First, second, third person? Past or present? (Future even?) Limited or omniscient?
Also, if it is different for reading as opposed to writing, tell me why! I’m curious.
[another attempt 2]
preference for 3rd person, slight preference for past tense. i prefer a bit of a larger separation between our world and the world the fic takes place in.
Same! I like the distance most of the time.
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Writing: third person, present, limited
Reading: any!
I’m always glad that I’ll read any too, because I’m picky enough with other things that if I refused to read something because of something general in the POV I might not read anything. XD
Only one that pissed me off enough to not read was not quotes around dialogue. Made me mad enough I sat there with a pen and wrote them in for the whole book haha
I know in other languages there are different ways to attribute dialogue, but when you are writing in English how is that supposed to translate? People who aren’t fluent in those languages can’t parse through it all. It’s not helpful. I personally don’t have time to figure that out when I could just read something else I don’t need to run through a punctuation filter.
Where’s the love for POV 4th person???I do first and third. Some stories work better in one as opposed to the other. For whatever reason, 2nd person doesn’t really do it for me.
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[attempt 2, hopefully federates properly]
some random explanation of what 4th person is for those who don’t want to google it
i don’t think i’ve seen any longform fics written primarily in 4th person – sounds like that would make for an interesting writing challenge.
How could I forget about 4th person? Probably because in my head it feels like a subset of 1st person. Shame on me!
Standard: third person, either limited or omniscient. Nothing wrong with it, and it’s the easiest to read. It really shines when the author can use it to provide insight when necessary and pull back when they want to conceal information from the reader.
Requires skill: first person. It’s not an automatic no on my part, but if I’m going to be locked into a character’s head then there needs to be enough characterization for it to be worth it. Only if I feel confident about my character do I write this.
This is torture: second person and ANYTHING involving the reader. I will never, ever understand reader fics, and the concept makes me uncomfortable: is this why a lot of “the discourse” indicates younger readers often can only interact with fics from a self-insert perspective?
Oh, and regarding tenses: mostly past, but what can be fun is deliberately violating tense. This only works if the author has established that they’re meticulous, so that, say, a sudden switch to present tense during an energetic or tense paragraph can make the text feel punchier.
Reader-inserts are definitely not for me either. I’m not interested in kissing these canon characters which is… mainly what OC stories are about, unfortunately. I want to see what canon characters do in their world and how they react to each other. Sometimes I’m okay seeing how they react with OCs, but for the most part? It’s not why I read fic.
I did write a second person fic recently, where the perspective was from a canon character. I enjoyed writing it, but I was under no impression it would be for many people (even if it wasn’t in a relatively inactive fandom). Using “you” for a canon character has echoes of writing in first person, but is very, very different. An interesting challenge.
I’ve heard similar said about younger readers and self-inserts, but I can’t wrap my head around it. Even when I was young, I never read those stories. I did read a lot more OC centric stories back then, but I don’t know if it was because I really liked those or I was a bit stupid and didn’t understand how to search for anything else, so I just clicked on what came up.
I enjoy past tense, third person limited the most. However, I will read anything. And try writing anything.
Why do I enjoy past tense? Not sure. Why do I enjoy third person limited? I like knowing what is going on in a character’s head without having to be in their head. First person is grand, but in most cases I like a little bit of distance.
In the end, it depends on the project. Some works do fantastically in first person or in present tense.
3rd POV is my preference for both reading and writing fan fiction. With original fiction, I play around more with perspective. But, I think when I’m already used to consuming the media as third-person in its original state, that’s what feels the most natural when working with it.
I really just can’t get into reader insert. I never really liked novels that were written that way either. It feels limiting somehow, I guess. Which is the opposite of what I think is intended.
Reader-inserts aren’t my cup of tea either.
I might do something in second person (of a canon character) soon for fun. Especially as I have this horror idea and borzoiteeth mentioned how mystery/horror can really work like that. Which I’ve heard expressed about horror by others too. Time to try it out!
Definitely. I think there’s always merit in trying out different modes of writing. And honestly, even when I generally dislike something, that doesn’t mean it’s impossible to find an instance in which I just feel it really works, whether for the effect or what have you.
Preferences are (but very much enjoy works that go beyond this):
1st POV: character study of moment to moment
2nd POV: mystery and/or horror
3rd POV limited: characters study slowburn
3rd POV omniscient: overly complicated plots full of dramatic irony. Comedic narrative bent super appreciatedYou are right. I definitely like omniscient used in comedies too.
I’m a sucker for comedy in general, but omniscient gives it extra spice for some reason.
Third person for me. I use both limited and omniscient, as well as shifting tenses (I like nonlinear narratives, although editing it always confuses the hell out of me). It really depends on what I’m trying to go for in a particular story.
I’ve never written a story in second person. I don’t think I can pull it off, frankly. It always comes off as if I’m demanding something of someone.
First person is tricky, because I feel like I have to not only convince myself but also my idea of the audience that I can embody this character.
Reading, I’ll read anything aside from self-inserts and RPF as long as it pulls me in.
I agree with the feeling on second person. The only times I’m comfortable with it is when the perspective is a made up character. I can’t write reader-inserts.
I will try to write a story in first or second pov eventually, just as a writing exercise. But I don’t see myself really sticking with either long term.
I only do either on occasion. It can be a fun exercise! Third person shall always have my heart.
