[NobleBone]

I got this writing exercise in school a long time ago and now I use it all the time to figure out how to write my stories. Write a couple of chapters in whatever person you're comfortable with, then change the perspective to first or to third, whichever one you didn't start with. Then you can decide which one you like best and write the story from then on.

[Galadriel8891]

To put my own two cents in...

Personally, I love books that are written in first person - as long as they are written well. That's what probably trips most writers up: making the story work completely from one person's point of view. The problem - as SpaceWeavil acknowledged - is that the writer has to get into the character's head and describe events as the character not only sees but also perceives them. For instance, Sam and Gollum would have completely different takes on a situation involving Frodo and the Ring. To use the scene at Mount Doom as an example, Sam would be feeling despair, but Gollum would feel only anger and greed. How to convey these emotions to the reader without blantantly stating what the character feels is the difficult part. The same goes for how one character interprets another's actions and emotions. I've written one story in first person, and I must say, it was very difficult (no, it's not fanfiction of any sort, so it's not posted anywhere at all).

Currently, I am reading As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner (for class, that is, not for fun). The POV changes every chapter, and there is a grand total of fifteeen different voices. The difficulty in interpreting the story comes from the very fact that each character perceives a situation differently. One character thinks that a conversation did not occur, while another says that one did. I won't say that it's a terrible book - because it's not - but it only reaffirms my belief that if a story is to be told in first person, it should be told from one and only one POV.

I myself like to use the third person limited. To me, it seems more focused, more defined. The writer can describe everything from one character's POV...and since that character obviously does not know everyone else's motives, it makes for a more interesting story (especially if the POV changes chapter by chapter, creating situations with dramatic irony of sorts). Third person limited allows for better characterization, because you are actually getting inside the character's head. Third person omniscient...well, I hardly (if ever) use it myself because I find it far to easy to have sudden and unexpected changes in POV. In certain situations, I suppose it could work (PWP? stories are one example).

Hmm...I have been rambling again. The question I always ask myself in deciding which person to use is: How personal do I want this story to be? First person, with the use of "I", tends to be more so, because it's as if the character is telling the reader his/her story personally. Whatever emotion the character feels, the reader should feel it to, more strongly than if it were written in third person. Third person may allow the reader to enter a character's head, but it's more impersonal, simply because it is like reading a secondhand account.

The key is - no matter what person is used - to write the story well. If it is a good story that flows, it should not matter at all. Good luck writing!

[JaneDoe]

Interesting topic. Allow me to weigh in from a dramatist's POV since that is my deepest passion and forte. I won't repeat what others have said about the advantages and disadvantages of using the various POVs in a piece. I'm more concerned with why they sometimes work and why they sometimes don't. What follows is strictly my opinion based upon my experiences and preferences, so if yours differs, take it with a grain of salt.

For me, the 1st person POV works best when intimacy with the character is an essential element of understanding the story. Generally this is when a character's relationship with herself or her changing perspectives and attitudes is the narrative focus. Gayl Jones' Corregidora does this very well. The films Full Metal Jacket, Fallen, and Momento are also excellent examples of this. In order to make 1st person POV work, I think you need to choose a compelling, driven character as your voice. If there is one thing that makes it hard to write 1st person LotR fanfics, it's that Tolkien rarely lets on that his characters have an inner life. With few exceptions, we can only infer or project a character's inner workings. You pretty much have to create the character from scratch. Ten people can write the character fifteen ways, all from that character's POV, and be perfectly within canon. The challenge is to make the characters relatable, which is easier said than done for Elves and Maiar, though I have seen examples on OSA that definitely pull it off. It works great when the author doesn't know what's going to happen in the end.

3rd person limited omniscience (3LO from here on out) is easy to recognize, easy to comprehend, but very hard to describe in the terms of what makes it work and what doesn't. Like 1st person, it works best when trying to establish intimacy with a character. Like 3rd person omniscient, there have to be things outside the character that have a bearing on the meaning of the story. Generally, I prefer 3LO when the protagonist and his environment are of equal importance, the protagonist's own voice does not lend itself well to 1st person POV, or when the author wishes to use narrative techniques that are not within the character's repertoire. Consider George Orwell's 1984. The use of 3LO allows the reader to get a better grasp of what is wrong with the world Orwell presents. It allows us the ability to understand what's happening with Winston Smith and to catch some of the things he misses or ignores. Winston Smith is not Hamlet. He lacks the imagination and communication skills to express his own thoughts and feelings in a way the audience understands, which is ironically relevant to the story. On stage and screen, you have Hamlet, Oedipus Rex, and The Usual Suspects.

For fanfic using 3LO, I find it works best when authors combine intimacy with the character with evocative imagery. It also helps to know where the story is going because it helps the author use techniques such as foreshadowing and symbolism, thus giving the story layers of meaning. Combined, these things allow readers to immerse themselves in the story. It opens possibilities for the story beyond the question of what happens next to include what particular characters, locations, and events mean. You get a sense that the story is deeper than what's going on at the moment. Tolkien himself provides something of an example in The Hobbit, but the only two parts that stick out in my mind as prime examples are when Bilbo plays the Riddle Game with Gollum and when Bilbo converses with Smaug in his lair.

And then there's 3rd person omniscient POV, which is the primary mode of most of Tolkien's writings. However, in order for it to work you need to have a clear vision of the big picture. While this would be ideal for the other two POVs as well, for 3rd person omnisicent POV, you need to know where the story is going to really make it work. Otherwise, it will be very difficult to keep things coherent and relevant. I prefer 3rd person omniscient when the scope of the story is beyond that of the named characters. Tolkien's best examples are LotR and The Silmarillion, though myths and epics of all kinds work well. Most drama could be said to be 3rd person omniscient, and there are many fine examples. However, to stick with things you probably own or can easily rent, the Star Wars films are excellent examples of using 3rd person omniscient POV, as are Pulp Fiction and The Matrix. Most television series are good sources as well.

Ah well. I think I've rambled long enough. I hope you could get some use out of it.