Writing Stack Exchange
Writing Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [third-person]

Questions about viewpoints like "he said", "she said".

72 questions
45
votes
6 answers

How to avoid mentioning the name of a character?

I am writing a short story which features a character known only as Old Man, but there is a part of the story where someone calls the Old Man by his name. Only once, and I was wondering if there was a way to have it so that the name is said but not…
Kalama Xander
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10 answers

Would it be cheating to change the main character's "name" partway through the story?

I'm writing a story written in third-person limited, and the main character has no real name. They simply go by the nickname they're given by the people they hang around at the time, resulting in many different nicknames depending on where they are.…
AkkaVer
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28
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9 answers

Should I avoid modern words/phrases in fantasy writing?

When writing, I tend to want to use words or phrases that have meaning in the real world, but wouldn't necessarily have meaning in the world in which I'm writing. For example, in a fantasy world, a character can't (metaphorically) "rocket across…
StrixVaria
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7 answers

What is the difference between writing in the first and the third person?

What kind of story is better suited for each point of view? Are there advantages or disadvantages inherent to them? For example, writing in the first person you are always following a character, while in the third person you can "jump" between story…
juan
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18
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6 answers

What is "head popping" and why is it bad?

Most of my writing experience has been with first person, nonfiction stories. Now I want to try some fiction. I'm working in third person, but I'm a little bit confused about how to pull something off. Okay, say I'm telling the story from character…
Tim Elhajj
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17
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4 answers

Is it okay to say what the character infers about other characters thoughts as fact in third person limited?

The story is third person limited to Bob's point of view. He is with Alice, and I have the following line. Alice sat up proudly, then shrunk back down, realizing where she was. Compare this to Alice sat up proudly, then shrunk back down,…
rtpax
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15
votes
7 answers

Is straight-up writing someone's opinions telling?

When I first learned about the "show don't tell" guideline, I believe it applied to everything. I have now learned there are many grey areas, like for example exposition, and that the most important thing to remember is that emotions must be shown,…
A. Kvåle
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13
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8 answers

What to call a main character who changes names?

I'd like to write a story, in the third-person perspective, centering on a character who changes her name several times in the course of the story. She uses her birth name for the first couple of chapters, then perform an "identity switcheroo" with…
RedRenard
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11
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13 answers

First person pov with more than one main chars

I really love -- and most of time write in -- first person point of view. The novel I'm writing is somewhat different from what I'm used to. I have four main characters -- I don't see any of them as more important than the others -- each one of them…
Psicofrenia
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11
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7 answers

How to switch pov characters mid-scene without jarring the reader?

I am writing a novel wherein there are many characters whose thoughts are key to telling it properly. In an earlier draft, I attempted to have any given chapter told from the point of view of exactly one character, but that turned out to be…
StrixVaria
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8
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5 answers

How best to handle revealing a main character's name midway through a long story in close-third person?

I'm writing a novel, and it's written in close third person perspective, very much sitting on the shoulder of one main character and privy to their thoughts. There is another very important character who goes only by his nickname for most of the…
RSid
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8
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5 answers

How to refer to characters in a non-repetitive way in the third person?

Currently, I'm running into an issue with constructing a scene in third person in which the POV character is having a conversation with his mother. Since it's third person, I can't just be like "Mom said this. Mom did that." And, since it's his…
LHH
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1 answer

How do I change a novel from first person to limited third person?

For various reasons (increased clarity, and an interested agent), I'm rewriting what was once two first-person POVs into a third person limited POV. Other answers have previously established the differences between first and third person, but what…
Lexi
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7
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1 answer

Referring to a character in 3rd person when they have amnesia

A section of a story I am writing is being told in third person from the perspective of a character who does not know anything about herself due to amnesia. The reader is also unaware of anything regarding this character, but she assumes an identity…
driima
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7
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8 answers

First Person vs. Third Person: Advantages and Disadvantages?

My name is Alex and I'm writing a fantasy novel. I don't know if I should use first or third person narration. First person writing is good for protagonists and important characters, but third person, or "narrator style" is remarkably good for…
Seraph Myrmidon
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