narrator outside of the story's events—none of the characters are telling the story directly, nor is the reader fitted in as protagonist. This is the most common type of narration, and there are three subtypes: omniscient, limited, and objective (but those breakdowns are for another post). These stories are told from a fixed point of distance from the characters, and lack the personal “I” or “you” perspectives in the other two types of narration. Instead, they use names and pronouns like "he," "she," and "they."
Examples: “Smoking Kills,” “Your Dad’s Disease,” and “Last Burn of the Day.”
Now that we’ve defined our terms, let’s look at when to use these narrative styles and how to maximize their potential.
First Person works great when you want to keep the perspective of the story tightly focused and you don't want the reader to learn everything all at once. By telling the story through one character’s eyes, you can introduce information gradually and show developments in real time. It does limit the perspective to one character though, denying you the ability to show the internal monologue and thoughts of other characters (this can be fantastic for when a character is investigating and you want to let the evidence slowly develop).
Second Person is a very niche narrative style*—easily the rarest of the three. It drafts the reader and puts them in the position of the protagonist. In some ways, it’s almost like an instruction manual or a set of commands—you do this, you feel this, etc…
But, by increasing the reader’s involvement in the story, you can potentially have more influence over the emotions they experience. Well-done second person is, in my opinion, the best kind of horror, and a great way to draw readers in. There’s a reason I start as many anthologies as I can with an awesome second person story—it grabs you and doesn’t let you go.
*Fair warning: Some editors hate this, and even mention that in their guidelines.
Third Person is the most broad of the three, and allows you to pick and choose where and when you dive into a story (and with which character, and how close to them you want to be). If you want to tell a story from multiple perspectives, this is your best choice. It’s also the most frequently used, but that doesn’t mean you can’t stand out using it—many popular and bestselling books are written in third person narration despite how often it is chosen.
So, which one is right for your story?
*shrugs*
That’s a decision you have to make yourself. But if you don’t get it right on your first draft, you can always correct it during revision. I’ve had stories I started in third person that I changed to first person, and first person stories that switched to third person (as much as I love reading second person stories, I haven’t written anything in that narrative form yet). Sometimes you know from the start, and sometimes, you have to get the story out before you understand how it needs to be told.
The important thing is that the story is told effectively, no matter the narrative style.