Whether consciously or unconsciously, there is one question you have to answer within the first few sentences of your story: Who is telling this tale? For most writers, the choice is almost automatic. The vast majority of fiction is written in Third Person. It has become the industry go-to, and for good reason - it’s flexible, effective, and readers are incredibly comfortable with it.
However, there are many ways to tell your tale, each with its own distinct benefits and disadvantages. The perspective decides who holds the camera, what they have access to, and how intimate the reader gets with the protagonist.
Let’s break down the core narrative perspectives, what makes them tick, and when you should use them.
Third Person Perspective
Let’s start with the one you probably read the most. In a Third Person perspective, an outside entity is telling the story, watching and retelling the sequence of events.
This narrator often remains unnamed. Dialogue is tagged with "he said" or "she said," and the narrator can freely describe the world around the characters. However, within Third Person, there is a massive dividing line you have to choose between: Omniscient vs. Limited.
Third Person Omniscient (The "Far" Lens): The narrator is god-like. They know everything. They can tell you what the protagonist is feeling, and in the very next sentence, tell you that the villain waiting in the shadows is feeling nervous.
Third Person Limited (The "Close" Lens): This is a bridge between third-person freedom and first-person intimacy. The camera sits strictly on your protagonist's shoulder (or inside their head). You get the freedom of writing "he walked into the room," but you only know what that specific character sees, hears, and feels. If you want the intimacy of a first-person narrative but the freedom to jump between different characters across multiple story lines, Third Person Limited is where you want to live.
First Person Perspective
The second most common narrative style puts the reader directly behind the eyes of the character. Characterised by pronouns like "I" and "we" ("I opened the door"), First Person perspective follows the POV character relentlessly.
Because you are inside the character's head, you lose the omniscience of a god-like narrator. You cannot hear another character's thoughts or know what is happening across the world. While tougher to write without sounding repetitive, First Person provides an incredible discovery experience.
Mystery, Crime, and Horror novels thrive on First Person. In a mystery, the reader learns the clues exactly when the detective does. In horror, the reader feels the claustrophobia and terror right alongside the victim.
Second Person Perspective
This is by far the rarest narrative perspective in fiction. Here, the story is told directly to the reader, casting them as the protagonist using the pronoun "you" ("You walked into the hall").
The most famous use case for this is "Choose Your Own Adventure" novels or immersive role-playing games. Similar to First Person, Second Person limits what the reader can know. It’s incredibly difficult to pull off in a full-length novel because telling the reader what "you thought" or how "you felt" can break the immersion if the reader disagrees with the reaction. But when done well, it is undeniably striking and unique.
Choosing Your Lens
Your story’s perspective is perhaps the most influential choice you will make during your outline phase. It dictates what secrets you can hide from the reader, how deeply they connect with your hero, and how the entire world unfolds.
(Stay tuned for Part 2, where we dive into the mechanics of Tense and why Past vs. Present can completely change the pacing of your novel!)
And remember, the only difference between a dreamer and an author is the tap of keys or the stroke of a pen.
