User blog:Mikemacdee/Writing In Perspective

I'm compiling a list of examples of the different types of perspective you can write in:

First Person Second Person Third Person Omniscient Third Person Limited Third Person Objective

1) First Person The narrator is a character in the story, or a character relating the story to someone else. This is especially effective in horror stories, such as those told in epistolary style (a story told in the form of a series of documents, letters, or journal entries). It can be difficult to pull off because the narrator is usually a character with limited knowledge, or worse, a distorted view of the events that took place.

''I was walking home with my buddies Tom and Dick, telling them about the funny things I said in creative writing class that day. Out of nowhere Tom turned to me and said, "Will you leave us alone? We don't like you!" I was crushed. I'd known these guys for ten years! Why would they suddenly shut me out like this?''

2) Second Person The reader steps into the shoes of the protagonist; the narration refers to the reader as "you" and describes his or her actions throughout the story. It is rarely used except in Choose Your Own Adventure style books because of how difficult it is to make a second-person protagonist universally relatable.

''You were walking home with your buddies Tom and Dick, telling them about the funny things you said in creative writing class that day. Out of nowhere Tom turned to you and said, "Will you leave us alone? We don't like you!" You felt crushed. You had known Tom and Dick for ten years! Why would they suddenly shut you out?''

3) Third Person Omniscient Omniscient = all-knowing. The narrator describes a story about someone else, and can freely access the inner thoughts and feelings of every character. It can be considered the easiest perspective to write in because the author has no restrictions: he or she can reveal as much or as little as needed about the plot or characters.

''Tom, Dick, and Harry were walking home from school. Harry cheerfully recounted one anecdote after another, detailing the witty quips he had uttered in creative writing class that day, and laughing uproariously after each one. He was on top of the world, having made his entire class laugh all throughout the period.

Each time Harry laughed, Tom and Dick winced with disgust. Harry didn't use to be so full of himself, but ever since junior year he had become such a braggart they wanted to punch him in the mouth every time he spoke. Finally Tom couldn't take it anymore, turned to Harry and said, "Will you leave us alone? We don't like you!"

This staggered Harry, and his heart split in two. He couldn't understand why his best friends of ten years would turn on him so suddenly -- the cleverest guy in school, at that!''

4) Third-Person Limited The narrator describes a story about someone else, but only shares the inner thoughts and feelings of a single character, leaving those of the rest of the cast a mystery apart from their dialogue and actions. This is easier than first-person perspective, but poses similar problems in that the focal character (and narrator) is not all-knowing.

''Tom, Dick, and Harry were walking home from school. Harry cheerfully recounted one anecdote after another, detailing the witty quips he had uttered in creative writing class that day, and laughing uproariously after each one. He was on top of the world, having made his entire class laugh all throughout the period.

Suddenly Tom turned to Harry with a scowl and said, "Will you leave us alone? We don't like you!"

This staggered Harry, and his heart split in two. He couldn't understand why his best friends of ten years would turn on him so suddenly -- the cleverest guy in school, at that!''

5) Third-Person Objective The narrator describes a story about someone else, but does not share the inner thoughts or feelings of anyone, revealing them only through their actions and dialogue. This has the potential to make the characters' motivations ambiguous. This is a challenging perspective to write in, but a great way to learn how to show rather than tell, because you cannot get inside the characters' heads. Dashiell Hammett used this style to great effect in his novels "The Maltese Falcon", "The Glass Key", and "The Thin Man".

''Tom, Dick, and Harry were walking home from school. The grinning Harry recounted one anecdote after another, detailing the witty quips he had uttered in creative writing class that day. He laughed out loud after each one.

Tom and Dick endured these tales with scowls on their faces, occasionally gritting their teeth or shaking their heads as they passed annoyed looks between them. The oblivious Harry continued with his tales.

Finally, with a scowl, Tom turned to Harry and snarled, "Will you leave us alone? We don't like you!"

Harry stared at his friends with eyes as big as saucers. Then his shoulders slouched and he looked at his shoes like a hurt little boy.''