You guys probably know the basics. First Person, Second Person, Third Person. It’s pretty standard stuff. I wanted to talk today about utlizing those styles, and when to use which ones.
Through Sovereign Soul, I went with the difficult decision of using 1st person. A huge emphasis on Sovereign Soul is knowing what a certain character is thinking or feeling, and its as important as some characters being unpredictable and mysterious. Third person can sometimes cover the basis of that, but with as much desperation?
Ryoku spends a lot of the first part of his adventure trying to figure out how things came to be the way they are. His thoughts, opinions, observations, and emotions are the highlight of the series as he struggles to overcome the mysteries that even his close friends keep at arm’s length. Through him we can feel his desparation, helplessness, and frustration at not understanding the truths that led to his arrival.
Second Person storytelling is something I haven’t dabbled in since one of my old drafts, but may come to adopt again in the future. It is telling the story of the main character through the eyes of an onlooker. They may be able to guess how the character feels or why they act, but they remain the second person – a bystander in the main character’s story. They may play their own pivotal role to the plot, but their main role is to tell the story of the main character,
For example, this could come in the form of the main character’s best friend, or a bard accompanying a warrior and singing of their legend (ie. if the Witcher was told through the eyes of Jaskier). Also, in the previous version of Sovereign Soul, the first scene was told through the eyes of Caryl, the barmaid. It highlights how the main character comes across and their direct impact on others.
It can also be used for a sort of ‘Choose your own Adventure’ effect. It can refer to the reader as ‘you’ and effectively narrate the reader into the story.
Third Person can be told numerous ways depending on how much is relayed to the reader. My preferred style is to relay a central character from the outside and give glimpses on other character’s thoughts, known as Omniscient Third Person. To focus solely on one character in the third person is more standard, and has similarities to First Person with different wording.
I’ve begun to tell Defenders of Laia in the Third Person Omniscient view. The story varies chapter by chapter on the primary focus, but will give snippets of thought from other characters. For example, chapters centered on Ryoku will briefly offer insight from Ronan or Oronest’s points of view, although Ryoku may not know the information himself. It is usually done in a way that doesn’t reveal too much of the story.
How do you prefer to write? Does your narration differ from the styles I’ve shared? Please let me know in the comments, and feedback is always welcome!
Sovereign Soul 